Sangam - envisioning the songs and poems of Tamilakam within the historical framework.

"At every post before the house
is tied the gentle calf of a crooked-horned buffalo.
There dwells my sweetheart, curving and lovely, languid of gaze, with big round earrings, and little rings on her tiny fingers.
She has cut the leaves of the garden plantain and split them in pieces down the stalk to serve as platters for the meal.
Her eyes are filled with the smoke of cooking.
Her brow, as fair as the crescent moon,
is covered now with drops of sweat.
She wipes it away with the hem of her garment and stands in the kitchen, and thinks of me.
‘Come in then, if you want a good meal!
You’ll see her smile and show her tiny
sharp teeth, whom I long to kiss.'"
(From Wonder that India was by AL Basham)

This is a typical example of an akam poem composed in Old Tamil, belonging to the compendium of Sangam texts to which we trace the birth of Tamil literature, the 'other' Classical language of India, having an unbroken, long history of 2500 years. Here the poet is seen praising his beloved whilst cooking. The simplicity of his expression and the immediacy of his thoughts are quite unmatched, further heightened by the lyrical fervour of his poetic expertise.

The Sangam Academies 

Picture (1) : Sage Agasthya, traditionally believed to have chaired the first Sangam

The Sangam literature, written in Old Tamil, represents the earliest literary endeavours of South India. Its genesis and growth are rooted in the three academies that we held in the ancient land of Tamilakam, under the patronage of the Pandya rulers.
A post 7th century tradition connotes to three such gatherings, attended by poets, chiefs, gods and legendary sages, hosted in their capitals - first at Thenmadurai, second at Kapattapuram and third, the final one in Madurai. Although the historiography of the first two Sangams is obscure and doubtful, the pretext behind the last session appears authentic cause some of the kings and poets associated with it are historical figures.

The creations which emerged out of these literary gatherings, the Sangams, include the "Eight Anthologies" (Ettutokai), the "Ten Songs (Pattupattu) and the initial parts of the earliest Tamil work on grammar called Tolkapiyyam. The latter also includes discussions on phonology, syntax and literary conventions of its time.
Originally, these songs and poems maybe were a part of the oral tradition preserved by the bards, who wandered across the Tamil Land, singing and reciting, enjoying patronage of chiefs and villagers alike. As years passed they probably started meeting at Madurai during its great festivals that later took the form of the fabled Sangam academies. Going by the style, context, literary conventions and some historical references mooted in these compositions, historians prefer to date them to the early centuries of the Common Era (between the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE).

Their Nature : 

Akam and Puram poems

The tradition of Tamil poetry was a prolong one. Modelled on bardic songs, they were possibly orally transmitted for centuries before their final compilation in the anthologies, the renowned Ettutokai. The "Eight Anthologies" include over two thousand poems ascribed to more than 400 poets, many of whom were women. The composers were drawn from different cities and villages and had diverse social and professional milieu. This results in a dynamic interface of themes and ideas, providing a vivid imagery of the age when these were composed. 

The mundane and modest undertone of these poems set them apart from the epic traditions of North India, which were more preoccupied with highlighting the exploits and experiences of our Kshatriya heroes. Moreover, these poems are unique in the way the initial syllables of their couplets rhyme or assonate. This feature appears quite regularly in the poems composed during the later part of the Sangam age and are never to be found in Sanskrit poetry.

The literary conventions recurrent in these music and poems are encapsulated in the Tolkapiyyam which points out to two of its divergent kinds - akam meaning internal, dealing with love and puram, i.e. external, which were composed in praise of kings, illuminating their exploits and deeds.
Akam poems tended to portray love within a universal framework. They were designed as dramatic monologues and generally had limited characters, with their scenes usually domestic and intimate. 

Puram poetry, according to AK Ramanujan, was basically public poetry that discussed of all sorts of themes other than love. It dealt with experiences relating to the socio-political life of ancient Tamils.

Tinais of Tamilakam 

Even more fascinating is the concept of Tinai working beneath the symphony of these compositions. It tries to interweave nature and poetry in the harmonious fabric of Tamilakam's historical geography. Basically tinais are different landscapes present found in the Tamil Land, within the folds of which the narratives akam and puram were moulded by their poets. Each tinai had its own dominant occupation, vegetation, habitats, communities, chiefdoms and deities. Also the tinais could be further subdivided into units called turai.

Picture (2) : The different Tinais 

Conventionally, we come across five tinais -
1) the hills (Kurinji)
2) the drylands (palai)n
3) the forested tracts (mulai)
4) the cultivated plains (marudam)
5) the coast (naydal).
Each of it is connected with distinct poems, of both the akam and puram type, articulating diverse aspects of love and war. 

Hence we find that hills are the play field of poems dealing with pre-nupital love and cattle raiding; the drylands for long separation of lovers and barren wastelands left fallow; the jungles for brief parting of lovers, and that of raiding expeditions; the plains for post-nupital love or the wiles of the courtesans and of siege; and lastly, the coast, expressing the pain of fisherman's wives, separated from their husbands and of scenes relating to pitched battles. 

As one could see, tinais don't just define the ecological boundaries but also determine the entire aesthetics of these poems.

Further Considerations 
The Sangam texts till date remains the most reliable and credible source to reconstruct the early history of South India. It not only provides cues to the major political events but also gives insights into the material and social life of its people.

According to Champaklakshmi the 'Sangam Age' represented the last phase of megalithic culture in the South. It was essentially period when subsistence pattern was primarily agro-pastoral, iron implements were widespread and state formation was characterized by presence chiefdoms, relying warfare and loot. Although the Sangam poets were familiar with varna and notions of caste, the more relevant basis of social classification was, however, kuta or clan based, with no restrictions on interaction among social groups. The poems also describe thriving towns, extravagant markets, trading linkages, especially with the Roman World (the Yavanas), which have been been further testified by the study of available inscriptions (in Tamil-Brahmi) and archaeological findings of coins, potsherds and field remains. 

Picture (3) : Chiefdoms of South India, Sangam Age

The literature of this age bears a strong legacy that withstood for centuries, albeit Sanskritic influences which percolated from the North. For instance, in the later years when the Bhakti movement got crystallized within the framework of the Alvars and the Nayanars, elements of Sangam poems were visible in the compositions of these poet-saints. Just that in the context of bhakti, the focus shifts from the king or patron to god.