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In this episode, we perceive echoes of empathy in the heart of a man, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 312, penned by Kalaarkeeran Eyitriyaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the man to his heart, expressing his worry about the lady, when he parts away.
நோகோ யானே, நோம் என் நெஞ்சே-
”பனிப் புதல் ஈங்கை அம் குழை வருட,
சிறை குவிந்திருந்த பைதல் வெண் குருகு,
பார்வை வேட்டுவன், காழ் களைந்தருள,
மாரி நின்ற, மையல் அற்சிரம்-
யாம் தன் உழையம் ஆகவும், தானே,
எதிர்த்த தித்தி முற்றா முலையள்,
கோடைத் திங்களும் பனிப்போள்-
வாடைப் பெரும் பனிக்கு என்னள்கொல்?” எனவே.
The verse opens with the words ‘நோகோ யானே’, which means ‘I’m worried’, and this is a phrase oft-used in Natrinai poems as the finishing touch and occasionally as the opening bait too. This is followed by ‘நோம் என் நெஞ்சே’, which means ‘my heart that worries’. In addition to the man and his heart in this state of worry, there is also ‘பைதல் வெண் குருகு’ which means ‘a sorrowful white bird’. The phrase ‘பார்வை வேட்டுவன்’ talks about ‘a decoy used by a hunter’, either a toy or a live bird, used to trap other birds. The focus turns to weather in ‘மையல் அற்சிரம்’ which means, ‘confusing cold season’, confusing perhaps it’s a time when day and night is muddled up by the dim skies. ‘கோடைத் திங்களும் பனிப்போள்’ paints a sketch of someone ‘who shivers in cold during the hot, summer season’. Odd, indeed! Ending with ‘வாடைப் பெரும் பனிக்கு என்னள்கொல்’ meaning ‘what will she do, in the immense cold, when northern winds blow’, the verse beckons us to listen with care!
The man and lady had been leading a happy, married life when the man had to part away to gather wealth. On one such day, when his heart is insisting him to leave on his duty, he says to it, “O my heart, you worry that I care not about leaving on my journey! But, I worry and wonder about how even when I was right next to her in the summer season, my lady filled with beauty spots and a young bosom, would shiver, worrying I am about to part. What would she do as dew falls and the frigid, northern winds blow in that cold season, when as rains pour, leaf clusters of the wet acacia bush caresses the bunched wings of a worrying white bird, a decoy, on which the hunter has untied those binding knots.” With these words, the man conveys to his heart the fragility of the lady’s condition and the need to defer the journey to another, appropriate time.
Time to delve into the details. The man first talks to his heart conveying he understands what’s bothering it. The curious custom of treating the heart as another entity is evident in the man’s approach. Perhaps, he does this, to gain perspective. In a thoughtful voice, the man tells his heart that yes, he knows that the heart is worried about his lack of initiative for the journey to seek wealth. Then, he explains the reason for the delay in doing so. He says that he’s worried about the lady, because only the other day, right in the middle of the hot, summer season, even when the man was right next to her, she was shivering in cold, worried that he might leave anytime. He clarifies that the lady is rather a young person, with his references to her spreading beauty spots and an immature bosom. If this naive, young lady, would shudder in summer, what would happen when the rains pour and in the cold season, when the northern winds swirl around and torments separated lovers?
The man illustrates the cold season, by mentioning how this is the season hunters release the threads tying the legs of a live decoy, and this bird, tied for so long, with unused wings, stand near an acacia bush that seems to stroke the bird gently. With such worries plaguing the man, he probably tells his heart that this isn’t the right time to part with the lady. If the lady happens to be listening, she would understand the compassion in the man’s heart for her and when the time comes, she would bear with the parting in the knowledge of this caring thoughts. When narrating the scene involving the hunter’s decoy, the man highlights the lady’s fate to remain tied to the house as he leaves on his journey to gather wealth and hopes her worries will be allayed by the caring words of the confidante akin to that caressing acacia bush. Such was the tortured state of men and women then, but no matter the time, unavoidable separations do arise and the only way to bear with it seems to be the assurance of love and compassion in the heart of each other!
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