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In this episode, we hear the echo of a promise from a picturesque scene in nature, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 36, penned by Paranar. Set in the mountain country of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, consoling her friend, who seem worried about how the lady would bear with the man’s parting.
துறுகல் அயலது மாணை மாக் கொடி
துஞ்சு களிறு இவரும் குன்ற நாடன்,
நெஞ்சு களன் ஆக, ”நீயலென் யான்” என,
நற்றோள் மணந்த ஞான்றை, மற்று-அவன்
தாவா வஞ்சினம் உரைத்தது
நோயோ-தோழி!-நின் வயினானே?
Promises of yesterday swirl around in this verse! A scene from the wild welcomes us in ‘துறுகல் அயலது மாணை மாக் கொடி துஞ்சு களிறு இவரும்’ meaning ‘near a long boulder, climber vines cover a sleeping elephant’. The phrase ‘நெஞ்சு களன் ஆக’ meaning ‘with the heart as witness’, talks about a pact between two people, made with only their consciences in attendance. Yet again, mention of a promise occurs in ‘தாவா வஞ்சினம் உரைத்தது’ which means ‘a vow of steadfast integrity’ and talks about the value endowed to words. Ending with a question ‘நோயோ-தோழி!-நின் வயினானே’ meaning ‘is it an affliction to you, my friend?’, the verse invites us to listen closely to the story behind the words.
Someone seems to have given their word to someone else. Let’s investigate as to who and what! The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship when the man left the lady to gather wealth towards their wedding. After time passes, the confidante worries that the lady will not be able to handle the man’s parting away. Seeing her friend in distress, the lady turns to her and says, “The ‘maanai’ vines spread atop an elephant asleep near a long boulder in the man’s mountain country. With his heart as his witness, embracing my shoulders, on that day, he said ‘I shan’t part from you’. When he has given this unswerving pledge to me, why should it cause an affliction in you, my friend?” With these words, the lady is conveying to the confidante that she would bear with the man’s parting away and that the confidante must not worry on her behalf.
Crisscross layers of care seem to traverse this one! First, the lady takes us to a spot in the mountains where lies a long and curved boulder. Near this rock, we find a sleeping elephant and a fast-moving climber seems to be spreading on this elephant. Isn’t that a stunning image? Here’s a climber spreading on that boulder and seeing the bump of the sleeping elephant, perhaps taking it for another rock, the creeper spreads on it. When we humans need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep, considering the size of the pachyderm, we might think it would require much more than that. However, on searching about that, I learnt that elephants in the wild sleep only for 2 hours per night and they are said to be the shortest sleeping mammals. When thinking about this spreading vine on an elephant that sleeps so little, imagine how fast it must grow to cover this sleeping giant! Pulling ourselves away from these musings on climbers and elephants, let’s return to the verse. Here, we find the lady has mentioned this scene as occurring in the man’s mountain country. From his land, she turns to his words and says how he had promised that he would never part away from her. Finally, the lady asks her friend, when the man has given such a word to her, why should the confidante worry and feel afflicted?
Now, to unravel the interwoven webs of concern! The confidante seems worried that the lady would not bear with the man’s parting. Seeing the worry of her friend, the lady talks about the man’s promise to her and how even though, that seems to be broken now, akin to the spreading vines on the elephant’s back that will break when the animal wakes up, she talks about his unswerving pledge to her and says that it should not be a cause for worry in the confidante. Showing her friend that she is finding the way to bear with the man’s parting away, she removes her friend’s worry. It marks an innate compassionate nature in most of us, which will rise to wipe away someone’s worry, even if that very worry is about us. Possibly understanding this aspect of psychology, the confidante expresses her own worry to dissuade the lady from worrying too much and thereby, helps her to bear with the man’s parting. In the end, what shines through is the immense affection and care that the characters seem to hold in their hearts for each other!
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