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In this episode, we listen to words seeking a change in a person’s path, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 240, penned by Ezhooppandri Naagan Kumaranaar. The verse is situated amidst the swirling waves of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and describes the activities of the denizens at night.
செவ் வீ ஞாழற் கருங் கோட்டு இருஞ் சினைத்
தனிப் பார்ப்பு உள்ளிய தண் பறை நாரை
மணிப் பூ நெய்தல் மாக் கழி நிவப்ப,
இனிப் புலம்பின்றே கானலும்; நளி கடல்
திரைச் சுரம் உழந்த திண் திமில் விளக்கில்
பல் மீன் கூட்டம் என்னையர்க் காட்டிய,
எந்தையும் செல்லுமார் இரவே; அந்தில்
அணங்குடைப் பனித் துறை கைதொழுது ஏத்தி,
யாயும் ஆயமோடு அயரும்; நீயும்,
தேம் பாய் ஓதி திரு நுதல் நீவி,
கோங்கு முகைத்தன்ன குவிமுலை ஆகத்து,
இன் துயில் அமர்ந்தனைஆயின், வண்டு பட
விரிந்த செருந்தி வெண் மணல் முடுக்கர்,
பூ வேய் புன்னை அம் தண் பொழில்,
வாவே தெய்ய, மணந்தனை செலற்கே.
Plenty of intriguing images in this trip to the shores, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, who arrives for a nightly tryst with the lady:
“Thinking about its chick that’s all alone on the long branch of the black-trunked screw-pine tree with red flowers, a seabird with moist wings, flies above the dark backwaters, filled with sapphire-hued flowers of the blue lotus, leaving the groves to be deserted. In the light of the sturdy boat, which has swirled through the brimming waves of the drylands-like sea, showing schools of fish he has captured to my brothers, my father walks about at night; At that time, celebrating the god-like, cool shores, my mother worships along with her mates; As for you, if you wish to caress the fine forehead of the maiden with honey-flowing tresses, and yearn to find sweet sleep upon her bosoms, akin to buttercup buds, then come on over to the corner of the white sands, where the bee-buzzing golden champak tree stands, in the cool shores, filled with flowering laurel wood trees, to embrace her and part away!”
Let’s take a seat on the sands and watch the scenes unfold! The confidante starts by describing the groves, which appear abandoned, as a seabird flies away, thinking about its chick, left alone in a nest. Then she goes on to talk about how the lady’s father moves about during the night, returning from his fish hunt, and showing the catch to the lady’s brothers. At this time, the lady’s mother too is thanking the seas for the catch and performing worship along with her mates. In short, the whole of the lady’s family is out and about, the confidante implies, and concludes by telling the man that it would be better if he came by day to the groves full of ‘Punnai’ trees, to a particular spot near a bee-buzzing ‘Cherunthi tree’, if he intended to savour the lady’s company.
It seems like the confidante is telling the man there’s danger of discovery at night, and so come by day. However, there’s even more danger during day for the townsfolk would see, and slander would rise, the confidante knows, and she is silently sowing the seeds for the man to change his attitude of temporary trysting and come seek the lady’s hand in marriage. ‘Not by night, not by day too, but for the man to be beside the lady for all time’ seems to be the eternal quest of the confidante!
