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In this episode, we listen to words of consolation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 197, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the domain with a heartwarming simile.
மா மலர் வண்ணம் இழந்த கண்ணும்,
பூ நெகிழ் அணையின் சாஅய தோளும்,
நன்னர் மாக்கள் விழைவனர் ஆய்ந்த
தொல் நலம் இழந்த துயரமொடு, என்னதூஉம்
இனையல் வாழி, தோழி! முனை எழ
முன்னுவர் ஓட்டிய முரண் மிகு திருவின்,
மறம் மிகு தானை, கண்ணன் எழினி
தேம் முது குன்றம் இறந்தனர் ஆயினும்,
நீடலர் யாழ, நின் நிரை வளை நெகிழ
தோள் தாழ்பு இருளிய குவை இருங் கூந்தல்
மடவோள் தழீஇய விறலோன் மார்பில்
புன் தலைப் புதல்வன் ஊர்பு இழிந்தாங்கு,
கடுஞ்சூல் மடப் பிடி தழீஇய வெண் கோட்டு
இனம்சால் வேழம், கன்று ஊர்பு இழிதர,
பள்ளி கொள்ளும் பனிச் சுரம் நீந்தி,
ஒள் இணர்க் கொன்றை ஓங்கு மலை அத்தம்
வினை வலியுறூஉம் நெஞ்சமொடு
இனையர் ஆகி, நப் பிரிந்திசினோரே.
In this trip to this domain, we get to hear the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time when the man remains parted away, having left in search of wealth:
“Your eyes, akin to dark flowers, have lost their hue; Akin to a pillow that has lost its plumpness, your arms have thinned; The beauty of yours, celebrated by your good friends, have lost the old state! With the sorrow of realising all this, do not suffer ceaselessly, my friend, may you live long! The one, who parted away, making your neat row of bangles slip away, left to the terrifying drylands, which makes one shiver, where akin to the scene in a home, when upon the chest of a strong man, lying down embracing his naive woman, with darkness-like, thick tresses that fall beneath her arms, his young son, with coarse hair, crawls down, on the body of a male elephant, one of a herd, having white tusks, which had been embracing its naive and fully pregnant mate, its calf would climb up and descend down. Indeed, he has parted away, without any grace, with a heart that was pressing him to go on his mission through the drylands, near the soaring mountains, filled with golden shower trees, having radiant flowers. Always chasing away those who dared to rise in opposition, Kannan Ezhini rises with furious strength, wielding a courageous army. Even though your man has crossed the honey-covered, ancient peaks of his, he shan’t delay any longer!”
Time to tread the scorching spaces again! The confidante starts by describing how the lady’s eyes, her arms and her beauty had lost their old state. After acknowledging these changes, the confidante asks the lady to not keep worrying so. Then, she describes the drylands path where the man is traversing, and to do that, she zooms on to a scene in a home, where a little boy would be crawling on the chest of his father, as that man lies embracing his wife with long tresses. Then, the confidante connects this scene to that of a male elephant and its pregnant mate and the way, an elephant calf would be playing, climbing on its father’s back and rolling down. Doesn’t seem like a scary place to me! In any case, that’s how the confidante says this place is, and talks about how the man walks through these lands, crossing highlands with golden shower trees, and walking beyond the peaks of a courageous king named ‘Kannan Ezhini’. The confidante ends by saying while all that is true, the man wouldn’t dream of staying there one moment longer than necessary and would be back soon with the lady.
That scene with the bonding elephant family must be the confidante’s way of projecting the image of future happiness the lady is going to experience once the man returns. Utilising the effective techniques of acknowledging the pain of the present, and visualising the pleasure of the future, this expert ‘psychologist’ of Sangam times heals her languishing friend!
