Trade in Sangam Age

by Durai Ilamurugu

Tamilnadu had a unique civilization unique in the sense, it was the most most chaotically recorded civlisationin the history of whole India. For a very long time the tiny tail like part of the Indian subcontinent was about of bounds for most of the invaders beyond the Vindhya -Sathpura hill ranges. This hill range cuts the Indian subcontinent into two Uththarapada ( Northern part )and Dakshinapada ( southern part) except for a linear vertical strip of land in the west and east along the coastline.EPI LOGUETo conclude, a few words about the ancient golden periods in general and Tamilagam in particular. .we must remember that we have painted a too rosy and rich picture about the Sangam age. . These are all mainly from the poetry of the Sangam age. Poetry, Sangam or not, by its very nature are sweet images created with the winged words. So, we cannot be certain and everything told is hundred percent true. No, definitely not. The poets however lofty they may be and their ideas may be are men made of blood and flesh and bones. More bones than flesh, may be. And they served in the court of the mighty kings. Except very few poets like Thiruvalluvar most of them were attached to a king or other . So, they cannot be too truthful about the king and his kingdom. The trade, culture poetry are all very well but how many of the common people can be aware of them. Were they educated enough to appreciate the nuances of the Sangam poetry. So far there has been no concrete proof about the education level of common people. But the latest archaeological excavation at Keeladi has produced Tamil-Brahmi letters as part of inscriptions are found engraved on the shoulder portions of the earthen vessels. In general, these letters were inscribed when the pot is in leather condition or were inscribed /engraved after the pot became dry. The letters engraved in leather condition could be made only by the potters at the time of making pots. In the case of Keeladi examples, they were all post-firing in nature and were engraved by the owners after purchasing the pots. The representation of different styles of writing also suggests this view. It clearly suggests that the high literacy level of the contemporary society that survived in 6th century BC.But it needs to be proved beyond any reasonable doubt. There must have been a huge section of population which has suffered silently to produce so much of wealth for the consumption of few. Sangam is definitely not a proto communistic state where everybody owned everything. The same Sangam poetry has poems s of utter poverty and misery for the poets and of course the common people, ONE Sangam poet PIsiranthaiyaar goes in search of food to the south of Tamilnadu but could not find any thing to live upon . in the cold night out in the streets he is reinded of his wife who will be eagerly waiting for him. So he wants to send some message to her through the cranes which are flying from south to north he addresses them as follows ." oh cranes, cranes with red color beak and legs, as you fly from south to north if you meet my wife tell her that I am still alive struggling to keep myself warm ( and hence alive ) by covering the body with my limbs. . The intended meaning of the poem is that that poet is in extreme misery and in the cold nights has nothing to cover that will keep him warm . So, my dear wife don't expect me to bring anything for you " such poets were suffering in life to make both ends meet. Inspite of the hoards of Roman gold coins unearthed, and bundles of muslin cloth exported to the pleasure of Rome and Greek, and tons of sandal and pepper to make the plates of west tingle with taste, these poor people go with out a square meal a day and decent cloth cover the shy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1660886015
• ISBN13: 9781660886012
• Release Date: February 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 44 Pages
• Weight: 0.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"