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In this episode, we perceive an expression of deep confidence, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 343, penned by Eelathu Poothanthevanaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, requesting the lady to consider eloping with the man.
நினையாய் வாழி-தோழி!-நனை கவுள்
அண்ணல் யானை அணி முகம் பாய்ந்தென-
மிகு வலி இரு புலிப் பகுவாய் ஏற்றை-
வெண் கோடு செம் மறுக் கொளீஇய, விடர் முகைக்
கோடை ஒற்றிய கருங் கால் வேங்கை
வாடு பூஞ் சினையின், கிடக்கும்
உயர் வரை நாடனொடு பெயருமாறே.
‘Anyone who opposes will fall in defeat’ claims this verse. In the opening words ‘நினையாய் வாழி தோழி!’ meaning ‘think about it, my friend, may you live long’, the verse illustrates how an advice is blended with a blessing. Yet again, we see the prefix ‘அண்ணல்’ meaning ‘respected’ added to ‘யானை’ or ‘elephant’. The songs we have seen this far, tell us that we are about to be presented with a metaphor involving the man. In addition to that respectable elephant, we also find ‘a huge tiger with immense strength’ in ‘மிகு வலி இரு புலி’. The phrase ‘வெண் கோடு செம் மறுக் கொளீஇய’ meaning ‘making the white tusk covered in red marks’ is a striking image, freezing a fierce battle in a single shot. Representing the kingdom of flora appears ‘கருங் கால் வேங்கை’ or ‘black-stemmed Indian Kino tree’, known for its radiant yellow flowers. Ending with the words ‘உயர் வரை நாடனொடு பெயருமாறே’ meaning ‘to leave with the man from the high mountains’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
What is that the lady must think about and why is she presented with images of a battle between an elephant and a tiger? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and had been trysting together for a while. There came a point when the man realised that there was no other option to protect his relationship with the lady but to elope away with her. He conveys this decision to the confidante and she decides to take it to the lady. To the lady, the confidante says, “Won’t you think about it, my friend? May you live long! Upon the handsome face of a respectable male elephant, whose cheeks are drenched, pounces with its mouth open, a huge male tiger with great strength. Coating that white tusk with red stains, akin to a dark-trunked ‘vengai’ tree’s dead branch with wilting flowers, pushed down by summer winds, lies that male tiger in the soaring mountains of the lord. Do think about leaving with him!” With these words, the confidante nudges the lady to consider eloping with the man and also conveys her strong belief in the man’s ability to protect the lady.
Most of what we heard sounded like a battle in the jungle and how does the confidante weave her message within? Let’s listen intently and try to decipher. She starts by requesting her friend to think about something. But instead of saying what that is, the confidante launches into a lengthy description of the man’s land, where she says an elephant stands with its cheeks drenched, and not just any ordinary elephant but an honourable one. We have some clue about what the ‘honourable’ prefix could imply but what about those drenched cheeks? This implies that the elephant is in ‘musth’, for it is during this specific stage in a bull elephant’s life that we find hormones pouring out of its eyes and other organs, leaving the elephant in a dangerous, aggressive state.
Returning to the confidante’s description, we find her talking about how a strong tiger decides to pounce on this particular elephant’s face. After that dynamic shot, the confidante zooms on to two different images. One, a tusk coated in red, and another, a tiger lying down on the ground, looking like a flower-filled but dead branch of a ‘vengai’ tree. Two images depicting the result of the battle, demonstrating that elevated art style of showing instead of telling things. Such is the man’s mountains, the confidante says, and concludes by revealing that she has asked the lady to think about leaving with him.
What a curious instance of a friend insisting upon elopement! Not so surprising because eloping in the Sangam times was considered an accepted practice to protect the chastity of the lady’s love relationship with a man and to prevent her from being married to strangers. Reversing to that scene of the tiger pouncing on the elephant and lying defeated, we learn that it’s a metaphor for what would happen to opponents, who come in the man’s way. The confidante believes like how the elephant remains unscathed but for the blood stains on its tusk, similarly, the man too would be able to deflect anyone who opposes him, and thus take the lady to safety. With such a complimenting spotlight on the man, the confidante imprints that leaving with the man is the right path for the lady. In many ways, this verse of few lines, seems to me, like a well-made short film, with striking shots subtly conveying significant thoughts!
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