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In this episode, we perceive hidden ways of persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 344, penned by Madurai Aruvai Vaanikan Ilavettanaar. The verse is situated in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, passing on a hidden message to the man, listening nearby.
அணி வரை மருங்கின் ஐது வளர்ந்திட்ட
மணி ஏர் தோட்ட மை ஆர் ஏனல்
இரும் பிடித் தடக் கையின் தடைஇய பெரும் புனம்
காவல் கண்ணினம்ஆயின்-ஆயிழை!-
நம் நிலை இடை தெரிந்து உணரான், தன் மலை
ஆரம் நீவிய அணி கிளர் ஆகம்
சாரல் நீள் இடைச் சால வண்டு ஆர்ப்ப,
செல்வன் செல்லும்கொல் தானே-உயர் வரைப்
பெருங் கல் விடரகம் சிலம்ப, இரும் புலி
களிறு தொலைத்து உரறும் கடி இடி மழை செத்து,
செந் தினை உணங்கல் தொகுக்கும்,
இன் கல் யாணர்த் தம் உறைவின் ஊர்க்கே?
Opening with ‘அணி வரை மருங்கின்’, which means ‘near the beautiful mountains’, the verse highlights a celebration of a mountain’s majestic beauty. In the ancient Sangam country, if mountains are mentioned, you can be assured you will hear the rustling of millets nearby and sure enough, we glimpse at ‘மை ஆர் ஏனல்’ or ‘dark and delightful millets’. The phrase ‘சால வண்டு ஆர்ப்ப’ meaning ‘bees resound a lot’ made me pause and take a second look at the word ‘சால’, which appears not in contemporary Tamil but one of Tamil’s cousins, Telugu, in the same meaning of ‘a lot’! ‘இரும் புலி களிறு தொலைத்து’ highlights the frequent encounter between tigers and elephants in that ancient mountain country and herein, the outcome is described as ‘a huge tiger killing a male elephant’. The verse ends with ‘தம் உறைவின் ஊர்க்கே’ meaning ‘to the town wherein he resides’, and beckons us within the substance of the song!
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man had been trysting with the lady for a while. The confidante understands that the man seemed not to be intent on formalising the union. One day, seeing him arrive at the lady’s house, pretending not to notice him, but making sure he’s listening, the confidante turns to the lady and says, “Near those alluring mountains, the dark, lovely millets, with sheaths akin to sapphires, have grown gently and matured now, with crop ears, bent and looking like the trunks of dark elephants. My bejewelled maiden, if we decide to go guard those huge millet fields, without understanding our situation, won’t the man, who has smeared sandalwood paste on his handsome chest, making bees all along the mountain path buzz excessively, return to the prosperous town in the fine mountains, where he resides? A town, wherein mistaking the resounding roar of a huge tiger that has killed an elephant, a sound that echoes back from the clefts of those high mountains, and considering it to be the sound of thunder which precedes pouring rains, villagers rush to remove the drying, red millets!” With these words, the confidante conveys the likelihood of mother confining the lady to the house and presses on the man to pursue the permanent path of happiness.
Time to delve into the details! The confidante starts by talking about the millets that are growing near the mountains. She describes how these millets have grown to a mature stage, with the sheaths around them, the dark hue of a sapphire, and how those crop ears, bent with the weight of millets, seemed to look like the trunk of female elephant. However, the confidante is not merely reporting crop health to a superior agricultural officer! We knows this because she turns to the lady and says, if they so decide to go and guard those millet fields, what would the man, who was arriving to the lady’s house to tryst with her, understand from their absence. The confidante answers the question herself saying the man wouldn’t perceive why they were gone. So, arriving at the lady’s house and seeing that she was not to be found, what would the man possibly do? The confidante clarifies that he would return to his prosperous town in the mountains, and whilst he’s walking on those narrow paths, he is sure to make those bees buzz aloud, attracted by the scent of the mountain sandalwood paste, smeared on his chest!
Then, the confidante goes on to explain a little more about the man’s village. A hamlet in the mountains, where tigers and elephants confront each other and one such time, hearing the roar of a tiger that has destroyed a male elephant, the people of the village mistake it for the sound of thunder, and fearing a downpour, rush outside to collect the red millets, left out to dry! Reading this, reminded me of a practice in Chennai, where people dry clothes on their terrace, and on certain days, when the skies start rumbling, there’s a scramble to save the clothes from getting soaked in the rain. Returning to the verse, the confidante conceals within this elaborate scene of the man’s villagers mistaking a tiger’s roar for thunder, a metaphor for how the lady’s mother seeing the changes in the lady’s form, owing to the man’s parting away after his tryst, as the anger of god and thereby, summoning the ritual to appease the said god. Pointing out to such dangers, the confidante bids the man to seek the blessings of the elders and formalise his union with the lady. At the core of the verse, is an essential psychological attribute of humans, wherein we often mistake one thing for the other, misled by our senses. Whether to seek the space to pause and ponder to avert such mistaken perceptions or the lightness of heart to bear with whatever the consequences may be, is a matter of choice for a human mind!
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