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In this episode, we listen to the sharing of a happy news, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 285, penned by Kaaviripoompattinathu Karikannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the dynamic scenes in this domain.
”ஒழியச் சென்மார், செல்ப” என்று, நாம்
அழி படர் உழக்கும் அவல நெஞ்சத்து
எவ்வம் இகந்து சேண் அகல, வை எயிற்று
ஊன் நசைப் பிணவின் உறு பசி களைஇயர்,
காடு தேர் மடப் பிணை அலற, கலையின்
ஓடு குறங்கு அறுத்த செந்நாய் ஏற்றை
வெயில் புலந்து இளைக்கும் வெம்மைய, பயில் வரி
இரும் புலி வேங்கைக் கருந் தோல் அன்ன
கல் எடுத்து எறிந்த பல் கிழி உடுக்கை
உலறு குடை வம்பலர் உயர் மரம் ஏறி,
ஏறு வேட்டு எழுந்த இனம் தீர் எருவை
ஆடு செவி நோக்கும் அத்தம், பணைத் தோள்
குவளை உண்கண் இவளும் நம்மொடு
வரூஉம் என்றனரே, காதலர்;
வாராய் தோழி! முயங்குகம் பலவே.
In this trip to the drylands, we take in scenes of vivid action, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady:
“Thinking, ‘Leaving you to lament here, he will part away’, we were with angst-ridden hearts, languishing in suffering. Making that anxiety to part away afar, that lover of yours, who had been intending to leave to the drylands, where, wanting to allay the deep desire for flesh, in its sharp-toothed mate, a male red dog bites on the very thigh that the male deer uses to flee, leaving its naive female to search and scream in the jungle, and then suffers in the sweltering heat in this place, where having clothes tattered in many places, akin to the many-striped, radiant skin of the huge tiger, owing to the attack of highway robbers, wayfarers with dry umbrellas, climb on a high tree, and look up at the scene of a roving, lone vulture that has parted away from its flock, and rises high in search of a prey, has told me, ‘Let that maiden with bamboo-like arms and kohl-streaked, blue-lily-like eyes, come along with me!’ Come on, my friend! Let’s embrace over and over!”
Time to tune in to the chat between these besties! The confidante starts by narrating the worry that had been plaguing them about the man’s imminent parting away from the lady. Then the confidante tells her friend that the man’s words had chased that worry far, far away. She then goes on to describe the drylands, and to do that, she sketches a montage of scenes. First, we see a female red dog languishing in hunger, and seeing the suffering of its mate, the male goes on a hunt, and it finds a huge male deer, and just as the deer is about to run away, the red dog delivers a fatal bite on the thigh of this deer, and brings it down. Next, the scene changes to echo the plight of the female deer, crying out for its mate in the forest.
From these wild beings, the confidante turns to sketch the wild nature of robbers, who attack wayfarers and make their clothes torn and appear like the striped skin of the tiger. The confidante continues talking about how these wayfarers can be seen climbing on a tree, intending on saving themselves, and completes this portrait of the drylands, with the eyes of these wayfarers zooming in on a red-headed vulture, soaring in the skies above, in search of a prey. The confidante connects all this by saying this is where the man had intended to leave, and he had told the confidante that he plans to take the lady along. The confidante concludes by jumping in joy as she conveys this news and calls her dear friend so that they could hug and bid farewell to each other.
Those vivid images of the conflict between the red dog and the deer in the drylands talk about the tug of war between being with love and leaving for wealth in a subtle manner. The highlight in this verse though is the closing image of the lady and the confidante hugging each other with tears, and preparing to part from each other. A tender bitter-sweet moment between friends!
