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In this episode, we listen to words spoken to a jasmine bush, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 242, penned about the local leader Ollaiyoor Kizhaan Magan Perunchaathan by the poet Kudavayil Keerathanaar. The verse is situated in the category of ‘Pothuviyal Thinai’ or ‘Common Themes’ and sketches the mood of sorrow that spreads in a town.
இளையோர் சூடார்; வளையோர் கொய்யார்;
நல் யாழ் மருப்பின் மெல்ல வாங்கி,
பாணன் சூடான்; பாடினி அணியாள்;
ஆண்மை தோன்ற ஆடவர்க் கடந்த
வல் வேல் சாத்தன் மாய்ந்த பின்றை
முல்லையும் பூத்தியோ, ஒல்லையூர் நாட்டே?
Through this verse, we get to meet Perunchaathan, the local leader of a Sangam town called Ollaiyoor. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:
“Young men do not wear; Bangle-wearing young maiden do not pluck; Bending the branch with the edge of his fine lute, a bard doesn’t wear; Singers don’t adorn either; Manifesting his manliness, the strong-speared Saaththan overcome warriors many. After he perished, why did you flower, O wild jasmine, in the Ollaiyoor country?”
Let’s delve into the details. The poet describes how young men, young maiden, bards and singers do not wear wild jasmine flowers anymore in the country of Ollaiyoor. When we ask him the reason why he says that’s because the leader of the town, the courageous Saaththan, who has faced battlefields many, is no more. Symbolising that loss, all these different people in his town refuse to adorn themselves anymore. So, the poet turns to a wild jasmine bush and asks it in wonder, how come it’s still blooming given this situation!
From these words of the poet, we understand that this leader was very much missed in his town. At the same time, we can also infer another taken-for-granted human belief that a flower blooms only so that people can adorn themselves with the same. They do not see the true purpose in a jasmine wanting to propagate its species. This same human misconception that the entire world exists only for them is the sole cause for all the devastation caused to our environment. Only when we truly understand that all life such as the blooming jasmines exist not for our pleasure but as instances of life, we can truly conserve and take care of this diverse world around us!
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