Aganaanooru 8 – Crossing the dark and dangerous

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ஈயல் புற்றத்து ஈர்ம் புறத்து இறுத்த
குரும்பி வல்சிப் பெருங் கை ஏற்றை
தூங்கு தோல் துதிய வள் உகிர் கதுவலின்,
பாம்பு மதன் அழியும் பானாட் கங்குலும்,
அரிய அல்லமன், இகுளை! ”பெரிய
கேழல் அட்ட பேழ்வாய் ஏற்றை
பலா அமல் அடுக்கம் புலாவ ஈர்க்கும்
கழை நரல் சிலம்பின்ஆங்கண், வழையொடு
வாழை ஓங்கிய தாழ் கண் அசும்பில்,
படு கடுங் களிற்றின் வருத்தம் சொலிய,
பிடி படி முறுக்கிய பெரு மரப் பூசல்
விண் தோய் விடரகத்து இயம்பும் அவர் நாட்டு,
எண் அரும் பிறங்கல் மான் அதர் மயங்காது,
மின்னு விடச் சிறிய ஒதுங்கி, மென்மெல,
துளி தலைத் தலைஇய மணி ஏர் ஐம்பால்
சிறுபுறம் புதைய வாரி, குரல் பிழியூஉ,
நெறி கெட விலங்கிய, நீயிர், இச் சுரம்,
அறிதலும் அறிதிரோ?” என்னுநர்ப் பெறினே.

Fulfilling the promise of 2s and 8s, this verse transports us to the mountains of yore! Here, the words are spoken by the lady to her confidante, at a time when the man arrives to tryst with the lady, as the lady pretends not to notice the man, but ensuring he remains in earshot:

“Desiring the comb of termites’ nests as its food, the huge-handed male bear puts its hand into those termite mounds, made of moist mud. When it does so, the sharp nail attached to its hanging skin hooks on to a snake hiding within and destroys its strength, in the darkness of the midnight hour. Crossing over at even this deadly hour is not hard for us, my friend.

A wide-mouthed male tiger drags a huge male boar, killed by it, in the spaces of those hills abounding with jackfruit trees, with the smell of flesh reeking everywhere in the slopes, resounding with the swaying of bamboos. There, where drylands laurel wood trees soar along with the plantain trees, a strong male elephant slips on the slushy soil and falls into a pit. To resolve its angst, its mate bends a huge tree, and its loud sound resounds all around the ranges with sky-high peaks in the man’s mountain country. Here, without getting confused by the countless paths, where deer tread on, in the glow of the lightning, when we walk slowly, as the drops of rain drench our sapphire-like five-part braids, that has been combed so densely, hiding the small of the back, when we stand there squeezing the water out, crossing over at even that deadly hour of midnight is not hard for us, my friend, if we were to get someone who says these words with concern, “Do you know your way around this thick jungle with confusing paths?’”

Time to track the scents of these many mountain beasts! The lady starts by portraying a scene from the woods, where we see a male bear trotting off in search of food and spotting a termite mound, and then, putting its hand with sagging skin to pull out the comb of those ants’ nests. In the process, a snake hiding within gets hurt and finds its strength ruined. All this happens at the midnight hour, the lady says. So, here’s a reference to the time brought out by the action of this bear. Next, she goes on to describe the place, and to do that, she brings before us two different scenes: One, where we see a male tiger dragging its kill of a male boar, making the smell of flesh waft all around the slopes; And in the next scene, wherein we see how a male elephant has slipped on the slush in a place, dense with plantain and laurel wood trees, and fallen into a low pit. It struggles unable to ascend that slippery spot, and to its aid, the elephant’s mate steps up, and tries to bend the branch of a huge tree and the uproarious sound it makes in the process resounds all over the mountains of the man’s domain, the lady connects. So time done, place done, next the lady talks about how the weather is drenching the lady’s five-part thick braids and she finishes by telling her confidante that this time and place, if at all they had someone who would ask with care and concern, whether they knew where they were going in that spot, filled with confusing paths many, then even crossing over to meet the man, at that time and place, wouldn’t be such a difficult thing!

In essence, the lady is bringing forth all the dangers around trysting while at the same time, echoing her desire to meet up with the man at all odds. When she talks about the bear and the snake inside the termite mound, she expresses a metaphor for how the man has no intention of hurting her, just like the bear had no intention of attacking the snake, but that was the consequence of its action. Likewise, the lady is hurt by the man’s sporadic trysting, she implies. In the scene where the tiger drags its kill and makes its scent reek all over the mountains, the lady places it as a metaphor for how her relationship with the man is spreading slander all over their village. And in the final scene of the female elephant bending a tree to aid its mate out of the pit, the lady places a metaphor wondering what she and her confidante should do to help the man out of his distress of temporary and transient trysting and towards the joy of a permanent union. Fascinating how time and place and the creatures of the mountain turn a friend to the lady, and allow her to express her thoughts and wishes in a subtle but striking manner! Sangam poets yet again demonstrate their extraordinary skill of juxtaposing the mind on the wild!