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In this episode, we perceive the anticipation and joy in reuniting, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 121, written by Oru Sirai Periyanaar. The poem is set in the forest country of ‘Mullai’ and speaks in the voice of a charioteer to his master, expressing positivity and hope about the man’s reunion with the lady.
விதையர் கொன்ற முதையல் பூழி,
இடு முறை நிரப்பிய ஈர் இலை வரகின்
கவைக் கதிர் கறித்த காமர் மடப் பிணை,
அரலை அம் காட்டு இரலையொடு வதியும்
புறவிற்று அம்ம நீ நயந்தோள் ஊரே;
எல்லி விட்டன்று வேந்து எனச் சொல்லுபு
பரியல், வாழ்க நின் கண்ணி! காண் வர
விரி உளைப் பொலிந்த வீங்கு செலல் கலி மா
வண் பரி தயங்க எழீஇ, தண் பெயல்
கான் யாற்று இகு மணல் கரை பிறக்கு ஒழிய,
எல் விருந்து அயரும் மனைவி
மெல் இறைப் பணைத்தோள் துயில் அமர்வோயே.
The poem opens with an intriguing phrase ‘விதையர் கொன்ற முதையல் பூழி’. Knowing ‘கொன்ற’ implies ‘killing’ in current-day lingo, I was wondering if this could be a reference to an animal hunt. The phrase ‘முதையல் பூழி’, for some reason, reminded me of ‘முதுமக்கள் தாழி’, which was an earthen pot used in ancient times to bury elders. However, I learnt that the phrase means something a little different here. ‘விதையர்’ means ‘one who sows’ and is apparently used as a reference to the forest-dwellers. ‘கொன்ற’ turns out to mean not ‘kill’ but ‘farm’. Interesting that the word to rear crops and thereby life, has come to mean, the ending of life! Perhaps, it makes sense in a forest land, where much life is indeed killed to make way for those crops. ‘முதையல் பூழி’ is said to mean ‘ancient dust’. Let’s delve into its significance shortly. ‘வரகு’ or ‘proso millet’ greets us in this verse. Close to the crop, roams a ‘மடப் பிணை’ and ‘இரலை’ meaning ‘a female deer’ and ‘male deer’ respectively. The sweet word ‘நயந்தோள்’ signifies ‘the girl you love’. A ‘proud horse’ trots before our eyes, as we glimpse at ‘கலி மா’. Another flash reveals ‘wife preparing a feast’ in ‘விருந்து அயரும் மனைவி’. Let’s travel onward to understand this dream-like verse.
The man and woman have been in a happy married life when one day, the man’s services are suddenly requested by the king of the land. Perhaps, there’s a war being waged and the man rushes to aid his king, leaving behind his lady. As long as he’s at his mission, he thinks not about the lady but the moment, he’s relieved of his duties, his thoughts turn homeward and understanding his heart, his charioteer says to him, “The dust of the ancient forest is sowed with new seeds by forest dwellers and ploughed in an organised way to render the cool leaves of the ‘varagu’ millets. The naive, young female deer feeds on the bent stalks of the millet and lives with its mate in this forest, filled with wild hemp plants. The town of the lady you live is in this very forest land. Worry not that it was only late last night, our king bid you to leave. Long live your garland! Behold this proud and speedy horse, with a flowing mane. I shall make this strong horse trot fast, and leave behind the rain-soaked, moist mud of the river’s shore, to rush to your wife, who prepares the night’s fine feast, so that you can soon relish sweet slumber in her delicate, bamboo-like arms.” With these words, the charioteer brings positivity to the man’s heart, as it yearns to be one with his lady, far away.
Intricate details about an ancient life are revealed in this verse. First, is that age-old activity of man, who has learnt to bend nature to his will, by clearing forests and sowing seeds. The verse acknowledges the antiquity of earth and calls it, an ancient dust! Even in the arrogance of farming a forest land, there’s humility in acknowledging that the land is ancient. In one line of the verse, we see an old word changing new. Hunter-gatherers, who left the land to lie as it was and agriculturists, who transformed it, to their advantage. The crop, that these forest farmers have sown turns out to be ‘varagu’ or the ‘proso-millet’, domesticated by man, as far as 10,000 BCE and one, that finds a mention in all ancient cultures. And who does the poem say, is feeding on the crop just then? It’s a ‘doe, a deer, a female deer’ as the popular film song goes. Looks like you can make a farm out of a forest, but you can’t keep the forest out of your farm! Travelling further, we learn that the female deer lives with its mate in this forest land, filled with wild hemp plants. All this is to say that the lady’s town is in this forest land. But this description goes beyond mere geography and serves as a metaphor to say that, like the deer feeding on the millets, the man’s wife will relish the riches he brings back from his ancient mission on a war-field and will live happily with the man thereafter.
The charioteer then turns to sing praises of his strong horse, saying that it has the pride of winning the battle and trots with its flowing mane, flying in the wind. It moves at such speed, that the land they pass seems a blur. The moist banks of the river are speedily left behind. But, why the rush? It’s because the man was relieved of his duties by his king only last night and he yearns to be with his lady, the moment his task was done. So, the charioteer promises to make haste and take the man back home by night, to savour the feast prepared by the lady and to relish a rejuvenating rest in her fine arms. In a few lines, an ancient road trip from a war-field to a forest home is brought alive, with the music of a horse’s trot and a man’s heartbeat!
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