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In this episode, we perceive the torment in a person’s heart, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 339, penned by ‘Narai Mudi Nettaiyaar’. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse depicts a dilemma in a tangible manner.
வீங்கு விசை பிணித்த விரை பரி நெடுந் தேர்
நோன் கதிர் சுமந்த ஆழி ஆழ் மருங்கில்,
பாம்பு என முடுகுநீர் ஓட, கூம்பிப்
பற்று விடு விரலின் பயறு காய் ஊழ்ப்ப,
அற்சிரம் நின்றன்றால், பொழுதே; முற்பட
ஆள்வினைக்கு எழுந்த அசைவு இல் உள்ளத்து
ஆண்மை வாங்க, காமம் தட்ப,
கவை படு நெஞ்சம்! கண்கண் அகைய,
இரு தலைக் கொள்ளி இடை நின்று வருந்தி,
ஒரு தலைப் படாஅ உறவி போன்றனம்;
நோம்கொல்? அளியள் தானே யாக்கைக்கு
உயிர் இயைந்தன்ன நட்பின், அவ் உயிர்
வாழ்தல் அன்ன காதல்,
சாதல் அன்ன பிரிவு அரியோளே!
In this trip to this much-frequented domain, we hardly get to see any scenes there but get to do a deep dive into the man’s mind, as we listen to him say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey, after having parted from the lady, to go on and complete a mission:
“In the deep imprints of sturdy-spoked wheels of the tall chariot, yoked with speeding horses, made when rushing past, akin to snakes, water slithers by, and in these spaces, akin to stretched-out fingers, bean pods sprout, at this time, when the cold season is ending. The untiring mind that rises to complete this mission is pulled in front by my sense of duty, and is pulled behind by my feeling of passion. In this way, my heart that is split into two, becomes an ant, caught in the centre of a twig that is burning on both ends at the nodes, unable to move either side. Won’t she be suffering? That precious maiden, has become bonded with me, akin to life that is fused in a body, and has made it so, such that loving her is like living life and parting from her is suffering death!”
Let’s listen with empathy to this emotional outpouring! The man starts by talking about the time of the year, one wherein the cold season is on its way out, and bean pods seem to be branching out like stretched fingers, and everywhere, water seems to be slithering like snakes in the wheel imprints of his tall, speeding chariot. From the outer world, the man turns the light on his heart and mentions how it’s pulled on one side by his sense of responsibility to complete the work expected of him, and on the other side, by his passion for his beloved. He etches in an exquisite manner the way his heart is languishing exactly like an ant that is caught in the middle of stick that’s burning on both sides, not finding a way to move forward or backward. Then, from his own state, the man turns to wonder about the suffering of the lady and concludes by declaring that she has fused as one with him, like life in a form, and that only being next to her was living, whereas parting away from her was death, so precious she was to him!
Passion and yearning sparkles in every line of this little verse, portraying that impossible battle in the life of a man from the Sangam era, caught between the burning flames of moving towards work and staying behind with love!
