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In this episode, we relish a sensory experience involving flowers in the rain, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 168, penned by Siraikudi Aanthaiyaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the man to his heart, in response to its insistence that he part away from the lady in search of wealth.
மாரிப் பித்திகத்து நீர் வார் கொழு முகை
இரும் பனம் பசுங்குடைப் பலவுடன் பொதிந்து
பெரும் பெயல் விடியல் விரித்து விட்டன்ன,
நறும் தண்ணியளே நல் மா மேனி,
புனல் புணை அன்ன சாய் இறைப் பணைத்தோள்
மணத்தலும் தணத்தலும் இலமே,
பிரியின் வாழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே.
‘Fragrances in the rain’ swirl around here. The opening words ‘மாரிப் பித்திகத்து நீர் வார் கொழு முகை’ meaning ‘rain-soaked fleshy buds of the rainy season’s wild jasmine’ conjure before our eyes, the pleasing sight of flower blossoms shining with raindrops. In ‘இரும் பனம் பசுங்குடை’ meaning ‘huge, green vessel made of palm fronds’, we see the prevalence of eco-friendly containers. No cardboard and no plastic! Just humans creating objects from nature for their use. Next, ‘பெரும் பெயல் விடியல்’ talks about ‘a morning after a heavy downpour’. This is followed by descriptions of the lady in ‘நறும் தண்ணியளே’ meaning ‘the fragrant and cool one’ as well as ‘புனல் புணை அன்ன சாய் இறைப் பணைத்தோள்’ meaning ‘bamboo-like arms akin to a raft on a river’. Ending with the words ‘பிரியின் வாழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே’ meaning ‘if I were to part, to live is more impossible’, the verse hints at a decision made and welcomes us to know more.
Flowers and fragrances seem to show the path to the man. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life when the man found himself in a situation to part away from her to gather wealth. To his heart, which was telling him to leave, the man says, “Many of the rainy season’s rain-dripping thick buds of wild jasmine are kept enclosed in a huge box made of palm fronds. When these are opened on the morning after a heavy downpour, a moist fragrance spreads. Akin to that is the cool and fragrant, fine, dark skin of the lady. Like a raft on a river, with curves is her bamboo-like arms. If I were to embrace that, it’s impossible to break away. If I were to part, to live is even more impossible.” With these words, the man firmly declares that he has decided against parting with the lady to go in search of wealth.
Time to explore nuances here. The man calls our attention to the flowers blooming in the rainy season and points to round buds of wild jasmine. Flower-pickers have taken these buds off their stems and placed a lot of these in a big bowl, which is made of palm fronds, and enclosed it. The next morning, after a night of rains, when this box is opened, the buds would have bloomed and a delicious fragrance would spread through the house. Imagine how the moistness in the air and the fragrance of the flower will join hands and spread ecstasy! That’s the very feeling I get, from her dark, cool and fragrant skin, the man says. Then, moving on to another simile, he talks about a raft on a river. The curves and bends of this raft the man sees in his lady’s bamboo-like arms. That’s a double simile for the lady’s arms! After describing the lady so, the man declares once I embrace her, it’s impossible to separate. But, what’s even more impossible is to live after parting from her, the man concludes.
Here, it’s a victory for youth, in its perpetual battle with wealth. The man decides in favour of being with his beloved rather than leaving in search of wealth. His reasons are from the heart and there’s no hesitation in deciding in favour of love. A person facing the same dilemma today cannot get away with such reasons, I suspect. Somehow, the value we place on love seems to have diminished in the overpowering dominance of a material world. And so, it’s pleasant to travel to and reflect on a world where such feelings were valid and welcomed and also, to savour that delicious scent of a newly opened box of wild jasmines on a rainy morning!
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