IN HIS SPRING AND AUTUMN

In this article, we will perceive the promise of a lady-love as limned in the lyrics of the song “Rojavai Thalattum Thendral” from the film “Ninaivellam Nithya” directed by C. V. Sridhar. 

“வசந்தங்கள் வாழ்த்தும் பொழுது உனது கிளையில் பூவாவேன் இலையுதிர் காலம் முழுதும் மகிழ்ந்து உனக்கு வேராவேன்”

“When springs grace you with its presence, I will be a flower on your branches. Throughout the autumn that follows, I will turn into a root for you with pleasure,” a lady assures her beloved. 

The flower in spring and the root in autumn do seem to hold a lot within. Therefore, let’s scrutinise the words of the lady’s. Say, her dear man is a tree. The lady says that she will blossom on his branch in the springtime and transform herself into his rootlet in the autumn. 

In literature, each season carries many hidden meanings and associations. In that manner, spring symbolises love, joy, hope, youth and growth, while autumn denotes change, old age, despair, dismay and decay. If we take account of these literary allusions, it will be easy for us to apprehend the meaning of the aforementioned lines. 

Assuring that “I will be a flower in your springtime and root in your autumn“, she alludes that she will decorate his days when he is young, confident and affluent, and support him even if he becomes aged, feels wretched and turns destitute. Well, to put it in a nutshell, she says that she will be there for him, no matter what his situation. 

Overall, this verse once again reminds us that love is something that blooms only for a heart, not for anything else. To prove this point further, the lyricist has written the word ‘spring’ in the plural and ‘autumn’ in the singular. It is only to wish the man a lot of happiness and little sadness.