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In this episode, we listen to words of angst, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 273, penned by Avvaiyaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse employs an exquisite metaphor to etch a person’s state.
விசும்பு விசைத்து எழுந்த கூதளங் கோதையின்,
பசுங் கால் வெண் குருகு வாப் பறை வளைஇ,
ஆர்கலி வளவயின் போதொடு பரப்ப,
புலம் புனிறு தீர்ந்த புது வரல் அற்சிரம்,
நலம் கவர் பசலை நலியவும், நம் துயர்
அறியார்கொல்லோ, தாமே? அறியினும்,
நம் மனத்து அன்ன மென்மை இன்மையின்,
நம்முடை உலகம் உள்ளார்கொல்லோ?
யாங்கு என உணர்கோ யானே? வீங்குபு
தலை வரம்பு அறியாத் தகை வரல் வாடையொடு
முலையிடைத் தோன்றிய நோய் வளர் இள முளை
அசைவுடை நெஞ்சத்து உயவுத் திரள் நீடி,
ஊரோர் எடுத்த அம்பல் அம் சினை,
ஆராக் காதல் அவிர் தளிர் பரப்பி,
புலவர் புகழ்ந்த நாண் இல் பெரு மரம்
நில வரை எல்லாம் நிழற்றி,
அலர் அரும்பு ஊழ்ப்பவும் வாராதோரே.
In this trip to the drylands, we don’t get to see any of the familiar sights, and instead, take a detour to the realm of the inner landscape, as we listen to the lady say these words to the confidante, at a time when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth:
“Akin to a garland of nightshade flowers thrown at the sky, green-legged white birds bend their spreading wings to soar above the uproarious seas, and then settle down among the blooming flowers, in this season of early dew, when the land is done with the task of birthing new crops. At this time, as I waste away, owing to the affliction of pining that steals away health and beauty, does he not know about my sorrow? Even if he knows, not having the gentleness in my heart, perhaps he does not give a thought about my world! What should I think about all this? As this esteemed cold northern wind swells, not understanding its limits, this disease that has bloomed in my bosom sprouts up as a young shoot, and as the sorrow of my heart continues on, thickens its stem, spreads as a beautiful branch, owing to the gossip of the townsfolk, blooms as the tender leaves of unfulfilled love, soars as a shameless huge tree, celebrated by poets, spreading its shade all across the land. Even as the buds of slander upon this tree of suffering bloom, spreading their petals open, he still returns not!”
Let’s listen to this lady’s lament and learn more! She starts by describing the seasonal changes around her. She first calls our attention to the white birds flying high and paints them as garlands thrown against the sky. Anyone who has watched the ‘V formation’ of birds in the sky would agree what an apt simile this is! Next, she talks about how the land is all done with birthing of the winter crops, relaying how it was now the early dew season. The lady talks about how the promised season is gone and she suffers endlessly and wonders if the man does not realise this, and even if he does, maybe he does not have her gentle heart to do something about it. She laments asking how is it possible to bear this lack of response from the man.
Then reverting back to the season, the lady says, one visitor is sure to arrive without fail at this time, and that’s the cold, northern winds, and talks about how this makes the seed of pining in her heart, shoot up as a tender sprout. Then, as the water of sorrow keeps coursing through her, the stems of this sprout thicken into a trunk. To help it further, winds of gossip swirl around town and make the trunk spread into a branch, and here unfulfilled love sprouts out as the lush green leaves and what was a little shoot, now stands like a shameless tree of suffering, for all to see, spreading its shade far and wide, the lady sketches, and concludes by saying even when the flowers of slander bloom bright on this tree, the man was nowhere to be seen!
The prowess of this prolific poet in converting the abstract emotions of the mind into tangible elements of the world can be sensed in that flowing imagery of a seed and sprout turning into that tree of suffering. Perhaps all these songs on separation exist only to teach the world the art of healing by expressing what’s within!
