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In this episode, we will visit the wisdom engrained in Natrinai Poem 7, written by Nalvelliyaar, set in the ‘Paalai’ landscape or the dry-land region that features separation as its main theme. This poem feels special for this is the first time I’m relishing the work of a female poet of the Sangam Era. Reading the words of this woman from two thousand years ago fills me, a twenty-first century woman with awe and inspiration.
சூருடை நனந் தலைச் சுனை நீர் மல்க,
பெரு வரை அடுக்கத்து அருவி ஆர்ப்ப,
கல் அலைத்து இழிதரும் கடு வரற் கான் யாற்றுக்
கழை மாய் நீத்தம் காடு அலை ஆர்ப்ப,
தழங்கு குரல் ஏறொடு முழங்கி, வானம்
இன்னே பெய்ய மின்னுமால்-தோழி!
வெண்ணெல் அருந்திய வரி நுதல் யானை
தண் நறுஞ் சிலம்பில் துஞ்சும்
சிறியிலைச் சந்தின வாடு பெருங் காட்டே.
Skimming through the poem, I caught references to ‘சுனை நீர்’, which is spring water and ‘அருவி’, a waterfall, ‘அலை’, a wave as well as ‘வானம்’ and ‘மின்னுமால்’, pertaining to the skies and lightning. This made me feel as if I were a leaf floating in a flowing river. Then, there were those references to ‘யானை’ (an elephant) and சந்தின (pertaining to a sandalwood). All these rich references left a doubt I had earlier about the ‘Paalai’ poemsWhy does a dry land theme hold so many references to rains and forest beings? Perhaps because being in a land of little, the mind yearns for more and finds itself in a diametrically opposite world.
After a reading of the explanatory texts, I placed the meaning and context of the verse as thus: At a time when the lady’s love for her man has been revealed to her family, the man is not nearby to proceed with the wedding, for he has left her and gone in search of wealth. However, he has promised to be back in the கார் காலம் or the Rainy season. The lady is feeling desolate. Seeing her despairing face, her female friend and confidante consoles her saying, ‘Look! All those dried up, barren spaces extending so wide, are now filling up with spring water; Hear! The thunderous sounds of waterfalls in the mountain ranges; Behold that raging river rolling down rocks and rushing below, swallowing soaring bamboo stems as it floods. Look up and see that the sky is pouring now, flashing with lightning streaks. Look at all these changes in this dried-up forest with withering leaves of the sandalwood tree, where lives an elephant with many lines on its forehead, that has fed wild rice growing out of bamboos and is now resting in the cool mountain slopes. The skies have changed and soon your loved one will be by your side!
Reflecting on this piece of verse and the context, I see this verse as a glowing expression of hope. Now, the land may be dried up and parched but behold change is on its way. You are sad and desolate but it’s only a matter of time before it all changes, the poem declares in the sweet voice of a friend. To me, this ancient poem felt so similar to the visualisation mind exercises that many modern psychologists recommend. They say, imagine what you want in its perfect detail, as if you have it in your hands; experience it with all your senses and believe it’s in your life and it will be! It’s that same belief that’s echoed in this verse, in the mind images, it paints. Interesting is that reference to the elephant with many lines on its forehead, resting in the cool mountain slopes. Maybe, a subtle pointing out to the wisdom and patience of this gentle giant and a request to the lady to emulate the same, as she lies in wait for her beloved. This verse fills me with so much positivity and I want to leave you with a wish that if ever, unfortunate events intrude on your life, that you will remember to remember this verse and move ahead with that ancient spirit of optimism. Behold the skies of your life’s horizon are changing already…
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