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In this episode, we perceive a person’s state of mind, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 301, penned by Athiyan Vinnathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse builds a stack of similes to reach the peak of a perfect and precise portrayal.
‘வறன் உறு செய்யின் வாடுபு வருந்தி,
படர் மிகப் பிரிந்தோர் உள்ளுபு நினைதல்
சிறு நனி ஆன்றிகம்’ என்றி தோழி!
நல்குநர் ஒழித்த கூலிச் சில் பதம்
ஒடிவை இன்றி ஓம்பாது உண்டு,
நீர் வாழ் முதலை ஆவித்தன்ன
ஆரை வேய்ந்த அறை வாய்ச் சகடத்து,
ஊர் இஃது என்னாஅர், ஊறு இல் வாழ்க்கை,
சுரமுதல் வருத்தம் மரமுதல் வீட்டி,
பாடு இன் தெண் கிணை கறங்க, காண்வர,
குவி இணர் எருக்கின் ததர் பூங் கண்ணி
ஆடூஉச் சென்னித் தகைப்ப, மகடூஉ,
முளரித் தீயின் முழங்கு அழல் விளக்கத்துக்
களரி ஆவிரைக் கிளர் பூங் கோதை,
வண்ண மார்பின் வன முலைத் துயல்வர,
செறி நடைப் பிடியொடு களிறு புணர்ந்தென்னக்
குறு நெடுந் தூம்பொடு முழவுப் புணர்ந்து இசைப்ப,
கார் வான் முழக்கின் நீர்மிசைத் தெவுட்டும்
தேரை ஒலியின் மாண, சீர் அமைத்து,
சில் அரி கறங்கும் சிறு பல் இயத்தொடு
பல் ஊர் பெயர்வனர் ஆடி ஒல்லென,
தலைப் புணர்த்து அசைத்த பல் தொகைக் கலப் பையர்,
இரும் பேர் ஒக்கல் கோடியர் இறந்த
புன் தலை மன்றம் காணின், வழி நாள்,
அழுங்கல் மூதூர்க்கு இன்னாதாகும்;
அதுவே மருவினம், மாலை; அதனால்,
காதலர் செய்த காதல்
நீடு இன்று மறத்தல் கூடுமோ, மற்றே?
In this long song with musical line after line, which takes us on a trip to the familiar drylands, we encounter a specific group of people, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away, in response to the confidante’s words of consolation:
“‘Akin to a dried-up field in summer, you wilt away and worry, thinking about the one, who parted away, leaving you in suffering. Can you stop doing that for at least a little while?’, you ask me, my friend!
Saving not even a little from the gifts their patrons bestowed upon them, consuming it all, travelling in resounding carts with thatched roofs, which appear akin to a yawning crocodile that lives in the water, they never claim any town to be theirs, and instead live a life free of impediments. They leave behind the fatigue of their travels through the drylands in the shade of the trees therein. Men among them adorn their heads with dense flower clusters of the pointed milkweed flowers, so pleasing to the eyes, and womenfolk wear garlands, which sway around their radiant and beautiful bosoms, woven with the bright and shiny Tanner’s Cassia forest flowers, which appear akin to the glowing light of a blazing flame on a firebrand.
As the music of their clear ‘kinai’ drums resounds; As the small and long ‘thoombu’ horns and the ‘muzhavu’ drums unite, akin to the sight of a male elephant uniting with its mate that has an elegant gait, and send out their musical notes; As many small instruments send out short, sharp sounds in rhythm, akin to the croaks of frogs that resound upon the surface of the ponds, when the rainy skies thunder on, these men and women move across many different towns, dancing steadily, carrying many different instruments in their string bags, travelling as a huge group of people. When these performers have left a town after the festivities, and the day after, if the people of that uproarious town happen to look at the dull and listless town centre, they would feel much sadness; That’s exactly what I feel in this evening hour. So, how can you think I can forget the love of my beloved even for a little while?”
Let’s brave that desolate space that echoes the dejection in the heart of the protagonists and learn more! The lady starts by repeating the words of her confidante, who had felt much sadness seeing her friend wallowing in pining since the man left. The friend had compared the state of the lady to a field that’s drying up in summer, without its nourishing supply of water, and had asked the lady to stop thinking and worrying about the man at least for a short while.
After repeating this question from her friend, the lady launches into a long narrative about a group of people. First she says these people live just for today, meaning that they don’t save a thing that’s rendered to them as income for their services, and finish it all up, without a thought. Then, she turns to talk about their transport, which is a cart having a roof made of thatched grass, and tastefully, she compares these carts to yawning crocodiles. Into the mouths of these travelling crocodiles, these people jump in and traverse the harsh drylands, the lady continues. No doubt the heat and exhaustion of this domain will attack them but they have the talent of leaving behind all their troubles under the few trees they encounter, sketches the lady. That’s a remarkable trait to not carry your burdens but to leave them at the first sign of respite!
Moving on, the lady continues by describing the accessories of the men and women in this group. Apparently, the men wear head garlands of bright white and purple ‘milkweed’ flowers, whereas the women wear neck garlands of radiant ‘tanner’s cassia’ flowers, which are placed in parallel to a flame atop a firebrand, and searching for these flowers, there I found them to be a bright and radiant yellow!
From attire, the lady moves on to the music that seems to surround these people. There’s drums roaring, and another drum and horn fusing together, like elephants in union, the lady compares. Another delightful comparison is between the short, sharp sounds from certain musical instruments, and that of frogs croaking in the surface of the ponds in reply to the thundering skies. No doubt expert musicians will be able to tell which instrument makes this particular sound!
With so much music in the air, how can these people remain without dancing? Indeed they do, they dance on, even as they carry their heavy instruments, and walk on through towns many, not claiming any town to be their own, and they live a life free of hurdles any, the lady describes. You can almost sense a note of envy in her voice at the carefree life of these people, who travel wherever they want, whereas she is bound to the confines of her home. So, who are they? As you must have guessed, they are performers, who go from town to town, to take part in the festivities therein.
The lady then pictures a situation, where the performers had helped the town celebrate to the full, and then taken leave to go elsewhere. When the townsfolk wake up the next day and look at that barren arena in the town centre, without all the throbbing life of the day before, they would be crestfallen, and that’s exactly what I’m feeling, the lady connects finally. She ends by asking her friend, ‘Given this situation, how do you expect me to do what you are saying, and even for a short while, forget all the warmth and love of being with my beloved?’!
Fair point! With so much missing going on within, the lady no wonder declares that it’s not possible to follow what her friend says! If we can leave behind the familiar notes of pining, we can hear a resounding music in this verse, and that is the attitude and the way of life of these travelling performers. They seem to see all the world as their own, know where to leave their burdens, and to find the music even in difficult circumstances. In more ways than one, these people of the past do show us the way forward through the drylands of our own lives!
