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In this episode, we perceive a person’s dilemma and decision, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 335, penned by Madurai Thaththan Kannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse delves into the flowering and fruiting process of a particular tree.
இருள் படு நெஞ்சத்து இடும்பை தீர்க்கும்
அருள் நன்கு உடையர்ஆயினும் ஈதல்
பொருள் இல்லோர்க்கு அஃது இயையாதுஆகுதல்
யானும் அறிவென்மன்னே; யானை தன்
கொல் மருப்பு ஒடியக் குத்தி, சினம் சிறந்து,
இன்னா வேனில் இன் துணை ஆர,
முளி சினை மராஅத்துப் பொளி பிளந்து ஊட்ட,
புலம்பு வீற்றிருந்த நிலம் பகு வெஞ் சுரம்
அரிய அல்லமன், நமக்கே விரி தார்
ஆடு கொள் முரசின் அடு போர்ச் செழியன்
மாட மூதூர் மதிற்புறம் தழீஇ,
நீடு வெயில் உழந்த குறியிறைக் கணைக் கால்,
தொடை அமை பன் மலர்த் தோடு பொதிந்து யாத்த
குடை ஓரன்ன கோள் அமை எருத்தின்
பாளை பற்று அழிந்து ஒழிய, புறம் சேர்பு,
வாள் வடித்தன்ன வயிறுடைப் பொதிய,
நாள் உறத் தோன்றிய நயவரு வனப்பின்,
ஆரத்து அன்ன அணி கிளர் புதுப் பூ
வார் உறு கவரியின் வண்டு உண விரிய,
முத்தின் அன்ன வெள் வீ தாஅய்,
அலகின் அன்ன அரி நிறத்து ஆலி
நகை நனி வளர்க்கும் சிறப்பின், தகை மிகப்
பூவொடு வளர்ந்த மூவாப் பசுங் காய்
நீரினும் இனிய ஆகி, கூர் எயிற்று
அமிழ்தம் ஊறும் செவ் வாய்,
ஒண் தொடி, குறுமகட் கொண்டனம் செலினே!
In this long trip to this domain, we take a detour to an ancient town, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, at a time when he feels the pressure to part from the lady and go seek wealth:
“Even if one has the grace of wishing to allay the suffering of a dark and burdened heart, rendering unto others is not possible for those who lack wealth. Though I know this well, what’s the use?
An elephant, full of fury, pierces with such force that it breaks its killer tusks, upon the trunk of a barren-branched burflower tree, and gathers the bark to feed its mate in that terrible summer. Such is the hot and arid drylands, where lament reigns supreme.
Wearing long, flowery garlands and possessing victorious drums, the battle-worthy Chezhiyan rules over that ancient town, filled with soaring mansions. Embracing the walls of these mansions, stand coconut palm trees, with thick trunks bearing short nodes, drying in the extending heat. Its sprouts appear akin to many well-stitched flowers brimming in a basket, upon the branching nodes of the tree’s neck. Once the covering of the sprouts splits open, these appear akin to swords cast in a forge. Day by day, they grow in beauty and appear akin to a necklace, filled with exquisite, new flowers, and then turning to appear akin to fans, attracting bees to feed. Those white flowers, appearing akin to pearls, then grow into small fruits, in the hue of conch shells, and the shape of hailstones. These bloom little by little, and what was once esteemed flowers, turn into unripe green fruits, which contains a delicious essence within. Sweeter than the taste of that water, is the elixir that springs forth amidst the sharp teeth in her red mouth. Those harsh drylands will not be hard to traverse if at all I were to take along that bangle-clad young maiden with me!”
Let’s walk along through those spaces and find the way out of the maze in the man’s mind! He starts by making a philosophical statement about the importance of earning wealth for those who wish to end the suffering of others. From there, he takes us to the drylands and reveals how it’s sweltering and water is hard to come by, by pointing to a male elephant furiously attacking a burflower tree, just to peel off a bark to somehow allay its mate’s thirst. After that harsh portrait of the region, the man takes us in the presence of a victorious king, Chezhiyan, and then, off to his capital city, an ancient place, where mansions soar to the skies. The man turns his attention to a coconut palm tree that grows here, and takes us through the seasons, from when the tree just put out its white sprouts, to the opening of those sprouts, the forming of small, white, hail-stone-like tender outgrowths and then onward to the green ripe fruit of these trees. That rather long description, filled with many similes, is only to say the sweet water in those fruits cannot compare to the elixir that springs in the lady’s mouth. The man concludes by declaring that if he were to take that young lady along, then the drylands would not be hard to traverse!
Even as he says it, the man knows that it’s an impossibility, and he would never subject his beloved to the suffering of that domain. In short, it’s the man’s ‘No’ to the nudge of his heart to part from the lady and go in search of wealth. The thing to be amazed about in this verse, is the time and effort taken by this poet to observe the various stages of this tree’s transformation and expressing those observations with rich similes. Here’s an ancient ancestor, wearing the hat of a poet-botanist, telling us not to be confused by the contrasting voices within us, pointing out that even a sensitive writer can happily co-exist with the serious scientist!
