In this episode, we observe an attempt at allaying anxiety, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 171, penned by Kallaadanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches vivid elements of life and wildlife in this domain.

”நுதலும் நுண் பசப்பு இவரும்; தோளும்
அகல் மலை இறும்பின் ஆய்ந்து கொண்டு அறுத்த
பணை எழில் அழிய வாடும்; நாளும்
நினைவல்மாது அவர் பண்பு” என்று ஓவாது
இனையல் வாழி, தோழி! புணர்வர்
இலங்கு கோல் ஆய் தொடி நெகிழ, பொருள் புரிந்து
அலந்தலை ஞெமையத்து அதர் அடைந்திருந்த
மால் வரைச் சீறூர் மருள் பல் மாக்கள்
கோள் வல் ஏற்றை ஓசை ஓர்மார்,
திருத்திக் கொண்ட அம்பினர், நோன் சிலை
எருத்தத்து இரீஇ, இடம் தொறும் படர்தலின்,
கீழ்ப்படு தாரம் உண்ணா, மேற் சினைப்
பழம் போற் சேற்ற தீம் புழல் உணீஇய,
கருங் கோட்டு இருப்பை ஊரும்
பெருங் கை எண்கின் சுரன் இறந்தோரே!

In this trip to the drylands, there’s much to see even as we hear the confidante say these words to the lady, as the man, who had left in search of wealth, continues to remain parted away:

“Saying ‘Let intricate spots of pallor spread on the forehead; Let arms, which are akin to well-selected bamboos in the wide mountain forests, lose their beauty and become ruined; Still, I shall not stop thinking of his nature all day, every single day!’, do not suffer unceasingly, my friend, may you live long! Making your well-rounded, resplendent bangles slip away, he left to gain wealth, treading paths abounding with axle-wood trees having scorched tops, through small hamlets in the foothills of the huge mountain, where many people, tense with fear, keep watch for the sounds of a killer male bear, and wait in readiness with their well-sharpened arrows, carrying their sturdy bows on their shoulders. As they spread about hither and thither, knowing of their movements, not feeding on what has fallen down, that huge-handed bear, wishing to instead feed on flowers that taste as sweet as fruits upon high branches, crawls atop trees in those drylands. He shall return and unite with you soon!”

Let’s tread on and trace the dangers of this domain! The confidante starts by repeating the lady’s words, who seems not bothered that pallor would spread on her forehead and that her bamboo-like arms would lose their beauty, and continues to wallow in the memory of the man, who had left her to seek wealth. The confidante goes on to describe where he has gone, talking about the ‘Gnemai’ trees that grow there and their burnt tops in the sweltering summer. Then, she goes on to mention people there, those living in a small town at the foothills, who are always on the lookout for dangerous male bears that could kill, and wait in all readiness with sharp arrows and sturdy bows. Knowing of their movements on land, the bear tries to outsmart them by not eating the easy pick of fallen fruits and flowers, but instead, climbs up on the Mahua tree and goes for the high branches to pluck the flowers that are said to be as sweet as the fruits. The confidante concludes by saying though the man walks through such a land, he will return soon to the lady’s fold. It’s indeed a simple reassurance from a concerned friend but what hides within are interesting aspects of intelligence and evolution in the face of animal-human conflict, something that remains a serious concern in our world today!

In this episode, we perceive an attempt to enlist a unique messenger, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 170, penned by Madurai Kallitru Kadaiyathan Vennaakanaar. The verse is situated amidst the silent backwaters of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and etches exquisite scenes of life in this domain.

கானலும் கழறாது; கழியும் கூறாது;
தேன் இமிர் நறு மலர்ப் புன்னையும் மொழியாது;
ஒரு நின் அல்லது பிறிது யாதும் இலனே;
இருங் கழி மலர்ந்த கண் போல் நெய்தல்
கமழ் இதழ் நாற்றம் அமிழ்து என நசைஇ,
தண் தாது ஊதிய வண்டினம் களி சிறந்து,
பறைஇ தளரும் துறைவனை, நீயே,
சொல்லல் வேண்டுமால் அலவ! பல்கால்
கைதைஅம் படுசினை எவ்வமொடு அசாஅம்
கடற் சிறு காக்கை காமர் பெடையொடு
கோட்டுமீன் வழங்கும் வேட்டம் மடி பரப்பின்
வெள் இறாக் கனவும் நள்ளென் யாமத்து
நின் உறு விழுமம் களைந்தோள்
தன் உறு விழுமம் நீந்துமோ! எனவே.

In this trip to the shore, we get to see the lady saying these words to an intriguing little denizen of the domain:

“The seashore grove will not exhort him; The backwaters will not explain to him; The bee-buzzing fragrant laurel wood tree will not expound either; Other than you, I have no one, O crab! Desiring the wafting scent from the petals of the blue lotus, blooming like eyes in the dark backwaters, bees swarm around their cool pollen, and then brimming over with ecstasy, find themselves unable to fly. Such are the shores of the lord! Going to him, you need to tell him something. Upon the curving branch of the many-legged pandanus tree, with suffering, rests a little sea gull, along with its desirable mate, and dreams about white shrimp in the expanses, frequented by swordfish, when the fish hunt has ended, in the darkness of the midnight hour. Please go to him and ask him, ‘How can the one, who ended your sorrow at many such midnight hour, swim across through the sea of her own sorrow, caused by your parting, now?’”

Ready to swim through the backwaters and eavesdrop on a conversation? Here we find the lady having a chat with a crab on the shore. She starts by lamenting to the crustacean about how neither the grove, nor the backwaters, nor the laurel wood tree is going to speak up in her defence, and tells the crab that she has no one else. What a way to make the crab feel special! Then, she describes the man’s domain by the seas and here we find bees drunk on the pollen of blue lotuses and unable to even flap their little wings, so sloshed in the sweetness of the nectar they are! Then, the lady insists to the crab that it must go to the man and remind him of how the lady had come to his rescue in the many hours of the deep darkness of night, when a sea gull dreams of feasting on shrimp, at a time when all the hunting of fish had ceased. She concludes by requesting the crab to question him about how the lady can bear her sorrow if he forgets all that she has done and continues to stay away!

Flying back to the scene of those intoxicated bees, struggling to fly, we understand that the lady has placed it as a metaphor for the man being drunk on the pleasures of temporary trysting and forgetting his duty of keeping her happy. Brimming with excessive love for the man, the lady thus expresses it to the elusive crab on the shore. The beauty of this verse is in how it highlights a human’s attempt to see a friend in an element of nature, reminding us that the world awaits with open ears and a ready shoulder, if only we can open our eyes and heart!

In this episode, we listen to the sarcastic words of a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 166, penned by Idaiyan Nedunkeeranaar. The verse is situated amidst the river shores of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and echoes the tension and rivalry in a rich town.

‘நல் மரம் குழீஇய நனை முதிர் சாடி
பல் நாள் அரித்த கோஒய் உடைப்பின்,
மயங்குமழைத் துவலையின் மறுகு உடன் பனிக்கும்
பழம் பல் நெல்லின் வேளூர்வாயில்,
நறு விரை தெளித்த நாறுஇணர் மாலை,
பொறி வரி இன வண்டு ஊதல கழியும்
உயர் பலி பெறூஉம் உரு கெழு தெய்வம்,
புனை இருங் கதுப்பின் நீ கடுத்தோள்வயின்
அனையேன்ஆயின், அணங்குக, என்!’ என
மனையோட் தேற்றும் மகிழ்நன்ஆயின்,
யார்கொல் வாழி, தோழி! நெருநல்
தார் பூண் களிற்றின் தலைப் புணை தழீஇ,
வதுவை ஈர் அணிப் பொலிந்து, நம்மொடு,
புதுவது வந்த காவிரிக்
கோடு தோய் மலிர்நிறை ஆடியோரே?

Here’s a dash of gods and oaths in this trip to the farmlands, as we listen to the courtesan say these words to her friend, on receiving a particular news about the man:

“Saying, ‘When the measuring stick breaks a jug of toddy, which had been aged for many days, the contents would shower down, confusing people as if it’s the drizzle of rainclouds, in the streets of the ancient town of Veloor, known for its heaps of paddy. At the gates of this town, striped bees fear to buzz around fragrant garlands, woven with scented buds, and fly away, seeing the huge offerings laid alongside, in front of the statue of that formidable god. O maiden with thick, flowing tresses, as you doubt, if at all I had embraced the other, let this god possess and torment me’, the lord of the town had consoled his wife, I hear. If this is true, who might that be, my friend, may you live long? The one who came yesterday, akin to a garlanded elephant, and held on to the edge of the raft, and shone like the jewel of the group, and rejoiced playing with us, as the new flood of the River Kaveri brimmed over the shores?”

Time to stroll into the expanse of this prosperous town and listen on! The courtesan starts by repeating the words of the man. The man seems to have described the ancient town of Veloor, by mentioning how toddy would shower as rain on its people, when a pot containing aged liquor was accidentally broken by a measuring stick. He continues by talking about how even bees don’t buzz around the garlands, offered to the mighty god at the gates of this town, in fear. The reason he had mentioned this god is to say to his wife, who was doubting his actions, that he never embraced anyone else. He reiterates his statement, telling her, that if at all, as she was suspecting, he had embraced another, he invites that god to smite him, then and there. In short, he has sworn an oath in the name of that fearsome God about his innocence before his wife. Hearing this, the courtesan shoots back to her friend saying, ‘If what the man is saying is true, then who was that person, who was life and soul of the party, yesterday, as we played and swam in the new flood of the River Kaveri, as it leaped over the banks?’

The intention of the courtesan was for these words to travel back to the lady and reinstate that the man is not so true as he claims to be and he was indeed entranced by the courtesan. Leaving behind this mere tussle over a man, let’s turn our focus to that activity of the Tamils recorded here, and that is to play in the river, when it comes rushing with fresh new waves, after the rains. No doubt the river brings the freshness of the mountains in its waves and energises the folks on the plains. A record of how this culture did not worship this life-giving river as a distant God, but saw it as a delightful companion, one which nourishes the soul!

In this episode, we perceive a mother’s angst, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 165, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse talks about the consequences of a lady’s parting away with her beloved.

கயந் தலை மடப் பிடி பயம்பில் பட்டென,
களிறு விளிப்படுத்த கம்பலை வெரீஇ,
ஒய்யென எழுந்த செவ் வாய்க் குழவி
தாது எரு மறுகின் மூதூர் ஆங்கண்,
எருமை நல் ஆன் பெறு முலை மாந்தும்
நாடு பல இறந்த நன்னராட்டிக்கு
ஆயமும் அணி இழந்து அழுங்கின்று; தாயும்
”இன் தோள் தாராய், இறீஇயர் என் உயிர்!” என,
கண்ணும் நுதலும் நீவி, தண்ணென,
தடவு நிலை நொச்சி வரி நிழல் அசைஇ,
தாழிக் குவளை வாடு மலர் சூட்டி,
தருமணற் கிடந்த பாவை என்
அருமகளே என முயங்கினள் அழுமே!

It’s all about the state of those left behind in this trip to the drylands, where we get to hear the onlookers say these words about the lady’s family, at the juncture of the lady’s elopement with her man:

“As the naive female elephant with a soft head fell into a pit, the male elephant trumpets aloud. Startled by the uproar, their red-mouthed, young calf quickly rises up and runs to the ancient town, having streets coated with pollen dust, and drinks up milk from the heavy udders of the good buffalo. Crossing many such places, the esteemed maiden had parted away; And so her playmates now look listless, shorn of their beauty; As for her mother, she picks up the doll lying about in the imported sands, caresses its eyes and forehead. Then placing it upon the coolness of the swaying, lined shade of the chaste tree with curving branches, she adorns it with faded blue lilies from the urn. Embracing the doll, she sheds tears saying, ‘My dearest daughter, won’t you offer your sweet arms for me to embrace? Let my life part away!’”

Time to hear the uproar in the drylands. The onlookers start by relating the state of a male elephant, whose mate has fallen into a pit. Hearing its troubled cries, its young one is startled and runs away to a nearby town, where the streets are covered in pollen. Here, a mother buffalo accepts the elephant calf as its own and suckles it with kindness. The lady would have traversed many places with such scenes, the onlookers connect. Then, moving from where the lady was, they turn to talk about those she left behind, and mention how her friends are all looking sad and crestfallen. As for the lady’s mother, she goes about picking the lady’s doll lying about on the sands brought from elsewhere, and places it in the shade of the chaste tree and adorns it with blue lilies. Then embracing the doll, and seeing it as her daughter, she asks the doll to offer her arms and wishes her unbearable life would depart, conclude the onlookers.

In the scene of a mother buffalo taking care of an elephant calf, parted from its family, hides the metaphor of the lady’s family hoping that the lady finds love and care in those places that she has left to. In essence, a tender verse filled with emotions of loss, lament and love for the one departed!

In this episode, we perceive a heartfelt wish throbbing in a man’s mind, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 164, penned by Madurai Tamil Koothan Naakanthevanaar. The verse is situated amidst the fragrant flowers of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest landscape’ and relays the yearning in a person to be with their beloved.

கதிர் கையாக வாங்கி, ஞாயிறு
பைது அறத் தெறுதலின், பயம் கரந்து மாறி,
விடுவாய்ப்பட்ட வியன் கண் மா நிலம்
காடு கவின் எதிரக் கனை பெயல் பொழிதலின்
பொறி வரி இன வண்டு ஆர்ப்ப, பல உடன்
நறு வீ முல்லையொடு தோன்றி தோன்ற
வெறி ஏன்றன்றே வீ கமழ் கானம்.
”எவன்கொல் மற்று அவர் நிலை?” என மயங்கி,
இகு பனி உறைக்கும் கண்ணொடு இனைபு, ஆங்கு
இன்னாது உறைவி தொல் நலம் பெறூஉம்
இது நற் காலம் கண்டிசின் பகைவர்
மதில் முகம் முருக்கிய தொடி சிதை மருப்பின்,
கந்து கால் ஒசிக்கும் யானை,
வெஞ் சின வேந்தன் வினை விடப்பெறினே!

A verse in which we witness the transformation of this domain as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, as he remains at a battle encampment, in the service of his king, and parted away from his lady love:

“Extending its rays as hands, the sun had seized every drop of moisture, and so, losing its green utterly, changing from its stance of fertility, the wide spreading land, became parched with cracks many. For the land to regain its state of being filled with lush green, the rains have poured heavily, and so fragrant flowers of wild jasmine along with flame-lilies have bloomed, making swarms of striped bees buzz around, spreading a rich scent across that forest of fallen flowers! At this time, worried wondering, ‘What state might he be in?’, with tears pooling in her eyes, helpless, my lady remains there. Our king possesses battle elephants, which after tearing apart gates of enemy forts, now stand with ruined golden rings on their tusks and pull against the posts to which they are tied. Good times would arrive truly and my lady would attain her old beauty, if only our furious king decides to end his mission of war!”

Let’s inhale that intense scent of a rain-soaked forest and learn more! The man starts by talking about how summer had come and the sun had been greedy about gathering with its many hands and gulping down every bit of water on the expanse of land. As a consequence, there was no sign of anything fertile, and the earth looked listless, all parched and thirsty. As if granting the wish of this land, the rains had arrived in the due season, and poured down, filling the forest with wild jasmines and flame-lilies, much to the excitement of bees around, the man describes. Then, in his mind’s eye, the man leaves the world around behind and visits the lady. He sees her worrying about him, wondering what he’s going through, and her eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears. He returns back to his camp and takes in the battle elephants that have done their job of smashing enemy gates quite well. and are now standing there, with broken tusk rings, shaking their posts, still seething with the remnants of fury. The man concludes by saying that good times would return in his life and his lady would regain her old beauty, if only the king decided his war was over.

Inferring from the state of the elephants, though the king had gained victories, he seemed not satisfied and perhaps, he was intent on continuing the war. This is what the man wishes would end and that in turn, he could end the suffering of his beloved. There’s a flowing beauty in the thought of this verse in how the man talks about the nature of the parched land and the effect of the pouring rains, subtly connecting to the state of his pining lady, parted from him and his hope to end her suffering! As a modern office-goer would say, ‘It’s all in the boss’ hands!’ Here’s wishing our man gets his leave of absence and returns home soon, and ends up pouring as the loving rain upon the parched earth of the lady’s heart!