Kalithogai 13 – Behold the terrible drylands

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செரு மிகு சின வேந்தன் சிவந்து இறுத்த புலம் போல,
எரி மேய்ந்த கரி வறல்வாய், புகவு காணாவாய்,
பொரி மலர்ந்தன்ன பொறிய மட மான்,
திரி மருப்பு ஏறொடு தேர் அறற்கு ஓட,
மரல் சாய மலை வெம்ப, மந்தி உயங்க,
உரல் போல் அடிய உடம்பு உயங்கு யானை,
ஊறு நீர் அடங்கலின், உண் கயம் காணாது,
சேறு சுவைத்து, தம் செல் உயிர் தாங்கும்
புயல் துளி மாறிய, போக்கு அரு, வெஞ் சுரம்

எல்வளை! எம்மொடு நீ வரின், யாழ நின்
மெல் இயல் மே வந்த சீறடி, தாமரை
அல்லி சேர் ஆய் இதழ் அரக்குத் தோய்ந்தவை போல,
கல் உறின், அவ் அடி கறுக்குந அல்லவோ?

நலம் பெறும் சுடர்நுதால்! எம்மொடு நீ வரின்,
இலங்கு மாண் அவிர் தூவி அன்ன மென் சேக்கையுள்
துலங்கு மான் மேல் ஊர்தித் துயில் ஏற்பாய், மற்று ஆண்டை
விலங்கு மான் குரல் கேட்பின், வெருவுவை அல்லையோ?

கிளி புரை கிளவியாய்! எம்மொடு நீ வரின்,
தளி பொழி தளிர் அன்ன எழில் மேனி தகை வாட,
முளி அரில் பொத்திய முழங்கு அழல் இடை போழ்ந்த
வளி உறின், அவ் எழில் வாடுவை அல்லையோ?

என ஆங்கு,
அனையவை காதலர் கூறலின், ‘வினைவயிற்
பிரிகுவர்’ எனப் பெரிது அழியாதி, திரிபு உறீஇ;
கடுங் குரை அருமைய காடு எனின், அல்லது,
கொடுங்குழாய்! துறக்குநர்அல்லர்
நடுங்குதல் காண்மார், நகை குறித்தனரே.

An intriguing verse containing nested conversations! The words can be translated as follows:

“Akin to a field burnt in anger by a furious, battle-worthy king, scorched by heat, burnt and dried-up, bereft of any food, is the drylands. Here, with spots, akin to puffed rice, a naive deer, along with its male having branching antlers, runs towards a mirage. The hemp fades and withers in the heat; Monkeys tire out. The exhausted elephant, having a pestle-like feet, not finding a pond to drink from, as all the water that springs forth has dried-up, tastes the slush and tries to hold on to its life in the hot drylands, where clouds have forgotten to shower raindrops anymore!

O maiden wearing shining bangles! If you come with me, your little feet that has only tread on soft ground, akin to the intricate, inner petals of a lotus being dipped in lacquer, will turn dark if they tread on hot stones, won’t they?

O maiden with a glowing forehead! If you come with me, you, who attains sweet sleep upon a soft mattress, akin to the shining and splendid feathers of a swan, placed on a bed with a lion’s feet, will be startled when you hear the lion’s roar there, won’t you?

O maiden with a talk like a parrot! If you come with me, your beautiful skin, akin to a leaf sprout soaked in fresh rain, will fade, in the clutch of the hot winds that rise between the flames of the wild fire, bursting upon the thorny bushes, and lose its fine beauty, won’t it?

And so, because your lover said all these things, do not worry greatly and feel ruined thinking that ‘He’s going to part away on a mission’. He said such terrible things about the harsh drylands forest, O maiden wearing curving ornaments, not because he wants to part from you but just to have a laugh, seeing you shudder!”

Time to explore the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a man’s parting from his lady, after marriage. It has an intricate structure, containing words by the man to the lady, said as a summary and conclusion by the confidante to the lady. First, we hear the voice of the man speaking to the lady, as he describes the drylands to her. He compares the state of the drylands to a field burnt by an enraged king. Owing to all that heat and having nothing to eat, a deer and its mate rush towards a mirage. Even the sturdy hemp is dying, sprightly monkeys are now languishing and an elephant quenches its severe thirst, not in any pond, but the meagre slush on the ground. Such is the drylands that the rains have forsaken, tells the man. Next, in reply to the lady’s request that he should take her long, he offers three points for the lady to ponder upon.

Talking about how the lady’s feet has only ever touched soft sands, he declares they would turn red, burnt by the heat of the stones in the drylands, if she were to come with him. The simile he uses to describe the change in her feet is fascinating, for he equates the change to lotus petals when dipped in lacquer. While lacquer in contemporary times refers to the chemical varnish used in painting, the lacquer here refers to a red resin from trees, which has been used since antiquity in endowing a red colour to artefacts, and goes by the name ‘arakku’ in Tamil and ‘lac’ in English.

Returning from these meanderings, we hear the man next talking about how the lady sleeps on a soft mattress upon a bed with legs designed in the shape of a lion’s feet. He tells her how she would jump in fear, when she actually hears the roar of the lion if she were to come with him to the drylands. Finally, he talks about how her beautiful skin, now like a leaf sprout that has danced in the rain, will fade and burn, as hot winds from wild fires blow all around her, if she were to accompany the man to the drylands.

Now, the confidante lets us know she has been repeating the words said by the man to the lady. She turns to the lady and asks her not to worry at all on account of all these words, and reveals that the man has said them not because he was going to leave the lady and go towards the drylands, but only to have a good laugh, seeing the shuddering of his beloved. Quite the prankster, this man! A verse which offers a change of pace from the seriousness of these verses situated in the theme of separation, and tells us that humans will always make space for lightness and laughter in their lives, no matter when and where!