104 A Critical Study of Kuruntokai
It was customary for the ladies to worship ‘Durga’ praying for the safe return of their husbands. in one case, a heroine speaks to her maid that she would not perform any puja to Goddess Durga since her dearest husband had perhaps forgotten her and had not yet returned as promised, Therefore she says that she would observe no fasting and observe no omens.*
The hero would never stay out long aimlessly. As soon as his work was finished he hastened home. The hero says this to his charioteer ‘inré cenru varuvatu nalai’.* Even if he goes on an expedition commissioned by the king, he would not stay long in this venture.* There were dangers also enroute. The highway robbers and the hunters of the arid desert would nothesitate to do harm to their lives.*
The hero usually adorned his head with neem (margosa) flowers before he left home.® The fulfillment of the duty the hero is described by a poet as ‘ceyvinai mutitta cemmal ullam’.°® Dancing and amusements
Art is the outcome of the aesthetic desire in Man. Art may either be static or dynamic. Dynamic arts are arts of thythm and-movement. The ‘tunankai’ dance has been already mentioned elsewhere in this thesis. The female dancer was called ‘atukalamaka!l’ while the male dancer was known as ‘atukalamakan’. This word ‘atukalam’ represents the stage or a particular place where this kind of group dance took place.”
Omens and other superstitious beliefs
Prof. G. Subramania Pillai observes: ‘‘The ancient man was a Child of nature. He perceived the finger of God in the
1. Ibid: 218.
2. இன்றே சென்று வருவது நாளை-- (பாப : 189.
3. Ibid 2 242. 4. Ibid: 77, 297. 5. Ibid: 281.
6. செய்வினை முடித்த செம்மல் odrenb—\bid: 275. 7» Kutu; 31.
