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In this episode, we relish the scenes from the wild that unfold in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 92, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the drylands of the ‘Paalai’ landscape, the poem speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, talking about the man who has parted away.
உள்ளார் கொல்லோ தோழி, துணையொடு
வேனில் ஓதி பாடு நடை வழலை
வரி மரல் நுகும்பின் வாடி, அவண
வறன் பொருந்து குன்றத்து உச்சி கவாஅன்
வேட்டச் சீறூர் அகன் கண் கேணிப்
பய நிரைக்கு எடுத்த மணி நீர்ப் பத்தர்,
புன்தலை மடப் பிடி கன்றோடு ஆர,
வில் கடிந்து ஊட்டின பெயரும்
கொல் களிற்று ஒருத்தல் சுரன் இறந்தோரே?
A quaint, little song that’s in one part, an emotional drama and another part, a wildlife documentary. We meet and greet with ‘ஓதி’ representing ‘ஓந்தி’, a chameleon and its ‘துணை’, the mate. Then, there’s the ‘கொல் களிற்று ஒருத்தல்’ meaning ‘a killer, male elephant’ as well as its mate, ‘பிடி‘, the female elephant! As if desiring not to make the plant world envious of all this attention to animals, there’s mention of ‘வரி மரல்’ or ‘bowstring hemp’. Right now, two of these plants are smiling before me, for this is a house plant that many of us grow fondly today, going by the interesting name of ‘mother-in-law’s tongue’.
Taking in the wild life of the land, let’s move on to understand the inner life of the man and the lady. After a period of marital bliss, the man parts away from the lady to go in search of wealth. The lady starts pining for him and is grief-stricken. One day, the confidante seeing her fading health, tells her, “In your man’s path through the drylands, there’s a chameleon along with its mate, rustling about in the harsh summer, with a troubled gait and looking like the striped hemp plant’s tender leaves. There, near the dry mountain slope, is a hunters hamlet. In that little village, there’s a wide mouthed well, a pit holding sapphire-like water for the villagers’ useful cows. To that spot, strides a killer ,bull elephant and tears apart the traps laid by the hunters, to help its mate and calf feed on the water. Even after seeing all this, won’t he think about you, my friend?” With these words, the confidante intends to convey to the lady that the man is one of a harsh heart as he does not think of the lady back home and come to her, even after witnessing these scenes of animal affection in his journey.
Let’s delve in deeper to understand the intention behind the confidante’s words. But first, for some wild life action! The scorching heat of peak summer bakes the land. On this path, a chameleon seems to be writhing on the ground. The way it moves its legs gingerly would make one think it’s having trouble moving and that’s why it’s referred to as one with a ‘troubled gait’. Then comes an exquisite simile for the skin of this chameleon. It’s described as looking like the tender leaves of the striped hemp plant. You will be astonished to see what an authentic representation this is, if you search for images of a chameleon, especially the ones found in South India and compare that with the bowstring hemp’s patterns. This stands testimony to the Sangam poets’ wide knowledge of the natural world. Taking our eyes off this particular chameleon, we notice that it’s not alone. There’s a mate, ambling about, along with it. Let’s hold that image for a while and turn to another scene nearby. Along the dry mountain slope, there’s a hunter’s village and although they are hunters, they have their cows too. To quench the thirst of these cows in the dry summer, pits have been dug and it seems to be filled with crystal clear water. Now, the hunters don’t want their water being finished off by other creatures. So, they lay traps near the mouth of the well. Their tactics fall flat before the powerful, male elephant, that marches there with its little mate and calf and destroys those traps, thereby making its family quench their thirst. Be it that little chameleon or that giant elephant, these males seem to so care for their mates!
When the lady is pining for her man, isn’t the confidante rather cruel to be saying that he doesn’t care for her? What kind of friend is she? Before we start to cast such aspersions on this friend, we must understand that her intention is to rouse the lady from her grief. So, sometimes she uses soft words but in other times, she goes for the surgeon’s knife! Here when she says such words, the lady will snap out of her grief and declare, “Nay! My man does care for me. He’s away only to earn wealth for our well-being. He will soon be back with me.” That is the thing that the confidante desires to bring out. Like the loyal mate she is, the lady will rise to the defence of the man and thereby, will gather the strength to bear this separation. So we part, marvelling at the ingenuity of the confidante who, by bringing forth scenes of love from the natural world, makes the fountain of loyalty spurt and water the drylands of the lady’s sorrow!
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