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In this episode, we listen to a clear decision made after moments of deliberation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 199, penned by Kallaadanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays the dreariness and dangers in this domain.
கரை பாய் வெண் திரை கடுப்ப, பல உடன்,
நிரை கால் ஒற்றலின், கல் சேர்பு உதிரும்
வரை சேர் மராஅத்து ஊழ் மலர் பெயல் செத்து,
உயங்கல் யானை நீர் நசைக்கு அலமர,
சிலம்பி வலந்த வறுஞ் சினை வற்றல்
அலங்கல் உலவை அரி நிழல் அசைஇ,
திரங்குமரல் கவ்விய கையறு தொகுநிலை,
அரம் தின் ஊசித் திரள் நுதி அன்ன,
திண் நிலை எயிற்ற செந்நாய் எடுத்தலின்,
வளி முனைப் பூளையின் ஒய்யென்று அலறிய
கெடுமான் இன நிரை தரீஇய, கலையே
கதிர் மாய் மாலை ஆண் குரல் விளிக்கும்
கடல் போல் கானம் பிற்பட, ‘பிறர் போல்
செல்வேம்ஆயின், எம் செலவு நன்று’ என்னும்
ஆசை உள்ளம் அசைவின்று துரப்ப,
நீ செலற்கு உரியை நெஞ்சே! வேய் போல்
தடையின மன்னும், தண்ணிய, திரண்ட,
பெருந் தோள் அரிவை ஒழிய, குடாஅது,
இரும் பொன் வாகைப் பெருந்துறைச் செருவில்,
பொலம் பூண் நன்னன் பொருது களத்து ஒழிய,
வலம் படு கொற்றம் தந்த வாய் வாள்,
களங்காய்க் கண்ணி நார் முடிச் சேரல்
இழந்த நாடு தந்தன்ன
வளம் பெரிது பெறினும், வாரலென் யானே.
We encounter many different scenes in this trip to the drylands, as we get to hear the man say these words to his heart, at a moment when his heart was pressing him to part in search of wealth:
“As strong winds dash against them, mature flowers of the burflower tree growing in the ranges, drop down and scatter on the rocky surfaces, akin to white waves that leap on shores. Thinking it’s rain that’s falling down, tired elephants, filled with fierce thirst, arrive and return disappointed.
Resting under the sparse shade of parched trees, whose dried branches are covered with cobwebs, the helpless herd of deer, which feeds on thick hemp bushes, move around. With sharp and fierce teeth, akin to the edges of a saw, a red dog attacks them. Escaping, akin to flowers of mountain knotgrass that fly in the wind, screaming, the deer herd scatter in different directions. In the evening hour, when the sun has set, the male deer’s voice calls out aloud, calling them all together. Wanting me to traverse such a sea-like scrub jungle, you say to me, ‘If you leave like others, your journey will be good’, with a heart that ceaselessly yearns for wealth, you nudge me to part away, O heart!
As for me, leaving behind the young maiden with arms that are thick, rounded and curving like fine bamboos, I shall not part, even if I were to attain as much wealth as that in the great country, which the Chera King ‘Kalangaai Kanni Naar Mudi Cheral’, lost and then reclaimed with immense victory, wielding his courageous sword, in the great western battlefield of ‘Perunthurai’, filled with golden lebbeck trees, when he defeated Nannan, clad in gold jewels, and routed him in the battlefield!”
Time for a walk in those barren spaces! The man starts by describing the region where his heart expects him to leave, talking about how thirsty elephants mistake the falling flowers of the burflower tree as rain, as these cover the rocky surfaces like waves on the shore. Then, he moves to another group of animals, a herd of deers which are already languishing in the heat, finding only the shade of cobweb-covered, parched trees, and the hardy food of hemp. Their troubles are further worsened by the attack of a red dog, and the family scatters away helter-skelter, and in the evening hour, the piteous voice of the male, trying to bring together its herd, can be heard, says the man. This is the place you are asking me to leave too, looking at all others around, filled with yearning for wealth in your heart, the man says to his heart! Interesting to note how the man sees his heart as having a heart of its own!
Returning, the man starts narrating the historic battle between Chera King Naarmudi Cheral and King Nannan, in the battlefield of Perunthurai, where Naarmudi Cheral defeated Nannan and won back the country he had lost. The man now comes to the point and says even if he were to get wealth as much as that can be found in the country that Naarmudi Cheral lost and reclaimed, he was sure he did not want to part away from his beloved! In essence, in the struggle between being with a beloved and going in search of wealth, love has triumphed for the moment!
