In this episode, we perceive the angst of a lady, parted from her beloved, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 45, penned by Velliveethiyaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse presents a variety of similes from nature and history.

வாடல் உழுஞ்சில் விளை நெற்று அம் துணர்
ஆடுகளப் பறையின், அரிப்பன ஒலிப்ப,
கோடை நீடிய அகன் பெருங் குன்றத்து,
நீர் இல் ஆர் ஆற்று நிவப்பன களிறு அட்டு,
ஆள் இல் அத்தத்து உழுவை உகளும்
காடு இறந்தனரே, காதலர். மாமை,
அரி நுண் பசலை பாஅய், பீரத்து
எழில் மலர் புரைதல்வேண்டும். அலரே,
அன்னி குறுக்கைப் பறந்தலை, திதியன்
தொல் நிலை முழுமுதல் துமியப் பண்ணி,
புன்னை குறைத்த ஞான்றை, வயிரியர்
இன் இசை ஆர்ப்பினும் பெரிதே. யானே,
காதலற் கெடுத்த சிறுமையொடு, நோய் கூர்ந்து,
ஆதிமந்தி போல, பேதுற்று
அலந்தனென் உழல்வென்கொல்லோ பொலந்தார்,
கடல் கால் கிளர்ந்த வென்றி நல் வேல்,
வானவரம்பன் அடல் முனைக் கலங்கிய
உடை மதில் ஓர் அரண் போல,
அஞ்சுவரு நோயொடு, துஞ்சாதேனே!

In this trip to the drylands, we see the lady take the spotlight, as she utters these words to her confidante, when the confidante requests the lady to bear the man’s separation with grace:

“As dried-up seed pods, blooming from beautiful flower clusters of the lebbeck tree, resound akin to the drums in the dance arena, in that huge and wide hill, where summer has extended for long, on the waterless, harsh and barren spaces, after felling a tall elephant, a male tiger roams around, in those paths, bereft of people any. To such a scrub jungle, that lover of mine parted away. The fine mark of pallor spreads on my dark skin and appears akin to the beautiful flowers of the ridge gourd. As for the slander that spreads, it’s louder than the sweet music of those playing on the horns, which resound in the battlefield of ‘Kurukkai’, when ‘Anni’ severed the thick trunk of the ancient laurel wood tree, worshipped by Thithiyan, and brought it down. As for me, with the suffering caused by the parting away of my beloved, as my affliction soars, akin to ‘Aathimanthi’, with utter confusion, I roam in angst. With the affliction of anxiety, akin to those within a fort, guarded by a wall, now shattered to pieces by the conqueror of battles, ‘Vanavaramban’, wearing a golden garland, wielding a fine spear, renowned for winning over foes, who came sailing with the sea winds, I sleep not!”

Let’s listen to the rattling sounds of the drylands and learn more! The lady starts by describing the drylands, and to do that, she brings in the sounds of the dried-up seed pods of the ‘uzhingil’ tree, which are placed in parallel to the drums in a festival arena. From sounds, the lady turns to the sight of a dangerous, wild tiger, roaming on those barren paths, after bringing down a huge elephant. So dangerous and disturbing are the drylands, the lady implies, connecting that this is the very place the man has left to. And because of the man’s action, pallor was spreading on the lady’s skin, much like the blooming of yellow flowers on the ridge gourd plant. Then, the lady talks about the slander that’s spreading because of the man’s absence, and describes it as louder than the horns blown in the battlefield, at the moment a king named Anni, cut down the sacred tree, an ancient deity of another king named Thithiyan. We have seen the reference to the act of King Anni cutting down the ‘Punnai’ tree of Thithiyan in Natrinai 180, an event that led to many striking historic consequences, according to Sangam poets. While this sounds like a cruel act of taking out one’s enmity on a life-giving tree, from another perspective, it shows the importance accorded to these ancient, sacred trees, and how cutting down the same seemed to change the course of history then. 

Returning, we find the lady now equating her confused suffering to that of the character ‘Aathimanthi’, who roved far and wide, searching for her lost love. The lady concludes by talking about a fort wall, breached by the Chera King Vanavaramban, whose claim to glory is that he defeated those foreign foes who came by sea, sailing with the ocean currents, talking about how those inside the fort would be ridden with anxiety, and would not get a moment’s sleep, and such was her state too! In essence, the lady is telling her confidante, ‘It’s easy for you to ask me to chin up and brave the parting, but can’t you see how hard it’s for me to bear this separation!’. Amidst all the interesting historic references, the verse throws light on the importance of being present with one’s pain.