In this episode, we listen to an interesting argument for allaying fear, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 27, penned by Madurai Kanakkaayanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse reveals the perceived power of the lady’s beauty.

“கொடு வரி இரும் புலி தயங்க, நெடு வரை
ஆடு கழை இரு வெதிர் கோடைக்கு ஒல்கும்
கானம் கடிய என்னார், நாம் அழ,
நின்றது இல் பொருட் பிணிச் சென்று இவண் தருமார்,
செல்ப” என்ப என்போய்! நல்ல
மடவைமன்ற நீயே; வடவயின்
வேங்கடம் பயந்த வெண் கோட்டு யானை,
மறப் போர்ப் பாண்டியர் அறத்தின் காக்கும்
கொற்கை அம் பெரும் துறை முத்தின் அன்ன
நகைப் பொலிந்து இலங்கும் எயிறு கெழு துவர் வாய்
தகைப்பத் தங்கலர்ஆயினும், இகப்ப
யாங்ஙனம் விடுமோ மற்றே தேம் படத்
தெள் நீர்க்கு ஏற்ற திரள் காற் குவளைப்
பெருந்தகை சிதைத்தும், அமையா, பருந்து பட,
வேத்து அமர்க் கடந்த வென்றி நல் வேல்
குருதியொடு துயல்வந்தன்ன நின்
அரி வேய் உண்கண் அமர்த்த நோக்கே?

Yet again, we are in the drylands and the fear of parting gazes at us, with piercing eyes. The lady’s confidante says these words to the lady, at the moment when the lady worries about the man’s imminent parting away to the drylands:

“You say to me, ‘Revealing the huge tiger with curving stripes, swaying bamboos in the tall ranges, pushed by the hot summer winds, bend and part in that drylands jungle. Without thinking that this is a dangerous place, leaving me to cry, afflicted by the desire of bringing back wealth, which stays not in one place, he will part away thither, they say’. You are utterly foolish indeed! Receiving as tribute, white-tusked elephants from the lords of Venkatam hills in the north, the battle-worthy Pandya kings, protect with their virtuous rule, the great port of Korkai. Akin to the pearls from this shore, with glowing smiles, shines the teeth in your red mouth. Even if these do not block and make him stay, consider your kohl-streaked eyes, which have put the great beauty, of honey-dripping, thick-stalked, blue lotuses, standing in clear waters, to shame, and not satisfied with that, appear with beautiful red lines, akin to a blood-streaked, fine spear that has won over enemies many, delighting vultures in the battlefield! How will these eyes of yours with a beautiful gaze let him leave?”

Let’s skulk along with that hiding tiger and learn more of this tale! The lady’s confidante starts by repeating the words of the lady, who seems to have heard from others that the man is planning to leave on a mission to gather wealth to the drylands jungle. Two side stories here: One, a philosophical observation about wealth is made at this point about how it does not stay in one place, and the other is the description of the drylands jungle, which makes us startled by the sudden appearance of a tiger amidst the bamboos, which are pushed apart by the hot, summer winds. The lady seems to have lamented to her friend saying how the man would be parting away to such a fearsome place, leaving them to cry. After rendering the lady’s words, the confidante gives her response saying that the lady is foolish to think so.

The confidante’s logic revolves around the power of the lady’s beauty. She first talks about the lady’s teeth, placed in parallel to the pearls in the port of Korkai, ruled by the just Pandiyaas, respected by the lords of faraway Venkatadam Hills, which people say refer to the contemporary Tirupathi Hills in the state of Andhra Pradesh. She says even if those pearly whites of the lady do not block him from leaving, the lady has one more weapon in her arsenal, and those are her eyes, which put blue-lotuses to shame, and have red lines, akin to the streaks of a winning spear in a battlefield. The confidante concludes by saying that it’s impossible for the man to leave the lady and part away, given the radiance of those eyes!

To put it in modern parlance, it’s as if the confidante is telling the lady, ‘No way he’s gonna leave you, you dazzler!’. On a serious note, why is a woman’s beauty held in so much regard in these verses? Granted the notion of beauty is different then and now, for instance, I don’t think red-streaked eyes are considered especially beautiful in our times, the preference being for clear, bright eyes, whereas here, in many verses, the red lines of a lady’s eyes were perceived as something alluring in Sangam times! What could this be telling us about those times? A question for ophthalmologists perhaps! Beyond these curious questions, it’s heartening to note that at the core is that timeless element of a friend’s thoughtful words to comfort an anxious heart!