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In this episode, we perceive a thoughtful consolation as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 180, penned by Kachipettu Nannaakaiyaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, expressing the man’s difficult path in his quest for wealth and concealing an assurance within.
பழூஉப் பல் அன்ன பரு உகிர்ப் பா அடி
இருங் களிற்று இன நிரை ஏந்தல் வரின், மாய்ந்து,
அறை மடி கரும்பின் கண் இடை அன்ன
பைதல் ஒரு கழை நீடிய சுரன் இறந்து,
எய்தினர் கொல்லோ பொருளே-அல்குல்
அவ் வரி வாடத் துறந்தோர்
வன்பர் ஆகத் தாம் சென்ற நாட்டே?
‘So hard is his path’ is the central thought of this verse. The opening words ‘பழூஉப் பல்’ meaning ‘ghost’s teeth’ indicate the belief in supernatural elements and their fear-evoking appearance. In ‘இருங் களிற்று இன நிரை ஏந்தல்’, we stand face to face with ‘the head of a huge elephant herd’. ‘அறை மடி கரும்பின்’ then talks about ‘the sugarcanes perishing in the field’ – The reason why, we will explore shortly. Thereafter, the spotlight falls on ‘a sad and single bamboo’ in ‘பைதல் ஒரு கழை’. Ending with the words ‘வன்பர் ஆகத் தாம் சென்ற நாட்டே’ meaning ‘in the land he went to, with a hard heart’, the verse welcomes us to know more.
On one side, there are ghosts and elephants, and on the other, sugarcane and bamboo! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life when the man parted with her to go in search of wealth. The lady languished in his absence. To the lady, the confidante says, “Akin to a ghost’s teeth, are the huge nails on the wide feet of the leader of an elephant herd. If that leader were to enter a sugarcane field, after the entire herd has passed along, amidst the slashed canes, just a single one may be left standing. Akin to that is a suffering-filled bamboo in the extending drylands path, to which the man has departed. He, the one with a hard heart to leave, making the beautiful lines on your loins fade. Has he gained the wealth he sought in the land he went to?” With these words, the confidante assures the lady that the man will return to her as soon as his task of gaining wealth is complete.
Time to explore the nuances. The confidante starts by talking about a ghost’s teeth only to place it in parallel to an elephant’s nails on its huge feet. Next, she zooms upwards to describe the identity of the particular elephant as the head of the herd of elephants. Continuing to follow the activities of this chief elephant and its herd, we enter a sugarcane field. After the giant group passes this field, the cane stalks fall under the force of their feet. But, somewhere, a single sugarcane stands up, although in a stressed state. Just like this, only a single bamboo shoot has survived in the sweltering heat of the drylands, and there the man goes, the confidante connects back. Then she wonders aloud if the man has gained the wealth he went in search of, leaving the lady in loneliness with the hard heart that it takes for such an endeavour.
Although it’s a wondering question that the confidante puts forward, she knows the answer to that. The man has still not gained what he meant to attain and once he does, he would return back to the lady. This message the confidante conceals in the image of that single standing bamboo and the single sugarcane standing up after an elephant stampede. Like the surviving stalks, the man too will return, no matter the dangers of his mission in the drylands. And so, in this imagery-filled verse, the empowering central thought is that of a survivor amidst great hardship and that is beckoned to bring strength to a sorrowful heart!
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