Avvaiyar - The Tamil Poetess of Wisdom

Dadi: "Beta, have you ever felt like you have learned everything there is to learn about something?"

Guddu: "Sometimes, Dadi! Like when I finished all my multiplication tables!"

Dadi: "Ha! That is a good start. But let me tell you about a great poetess who thought she had mastered all knowledge - until a young boy on a tree taught her otherwise."

Guddu: "A boy taught a great poetess?"

Dadi: "Yes! Her name was Avvaiyar, which in Tamil means "respectable woman." She was one of the greatest poets in all of Tamil literature. But her life began with great difficulty."

Guddu: "What happened?"

Dadi: "She was born to parents from different castes - her mother was from a low caste, and her father was a Brahmin priest. In those times, this was considered very shameful. Her father forced her mother to abandon all her children. Little Avvaiyar was adopted by a family of traditional singers."

Guddu: "That must have been so hard!"

Dadi: "It was, beta. But even as a child, she showed extraordinary talent. Once, her adoptive parents were struggling to complete a song. Young Avvaiyar finished it for them, surprising everyone with her gift for poetry."

Guddu: "When did she become famous?"

Dadi: "As she grew, her poetry and wisdom spread across the Tamil lands. But she did not want to get married. She wanted to devote her life to knowledge and spiritual seeking. So she prayed to Lord Ganesha to free her from marriage obligations."

Guddu: "Did Ganesha help her?"

Dadi: "In a miraculous way, beta! She was transformed into an elderly woman. Overnight, the young girl became old, with grey hair and wrinkled skin. Now no one would ask her to marry, and she was free to wander the land as a poet-saint."

Guddu: "That is amazing!"

Dadi: "She traveled everywhere, composing songs, teaching children, advising kings. Her poems for young children are still taught in Tamil schools today - they teach good habits, discipline, and wisdom in simple, beautiful verses."

Guddu: "Like nursery rhymes?"

Dadi: "Better than nursery rhymes, beta! Verses that plant seeds of wisdom in young minds. She became so famous that she knew all the great kings, won debates with scholars, and was celebrated across the land. After many years of this, she felt she had achieved everything that could be achieved."

Guddu: "She thought she knew everything?"

Dadi: "One day, tired from her travels, she sat under a Naaval tree - a Jamun tree - thinking about retiring from her literary work. "I have mastered Tamil. I have understood all philosophy. What more is there to learn?""

Guddu: "And then what happened?"

Dadi: "She noticed a young boy sitting on a branch above her, eating the tree's berries. She called up to him, "Child, shake down some fruits for this old grandmother.""

Guddu: "That seems like a simple request."

Dadi: "Ah, but the boy asked a strange question. "Do you want hot fruits or cold fruits, grandmother?""

Guddu: "Hot or cold? But they are all the same!"

Dadi: "That is what Avvaiyar thought too! She was amused. "What a silly child," she thought. "Give me the hot ones," she said, playing along."

Guddu: "What did he do?"

Dadi: "The boy shook the branch, and fruits fell down. Avvaiyar picked them up and blew on them to remove the dust."

Guddu: "And then?"

Dadi: "The boy laughed and asked, "Are they too hot, grandmother? Is that why you are blowing on them?""

Guddu: "Oh! I see! He meant ripe fruits - ripe fruits that had been in the sun would be "hot," and unripe ones would be "cold"!"

Dadi: "Exactly, beta! Avvaiyar suddenly understood. The "hot" fruits were the ripe ones that had absorbed the sun's warmth. The "cold" ones were unripe. She had been blowing on them out of habit to remove dust, but the boy cleverly used her action to prove his point."

Guddu: "The boy was smarter than she expected!"

Dadi: "When Avvaiyar looked up again, the boy had vanished. In his place, she had a vision of Lord Murugan himself - the god of knowledge and wisdom! The god had come to teach her a lesson."

Guddu: "What was the lesson?"

Dadi: "Murugan revealed to her that there was still so much more to learn. She thought she had mastered everything, but she could not even understand a simple riddle from a child! "What you know," he told her, "is like a handful of sand. What you do not know is as vast as all the earth itself.""

Guddu: "That is humbling!"

Dadi: "Avvaiyar was transformed by this encounter. Instead of retiring, she dedicated herself to a fresh set of literary works, this time writing especially for children. She wrote with new humility, knowing that wisdom has no end."

Guddu: "So the great poetess became a student again?"

Dadi: "Yes, beta! And that temple - the Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple - is still visited today. It is considered the place where Lord Murugan gave his divine teaching to Avvaiyar."

Guddu: "What does this teach us, Dadi?"

Dadi: "Several precious lessons, my child. First, that learning never ends. No matter how much we know, there is always more. Second, that wisdom can come from the most unexpected sources - even a child in a tree. Third, that pride in our knowledge can blind us to what we still need to learn. And fourth, that the divine is always ready to teach those who are humble enough to be students."

Guddu: "I will always remember that there is more to learn, Dadi!"

Dadi: "Good, beta. And Avvaiyar said something beautiful: "What we know is the size of a handful of sand, while what we do not know is the size of the entire earth itself." Keep that humility, and you will keep learning your whole life."

Guddu: "Just like Avvaiyar did after meeting Murugan!"

Dadi: "Exactly, beta. The greatest scholars are those who know how little they truly know."