Natrinai 356 – Tireless in the high skies

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நிலம் தாழ் மருங்கின் தெண் கடல் மேய்ந்த
விலங்கு மென் தூவிச் செங் கால் அன்னம்,
பொன் படு நெடுங் கோட்டு இமயத்து உச்சி
வான் அரமகளிர்க்கு மேவல் ஆகும்
வளராப் பார்ப்பிற்கு அல்கு இரை ஒய்யும்
அசைவு இல் நோன் பறை போல, செல வர
வருந்தினை-வாழி, என் உள்ளம்!-ஒரு நாள்
காதலி உழையளாக,
குணக்குத் தோன்று வெள்ளியின், எமக்குமார் வருமே?

The verse opens with the words ‘நிலம் தாழ் மருங்கின்’ meaning ‘low-lying regions’, hinting that a lesson in geography awaits us. Then, the verse turns in the direction of ornithology and talks about ‘விலங்கு மென் தூவிச் செங் கால் அன்னம்’ which means ‘a red-footed bird that has well-separated feathers on its soft wings’. People who know Tamil may wonder why I have avoided calling this bird a ‘swan’, for that is the contemporary meaning of the word ‘அன்னம்’. The reasons for the same, we’ll delve into, in a while. In our expectations of facets in geography, we are not disappointed, for in addition to the low-lying regions, we see ‘இமயத்து உச்சி’ or ‘the peaks of Himalayas’. Another turn to ornithology occurs in ‘வளராப் பார்ப்பிற்கு’ meaning ‘to the juvenile fledglings’, referring to the newborns of the bird we just saw. Ending with the question ‘குணக்குத் தோன்று வெள்ளியின், எமக்குமார் வருமே’ meaning ‘akin to the morning star in the East, will that boon come my way?’, the verse propels us into the meaning of the verse.

The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and had been trysting together for a while. Seeing their love mature, the man decides it’s time to seek the blessings of the lady’s kith and kin. When he approaches them in the company of elders, the lady’s parents refuse to give their girl in marriage to him. This could be because they are not aware of the man’s relationship with their daughter or it could be that they were not satisfied with the offerings of the man in seeking their girl’s hand. On hearing this, the man turns to his heart and says, “After searching for prey in the low-lying region of the south seas, the red-footed bird with distinct, soft feathers, flies to the gold-like tall peaks of the Himalayas, to feed its young chicks, who are playmates to the sky-dwelling young maiden. Akin to that bird’s sturdy wings, which see no rest, you have been travelling to and fro, O heart. May you live long! Will I get the boon one day, to have my love right next to me, akin to the morning star that appears in the East?” With these words, the man gives word to his sad state of affairs but at the same time, enthuses his heart with the hope of a different future.

In these few lines, treasures lie hidden, for us to unravel! The man starts by talking about a red-footed bird that roves the low-lying regions, hunting for prey, and describing the nature of the unique and soft feathers in the bird’s wings. He then, tells us that this bird, after its hunt, returns to the peaks of the Himalayas, so as to feed its immature young ones, which are to be found in the company of maiden, who live in the skies. Now, a moment to pause and reflect on the significance of this reference. These maiden who live in the skies are considered by some, as a reference to goddesses.  Even today, the Himalayan hills in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh have numerous temples for goddesses, which are Hindu pilgrimage sites. In addition, there is a depiction of the goddess Saraswathi with a swan as her vehicle, in Hindu and Jain traditions. This may have led some people to conclude that this is an indication of belief in those goddesses. But, could there be other meanings? Could it in fact refer to the people, who lived in the high slopes of the Himalayas? 

Holding on to these questions, let us return to the verse. Here, the man has been describing this scene only to compare the relentless movement of the bird’s wings in its journey to and fro and his own journey to and fro in his love relationship with the lady. Within that scene of the young bird keeping the Himalayan maidens company, the man places a metaphor for how the lady, like that young bird, is unable to break away from the guard of her kith and kin, while he, like the mother bird, has to journey to and fro, to seek her company and love. Finally, he ends with a wish to have the lady right next to him, like how the Venus appears in the morning sky, right before dawn. Astronomy is brought to light here, for I learnt that Venus is the brightest object in our sky after the sun and the moon, and is called the evening star, for it’s the first to appear after the sun sets and also, called the morning star, for it’s the last to disappear before the sun rises. 

Although these facets of astronomy and geography interest us, the highlight lies hidden in yet another field, that of ornithology. The description of this bird in association with Himalayas led me to learn about a fascinating bird called the ‘bar-headed goose’. This is a superhero among birds, holding the record for the world’s highest flying bird. It can migrate over 1000 miles in a single day and reach the top of Mt.Everest, starting from ground level, in just 8 hours. This bird breeds in the Central Asian regions of Tibet and Kazhakasthan and flies south for the winter, and has been spotted as far south as Tamilnadu and Kerala in India. The bird is said to do its flying not by gliding but by continuous flapping of wings and does not even need the wind to take it where it wants to go. I’m stunned by the reference of this bird in a piece of poetry from two thousand years ago. Today, sitting in Chennai, I have been able to read about how these birds were spotted over Mt. Everest by George Lowe, a climber who assisted Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in their climb in 1953. My question is, how did this poet, who did not have access to search engines and internet articles, capture the journey and characteristics of this unique bird, right down to the feathers in its wings and its bright orange feet, as it flies between the low-lying regions of Tamilnadu and the hills of the Himalayas? Definitely, a poem that fills one with awe about the workings of ancient minds!