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In this episode, we perceive the art of persuasion aided by metaphors from the wild, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 325, penned by Madurai Kaarulaviyan Koothanaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, requesting him to give up his intention to part away from the lady.
கவிதலை எண்கின் பரூஉ மயிர் ஏற்றை
இரை தேர் வேட்கையின் இரவில் போகி,
நீடு செயல் சிதலைத் தோடு புனைந்து எடுத்த
அர வாழ் புற்றம் ஒழிய, ஒய்யென
முர வாய் வள் உகிர் இடப்ப வாங்கும்,
ஊக்கு அருங் கவலை நீந்தி, மற்று-இவள்
பூப்போல் உண்கண் புது நலம் சிதைய,
வீங்கு நீர் வாரக் கண்டும்,
தகுமோ?-பெரும!-தவிர்க நும் செலவே.
Opening with the words ‘கவிதலை எண்கின் பரூஉ மயிர் ஏற்றை’ meaning ‘A thick-haired male bear with its bent head’ conjures for us the image of a bear prowling about, its head low. The phrase ‘இரை தேர் வேட்கை’ clarifies the bear is on and about ‘with a wish to search for food’. ‘சிதலைத் தோடு’ talks about ‘a swarm of termites’ and ‘அர வாழ் புற்றம்’, their mounds, where snakes take to living, as we have already encountered in Natrinai 125. When we see the words ‘வீங்கு நீர் வாரக் கண்டும்’ meaning ‘even after seeing copious tears’ talks about the reaction of someone to another in a deep sorrow. The verse ends with ‘தவிர்க நும் செலவே’, presenting the crystal clear words ‘avoid your journey’ in a direct manner!
The man and lady had been in a happy, married life, when the man felt compelled to part with the lady in search of wealth. Thinking the lady would be unable to bear if he were to tell her directly, the man confides his intention to the confidante. Hearing his words, she replies saying, “Urged by its desire for prey, the thick-furred male of a bear, roams at night, its head bent low. Reaching snake-dwelling mounds built by termite swarms over a long time, the bear quickly breaks the curved top with its sharp claws and sucks out the termites within. Such is the dangerous and difficult-to-cross path and you intend to traverse them. Leaving her flower-like, kohl-streaked eyes to pour copious tears, ruining her new beauty, is it right that you part away, O lord? Please defer your journey!” With these words, the confidante citing the ruin it would bring upon the lady, urges the man to give up his intention to part away to seek wealth.
Time to delve into the details! The confidante starts by taking us to a jungle at night and before us, looms the image of a bear. Its thick, unkempt hair is pointed out to us as well as the way it walks stealthily with its head bent. What’s on the bear’s mind? Food, what else, asks the confidante! The bear then nears a termite mound and almost in a philosophical tone, the confidante says that this has not been raised in a day but has taken ages for the termites to build, along with their kith and kin. With search engines on our side in this modern age, we can put a number to the mentioned ‘long time’! I learnt that termites take four to five years to build their mounds and indeed that’s labour for long. Returning to the verse, so sturdy these mounds are, that even snakes seem to prefer the same as their abode. But snakes or not, our bear is no way shaken off its desire to feed on these termites. After nearing the mound, the bear gets to work, breaking the top of the mound with its sharp claws and then, as we have seen in another poem, the bear perhaps sucks out the termites for its meal. The confidante has brought in this entire scene from the jungle only to say that the man will have to pass through such dangerous paths in his journey to seek wealth.
From where the man would go, the confidante turns to what would happen to the lady when the man indeed parts away. She talks about how the flower-like, kohl eyes of the lady will shower a downpour of tears and how all this will ruin her new beauty. She finally asks the man how he could leave the lady in such a state and tells him point blank to give up the journey. Rewinding to that jungle scene, we find that the description of a bear destroying a termite mound that has been raised after a long time is a metaphor for how the man with his intention to seek wealth, is destroying the happy, married life that the man and lady, have built after much struggle, highlighting how this will bring ruin to the lady’s health and beauty. A verse that once again echoes not only the fragility of a woman, as perceived by these ancients, but also, the thoughtfulness of a man in considering the happiness of his beloved!
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