Uttaranallur Nangai (Tamil: உத்தரநல்லூர் நங்கை) was a Tamil Paraiyar poet who lived in the 15th century CE.[1][2] She is best known for her strong views against the caste and gender hierarchies of her time. As a Dalit herself, she passionately expresses these views in her only surviving work, the Paichalur Padigam.[3]
Biography
editHer name, Uttaranallur Nangai, is a combination of Uttaranallur (her birthplace) and Nangai (meaning maiden). Being a Dalit and a woman, she was forbidden from studying the Vedas during her time. In spite of that, she studies the Vedas from a Brahmin boy in secret. Eventually, she falls in love with that Brahmin boy and marries him as well.[4]
For her dual transgression of reading the forbidden sacred texts and breaking caste taboos, she was sentenced to death by being burned alive by the elders of the Paichalur village.[5] When the elders came to the Paraiya street to carry out the sentence, she composed the work Paichalur Padigam addressing them.[6] A verse from that work is quoted below:
Neem and sandalwood smell distinct when they burn,
But the smell of the burning Brahmin, you cannot tell.
Does fire smell different when the unwashed Pulaya¹ burns?
The stuff that burns and the flames that burn - how do they differ,
O elders of Paichalur?
¹ Pulaya refers to a Dalit caste
சந்தனம் அகிலும் வேம்பும் தனித்தனிக் கந்தம் நாறும்
அந்தணர் தீயில் வீழ்ந்தால் அவர்மணம் வீசக் காணோம்
செந்தலை புலையன் வீழ்ந்தால் தீமணம் வேற தாமோ?
பந்தமும் தீயும் வேறோ பாய்ச்சலூர்க் கிராமத் தாரே!
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal (2009). A Social History of Early India. p. 243. ISBN 978-8131719589.
- ^ Venkatachalapathy, A.R. (2013-08-20). "'Let blind custom be buried'". The Hindu. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- ^ Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal (2009). A Social History of Early India. Pearson Education India. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-8131719589.
- ^ Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal (2009). A Social History of Early India. Pearson Education India. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-8131719589.
- ^ Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal (2009). A Social History of Early India. Pearson Education India. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-8131719589.
- ^ Venkatachalapathy, A.R. (2013-08-20). "'Let blind custom be buried'". The Hindu. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- ^ Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal (2009). A Social History of Early India. Pearson Education India. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-8131719589.
- ^ கோபால் நாயகர், டி (1914). பாய்ச்சலூர் பதிகம் (in Tamil). கோள்டன் அச்சியந்திரசாலை. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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