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In this episode, we listen to words of consolation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 313, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the state of the lady and the land with picture-perfect parallels.
”இனிப் பிறிது உண்டோ? அஞ்சல் ஓம்பு!” என
அணிக் கவின் வளர முயங்கி, நெஞ்சம்
பிணித்தோர் சென்ற ஆறு நினைந்து, அல்கலும்,
குளித்துப் பொரு கயலின் கண் பனி மல்க,
ஐய ஆக வெய்ய உயிரா,
இரவும் எல்லையும் படர் அட வருந்தி,
அரவு நுங்கு மதியின் நுதல் ஒளி கரப்ப,
தம் அலது இல்லா நம் இவண் ஒழிய,
பொருள் புரிந்து அகன்றனர்ஆயினும், அருள் புரிந்து,
வருவர் வாழி, தோழி! பெரிய
நிதியம் சொரிந்த நீவி போலப்
பாம்பு ஊன் தேம்பும் வறம் கூர் கடத்திடை,
நீங்கா வம்பலர் கணை இடத் தொலைந்தோர்
வசி படு புண்ணின் குருதி மாந்தி,
ஒற்றுச் செல் மாக்களின் ஒடுங்கிய குரல,
இல் வழிப் படூஉம் காக்கைக்
கல் உயர் பிறங்கல் மலை இறந்தோரே.
In this trip to this familiar region, we get to see vivid scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time when the man continues to remain parted away:
“Saying, ‘Is there anything for you to worry about anymore? Let go of your fears’, he had embraced you, making your exquisite beauty flourish, and captured your heart. Thinking about the path he now treads, all day, akin to fish that dip in water and attack each other, your eyes brim over with tears. Letting out hot sighs gently, day and night, as you worry with deep suffering, the shine of your forehead dims, akin to the moon, swallowed by a snake. Leaving you so, he has parted away, treading those dry and barren spaces where, akin to a cloth bag emptied of its treasures, the skin of snakes sags, bereft of flesh, and where after drinking up blood spilling out of wounds of wayfarers, killed by the arrows of robbers, crows call out in the subdued voices of spies, and then seek out ruined homes to rest in those soaring highlands with peaks. Forsaking you, who has no solace other than him here, even though he has left thither in search of wealth, with grace, he will return, my friend! May you live long!”
Time to brave those challenging spaces yet again! The confidante starts by talking about the past when the man had won the lady over with his words, promising that there was nothing more to fear in their life, since they had united as one. In contrast to these predictions and promises, the lady now languishes, the confidante continues, because the man had left her to go in search of wealth. She talks about how the eyes of the lady appear like fighting fish submerged in water, as they brim over and shed copious tears all day. Then she mentions how the lady’s forehead has lost its shine in the manner of the moon, being swallowed by a snake, a reference to the way Sangam folks viewed a lunar eclipse.
The confidante then goes on to talk about where the man has left to, describing this as a dry and arid region, where a snake would appear like a bag from which treasures have been emptied, fleshless and sinking. From the snakes, she turns to crows, which, being the omnivores they are, have taken to drinking the blood of the fallen wayfarers, reduced to that fate by the arrows of drylands’ robbers. With much nuance, the confidante describes how these crows then call out not in a bold and loud way, but quite subdued, filled to the full with that sticky food they just had, and she places this particular voice of the crows in parallel to that of spies who rove the land. Let’s return to this simile in a moment. The confidante concludes by declaring though the man had gone far, he would return to the lady soon and shower his grace.
In essence, a verse which consoles a friend with a ‘Worry not’ message. Though this is a familiar theme, the similes about that fleshless snake or the voice of crows add so much finesse to these words. Now, going back to the voice of those crows, let’s imagine the character of spy! The person has to be a lizard on the wall, a chameleon in the woods, and if he were to shout about and have a loud character, their days of spying would soon be over indeed! That’s the facet so well captured by comparing their voice to that subdued voice of the crow. Be it in life or through such a body of work, though the path we take may often seem familiar, tiny treasures like this can change the mundane to memorable in a moment!
