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In this episode, we listen to an excited request, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 244, penned by Madurai Mallanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and portrays the pleasantness of the rainy season.
”’பசை படு பச்சை நெய் தோய்த்தன்ன
சேய் உயர் சினைய மாச் சிறைப் பறவை
பகல் உறை முது மரம் புலம்பப் போகி,
முகை வாய் திறந்த நகை வாய் முல்லை
கடிமகள் கதுப்பின் நாறி, கொடிமிசை
வண்டினம் தவிர்க்கும் தண் பதக் காலை
வரினும், வாரார்ஆயினும், ஆண்டு அவர்க்கு
இனிதுகொல், வாழி தோழி?” என, தன்
பல் இதழ் மழைக் கண் நல்லகம் சிவப்ப,
அருந் துயர் உடையள் இவள்’ என விரும்பிப்
பாணன் வந்தனன், தூதே; நீயும்
புல் ஆர் புரவி, வல் விரைந்து, பூட்டி,
நெடுந் தேர் ஊர்மதி, வலவ!
முடிந்தன்று அம்ம, நாம் முன்னிய வினையே!
In this trip to the woodlands, we take in picturesque sights, as we listen to the man say these words to his charioteer:
“A bat, having dark wings, which appear as if dipped in thick, fresh ghee, rises from the topmost branch of an ancient tree, and leaving it in loneliness, flies away, in this moist and cool time, when wild jasmine bushes have opened their buds and appear, akin to smiling teeth, having the fragrance of a new bride, as it prevents buzzing bees atop vines from fluttering away. Saying, ‘At this time, I wonder if he will return or if he won’t! Maybe only the yonder place he’s at is pleasant to him!’, as her many-petalled, rain-like eyes reddened her fine bosoms, she suffers deep sorrow. Thus said the messenger-bard who had come with intent. So, yoke the fine horses, which are grazing on grass, with much haste, and speed on the tall chariot, O charioteer, for the task we had set out to do is all done!”
Time to listen to the twin beats of the hooves and the hearts! The man starts by describing the wings of a bat and mentioning how it appears as if dipped in ghee. When I took a look at an image of the bat’s wings and read about how it’s criss-crossed with many blood vessels, the simile made perfect sense. The said bat leaves its perch on a tall, ancient tree, and flies away, leaving the tree to lament in loneliness, the man says. Then he moves on to the wild jasmines that have bloomed on the bushes and compares it to two different elements, the sight of these white buds to smiling teeth and the scent of the same to the tresses of a new bride. All this he mentions only to say, it’s the cool and moist time of rains. Now he repeats the words of the lady as conveyed to him by a messenger bard. The lady seemed to be wondering whether the man would return or not, and feeling dejected and tearful about the fact that he seemed to prefer the place he’s at to his home. So, nudged by the bard’s message, the man wishes to propel his charioteer into action and concludes by asking the worthy helper to yoke the grazing horses and speed on the chariot homeward, for the work they had come to do, was done.
The image of the bat leaving the tree alone is a subtext for the lady’s loneliness in the man’s absence. In these few words, we can observe the signs of the changing season, and catch the pulse of the man as he yearns to be back with his beloved. The thing that struck me in this verse is the reimagining of a bird’s wings and a bush’s blossoms by this Sangam poet, something which speaks to us of their enviable skills of observation and connection!
