Kurunthogai 308 – A journey just for you

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சோலை வாழைச் சுரிநுகும்பு இனைய
அணங்குடை இருந் தலை நீவலின், மதன் அழிந்து,
மயங்குதுயர் உற்ற மையல் வேழம்
உயங்கு உயிர் மடப் பிடி உலைபுறம் தைவர,
ஆம் இழி சிலம்பின் அரிது கண்படுக்கும்
மா மலைநாடன் கேண்மை
காமம் தருவது ஓர் கை தாழ்ந்தன்றே.

‘A mad elephant, now sleeping with its mate gently’ is the striking image in this verse. In the opening words ‘சோலை வாழைச் சுரிநுகும்பு’ meaning ‘the curling leaves of the grove banana trees’, we perceive a mention of those unique leaves that have been used as biodegradable plates by the Tamils for centuries together, as seen in wedding and other festivities in Tamil nadu even today. Returning we next catch up with ‘a confused male elephant’ in ‘மையல் வேழம்’ and its ‘sighing, worried female’ in ‘உயங்கு உயிர் மடப் பிடி’. Ending with the words ‘ஓர் கை தாழ்ந்தன்றே’ meaning ‘now taking part in a task’, the verse invites us to investigate more.

Yet again, the elephants are determined to tell us something significant. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. The lady languishes in his absence and seeing the lady’s state, the confidante says to her, “When curving leaves of the grove plantain are rubbed against its sad, possessed and dark forehead, the agitated male elephant filled with confusion, loses its aggression. As its sad and sighing naive mate sits behind it and strokes, the male elephant finds a rare sleep near the slopes, where water flows down, in the great mountains of the lord, the one, with whom you have a bond. An action that will render what you desire, is what he’s engaged in, now!” With these words, the confidante chides the lady saying that it’s on account of her the man has left and that the lady should not worry and waste away just then.

Sounds like sensible advice from a caring friend! The confidante starts by zooming on to the spreading leaves of the plantain tree and how when this is rubbed on the head of an agitated male elephant, it immediately quietens down. And then, as its good mate caresses its back, it finds that elusive sleep in the lush, water-flowing mountains of the lord. After ending that description of the man’s land, the confidante goes on to say that the man is right now, doing something that is exactly what the lady wants.

Before we understand what the lady wants, let’s spend some time in that mention of banana leaves and mad elephants. Clearly, the male elephant is in a state called ‘musth’, wherein a liquid pours from the temporal glands on the sides of its head and it goes through hormonal changes that causes a disturbance to its usually calm state. This poem mentions how when banana leaves are rubbed against the elephant’s forehead, its aggression comes down. When I researched more about this, I learnt that mahouts, even today, offer banana stalks and leaves to elephants in musth. Also, another connection I found, is that, during this stage, the elephant is recommended to be on a low-calorie diet of banana leaves to bring this difficult state under control. While the confidante seems to leave such a pointed observation about wildlife just to describe the man’s land, there’s more to it! In that the scene of the sleeping male elephant in the company of its female is the promise of the man’s return with the wealth he seeks, to give the lady a happy family life, as reflected by the sleeping giants in the man’s land.

Returning to the question of what the lady wants, in many Sangam poems, when in the midst of trysting, we have seen how the lady yearns for a permanent union with the man and is much troubled on that account. But then the moment he leaves to do just that, she yet again becomes miserable. ‘You want something from another and that person decides to take steps towards it, and now, how can you complain? Isn’t this what you wanted?’. These are the logical questions that rise in our mind and that’s being echoed by the confidante here. It makes me think of how, like the lady in this verse, we too, often, have dreams about something but totally dislike the effort needed to achieve that. It’s like we want to get to the destination without even going on the journey. The moment we learn to accept and love the journey, however hard it may be, every day will render the satisfaction of being at the destination!