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In this episode, we listen to a dual expression of sadness and hope, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 205, penned by Nakirar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays the prosperity of a renowned Sangam-era town.
உயிர் கலந்து ஒன்றிய தொன்று படு நட்பின்
செயிர் தீர் நெஞ்சமொடு செறிந்தோர் போல,
‘தையல்! நின் வயின் பிரியலம் யாம்’ எனப்
பொய் வல் உள்ளமொடு புரிவு உணக் கூறி,
துணிவு இல் கொள்கையர் ஆகி, இனியே
நோய் மலி வருத்தமொடு நுதல் பசப்புபூர,
நாம் அழ, துறந்தனர் ஆயினும், தாமே
வாய்மொழி நிலைஇய சேண் விளங்கு நல் இசை
வளம் கெழு கோசர் விளங்கு படை நூறி,
நிலம் கொள வெஃகிய பொலம் பூண் கிள்ளி,
பூ விரி நெடுங் கழி நாப்பண், பெரும் பெயர்க்
காவிரிப் படப்பைப் பட்டினத்தன்ன
செழு நகர் நல் விருந்து அயர்மார், ஏமுற
விழு நிதி எளிதினின் எய்துகதில்ல
மழை கால் அற்சிரத்து மால் இருள் நீங்கி,
நீடுஅமை நிவந்த நிழல் படு சிலம்பில்,
கடாஅ யானைக் கவுள் மருங்கு உறழ
ஆம் ஊர்பு இழிதரு காமர் சென்னி,
புலி உரி வரி அதள் கடுப்ப, கலி சிறந்து,
நாட் பூ வேங்கை நறு மலர் உதிர,
மேக்கு எழு பெருஞ் சினை ஏறி, கணக் கலை
கூப்பிடூஉ உகளும் குன்றகச் சிறு நெறிக்
கல் பிறங்கு ஆர் இடை விலங்கிய
சொல் பெயர் தேஎத்த சுரன் இறந்தோரே.
In this trip to the drylands, we get to travel to the lady’s past and also to a Chozha town, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth:
“Owing to a bond that extends beyond time and makes our lives fuse with each other, he had become one with me, uniting his flawless heart with mine. Then, having a heart capable of rendering lies to appease me, he had said, ‘O young maiden! I shall never part from you’. Now, losing his resolve, making the pallor of pining spread on my forehead, leaving me to cry, he had parted away!
He has traversed narrow mountain paths near slopes, covered in the shade of tall bamboos, and where, akin to the cheek of an elephant in musth, cascades descend down, and akin to the lined stripes of a tiger, with joy, fragrant flowers of the Kino tree drop down, and climbing atop the soaring branches of this tree, a troop of monkeys call aloud, and he has reached the formidable, pebble-filled, difficult paths of the drylands in a land, where an unknown language is spoken!
The Chozha King Killi, adorned in golden ornaments, attacked the powerful army of the prosperous Kosars, whose reputation for honesty was renowned far and wide, wishing to seize their land. The Chozhan king rules over the famous ‘Kaveri Pattinam’, whose backwaters are covered with flowers, and the land is decked with fertile fields many. Even though my beloved has left me to suffer and parted away, may he attain the wealth he seeks easily, so that he can feast with delight, in our prosperous mansion, akin to Killi’s Kaveripoompattinam, at this time when dew descends down like rain, and a confusing darkness spreads!”
Let’s explore the difficult paths of this domain once again! The lady starts on a philosophical note about love, talking about how this bond between her and the man did not happen a few weeks or a few months back. She portrays it as a connection existing beyond time, indicating the belief of this era in destiny bringing those in love together. She talks about how they both united as one, and at this time the man had promised her he shall never part from her. However this turned out to be a lie, for the man seems to have lost that determination, and has parted away, leaving her in the midst of tears and pining, the lady details.
I want to take a moment to record a nuance in this expression by the lady. Since I’m rendering this in English, I have chosen an individualistic style of expression such as, ‘The man has left ‘me’ to cry, has made ‘my’ forehead be covered in pallor’. However, the words to denote the actual expression of the lady would be, ‘The man has left ‘us’ to cry, has made ‘our’ foreheads to be covered in pallor’, as if including the confidante in her feelings. The difference between the two is in a collective representation of mental states and possessions. Though today, this collective representation of mental states is no more, the way of referring to possessions collectively still goes on. For instance, in Tamil, when talking about one’s own house or town, people reflexively use the pronoun ‘namma’ which means ‘ours’ rather than ‘en’ meaning ‘mine’! A curious cultural phenomenon of the Tamil language and culture that seems to extend beyond the centuries.
Returning to the verse, we find the lady talking about where the man has left to, and he has crossed mountainous paths, a region filled with cascades, which are poetically placed in parallel to the fluid pouring down the cheeks of an elephant in musth, and a place, decked in the flowers of a Kino tree, which is placed in parallel to the stripes of a tiger. A group of monkeys are seen leaping and calling aloud from the branches of the said tree. It seems as if we are visiting the ‘Kurinji’ landscape, but this is only the beginning of the man’s journey and he soon reaches the drylands, filled with stony, barren paths that lead to a land, where one doesn’t understand the language being spoken there, the lady describes. This is to say the man has taken a long journey, far away from the comforting sounds of his own language!
Then, the lady goes on to talk about King Killi, his intent of waging war against the honest Kosars and seizing their land, and about Killi’s famous town of ‘Kaveripoompattinam’, renowned for its prosperity and natural beauty. Now, the lady places this town in parallel to their wealthy mansion and she concludes by wishing that the man gains the wealth he seeks and returns soon, for now it was the painful season of winter, and the man needs to slay the confusing darkness that spreads around, with his presence! A verse that wraps time as a multi-layered gift, with the past and its promise of never parting, the present and its pain pf pining, and finally the future and the hope of togetherness!
