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In this episode, we perceive the thing that seems impossible to forget, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 299, penned by Eyinanthai Makanaar Ilankeeranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the emotions of a person at the moment they receive a particular news.
எல்லையும் இரவும், வினைவயின் பிரிந்த
முன்னம், முன் உறுபு அடைய உள்ளிய
பதி மறந்து உறைதல் வல்லினம் ஆயினும்,
அது மறந்து உறைதல் அரிது ஆகின்றே
கடு வளி எடுத்த கால் கழி தேக்கிலை
நெடு விளிப் பருந்தின் வெறி எழுந்தாங்கு,
விசும்பு கண் புதையப் பாஅய், பல உடன்
அகல் இடம் செல்லுநர் அறிவு கெடத் தாஅய்,
கவலை கரக்கும் காடு அகல் அத்தம்,
செய் பொருள் மருங்கின் செலவு தனக்கு உரைத்தென,
வைகு நிலை மதியம் போல, பையென,
புலம்பு கொள் அவலமொடு, புதுக் கவின் இழந்த
நலம் கெழு திருமுகம் இறைஞ்சி, நிலம் கிளையா,
நீரொடு பொருத ஈர் இதழ் மழைக் கண்
இகுதரு தெண் பனி ஆகத்து உறைப்ப,
கால் நிலைசெல்லாது, கழி படர்க் கலங்கி,
நா நடுக்குற்ற நவிலாக் கிளவியொடு,
அறல் மருள் கூந்தலின் மறையினள்,’ திறல் மாண்டு
திருந்துகமாதோ, நும் செலவு’ என வெய்து உயிரா,
பருவரல் எவ்வமொடு அழிந்த
பெரு விதுப்புறுவி பேதுறு நிலையே.
It’s more about the inner world, in this trip to this domain, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey through the drylands:
“Having left in search of wealth, with a heart that ceaselessly thinks of the past, day and night, it may be possible to remain here, forgetting one’s town, but it’s impossible to be so, forgetting that particular moment!
Dried leaves from the teak tree, severed from stems by the harsh winds, rise high, and appearing akin to a flock of screeching kites, spread around, hiding the skies. Then these leaves drop down, confusing wayfarers, and preventing them from finding their way, in those drylands, filled with wide jungles. When I spoke to her, expressing my intention to journey thither, in pursuit of wealth, akin to the fading moon at the moment of dawn, slowly, with the thought of loneliness attacking her, her exquisite face lost its new beauty. She bent down, and stroked the land with her toe, as her moist, petaled, rain-like eyes battled with the brimming tears, and losing, shed those clear drops upon her bosom. Her feet wouldn’t stand steady and with anxiety brimming over, her tongue started quivering. Hiding herself in her river-sand-like tresses, with unclear words, she said, ‘May this journey of yours attain success and flawless perfection’, even as she sighed hotly. The confused state of that maiden, devastated by deep pain and shaken by sorrow, flashes before me, and that is what is impossible for me to forget even now!”
Let’s keep in pace with this man through the drylands and listen to the echo of his heartbeat! The man starts by declaring that as he goes on his mission in the pursuit of wealth, it was quite possible to forget one’s town and the familiar ways of life. But whatever he does, he’s unable to forget that one thing, the man adds. He then describes the drylands, where there’s nothing but dried leaves, torn from the teak trees, and the way these rise up, looking like kites with a loud call, hiding the skies, and then these plop down and hide the paths that guide wayfarers to their destination, leaving them in confusion.
The man talks about how he had mentioned that he was leaving to those drylands spaces to the lady and goes on to etch the lady’s reactions in intricate detail. He compares the way the lady’s face changed at that moment to how the moon loses its glow when the sun raises its head at dawn. With her luminous beauty lost, the lady seems to have bent her head down, scraped the ground beneath with her toe, and though her rain-like eyes tried to contain her swelling tears, it broke the barrier and split on her bosom. He recollects how the lady was unable to even stand steadily, and hiding herself behind her long, river-sand-like tresses, the lady seems to have spoken in a mumble, wishing him success for his journey, while sighing with sadness. The man concludes by saying it’s exactly this image of his beloved in pain that he’s unable to forget, no matter how far he’s walked on towards his mission.
The man etches that relatable feeling of how some scenes remain alive as if they are mountains in our mind, which nothing can shake or shatter. Like this man from the past, all we can do is acknowledge their presence and find our way through them or around them!
