In this episode, we listen to a hidden message of persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 368, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated amidst the soaring trees of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’ and describes the surprising nature of spreading slander.
தொடுதோற் கானவன் சூடுறு வியன் புனம்,
கரி புறம் கழீஇய பெரும் பாட்டு ஈரத்து,
தோடு வளர் பைந் தினை நீடு குரல் காக்கும்
ஒண் தொடி மகளிர்க்கு ஊசலாக
ஆடு சினை ஒழித்த கோடு இணர் கஞலிய
குறும்பொறை அயலது நெடுந் தாள் வேங்கை,
மட மயிற் குடுமியின் தோன்றும் நாடன்
உயர் வரை மருங்கின் காந்தள் அம் சோலைக்
குரங்கு அறிவாரா மரம் பயில் இறும்பில்,
கடி சுனைத் தெளிந்த மணி மருள் தீம் நீர்
பிடி புணர் களிற்றின் எம்மொடு ஆடி,
பல் நாள் உம்பர்ப் பெயர்ந்து, சில் நாள்
கழியாமையே வழிவழிப் பெருகி,
அம் பணை விளைந்த தேக் கட் தேறல்
வண்டு படு கண்ணியர் மகிழும் சீறூர்
எவன்கொல் வாழி, தோழி! கொங்கர்
மணி அரை யாத்து மறுகின் ஆடும்
உள்ளி விழவின் அன்ன,
அலர் ஆகின்று, அது பலர் வாய்ப் பட்டே?
In this trip to the highlands, we get to see many picturesque scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, as they wait for a tryst by day, pretending not to see the man nearby, but making sure he’s earshot:
“In the wide field, burnt and cleared by a forester, clad in leather slippers, the black surfaces are washed clean by the moisture of a heavy downpour, and here, the blooming green millets, with long stalks and luxuriant petals, are protected by maiden, clad in shining bangles. The tall-trunked Kino tree, near the small hill, extends its swaying branch, filled with flower clusters, as the swing for those maiden, and appears akin to the crest of a naive peacock, in the mountains of the lord! In those soaring spaces of his, filled with picturesque groves of flame-lilies, with the dense jungle of soaring trees, which even monkeys know not about, amidst the clear, sapphire-like, sweet waters of the remote spring, akin to a male elephant uniting with its mate, he had played with you, for many days. Then, when it has only been a few days, when he parted away elsewhere, something has brimmed over in this hamlet, wherein people clad in bee-buzzing garlands delight in the sweet toddy that blooms in the beautiful palmyra tree! How is this possible, my friend, may you live long! Akin to the ‘Ulli’ festival, wherein the ‘Kongars’ tie bells to their waists and dance in the streets, so loud the slander spreads here, echoing across mouths many!”
Let’s take that mountain trek and learn the spread of the land and the mind! The confidante starts by going to a past activity of mountain folk, clearing the trees by their slash and burn methods. A curious mention here is of these mountain men as being clad in slippers, perhaps to protect themselves from the heat of the burning forest! Then, the confidante mentions how the rains pour down and cleanse the blackened surfaces, and further on, how millets grow abundantly in that field. From the millets, she turns to focus on maiden, who guard those millet fields, and then jumps to their play things, the swings that hang from a branch of the Kino tree, filled with blooming flower clusters, and appearing like a crest atop a peacock’s head. This stitching of images is simply to describe the man’s mountain country.
After that address drop, the confidante moves on to mention the activities of the man along with the lady, playing together like an elephant couple, in the well-protected, sweet springs, deep in the jungle, with trees that even the all-knowing monkeys know nothing about. Then, the confidante talks about how it has only been a few days since the man left the lady, and went on other tasks, and within that interval, so much slander had spread in their town, where people are known to delight in toddy. That slander was so much louder than the Ulli festival of the Kongars, who tie bells to their waists and dance about in the streets, the confidante concludes!
An attempt to tell the listening man that his absences create disturbances in the lady, which causes slander to spread and bring more trouble to the lady, thereby nudging him to give up his temporary trysting and seek the permanent path of happiness by claiming her hand. Beyond this usual theme of ‘Marry her, marry her’, what’s interesting in this verse is to reflect on those picturesque spaces available for a couple to meet and get to know each other. What better place to lay the foundation of one’s love than in the presence of the gushing waters of a spring, the rustling leaves of trees, in the comforting lap of nature?
