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In this episode, we perceive the pain in separation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 373, penned by Pandiyan Enaathi Nedunkannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse presents the poignant state of both the protagonists.
முனை கவர்ந்து கொண்டென, கலங்கி, பீர் எழுந்து,
மனை பாழ் பட்ட மரை சேர் மன்றத்து,
பணைத் தாள் யானை பரூஉப் புறம் உரிஞ்சி,
செது காழ் சாய்ந்த முது காற் பொதியில்,
அருஞ் சுரம் நீந்திய வருத்தமொடு கையற்று,
பெரும் புன் மாலை புலம்பு வந்து உறுதர,
மீளி உள்ளம் செலவு வலியுறுப்ப,
தாழ் கை பூட்டிய தனி நிலை இருக்கையொடு,
தன் நிலை உள்ளும் நம் நிலை உணராள்;
இரும் பல் கூந்தல், சேயிழை, மடந்தை,
கனை இருள் நடு நாள், அணையொடு பொருந்தி,
வெய்துற்றுப் புலக்கும் நெஞ்சமொடு, ஐது உயிரா,
ஆய் இதழ் மழைக் கண் மல்க, நோய் கூர்ந்து,
பெருந் தோள் நனைக்கும் கலுழ்ந்து வார் அரிப் பனி
மெல் விரல் உகிரின் தெறியினள், வென் வேல்
அண்ணல் யானை அடு போர் வேந்தர்
ஒருங்கு அகப்படுத்த முரவு வாய் ஞாயில்
ஓர் எயில் மன்னன் போல,
துயில் துறந்தனள்கொல்? அளியள் தானே!
In this trip to the drylands, it’s more of an inward and homeward travel, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey through the drylands, having parted with the lady in the quest of wealth:
“As the battlefield had enveloped, troubled, ridge gourd vines have risen in this ruined building in the town centre, around which deer huddle. Here, since a thick-legged elephant rubbed its huge back, with sagging rafters, crestfallen, stand those ancient pillars. Amidst these grounds, as I sit helpless, with the fatigue of traversing the harsh drylands, the dull evening arrives and torments me, and the strong mind that had nudged me to part away now bids me to go back. As for the one, who sits with her lowered hands holding her knees, all alone, the one who thinks about her own state, will know not what I’m going through. The naive maiden, having thick, long tresses, and wearing well-etched ornaments, in the deep darkness of midnight, lying on her bed, with a suffering heart that makes her let out a hot sigh, with the exquisite petals of her rain-like eyes, brimming over with tears, with her affliction peaking, would shed tears that would moisten her huge arms, even as she flicks away the pouring teardrops with the tips of her soft fingers. Akin to a king, who is separated by a single fort wall, when many battle-worthy kings, wielding victorious spears and esteemed elephants, have joined together and laid siege to his entrance, she too must have given up on sleep! Pitiable indeed, she is!”
Let’s listen to the man’s lament! He starts by etching his surroundings mentioning that the building he was at, was once the town hall of an ancient town, but since it was surrounded by war, it had lost all its inhabitants, and now only ridge gourd vines surrounded the place, along with deer that assembled fearlessly, no doubt because gone were the humans. The man also sketches the dilapidated state of the roof and a broken pillar, imagining how it must have fallen down because a battle elephant rubbed its back on it. Then from his surroundings, the man travels inward and notes his despair and exhaustion at having walked through the dreadful drylands and now missing the lady in that evening hour. Then, he makes the comment that the lady would never understand the state he was in, and travels to where she is, and sees her holding her knees, wiping away her tears. Sketching a scene of a lord in a fort, laid siege by a worthy group of kings, and just the way sleep would desert that king, so must it be for his beloved, the man concludes. In the way the man zooms on his surroundings, his inner world and then onward to the lady’s situation, the verse presents techniques of mindfulness and visualisation to overcome the overpowering emotions of the moment!
