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In this episode, we listen to the ecstatic voice of a lady in love, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 352, penned by Anjiyaththai Magal Naakaiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the singing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches the process of penning a king’s praise.
”முடவு முதிர் பலவின் குடம் மருள் பெரும் பழம்
பல் கிளைத் தலைவன் கல்லாக் கடுவன்,
பாடு இமிழ் அருவிப் பாறை மருங்கின்,
ஆடு மயில் முன்னது ஆக, கோடியர்
விழவு கொள் மூதூர் விறலி பின்றை
முழவன் போல அகப்படத் தழீஇ,
இன் துணைப் பயிரும் குன்ற நாடன்
குடி நன்கு உடையன்; கூடுநர்ப் பிரியலன்;
கெடு நா மொழியலன்; அன்பினன்” என, நீ
வல்ல கூறி, வாய்வதின் புணர்த்தோய்;
நல்லை; காண், இனி காதல் அம் தோழீஇ!
கடும் பரிப் புரவி நெடுந் தேர் அஞ்சி,
நல் இசை நிறுத்த நயம் வரு பனுவல்,
தொல் இசை நிறீஇய உரை சால் பாண்மகன்
எண்ணு முறை நிறுத்த பண்ணினுள்ளும்,
புதுவது புனைந்த திறத்தினும்,
வதுவை நாளினும் இனியனால் எமக்கே.
In this trip to the highlands, we encounter festive scenes, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man had claimed her hand and the lady’s marriage with him was imminent:
“Bearing a huge fruit, plucked from the mature, curving jackfruit tree, akin to a pot, the unskilled male monkey, the head of a huge clan, sits atop a boulder near the musically resounding cascade, with a dancing peacock in front, appearing akin to a drummer, who stands behind a female dancer in the festivities, filled with musicians, unfolding in an ancient town. Hugging that jackfruit, the male monkey calls out to its sweet mate in the peaks of the lord.
Saying, ‘The lord is from a noble clan; He is someone who will never desert those he loves; He never speaks harsh words; He is someone full of love’, you had praised him much and brought us both together. You are such a good soul, my loveable friend!
More than the song, penned with perfect precision, about the ancient fame of Anji, who wields speeding horses and tall chariots, by an expert bard, and set to fine music, according to the age-old rules in books, more than the talent that makes one create anew, more than the day of our wedding, he is sweeter to me indeed!”
Let’s leap along with that mountain monkey and learn what’s in the lady’s mind! The lady starts with a description of the man’s mountain country, and to do that, she focuses on a male monkey holding on to a huge jackfruit, perched on a boulder, upon which stands a peacock. This image looks like how a male drummer would stand behind a female dancer in the festivities of an ancient town, the lady connects. Then she completes the picture of the lord’s land with the male monkey calling its mate to share its sweet meal. Then the lady talks about the confidante and how she had helped the lady accept the man’s proposal by singing his praises, calling him one of noble birth, a kind person who never spoke harsh words and someone full of love. The lady calls the confidante a good person for her past actions and concludes by declaring that the man was sweeter to her, more than the perfect verse penned by an expert bard about the fame of King Anji, and set to the right music according to the rulebook, and not stopping with that comparison, the lady calls the man sweeter than the creativity which makes the poets pen new things, and sweeter than even that most expected day in a Sangam lady’s life – The day of her wedding!
In essence, this is a verse of gratitude rendered unto the confidante, and also a celebration of the love, felt in the heart for the lady for the man. Highlights of this verse are the aspects that are compared with the lady’s feelings for the man, such as the way a verse of praise is etched with care, and the talent of bards, talking about how these aspects were held high in the esteem of people then, and this makes us infer how celebrated art was in their lives!
