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In this episode, we perceive the observations of travellers, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 381-390, situated in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’ and penned by the poet Othalaanthaiyaar.
Thus spreads the Thirty Ninth Ten of Ainkurunooru: Portraits of the Parted Pair
381 Inseparable lovers
பைங் காய் நெல்லி பல உடன் மிசைந்து,
செங் கால் மராஅத்த வரி நிழல் இருந்தோர்
யார்கொல், அளியர் தாமே வார் சிறைக்
குறுங் கால் மகன்றில் அன்ன
உடன் புணர் கொள்கைக் காதலோரே?
They eat many green gooseberry fruits and rest in the lined shade of the red-trunked burflower tree. Who might they be, for pitiable indeed they are! Akin to the long-winged, short-legged red-naped ibis, they seem to be lovers with the virtue of inseparability!
382 Bane of mothers
புள் ஒலிக்கு அமர்த்த கண்ணள், வெள் வேல்
திருந்து கழல் காளையொடு அருஞ் சுரம் கழிவோள்,
எல்லிடை அசைந்த கல்லென் சீறூர்ப்
புனை இழை மகளிர்ப் பயந்த
மனை கெழு பெண்டிர்க்கு நோவுமார் பெரிதே.
The maiden, whose eyes startle at the sound of birds, has left behind the harsh drylands with the young, bull-like man, wearing etched anklets. Then they rested at night in that uproarious little town, making the matrons of prosperous homes, the mothers of maiden wearing well-etched ornaments, worry a lot.
383 Finding joy in her actions
கோள் சுரும்பு அரற்றும் நாள் சுரத்து அமன்ற
நெடுங் கால் மராஅத்துக் குறுஞ் சினை பற்றி,
வலம் சுரி வால் இணர் கொய்தற்கு நின்ற
மள்ளன் உள்ளம் மகிழ் கூர்ந்தன்றே
பைஞ்சாய்ப் பாவைக்கும் தனக்கும்
அம் சாய் கூந்தல் ஆய்வது கண்டே.
Bees that savour honey resounded aloud around the small branch of tall-trunked burflower tree during the daytime in the drylands. To pluck from the right-whorled, bright flower clusters on this branch, the brave young man bent it and felt his heart brim with joy seeing the maiden with beautiful, soft tresses separate the flowers for her and her sedge doll!
384 Message to my companions
சேட் புலம் முன்னிய அசை நடை அந்தணிர்!
நும் ஒன்று இரந்தனென் மொழிவல்; எம் ஊர்,
‘யாய் நயந்து எடுத்த ஆய்நலம் கவின
ஆர் இடை இறந்தனள்’ என்மின்
நேர் இறை முன்கை என் ஆயத்தோர்க்கே.
O priests, who walk with swaying gaits to faraway lands, I wish to plead to you about something. And that is to go to my town and say to my companions, who wear rows of bangles on their forearms, ‘With the exquisite beauty, with which mother raised her, still intact, she has crossed the formidable drylands path’!
385 Message to my mother
‘கடுங்கண் காளையொடு நெடுந் தேர் ஏறி,
கோள் வல் வேங்கைய மலை பிறக்கு ஒழிய,
வேறு பல் அருஞ் சுரம் இறந்தனள் அவள்’ எனக்
கூறுமின் வாழியோ! ஆறு செல் மாக்கள்!
நல் தோள் நயந்து பாராட்டி,
எற் கெடுத்து இருந்த அறன் இல் யாய்க்கே.
Please say, ‘With the harsh-eyed, young bull-like man, climbing on a tall chariot, leaving behind mountains filled with murderous tigers, and traversing many other harsh drylands, she has crossed over’! May you live long, O people treading this path! Say these words to the one who always delighted in my beautiful arms, and the one, who spoilt me, that unjust mother of mine!
386 Daughter in the drylands
புன்கண் யானையொடு புலி வழங்கு அத்தம்
நயந்த காதலன் புணர்ந்து சென்றனளே
நெடுஞ் சுவர் நல் இல் மருண்ட
இடும்பை உறுவி! நின் கடுஞ் சூல் மகளே.
Small-eyed elephants and tigers rove in the drylands. With her lover, she has left thither, O woman from a tall-walled fine mansion, filled with confusion and suffering; That daughter you bore in your womb has crossed over!
387 In his company
‘அறம் புரி அரு மறை நவின்ற நாவின்
திறம் புரி கொள்கை அந்தணிர்! தொழுவல்’ என்று
ஒண்டொடி வினவும் பேதைஅம் பெண்டே!
கண்டனெம் அம்ம, சுரத்திடை அவளை
இன் துணை இனிது பாராட்ட,
குன்று உயர் பிறங்கல் மலை இறந்தோளே.
O naive woman, wearing shining bangles, saying, ‘O priests, with strong principles, with tongues that chant precious scriptures, I bow to you’, you question us. Yes, we did see her in the midst of the drylands. As her sweet companion took great care of her, she crossed the radiant mountain with soaring peaks.
388 Path of the Parted
நெருப்பு அவிர் கனலி உருப்புச் சினம் தணியக்
கருங் கால் யாத்து வரி நிழல் இரீஇ,
சிறு வரை இறப்பின், காண்குவை செறிதொடிப்
பொன் ஏர் மேனி மடந்தையொடு
வென் வேல் விடலை முன்னிய சுரனே.
As the sun scorched, akin to fire, letting the flaming fury of the heat subside, they rested in the lined shade of the black-trunked ‘Aacha tree’. If you cross that small mountain, you will come across the drylands, which the maiden wearing well-etched bangles, and a skin, akin to gold, and her young man with a white spear, crossed on.
389 State of her feet
‘செய் வினைப் பொலிந்த செறி கழல் நோன் தாள்
மை அணல் காளையொடு பைய இயலி,
பாவை அன்ன என் ஆய்தொடி மடந்தை
சென்றனள்!’ என்றிர், ஐய!
ஒன்றினவோ, அவள் அம் சிலம்பு அடியே!
You say, ‘Walking slowly with the young and determined, bull-like man having a black beard, clad in tight, shining, well-etched warrior anklets, that doll-like, naive maiden wearing beautiful bangles left’, O good sir! Did her beautiful feet, clad in anklets, touch the ground?
390 Seen in his company
நல்லோர் ஆங்கண் பரந்து கைதொழுது
பல் ஊழ் மறுகி வினவுவோயே!
திண் தோள் வல்வில் காளையொடு
கண்டனெம் மன்ற சுரத்திடை, யாமே.
O woman, you run hither and thither and question all the good people there, with folded hands! We did see her in the company of the strong armed, young, bull-like man, skilled with his bow, in the midst of the drylands.
So concludes Ainkurunooru 381-390. All the verses are set in the context of a man’s love relationship with a lady, prior to marriage, and specifically in the situation of elopement of this couple. The unifying theme of all the songs is that these are statements about the couple, who have eloped away, from the perspective of those who saw them in the drylands. Most of these words are uttered by travellers, with a few being said by the lady or the lady’s foster mother to those travellers.
In this section, it’s difficult to separate the land and the protagonists as they are intricately tied together in these observations. So, let’s head straight to the speakers and their intentions. In the first, a traveller wonders who this couple, who are eating gooseberry fruits and resting in the shade of a burflower tree, might be. Looking closely at them, this person says they seem to have the quality of an ‘andril’ bird mentioned in Sangam literature as a symbol of inseparable togetherness. In Kurunthogai 160, we debated and discovered that this bird most probably points to the ‘Red-naped ibis’, which is found all over India and have the quality of always being found in pairs. Perhaps this is the reason why the Sangam folks chose these birds to talk about the intimacy and inseparability of these ancient lovers. While this seems to be a mere observation about two people, looking closer, we can sense the empathy in this traveller about their challenging circumstances and their deep love.
In the second, a traveller talks about the lady and man and mentions them to be resting in a little town at the edge of the drylands. The gentle nature of the lady is sketched in the way her eyes startle at the sound of birds, while the man’s strong personality is portrayed by symbolising him as a sturdy bull. This traveller makes an intricate observation about the mothers in that town where the pair are resting for the night. They are the mothers of young maidens and they seem to be in a lot of worry. Perhaps these mothers are thinking about the mother of this young maiden who has eloped and are sympathising with her sorrow or they are worried that their own daughters may inflict them with the similar pain of eloping with a young man.
In the third, is a sweet observation by a traveller about the interaction between the man and lady in the drylands. Seeing a tall burflower tree, resounding with bees, the man seems to have read the mind of his lady and held down a branch for her to pluck flowers from. After she plucked those flowers, the lady was busy separating one group of flowers for her and one group for her doll, made of sedge grass. Seeing this, the man’s heart was filled with joy, says this traveller. To think of this maiden as someone still playing with dolls jolts us indeed. But this is a repeated reference of maiden holding on to their dolls even when they have parted away with men!
In the fourth, the lady takes the spotlight and requests some priests she meets on the way to pass on a message to her playmates that she was doing well, and that her beauty was intact, even as she traverses the drylands with the man. The lady thinks back about her friends with affection and knowing that they will worry in her absence and passes on this message to the travelling priests. In the fifth, the lady passes on a message to her mother this time, describing how the mother had forbidden the lady’s relationship with the man and calling mother as ‘unjust’. Though there seems to be a bit of anger on the part of the lady, she wants the traveller to pass on the good message to her mother that her daughter has crossed the drylands safely with her man.
In the sixth, travellers address the lady’s birth mother by making a note of her suffering-filled state and inform her that the daughter she bore in her womb had crossed the dangerous drylands, where elephants and tigers rove. In the seventh, the travellers address the lady’s foster mother, who has followed the daughter she raised, trying to find her there. They say to this mother that they saw the lady in the middle of the drylands, and also mention how well the man took care of the lady, and together, they had crossed over. In the eighth too, these travellers inform the foster mother that the lady and man were seen resting in the shade of an ‘Aacha’ tree in the drylands and they point to a hill ahead and say, if you cross that, you will find the place where they were. Thereby, these travellers tell the foster mother that the lady is long gone and there was no use in pursuing her.
In the ninth, the foster mother questions the travellers asking whether they saw the beautiful feet of the lady touch the hot ground, wondering how the delicate maiden was able to bear the scorching heat of the place. In the final verse, the travellers remark about the way the foster mother runs everywhere, asking all good people about her daughter with hands folded, and inform her they had indeed seen the man and the lady in the midst of the drylands. And so we see that this is a section with intricate descriptions about both the man and the lady and their travel through the harsh drylands. Moving indeed is the empathy expressed by the various actors such as the travellers about the state of the man, and the lady, the lady’s thought about informing her playmates and mother, and ultimately, a mother’s beating heart about the welfare of her daughter. In short, this is a poignant collection of verses talking about the journey of love!
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