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In this episode, we perceive a deep concern for another, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 39, penned by Avvaiyaar. The verse is set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, expressing what makes her worried about the man’s parting away.
”வெந் திறல் கடு வளி பொங்கர்ப் போந்தென,
நெற்று விளை உழிஞ்சில் வற்றல் ஆர்க்கும்
மலையுடை அருஞ் சுரம்” என்ப-நம்
முலையிடை முனிநர் சென்ற ஆறே.
‘Dry and dreary’ cries this verse! In the opening words ‘வெந் திறல் கடு வளி’ meaning ‘hot, fierce and fast winds’, we see how the wind is laden heavy with not one, not two, but three different adjectives. Thereafter, we glimpse at ‘நெற்று விளை உழிஞ்சில் வற்றல்’ referring to ‘a dried-up Lebbeck tree’, which we encountered in Kurunthogai 7. This is another name for the ‘Vaagai’ tree, also known as ‘Shak Shak tree’ or ‘woman’s tongue tree’! The phrase ‘மலையுடை அருஞ் சுரம்’ meaning ‘a difficult-to-cross drylands spot amidst the mountains’ is significant in geographic terms. Ending with ‘சென்ற ஆறே’ meaning ‘the path he took’, the verse invites us to walk on and learn more.
Hot winds, dried-up trees and drylands spot paint a dark picture! The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a happy, married life when the man left the lady to go in search of wealth. At this time, the lady languishes in pining. When the confidante asks her to bear with the parting, the lady replies to her saying, “They say, ‘Hot, heady and speedy winds pierce through the branches and shake the mature, dried-up pods of the ‘Ulinjil’ tree in that hard-to-cross drylands amidst the mountains’, describing the path he has taken; He, who dislikes being near my bosom!” With these words, the lady explains to her friend that worry about the path the man has taken prevents her from bearing with his parting.
Where is this path that fills the lady with so much suffering? The lady describes it in the words of others who call it, an impenetrable drylands path amidst the mountains, where blazing hot, powerful and fast winds slice through the ‘Ulinjil’ tree and rattle its dried-up pods, making it resound all around. Pausing for a moment, we see how the temperature, strength and speed of the wind is portrayed here, all at an uncomfortable maximum level. If the wind is the actor, the lady accentuates its character by describing the acted upon, and this happens to be the pods of the Lebbeck tree, whose characteristic ‘shah shak’ sound has tickled the imagination of many. In the lady’s case, the thought of this sound fills her with anxiety. Zooming on to where this path is located, the lady mentions it as a drylands spot amidst the mountains. This is where this poem gives us information about the geographical divisions then. The classification of land is a significant aspect of Sangam poetry and we have seen it divided into regions around mountains, coasts, forests, farms and drylands. From the mention of ‘mountainous drylands’ here, we understand that there was no permanent area designated as the ‘drylands’ but only the transformation of the ‘mountains’ or ‘forests’, during the harsh summer months or prolonged drought, into the ‘drylands’, described in all songs of separation.
Returning from the land to the lady’s heart, we see her talking about the man as one who dislikes being near her bosom. Instead of jumping to conclusions about the man’s lack of preference for the lady, it should be seen as the lady’s way of describing how instead of happily resting near her bosom, the man chose to part away to seek wealth, concluding that this must mean he dislikes being near her. Peeling outer layers, we can see that this is merely a way to address the man’s nature to seek wealth instead of being in domestic bliss with the lady. Isn’t it curious that the lady uses only hot winds that shakes tree pods to describe the dangers in the man’s path? This tells me that the ancients lived in great comfort in normal times, making this journey through the hot drylands sound dangerous in contrast. Perhaps, to the man, crossing this path is an easy task but the words of others make the lady fear for his safety. Indeed, worry does seem to make things more terrible than they are. In any case, through the clear expression of what’s bothering her, the lady will hopefully find the strength to keep going, until the man returns to her sweet company!
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