Ainkurunooru 321-330: Thoughts of the Beloved

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Thus spreads the Thirty Third Ten of Ainkurunooru: Thoughts of the Beloved

321 The kite’s lonely call
உலறு தலைப் பருந்தின் உளி வாய்ப் பேடை
அலறு தலை ஓமை அம் கவட்டு ஏறிப்
புலம்பு கொள விளிக்கும் நிலம் காய் கானத்து,
மொழிபெயர் பல் மலை இறப்பினும்,
ஒழிதல் செல்லாது ஒண்தொடி குணனே.

The dry-headed kite’s chisel-mouthed female climbs on a sturdy branch of the frizzle-headed ‘toothbrush tree’ and cries out, filled with loneliness, in the jungle atop the parched earth. Even when I part away thither crossing many hills, where languages keep changing, without vanishing, it stays with me, that good memories of the maiden wearing shining bangles!

322 Hot then, Cool now!
நெடுங் கழை முளிய வேனில் நீடி,
கடுங் கதிர் ஞாயிறு கல் பகத் தெறுதலின்,
வெய்ய ஆயின, முன்னே; இனியே,
ஒள் நுதல் அரிவையை உள்ளுதொறும்
தண்ணிய ஆயின, சுரத்திடை ஆறே!

Drying up tall bamboos, summer prolongs and the harsh-rayed sun splits even rocks. So hot and sweltering it was, before. But now, when I think of the maiden with a shining forehead, it becomes moist and cool, this path in the middle of the drylands!

323 Red dog awaits
வள் எயிற்றுச் செந்நாய் வயவு உறு பிணவிற்குக்
கள்ளிஅம் கடத்திடைக் கேழல் பார்க்கும்
வெஞ் சுரக் கவலை நீந்தி,
வந்த நெஞ்சம்! நீ நயந்தோள் பண்பே.

To allay the yearning of its pregnant female, the sharp-toothed wild red dog lies in wait for a wild boar amidst the cactus scrub jungle in the hot drylands. O heart, crossing these paths, it has arrived here, the thoughts of the one you love!

324 Dreams of her
எரி கவர்ந்து உண்ட என்றூழ் நீள் இடைச்
சிறிது கண்படுப்பினும், காண்குவென் மன்ற
நள்ளென் கங்குல், நளி மனை நெடு நகர்,
வேங்கை வென்ற சுணங்கின்
தேம் பாய் கூந்தல் மாஅயோளே.

Wild fire spreads and devours in the sun-scorching wide drylands. Here, even when I sleep a little, I would see her in the pitch-dark midnight hour, at the wide and tall mansion, that dark-skinned maiden, having honey-flowing tresses and pallor spots that would put ‘Kino flowers’ to shame!

325 Rustling leaves and scuttling birds
வேனில் அரையத்து இலை ஒலி வெரீஇ,
போகில் புகா உண்ணாது, பிறிது புலம் படரும்
வெம்பு அலை அருஞ் சுரம் நலியாது
எம் வெங் காதலி பண்பு துணைப் பெற்றே.

Fearing the sound of the peepul tree’s leaves in the hot summer, birds eat not their food and scatter away to other lands from that harsh and sweltering drylands. I faced this space without suffering because I had the company of my loving mate’s good memories!

326 Dreadful to Delightful
அழல் அவிர் நனந் தலை நிழல் இடம் பெறாது,
மட மான் அம் பிணை மறியொடு திரங்க,
நீர் மருங்கு அறுத்த நிரம்பா இயவின்
இன்னா மன்ற, சுரமே;
இனிய மன்ற, யான் ஒழிந்தோள் பண்பே!

In the scorching wide spaces, without a drop of shade, the naive female deer languishes along with its fawn. Filled with partial paths, where water once cut through, it’s dismal indeed, those drylands. But pleasant it turned, when I thought of the good nature of the one whom I had left behind!

327 Cool in the Heat
பொறி வரித் தடக் கை வேதல் அஞ்சி,
சிறு கண் யானை நிலம் தொடல் செல்லா;
வெயில் முளி சோலைய, வேய் உயர் சுரனே;
அன்ன ஆர் இடையானும்,
தண்மை செய்த, இத் தகையோள் பண்பே!

Fearing that its spotted and lined trunk would be scorched, the small-eyed elephant treads without letting its trunk touch the ground. The sweltering heat has made the orchard a thorn forest, where bamboos soar. Such is the drylands! Even in the midst of such a place, coolness spreads, when I reflect on the good nature of the worthy woman!

328 Hot in the Rain
நுண் மழை தளித்தென நறு மலர் தாஅய்த்
தண்ணிய ஆயினும், வெய்ய மன்ற
மடவரல் இன் துணை ஒழியக்
கடம் முதிர் சோலைய காடு இறந்தேற்கே.

Though it has become cool, as a few raindrops sprinkled down, and made fragrant flowers bloom, it is still unpleasantly hot to me, the one who has parted away from his naive and sweet companion and journeyed to these old jungles of the drylands!

329 Will it forsake?
ஆள் வழக்கு அற்ற பாழ்படு நனந் தலை
வெம் முனை அருஞ் சுரம் நீந்தி, நம்மொடு
மறுதருவதுகொல் தானே செறிதொடி
கழிந்து உகு நிலைய ஆக
ஒழிந்தோள் கொண்ட, என் உரம் கெழு நெஞ்சே?

That which travelled along to these abandoned and ruined wide spaces of the scorching drylands, will it forsake me and return to the one I left behind, the maiden once wearing tight bangles, which are now slipping away? I wonder about the path that my strong heart will take!

330 Time to stop
வெந் துகள் ஆகிய வெயில் கடம் நீந்தி,
வந்தனம்ஆயினும், ஒழிக இனிச் செலவே!
அழுத கண்ணள் ஆய்நலம் சிதையக்
கதிர் தெறு வெஞ் சுரம் நினைக்கும்,
அவிர் கோல் ஆய்தொடி உள்ளத்துப் படரே.

Even though we have arrived to this scorching drylands filled with hot dust, let’s stop this journey now! For ruining beauty, sorrow spreads in the heart of the maiden, wearing well-carved, rounded fine bangles, having tear-filled eyes, who keeps thinking of this sweltering drylands soaked in the sun’s rays!

So concludes Ainkurunooru 321-330. All the verses are set in the context of a man’s parting from the lady, after marriage, in search of wealth. The unifying theme in all these verses is that these are all said by the man in the midst of his journey in the drylands. Most of these are said by the man to himself, voicing out his emotions during this challenging phase of separation from the lady.

As each of these verses are firmly situated in the space of a drylands domain, we get to see many aspects of this region in this section. In one, a male kite is sketched as having not even a little moisture on its head and the female is said to have a mouth like a chisel. This female climbs on to a toothbrush tree, bereft of leaves, and cries out with loneliness. In another, even sturdy, evergreen bamboos are scorched and the sun’s heat is so intense that it splits the rocks. Next, we see this distinctive animal, the Indian Red Dog or ‘Dhole’ lying in wait to capture a wild boar, so that it can feed the hunger of its pregnant female. Following this, there’s wild fire bursting in odd places, no doubt because of the drying vegetation. In another, there’s mention of how the rustling of the dry leaves in the Peepul tree scares away birds, which seem to leave its food untouched and fly away to other places. Next, a female deer along with its little one comes into the spotlight, as it searches everywhere for some shade and does not find any. Here, the paths are the parched earth where once streams flowed through, sketches the poet. From the deer, we turn to an elephant and this beast seems to be treading without letting its trunk touch the hot ground for fear that it will be scorched in that heat. Where once an orchard stood, now there stands only a thorn jungle with scattered bamboos! In one instance, there’s a welcome change of a few drops of rain falling upon that parched land and flowers are enthusiastically raising their heads. In other representations, we see these regions as utterly uninhabitable spaces where hot dust fills the air! At the end of this journey, we can sense how one’s feet would be in blisters, sweat flooding out of the pores and breath languishing in that maze of hot dust!

Turning to the thoughts of the man in each of the verses, in the first, he declares how even though he has crossed many hills, where people speak different languages, the astonishing thing was that thoughts of the lady’s good nature still remained with him. In the second, he says how even though everything is so hot and distressing around him, when he thinks of his love, everything becomes cool. In the third, the man remarks to his heart about how the lady’s qualities seemed to have arrived there, traversing the harshness of the drylands. In the fourth, after returning from his journey, the confidante asks him how he was able to forget the lady and travel through the harsh drylands, and the man responds saying whenever he would catch a little sleep, it was the lady he used to see in his dreams, and that’s the thing that kept him going. In the fifth, it’s the same situation and he responds to the confidante saying he faced all the hardships because of the memories of his beloved.

The sixth sees the man remarking about how terrible the drylands are, and surprisingly still, this became the polar opposite when thoughts of the lady crossed his mind. In the seventh too, there’s so much heat and unpleasantness, which transforms into a cool oasis, when the man reflects on the nature of the lady. In the eighth, there’s a contrasting situation of a moment when it rains and the drylands turn pleasant to others, but to the man, it’s hot and terrible still, because the lady is not with him. In the ninth, the man wonders whether his heart will abandon him in the middle of the journey and return to the lady. And in the final one, the man has had enough and he decides he must stop this journey and return to his beloved, who is in tears, languishing in his absence. Thus, we see a vivid portrait of that timeless feeling of missing a beloved in separation and the consequences of this emotion on the inner and outer world of the person concerned!