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In this episode, we relish scenes from a mountain jungle, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 192, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the mountain country of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of a man to a lady, as she refuses to accept a tryst with him at night, fearing for his safety.
‘குருதி வேட்கை உரு கெழு வய மான்
வலி மிகு முன்பின் மழ களிறு பார்க்கும்
மரம் பயில் சோலை மலிய, பூழியர்
உருவத் துருவின், நாள் மேயல் ஆரும்
மாரி எண்கின் மலைச் சுர நீள் இடை,
நீ நயந்து வருதல் எவன்?” எனப் பல புலந்து,
அழுதனை உறையும் அம் மா அரிவை!
பயம் கெழு பலவின் கொல்லிக் குட வரைப்
பூதம் புணர்த்த புதிது இயல் பாவை
விரி கதிர் இள வெயில் தோன்றி அன்ன, நின்
ஆய் நலம் உள்ளி வரின், எமக்கு
ஏமம் ஆகும், மலைமுதல் ஆறே.
Opening with ‘குருதி வேட்கை’ or ‘blood thirst’, the poem starts high on intensity. The one with blood thirst turns out to be ‘வய மான்’ or a ‘fierce tiger’. Shortly thereafter, the tiger’s arch-enemy, a young, male elephant appears in ‘மழ களிறு’. In addition to these giants, appear other animals like ‘துரு’ or ‘goat’ and ‘எண்கு’ or ‘bear’. There’s a reference to ‘பலவு’ or ‘jackfruit’ from the Kolli hills region, that’s renowned even today, for its exquisite taste and flavour. A mention of ‘இள வெயில்’ casts the rays of a ‘gentle sunshine’ on this verse. And finally, the word ‘ஏமம்’ brings forth, a feeling of ‘security’. Now, time to turn from mere glimpses to the full picture.
The man and woman have been in a love relationship and the man has been trysting with the lady by night. The lady starts to worry about the dangers in his path during the night. One night, when he comes to visit her, the lady refuses to allow the nightly tryst and speaks of her fears. The man replies to her saying, “A fear-evoking, blood-thirsty, fearsome tiger awaits to attack with force, a young and strong male elephant in the tree-filled orchard. In this orchard, during the day, white goats belonging to the ‘Poozhiyar’ herdsmen graze. You ask me, why I come walking with desire, on this winding path through the mountain forest, where roams a black bear. Thinking of all this, you worry and cry, my beautiful, young girl! In the western range of the Kolli mountains, filled with jackfruit trees, the godly spirits have carved a new statue of a lady, which glows with the diverging rays of a gentle sunshine. Your beautiful form, akin to that statue, appears in my mind and serves as my guard, as I walk on this mountain path!” With these words, the man assures the lady that during the dangerous night, he walks in her memory which fills him with a sense of safety and thereby, pleads to her to worry not and to allow the joy of her company.
Let’s explore the nuances hidden in this mountain verse! Speaking in the words of the lady, the man first summons forth the image of a tiger waiting to attack an elephant in the orchard, where goats graze by during the day, and at night, a bear forages for food. The man relates the lady’s fear as she worries for the man’s safety, sighting such dread-evoking elements in the mountain jungle. In reply, the man says that he walks not alone. But there’s an image in the form of the ‘Kolli goddess’, a statue carved by spirits with such beauty that it spreads the warmth of a kind sunshine even in the dead of the night. And, this image, he elaborates, is the memory of the lady’s glowing form. The man says that the radiant Kolli goddess and the lady are one and the same and as he walks that dangerous path, this image in his mind transforms as his defence against all the dangers in the jungle!
In that initial scene of describing the animals roaming in the jungle, the lady’s words hide a vivid metaphor. The tiger, intent on a hunt, pertains to the man yearning for the lady’s company, who is portrayed as the young elephant here. The reference to grazing goats hints at the lady’s playmates, who accompany her all through the day and most importantly, the bear that roams at night, points to the lady’s mother, who’s about to mount a guard for the lady, owing to her rising suspicions! When I realised that the man is subtly referring to his future mother-in-law as a ‘bear’, I burst out laughing. Hope she gives him a ‘bear hug’ and welcomes him into the family soon. Joking apart, the lady thus weaves not only the obvious, wild dangers in the man’s path but through that natural imagery, also the domestic dangers that she faces in her home. Dispelling all such fears, the man declares with a delicious imagery that he walks in the light of the lady’s image in his mind and this lays to death, the darkness of every obstacle in his path! The verse conjures before me, the concept of ‘Patronus’ in ‘Harry Potter’ series, wherein the deadly dementors are defeated by a light-filled image woven by the mind. Like the man in the verse, wishing you too, one such radiant image that fills you with faith and strength, even in the darkest hour!
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