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In this episode, we empathise with the dilemma depicted in Sangam literary work, Natrinai 62, written by Ilangkeeranaar. The verse is set in the ‘Paalai’ landscape or the drylands and dwells on the theme of separation. It speaks in the voice of a man to his heart, recollecting a past bitter-sweet moment in his journey.
வேர் பிணி வெதிரத்துக் கால் பொரு நரல் இசை
கந்து பிணி யானை அயர் உயிர்த்தன்ன
என்றூழ் நீடிய வேய் பயில் அழுவத்து,
குன்று ஊர் மதியம் நோக்கி, நின்று, நினைந்து,
உள்ளினென் அல்லெனோ யானே-”முள் எயிற்று,
திலகம் தைஇய தேம் கமழ் திரு நுதல்,
எமதும் உண்டு, ஓர் மதிநாட் திங்கள்,
உரறு குரல் வெவ் வளி எடுப்ப, நிழல் தப
உலவை ஆகிய மரத்த
கல் பிறங்கு உயர் மலை உம்பரஃது” எனவே.
Soaring bamboos dance before our eyes for we have not one but two words meaning ‘bamboo’ in this verse – ‘வெதிரம்’ and ‘வேய்’. And that’s not the only dual representation of a word for we have both ‘மதியம்’ and ‘திங்கள்’ meaning the ‘moon’. Not to forget the two different words for ‘wind’ too as in ‘கால்’ and ‘வளி’. In such a short verse, why would the poet use two different words to refer to the same object? To show his verbal prowess? Or is it something deeper? Let’s touch on that, in a while. Incidentally, the word ‘மதியம்’, we just saw representing ‘moon’ is the frequently-used word for ‘noon’ today. Meaning ‘moon’ and ‘noon’, the word seems to quite the musical magician! There’s ‘இசை’ meaning ‘music/sound’ and ‘கமழ்’ meaning fragrant and thus, this poem promises to be a delight for the senses.
Moving on from the outer senses, we see the man talking to his heart, which has been propelling him to go in search of wealth. Thinking back to a time when he left to gather wealth, he tells his heart, “The sound that arises when the wind brushes against the bamboo stalks with tangled roots is like the sigh of an elephant tied to a post. When I was walking through such a bamboo-filled dryland path, where summer is forever, I caught sight of the moon crawling over the mountains. I paused my walk and thought, didn’t I? I thought to myself, ‘I have a moon of my own too, one with teeth like thorns, and a forehead, fragrant with the scent of honey, adorned with an auspicious mark. It’s an all-day moon! A moon that lives beyond the tall mountain, filled with rocks, where a roaring, hot wind blows and dries up the trees, leaving not a drop of shade!’” With these words, the man brings before our eyes, the lonely dreariness in his path and his memories of his lady, so far away from him. Saying these words to his heart, he decides not to tread that sad path again.
Exploring the deeper layers of this poem, we unearth fascinating facets of life. Let’s start at the bottom at those tangled roots of the bamboo. Thanks to this reference, I learnt about two different types of bamboo formation – the clumping bamboo and the running bamboo. The first one has mangled, unkempt roots that grow up in clumps and other has a neat, straight root tip that runs horizontally under the ground, from which stems keep rising up at regular intervals. Thus, the bamboo stalk we see shoot up above the surface is not an individual plant but all those stalks arise from the same mother root. Perhaps, this understanding yields the expression ‘bamboos with tangled roots’. By sticking together, these bamboo stalks are able to manage even that dreary heat of the drylands. And what a beautiful connection between the sound of the wind grazing against these bamboos and the sigh of an elephant tied to a post! This simile makes us pause and catch a glimpse of the man sighing in the memory of his loved one. As he’s walking, he sees the moon over the mountains and he thinks to himself about the moon of his life, his lady with a fragrant forehead, with a smell of all things sweet. Then, he remembers that his moon lives far away, beyond the hill, with dried up trees and a wind that steals the leaves and leaves the land without any shade. With these words, he brings before our eyes what a hard path he had to cross. At the same time, these words also serve as a metaphor to denote the pining in the lady, parted away from her man. It’s a bitter-sweet moment for him, as he remembers his loved one and takes comfort in that memory but at the same time, realises how far away she is and takes in the loneliness of his path. A recollection of that moment now makes him decide not to go through the same pain of parting again!
Arriving at the core of the poem, we meet the question that arose in the beginning. About the usage of two different words for the same object, in multiple instances! And this is no verbal bragging, for at the core, we see two moons – the one blazing over the dry path ahead and the one at home, the man’s own! It’s this duality that the poet has subtly sprinkled all through the poem. A verbal illustration of how the human heart sees the same thing as something entirely different at different times!
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