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In this episode, we perceive an expression of awe, uttered to a beloved, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 257, penned by Uraiyoor Maruthuvan Thaamotharanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays the dangers of traversing this domain.
வேனிற் பாதிரிக் கூனி மா மலர்
நறை வாய் வாடல் நாறும் நாள், சுரம்,
அரி ஆர் சிலம்பின் சீறடி சிவப்ப,
எம்மொடு ஓர் ஆறு படீஇயர், யாழ நின்
பொம்மல் ஓதி பொதுள வாரி,
அரும்பு அற மலர்ந்த ஆய் பூ மராஅத்துச்
சுரும்பு சூழ் அலரி தைஇ, வேய்ந்த நின்
தேம் பாய் கூந்தல் குறும் பல மொசிக்கும்
வண்டு கடிந்து ஓம்பல் தேற்றாய், அணி கொள
நுண் கோல் எல் வளை தெளிர்க்கும் முன்கை
மெல் இறைப் பணைத் தோள் விளங்க வீசி,
வல்லுவைமன்னால் நடையே கள்வர்
பகை மிகு கவலைச் செல் நெறி காண்மார்,
மிசை மரம் சேர்த்திய கவை முறி யாஅத்து,
நார் அரை மருங்கின் நீர் வரப் பொளித்து,
களிறு சுவைத்திட்ட கோதுடைத் ததரல்
கல்லா உமணர்க்குத் தீ மூட்டு ஆகும்,
துன்புறு தகுவன ஆங்கண், புன் கோட்டு
அரில் இவர் புற்றத்து அல்கு இரை நசைஇ,
வெள் அரா மிளிர வாங்கும்
பிள்ளை எண்கின் மலைவயினானே.
In this trip through the much frequented region, we get to see interesting sights, as we listen to the man say these words to the lady, at a time when the lady has eloped away with him, and they are in the middle of the drylands:
“Traversing the drylands on a day, when the fragrance of the honey-filled, faded flowers of the summer Trumpet flower tree, with huge, bent blossoms, wafts around, reddening your fine feet, adorned with pebble-filled anklets, you have come with me, to walk on this lonely path, closely combing your radiant tresses, and adorning it with the exquisite flowers of the burflower tree, which stands bereft of buds, having bloomed entirely. At this time, you don’t even know how to chase away the many little bees swarming around your honey-fragrant tresses. Our travels take us through this mountain, where to help wayfarers find the right way amidst the many paths filled with the danger of robbers, high on top, twigs are stacked on a ‘Ya’ tree, whose thick trunk is torn apart by a male elephant, seeking the moisture within, and the broken barks then serve as firewood for illiterate salt merchants, who pass that way. Such spaces abound with trouble, where seeking the food that is to be found within the mounds amidst bushes with drying branches, young bear cubs dig in, making white snakes within to twist and turn. As you sway your bamboo-like arms with soft wrists, and forearms adorned with tinkling, fine-stemmed, radiant bangles, and walk on, I wonder how you have become capable of doing this daring deed!”
Let’s walk along the formidable paths and eavesdrop on this couple’s conversation! The man starts by describing how the lady is walking along with him through the drylands, during the hot summer, when the flowers of the trumpet flower tree have faded and are exuding this old fragrance through the scrub jungle. He describes the lady as wearing burflowers on her tresses and etches her innocence by saying how she seems not even capable of chasing away the bees that are laying siege on her fragrant head. Then he goes on to talk about the mountain, they are traversing, and here, we find an instance of care for strangers. People who have walked that way previously, wanting to guide those who come after, stack twigs on Ya trees, letting the followers know that this is the right path amidst all those fearsome ones, filled with attacking highway robbers. The man then zooms on to one such ‘Ya’ tree and points out how its bark has been torn off by an elephant to taste the moisture inside and how those chewed barks later come to serve as firewood for travelling salt merchants. These salt merchants sure have had no time to sit and read, for the man describes them as ‘uneducated’. Interesting qualifier for these ubiquitous sellers of the Sangam era! Perhaps their learning is through the experiences of their travels rather than knowledge from books.
Returning, after that portrait, the man goes on to visualise how bear cubs are on and about, digging up termite mounds, in search of their favourite food, and in their attempts make the snakes hiding within to roll about hither and thither. After painting what a harsh and dangerous place this is, the man then concludes by looking at his beloved and wondering how she has dared to take this difficult journey along with him.
In my eyes, I see the young maiden struggling to walk, unused to the harshness of her surroundings and this is the man’s way of encouraging her to walk on, by admiring her decision to take this journey. Nothing like a shot of positivity to nudge someone to scale those peaks!
