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In this episode, we perceive the pain of separation, portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 157, penned by Ilavettanaar. The verse is set in the ‘Paalai’ landscape or the drylands and speaks in the voice of a man to his heart, when he’s away from the lady on a mission, as he realises that the time of his promised return is near.
இருங் கண் ஞாலத்து ஈண்டு தொழில் உதவிப்
பெரும் பெயல் பொழிந்த வழி நாள் அமையத்து,
பல் பொறி அரவின் செல் புறம் கடுப்ப
யாற்று அறல் நுணங்கிய நாட் பத வேனில்,
இணர் துதை மாஅத்த புணர் குயில் விளித்தொறும்,
நம்வயின் நினையும் நெஞ்சமொடு, கைம்மிகக்
கேட்டொறும் கலுழுமால் பெரிதே-காட்ட
குறும் பொறை அயல நெடுந் தாள் வேங்கை
அம் பூந் தாது உக்கன்ன
நுண் பல் தித்தி மாஅயோளே.
Opening with ‘இருங் கண் ஞாலத்து’ meaning ‘this world that spreads wide’, the poem then goes on to talk about the hidden, little things within. But before that, there’s talk of ‘பெரும் பெயல்’ or ‘a great downpour’ and a curious word ‘வழி நாள்’ meaning ‘succeeding day’. There’s a slithering ‘snake’ in ‘அரவம்’ and a flowing river in ‘யாற்று அறல்’. The phrase ‘நாட் பத வேனில்’ meaning ‘fresh spring season’, paints images of a flourishing day in early spring. A cuckoo bird seems to call out with dulcet tones in ‘குயில் விளி’. A face flowing with tears flashes before us in ‘கலுழுமால்’, revealing the pain hidden in the heart of the ‘மாஅயோள்’ or ‘dark-skinned girl’. Let’s listen intently to make meaning out of these poignant images.
The man and lady have been in a married relationship when the time comes for the man to leave her on a mission to seek wealth. The man is in a far-away land, intent on his task, when one day with sadness, he turns to his heart and says, “In this wide earth, making life and work flourish, pours the great rains. In the days that succeed those rains, like a many-spotted snake’s back, the river flows gently with swaying waves, announcing that it’s spring, the season of freshness. Perched on the mango tree with clusters of flowers, the mating ‘koel’ sings aloud. Whenever my lady hears this song, her heart would think of me and she would shed copious tears, filled with immense suffering. My dark-skinned lady, dotted with pallor spots of parting, that look like fine pollen shed by the thick-trunked ‘vengai’ tree, standing near a mountain cave in the jungle.” With these words, the man reveals that the time he said he would return to the lady had already arrived and just then he thinks about his lady, suffering with the pain of being apart.
Now, for the little things in this wide world! So many poets celebrate rain as the provider of life and Sangam poets do more so. Here, rain is referred to as one who makes all work possible. No matter if it’s a heavy downpour from the skies that rocks the land beneath, the hidden importance of rains filling the earth with all that it needs is understood deeply. The man tells us that days following those heavy rains have come by, mentioning that the season of spring had come to greet the land. The rivers are mellow and flow in a gentle manner akin to the sliding movement of a snake with many spots. When spring arrives, it paints mango trees with flower clusters, making a promise that in a month or two, those clusters will bear fruit. A promise that’s heard by birds which see that’s the right season to bring their progeny into the world. One such bird, the ‘koel’ sings to its mate in its hour of bliss. Perhaps, the man heard one such song in the air and was moved by it. This feeling makes him think that his lady too, may have heard such a song by another ‘koel’ and in his mind’s eye, sees her shedding tears, at the thought of being apart from him.
Such is the power of a heart in love that it can see a beloved beyond the miles and even see the changes that has come upon them. The man mentions that this separation has been hard on his lady and has brought forth yellowish spots of pallor on her lustrous, dark skin. He then makes us visualise it by placing it in parallel to the fine pollen that fall from the ‘vengai’ tree on the hard, black ground near a mountain cave. The reference to the tiny spots on the snake’s skin and the pallor spots on the lady serve to highlight that though great may be his task of seeking wealth, little spots of pain do dot his heart, as he struggles to complete his mission. A song that tells us to pause and pay attention to those little feelings within as we stride through this wide world, doing our duties, great and small.
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