Being Called ‘Avvaiyaar’ Is Not An Insult, But A Commendation – Part I

It’s very typical to hear that ladies who are not married at a young age often get blackmailed by their own family members and relatives via this phrase: “Do you want to end up like Avvaiyaar?” And the girl would be depressed by this phrase and she would start contemplating on how inferior she might be compared to all the girls of her age who are married. The worst case scenario is when the girl finally agrees to marry any karat macha who shows up simply because of the fear of ending up, ALONE AND SINGLE like Avvaiyaar. Karutthu Kannammaa now seeks to demolish this absurdness once and for all, because Avvaiyaar isn’t a sad, tragic or a character that needs to be sympathized with.

Even as a child, Avvaiyaar was very intelligent and creative, composing excellent poetry to the awe of elderly scholars and poets. Below are few things about her in her adult life that the Indian society has conveniently forgot or overlooked:

i) Avvaiyaar did not remain single because she did not get a suitor. Contrary to popular belief, Avvaiyaar refused marriage when the groom’s family came to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. The groom fell for Avvaiyaar because of her beauty. Avvaiyaar managed to convince her Vinaayagar deity to give her the form of an old lady and guess what? The groom and his family quietly escaped. So, Avvaiyaar chose to remain single out of her own sweet will; not because she didn’t have the qualifications required by such superficial machas who are only after physical looks.

ii) Avvaiyaar is the first female to embrace the life of sannyaasam. At that time (even now in many places), sannyaasam was something reserved only for men. She started the social revolution of taking equal positions with men in the altar of Indian spirituality. Her courage and her charisma are indeed admirable; as our people have always been skeptical of women who live, remain and travel alone. Despite what stupid fellows might speculate, Avvaiyaar continued to do what she felt was right. She made good use of her free time as an unmarried hermit to compose her magnum opuses. She is the perfect example for machas out there who say - oru pombele thaniya vaale mudiyuma? (Can a woman live on her own company?) Avvaiyar has set a splendid example of what a single woman is capable of.

iii) Avvaiyaar had solved the problems of many people through her magical powers. Now, leaving aside the probability of whether or not such magical powers are possible, even the very existence of records which claim that she did perform miracles shows that she isn’t some old lady who’s good for nothing. Legends claim that she made rain fall at her command in draught-struck lands and she made an rich liar suffer from stomach pain for cheating people. People revered her as a mother who would bless her good children and punish her bad children.

iv) Even kings and emperors take advice from Avvaiyaar. Kings would welcome Avvaiyaar to their courts with great royal splendor and consult her on various matters like politics, education, economy, management etc. She was an expert in various subjects and she dared to question the mistakes of a few kings, when nobody else had the audacity to question a king. Armed only with her knowledge, wisdom and courage, she was afraid of literally nothing.
We hope this post has been a tight slap to machas who go on insulting virgin, unmarried women and an encouragement to all women out there. Wait for part II for more inspiration from Avvaiyaar!