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In this episode, we perceive a person’s worry about another, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 289, penned by Eyinanthai Magan Ilankeeranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse renders intricate aspects about the cultural beliefs and practices of the ancients.
சிலை ஏறட்ட கணை வீழ் வம்பலர்
உயர் பதுக்கு இவர்ந்த ததர் கொடி அதிரல்
நெடு நிலை நடுகல் நாட் பலிக் கூட்டும்
சுரனிடை விலங்கிய மரன் ஓங்கு இயவின்,
வந்து, வினை வலித்த நம்வயின், என்றும்,
தெருமரல் உள்ளமொடு வருந்தல் ஆனாது,
நெகிழா மென் பிணி வீங்கிய கை சிறிது
அவிழினும், உயவும் ஆய் மடத் தகுவி
சேண் உறை புலம்பின் நாள் முறை இழைத்த
திண் சுவர் நோக்கி, நினைந்து, கண் பனி,
நெகிழ் நூல் முத்தின், முகிழ் முலைத் தெறிப்ப,
மை அற விரிந்த படை அமை சேக்கை
ஐ மென் தூவி அணை சேர்பு அசைஇ,
மையல் கொண்ட மதன் அழி இருக்கையள்
பகுவாய்ப் பல்லி படுதொறும் பரவி,
‘நல்ல கூறு’ என நடுங்கி,
புல்லென் மாலையொடு பொரும்கொல் தானே?
In this trip to this difficult domain, though we do encounter scenes from the land, it’s more of a journey inside the mind, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, as he parts from his lady and ventures on a mission to seek wealth:
“Wayfarers, who have fallen to arrows that were aimed from bows, are covered with raised stone graves, and upon this, spreads closely intertwined vines of the wild jasmine. Flowers of these spreading vines are gathered for daily offerings rendered to tall hero stones in that drylands domain, along paths bereft of trees, where I have arrived, with the intention of earning wealth. Thinking about me always, with a confused heart, she would be wallowing in endless worry. That naive maiden, who would become anxious even if my hands that had been holding her gently loosen a little, would now be gazing at the sturdy wall, upon which the days I have spent apart from her would be marked. Then filled with sorrow, the dew of her eyes would scatter on her blooming bosoms, akin to pearls that break away from a string. Lying on that flawless, wide bed, upon a mattress filled with beautiful, soft feathers, with confusion brimming over, she would be losing her strength. Every time a split-mouthed lizard made a sound, she would tremble saying, ‘Speak of good things!’ and keep fighting with that listless evening hour, won’t she?”
Time to take in the scenes of desolation in the drylands! The man starts by describing the place he’s at, and to do that, he talks about the death of innocent wayfarers, who have fallen to the arrows of highway robbers. Though they kill, these robbers have the custom of burying those dead under make-shift stone graves, and upon these stone graves, wild jasmine vines spread, the man adds. He then mentions how those who are coming to worship hero stones also installed in such places, would collect these wild jasmine flowers to bring them as offerings for their ancestor worship. All these facets have been recorded to say that the man has arrived to such a place, dry and parched, without the shade of trees, nudged by his heart to go seeking wealth.
From his position, the man’s mind flies to the abode of his beloved, where he sees her wallowing in misery, missing him. The man recollects how this was a person who would suffer so much if the man so much as loosened the hold of her hand even a little. Now that he is so far away, the lady would be looking at a wall, marked with lines, signifying the days since the man had parted, the man visualises. At that moment, he sees the tears in her eyes dropping down and scattering like pearls from a string. He pictures her lying on their well-etched bed, upon a mattress made of soft feathers, and yet without any sleep or rest, suffering ceaselessly. The man concludes with the final portrait of how the lady would be pleading to the house lizard to render good omens about the man’s arrival, every time it opens its mouth and makes a click sound, as the lady would be fighting against the attack of the evening hour. Here, the prevalence of hero stone worship with offerings, drawing lines on a wall to mark a person’s absence and seeking the comfort of lizard omens are etched to talk about how people responded to death and parting in those times. The verse tells how sometimes we can see the plight of another in such a vivid manner even when we can’t see our own state, right before us! The eyes of love see far indeed!
