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In this episode, we observe a unique way of consoling an anxious heart, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 66, penned by Kovarthanaar. Set in the forests of ‘Mullai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, allaying her worry about the man’s absence, even after the promised season of return.
மடவமன்ற, தடவு நிலைக் கொன்றை-
கல் பிறங்கு அத்தம் சென்றோர் கூறிய
பருவம் வாராஅளவை, நெரிதரக்
கொம்பு சேர் கொடி இணர் ஊழ்த்த,
வம்ப மாரியைக் கார் என மதித்தே.
Flowers and showers form the core of this verse! The opening phrase ‘மடவமன்ற, தடவு நிலைக் கொன்றை’ brings before our eyes, ‘a golden shower tree, with a wide trunk’ and declares the tree to be ‘ignorant’! Before we get to understand what that curious adjective means, we glimpse at the hero of the verse in ‘கல் பிறங்கு அத்தம் சென்றோர்’ or ‘the one who parted away to the rock-filled drylands’. Following the mention of the golden shower tree, its characteristic streamers of ‘golden yellow flowers on its branches’ dazzle our eyes in ‘கொம்பு சேர் கொடி இணர்’. Ending with the words ‘கார் என மதித்தே’ meaning ‘thinking it’s the rainy season’, the verse beckons us to the listen to the story within.
A man has walked off to the drylands, we gather but what more does this tale contain? The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a happy, married life when the man parted away to gather wealth. When he leaves, the man promises to return before a particular season. After a while, seeing signs of that season, the lady languishes in pain. At this time, to the lady, the confidante says, “Foolish indeed, it is, that wide-trunked ‘kondrai’ tree! Although the season of return, promised by the one, who went away to the rock-strewn drylands, has not arrived yet, it has made the thick clusters of flowers on its branches bloom, mistaking these untimely rains to be those of the rainy season!” With these words, the confidante tries to assure the lady that the promised season of return was not yet there and that the man would be back soon!
How come the confidante knows more about the seasons than a tree? Let’s follow her words to understand her intention in that message. Even as she opens her statement, the confidante declares the ‘kondrai’ trees to be naive! Without giving any reason for her pronouncement, the confidante goes on to talk about the man traversing the difficult drylands path, filled with rocks, and reminds the lady how he promised her that he would be back before the rainy season. Then, she adds that even though that season had not arrived, these golden shower trees decided to put out their clusters of flowers, foolishly thinking that the new, unseasonal rains were indeed those of the rainy season!
If the lady could somehow time travel to the 21st century, she would be flooded with tears, for months together before the rainy season! This is because this golden shower tree blooms in the months between April and May, in the peak of summer now, when there is no sign of any rains. Returning to the verse, consider that tree’s connection with time. The ancients seemed to have seen the months on their calendar imprinted on these changing trees! Although the confidante knows for sure that the flowering of the ‘Kondrai’ meant that the rainy season was there, she seems to have decided to deliver this white lie about untimely rains, hoping it would allay the anxiety in the lady’s heart. Whether the lady believed this statement to be true and found hope, or saw the concern in her confidante and decided to bear with the separation, is left to our imagination. In the end, within a few lines, the natural world and the way of life of these ancients is revealed for us to relish!
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