Tamil Agathinai poems and Kannada folk songs - A comparison study

Abstract

There is an emphasis in recent years on the study of literary and cultural parallel between Tamil and Kannada. This kind of research would enable one to arrive at Proto- Dravidian common cultural core. Anyhow my attempt is humble. I Try to make a comparison of the Akam (Love) poems. Which are found in Tolkappiyam and Sangam literature with some Kannada folk songs. Tolgappiyam says that the Akam poems of five division of land (Kurinji, Mullai, Marudam, Naidal and Paalai) should not mention the proper name of the characters. If we take a simple look at the different folk songs collection of Kannada, we note that there are no proper names of characters of such love songs. According to Tolkappiyam, the first grammar of Tamil, the concept of love is divided into ‘compatible love’ (anbin inthinai) and ‘incompatible love’ (porundha Kamam). We also come across such concept in the Kannada folk songs, which is explained in the theme of the song. There is a song of a man who is sitting on the bank of a river asking the girl permission to lean on her shoulder. The mention of a shoulder of a girl is a special feature mentioned in many Sangam poems.