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In this episode, we perceive the emotions of a lady in distress, as portrayed in Sangam literary work, Natrinai 174, written by an anonymous poet. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’ landscape, the poem speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, responding to the question about her inexplicable sadness.
”கற்றை ஈந்தின் முற்றுக் குலை அன்ன
ஆள் இல் அத்தத் தாள் அம் போந்தைக்
கோளுடை நெடுஞ் சினை ஆண் குரல் விளிப்பின்,
புலி எதிர் வழங்கும் வளி வழங்கு ஆர் இடைச்
சென்ற காதலர் வந்து, இனிது முயங்கி,
பிரியாது ஒரு வழி உறையினும், பெரிது அழிந்து
உயங்கினை, மடந்தை!” என்றி-தோழி!-
அற்றும் ஆகும், அஃது அறியாதோர்க்கே;
வீழாக் கொள்கை வீழ்ந்த கொண்டி
மல்லல் மார்பு மடுத்தனன்
புல்லு மற்று எவனோ அன்பு இலங்கடையே?
The poem welcomes us into the harsh drylands by sketching two different desert trees – one, ‘ஈந்து’ or ‘date palm’ and another, ‘தாள் அம் போந்தை’ or ‘umbrella palm’. Then, we hear the sound of a birdsong in a ‘male voice’, as depicted by ‘ஆண் குரல் விளிப்பின்’. An exquisite alliteration appears with ‘அற்றும் ஆகும், அஃது அறியாதோர்க்கே’ and makes the pithy statement ‘That is so, for those who know not!’ ‘வீழாக் கொள்கை’ talks about ‘upright virtues’ and follows it with ‘வீழ்ந்த’ meaning ‘it has fallen’. Time to explore the up-and-down journey of this poem!
The man had parted away from the lady on a mission, leaving her in a state of pining. In the promised time, he returns back to her. Shortly thereafter, the lady is found to be wallowing in some unsaid sadness. When her confidante queries her about it, the lady says to her, “My friend, you say to me, ’Akin to a wild date palm’s mature fruit bundles, hangs the umbrella palm’s flower clusters in that desolate drylands path, devoid of people. On the long branches of this tree, when a male bird sings, a tiger roars in response. Through such a difficult path, where throngs the hot wind, your man has walked through and returned safe to embrace you. He hasn’t parted away and lives together with you, and yet, why do you suffer confused and troubled, O naive maiden!’ Indeed, that is how it would appear to one who doesn’t know the truth. My man’s upstanding morals have now fallen for he has given his mighty chest to a courtesan. Of what use is his embrace, bereft of love?” With these words, the lady awakens the confidante to the reason for her unexpected sorrow.
One cannot fail to notice that although the poem begins with the mood of a ‘Paalai’ landscape with its theme of separation, as it ends, we see it turning to theme of estrangement in love, often situated in the ‘Marutham’ landscape or ‘agricultural lands’. Now, to understand the hidden metaphors that underline this story. The lady begins in the words of the confidante, who wonders what could be the reason for the lady’s suffering. Yes, the man did part away from the lady and travel to faraway lands, walking through difficult paths where the umbrella palm stands, looking like the date palm and on the branches of this tree, a male bird sings to its mate and a tiger waiting nearby, responds with a frightening growl. We’ll let the confidante finish her speech and then come back to these striking images. She was saying the man had gone through such a difficult path but he has returned and embraced the lady. Besides, he doesn’t seem to have any immediate travel plans, and he lives together with the lady. But, why does the lady still worry thus? We have seen in many other poems that the lady wishes for nothing but this, in the moments of separation. When she has what she wants, then why is her heart filled with unhappiness? Along with the confidante, we too wonder!
The lady shoots back saying that is exactly how it might appear to one who does not know the true state of affairs. She then says that the man who has returned has fallen from his high virtues and has sought the company of a courtesan. Even before she says these words, she has hidden it in the narration of the confidante. The umbrella palm that looks like a date palm is the reference to the man treating the lady and the courtesan as if they were one and the same. The bird singing to its mate and the tiger’s response is an indication that even if the man desires to come home to his mate, the courtesan guards him like a tiger, not letting him out of sight. Narrating this story, the lady ends with dejection, ‘What can an embrace do, when there is no love within?’ In this song filled with suffering, the positive ray is that the lady has taken the first step in opening up her heart to her friend. Let’s wish that this opens the path of peace for the lady for, is there any sorrow that cannot be wiped away by an attentive heart?
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