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In this episode, we relish an alluring scene in nature as an instance of a person’s determination, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 213, penned by Kachipettu Kaanji Kotranaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, in response to the lady’s worry that the man would return halfway from his mission.
நசை நன்கு உடையர்-தோழி!-ஞெரேரெனக்
கவைத் தலை முது கலை காலின் ஒற்றிப்
பசிப் பிணிக்கு இறைஞ்சிய பரூஉப் பெருந் ததரல்
ஒழியின் உண்டு, வழு இல் நெஞ்சின்
தெறித்து நடை மரபின் தன் மறிக்கு நிழல் ஆகி,
நின்று வெயில் கழிக்கும் என்ப-நம்
இன் துயில் முனிநர் சென்ற ஆறே.
‘His sense of duty will keep him on this path’ comforts a voice in this verse! The opening words ‘நசை நன்கு உடையர்’ meaning ‘he has great love’ sketches one dimension of the man’s character. In these words that frolic with a sense of rhythm, ‘கவைத் தலை முது கலை’ meaning ‘mature male deer with antlers’, the hero-counterpart in wildlife makes an appearance. ‘பரூஉப் பெருந் ததரல்’ meaning ‘thick, huge tree bark’ marks the favourite food of the deer. The phrase ‘தன் மறிக்கு நிழல் ஆகி’ meaning ‘becoming the shade for its young one’ paints a touching scene depicting parental love. Ending with the words ‘இன் துயில் முனிநர் சென்ற ஆறே’ meaning ‘the path that the man who disliked sweet sleep treads’, the verse welcomes us to know more.
Love, duty and sacrifice brims over from this verse. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life when the man parted away on a mission. After a while, the lady starts to worry if the man will return without completing his mission just because he worries about her health and happiness. To the worried lady, the confidante says, “He is filled with love, indeed, my friend! A mature, male deer with antlers kicks rapidly with its legs to break the low-lying fleshy tree bark to end the hunger pangs of its young one and eats only what is leftover. Becoming the shade for its little one, which has a guileless heart and a hopping gait, the male deer slays the rays of the harsh sun from harming its young one. So they say about the path on which the man, who has cast aside his sweet sleep with you, walks on.” With these words, the confidante assures the lady that the man will keep to his path and return only when he completes what he set out to do.
What do loving papa deers have to do with the man’s determination? Let’s find out. The confidante replies to her friend by saying, ‘Of course, the man has immense love for you’. Let’s pause for a moment here and relish the significance of these words. If the confidante was a thoughtless person, she could have said, ‘What love for you? He abandoned you and went thinking only his mission was important.’ But she doesn’t. The first thing that she does is to validate the lady’s fear, by saying, ‘Indeed, as you say, the man has a lot of love for you’. That’s half the battle won, right there! After assuring the lady thus, the confidante continues by saying to the lady that the conclusion she has arrived at, is wrong, however. And it is how the lady’s wrong about the man that we get a visual treat in David Attenborough style!
The camera zooms on to the legs of a deer that’s swiftly and strategically kicking a tree bark at the lower portions of a tree trunk. From the legs of the deer, the focus moves upwards and we see that it’s a handsome male deer, decked with its crown of branching antlers. A deer going about its business as usual, you may say. But, in a whisper, the confidante turns our attention to the deer’s fawn nearby. Tearing the bark of the said tree, the male deer hands it over to the kid, who eats as much as it can and then whatever it has left there, the male deer eats up. Pappa and kiddo deer are then shown in a different scene, where the father is walking along and standing as the shade for the hopping little one with an innocent heart, so as to protect its sensitive skin from the harsh rays of the sun in the drylands path. Finally, the confidante connects this scene back to the man saying this is exactly where he’s walking, and concludes by mentioning he is the one, who seem to have abandoned sweet sleep with his beloved!
Predicting that the man will see this scene, the confidante implies that he will then understand that his foremost duty was to earn wealth and protect his wife and children, and also to give to those who come seeking to him. So, no matter how he suffers because of his love for the lady, like the male deer that accepts the sun’s harsh rays on its skin to shield its young one, the man too will persevere and complete his mission of earning wealth. In essence, the confidante says that the man will find his inspiration from this scene in nature. It makes me ponder with awe about how many answers to our life dilemmas, we’d find, if only we open our eyes to the world!
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