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In this episode, we relish the rich natural imagery that reflects inner landscape, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 249, penned by Ulochanaar. The verse is set in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’ and speaks in the voice of the lady, expressing her angst as the man has not returned from his mission to gather wealth.
இரும்பின் அன்ன கருங் கோட்டுப் புன்னை
நீலத்து அன்ன பாசிலை அகம்தொறும்,
வெள்ளி அன்ன விளங்கு இணர் நாப்பண்
பொன்னின் அன்ன நறுந் தாது உதிர,
புலிப் பொறிக் கொண்ட பூ நாறு குரூஉச் சுவல்
வரி வண்டு ஊதலின், புலி செத்து வெரீஇ,
பரியுடை வயங்கு தாள் பந்தின் தாவத்
தாங்கவும் தகை வரை நில்லா ஆங்கண்,
மல்லல்அம் சேரி கல்லெனத் தோன்றி,
அம்பல் மூதூர் அலர் எழ,
சென்றது அன்றோ, கொண்கன் தேரே?
The verse opens with ‘இரும்பின் அன்ன’ meaning ‘akin to iron’ revealing the acquaintance of Sangam people with this metal. As poetry goes, these words are not to present some historical data, but to present iron in parallel with ‘கருங் கோட்டுப் புன்னை’ or ‘the black trunk of a laurelwood tree’. The phrase ‘நீலத்து அன்ன பாசிலை’ meaning ‘fresh leaves akin to the blue hue’ troubles us with its confusion of blue and green. We have seen many instances of Sangam poetry, wherein a lady’s hair is compared to the blue of sapphires. Could it be that these ancients tended to call anything with a rich, dark shade, be it black or green, as blue? Or could the meanings of these words have changed markedly over the years? Or is it a sign of colour blindness, as one will be certified today for mixing up the blues and greens? Moving on, we get to glance at ‘வெள்ளி’ or ‘silver’ and ‘பொன்னின்’ or ‘gold’ too. A song that would delight a miner, no doubt! Two phrases illustrate the life in that land vividly and these are ‘புலிப் பொறி’ meaning ‘tiger stripes’ and ‘வரி வண்டு’ meaning ‘lines of bees’. ‘பரியுடை’ refers to a horse and ‘மல்லல்அம் சேரி’ talks about a ‘town of abundance’. Further, this town is also described as ‘அம்பல் மூதூர்’ meaning ‘an ancient town filled with slander’. On a note of wistfulness, the verse ends, as marked by the words ‘சென்றது அன்றோ, கொண்கன் தேரே’ meaning ‘didn’t the lord’s chariot part away?’. Let’s go beyond glimpses to perceive the full picture!
The man and lady had been in a love relationship when the man left the lady to gather wealth for their wedding. Days pass by and the man still has not returned, making the lady pine away. One day, the lady says, “On the ‘punnai’ tree with a black stem akin to iron, decked all over with fresh leaves akin to blue gems, bloomed flowers looking like silver and in the middle of these white flowers, glowed fine pollen akin to gold. As this golden pollen spread and fell on the sands, it looked like the stripes on a tiger’s back and sent out the flower’s fragrance in the air. Lured, bees rested on this pollen and sucked honey. As the bees buzzed, mistaking this sound to be a tiger’s roar, the legs of the chariot horses leaped up like a ball. Heeding not the restraining hold, the horses ran into our plentiful hamlet with an uproarious noise. After making this slanderous, old town rise with gossip, didn’t the lord’s chariot then leave away?” With these words, the lady gives word to the suffering in her situation as she bears the slanderous words of the town and awaits the man’s return.
Now, for the deeper details! The lady paints a scene from the past to communicate the pain in her present. In an exquisite series of similes, the lady captures the scene vividly. First, she sketches the black trunk of the ‘punnai’ tree and in case we have never seen one, she says that it’s looks like iron. From the trunk, the lady makes our eyes climb up the branches and behold the fresh leaves of the tree, which are said to be akin to the blue of gems. Let’s come back to this reference in a little while. From the leaves, the lady shifts our attention to the white flowers blooming there and she describes the hue of these flowers as silver. Then, zooming into the flowers, she makes us pause at the fine dots of pollen shining there and this she calls as gold. Now, note how three different, well-known, native metals such as iron, gold and silver are presented here. This makes me wonder whether the word ‘neelam’ used in between as a simile for the colour of the leaves could be another such metal, that was used then. For now, we have to leave this question to be answered by archaeologists in the future!
Returning to the verse and unfreezing the capture of that golden pollen, we see this pollen breaking free from the flowers and flying in the air. Their destination is revealed by the appearance of yellow on the sands beneath. As they lie there, they send out a rich fragrance and drawn by that whiff in the air, the bees line up on the pollen and gather honey. These lines of bees on the sands give an appearance of a tiger’s stripes. Added to this, the bees buzz loudly, sounding almost like the roar of a tiger. No wonder the passing horses are startled by this sight and sound that they leap up and rush madly into the lady’s town. We should note these are not some stray horses but those that are tied to the lord’s chariot. As the chariot rushed wildly through that town, it made the townspeople gape in wonder, which later led to their tongues to wag in slanderous rumours about the lady’s relationship with the man. The lady goes back to this moment in time and thinks about how she last saw the man then! By reflecting on a past moment, the lady gives vent to her feelings of yearning and perhaps wishes the man to gather the gold and silver she mentions and return to wipe the slanderous talk of the town by claiming her hand in marriage. A song that goes to show that expression is the first step in the resolution of inner suffering!
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