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In this episode, we perceive a promise rendered to a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 295, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse details the nature of the spaces traversed by wayfarers in this formidable domain.
நிலம் நீர் அற்று நீள் சுனை வறப்ப,
குன்று கோடு அகைய, கடுங் கதிர் தெறுதலின்,
என்றூழ் நீடிய வேய் படு நனந்தலை,
நிலவு நிற மருப்பின் பெருங் கை சேர்த்தி,
வேங்கை வென்ற வெரு வரு பணைத் தோள்
ஓங்கல் யானை உயங்கி, மதம் தேம்பி,
பல் மர ஒரு சிறைப் பிடியொடு வதியும்
கல்லுடை அதர கானம் நீந்தி,
கடல் நீர் உப்பின் கணம் சால் உமணர்
உயங்கு பகடு உயிர்ப்ப அசைஇ, முரம்பு இடித்து
அகல் இடம் குழித்த அகல் வாய்க் கூவல்
ஆறு செல் வம்பலர் அசை விட ஊறும்,
புடையல் அம் கழற் கால் புல்லி குன்றத்து,
நடை அருங் கானம் விலங்கி, நோன் சிலைத்
தொடை அமை பகழித் துவன்று நிலை வடுகர்,
பிழி ஆர் மகிழர், கலி சிறந்துஆர்க்கும்
மொழி பெயர் தேஎம் இறந்தனர்ஆயினும்,
பழி தீர் மாண் நலம் தருகுவர்மாதோ
மாரிப் பித்திகத்து ஈர் இதழ் புரையும்
அம் கலுழ் கொண்ட செங் கடை மழைக் கண்,
மணம் கமழ் ஐம்பால் மடந்தை! நின்
அணங்கு நிலைபெற்ற தட மென் தோளே.
In this trip to this familiar region, we get to see sweltering scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man continues to remain parted away:
“The land had lost all its moisture, even wide springs have dried up, branches on hills are set ablaze, owing to the scorching attack of the harsh rays, in those bamboo-filled, wide spaces, where the heat extends unceasingly. Here, even a towering elephant, with a thick, long trunk, which had won over a tiger, languishes in musth, and rests with its mate, on the side of many dried-up trees. Crossing such stony, scrub jungles, groups of merchants, carrying salt from the seas, hastening their sighing, tired bulls, dig up wide-mouthed wells, in those barren spaces, which spouts succour for those wayfarers, who traverse those paths. Such are the peaks ruled by ‘Pulli’, clad in resounding warrior anklets, and even when your lover has crossed these formidable jungles spaces, where Vadugars, who shower speeding arrows from sturdy bows, and rejoice in the taste of toddy, spending their time in revelries, and even if he has reached to such lands, where other tongues are spoken, he’s sure to return that flawless, fine beauty of your divine, curving soft arms, O young maiden, having red-streaked, rain-like eyes, brimming with beauty, akin to the moist petals of the rainy season’s wild jasmines and fragrant, five-part tresses!”
Time to take a long walk through this fearsome region! The confidante starts by talking about the arid nature of the drylands, where there’s not a drop of water, even deep springs are dead, and branches catch fire out of nowhere. Explaining all this as the result of the blazing heat, the confidante shows how even a mighty elephant, which had won over a tiger, is made to bow before the fierceness of this heat. She then turns to talk about how wise salt merchants, who rove the land selling their harvest from the seas, join together and dig up wells, that serve as the only source to quench the searing thirst of wayfarers crossing these paths. She mentions how even if the man had crossed such spaces and reached the peaks of Pulli, heard the revels of the Vadugars, who wield bows and arrows and love their drink, and even if the man goes beyond to lands, where other languages are spoken, the man would surely return the beauty of his beloved that he seems to have stolen. The confidante concludes by praising the beauty of the lady’s rain-like eyes and her fragrant tresses!
In short, a message of hope to a pining friend! Amidst this promise, the highlight is the mention of those salt merchants, who exert their efforts so that all those who come after them can enjoy a drop of oasis in that desert. That’s the shining beacon of humanity that spreads its light across the centuries through the pages of this poetry!
