Sangam Lit

In this episode, we perceive an anguished question put forth, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 327, penned by Marunkoorpaakai Saathan Poothanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse presents a vivid portrait of this domain. ‘இன்பமும் இடும்பையும், புணர்வும் பிரிவும்,நன்பகல் அமையமும் இரவும் போல,வேறு வேறு இயல ஆகி, மாறு எதிர்ந்து,உள” என உணர்ந்தனைஆயின், ஒரூஉம்இன்னா வெஞ் சுரம், நல் நசை துரப்ப,துன்னலும் தகுமோ? துணிவு இல் நெஞ்சே!நீ செல வலித்தனைஆயின், யாவதும்நினைதலும் செய்தியோ எம்மே கனை கதிர்ஆவி அவ் வரி நீர் என நசைஇ,மா தவப் பரிக்கும் மரல் திரங்கு நனந்தலை,களர் கால் யாத்த கண் அகல் பரப்பின்செவ் வரை கொழி நீர் கடுப்ப, அரவின்அவ் வரி உரிவை அணவரும் மருங்கின்,புற்று அரை யாத்த புலர் சினை மரத்த,மைந் நிற உருவின், மணிக் கண் காக்கைபைந் நிணம் கவரும் படு பிணக் கவலைச்சென்றோர் செல்புறத்து இரங்கார் கொன்றோர்,கோல் கழிபு இரங்கும் அதர,வேய் பயில் அழுவம் இறந்த பின்னே? In this trip to this familiar domain, we get to see many different sights, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, when it insists that he part away with the lady and go in search of wealth: “Knowing fully well that joy and sorrow, togetherness and separation, akin to day and night, are of varying natures and stand opposing each other', is it right on your part to nudge me to leave to those disagreeable and formidable hot drylands, so as to seek wealth, O heart bereft of clarity?! If you were to insist on my leaving, did you even think a little about her state, after I part away to those drylands, where seeing the mirage owing to the deceiving rays of the sun, thinking it's water, animals run around languishing, amidst those wide spaces, filled with saline soil, where even the sturdy hemp withers, and here, akin to thick cascades that descend deftly from tall, red mountains, the beautiful, striped skin, shed by snakes, lie upon towering termite mounds, near which stands a tree with dried branches, upon one of which sits a sapphire-eyed, kohl-hued crow, feeding on fresh flesh, stolen from the corpses of wayfarers, killed by others, who have no care about those who died but worry only about the arrows that they lost, in those bamboo-filled harsh spaces!” Let’s brave the dangers of this domain and learn more! The man starts by accusing his heart of knowing that joy and sorrow, being together and being apart are as distinct as day and night, and yet asking him to give up the former and go do the latter. He pointedly asks his heart whether it thought about what the state of the lady would be if he were to part away. In the final segment, the man takes us to the drylands, filled with mirages that make thirsty animals stumble, so covered in infertile, salty soil that even the sturdiest of flora, the hemp droops down. Then the man concludes by presenting a succession of well-stitched images, first the skin of snakes, lying on termite mounds ,and looking like the cascades descending from high mountains, and near those termite mounds, stands a tree with dried-up branches, and on one branch, sits a crow, feeding on flesh, but that which came from a corpse, felled by highway robbers, who worry not about the death of those wayfarers but only about the arrows they lost in the process! It’s the man’s way of refusing the nudge of his heart to part away from his beloved on the trail of ambition. A unique aspect of this verse is the way the drylands are etched by presenting one element after the other in succession, as in that snake skin lying on the termite mound, a dried-up tree nearby, a crow sitting on the branch of that tree, and feeding on the flesh of wayfarers. This reminds me of the ancient ‘Byobu’ art of the Japanese, wherein they would paint a wide scene on successive panels of a folding screen seamlessly, and which leaves you in the flowing presence of a moment, filled with detail and precision. Different cultures, different art forms but the same beating heart at the core!

In this episode, we listen to a pointed refusal, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 326, penned by Paranar. The verse is situated in the lush fields of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands Landscape’ and dwells on the appeal of a courtesan. ஊரல் அவ் வாய் உருத்த தித்தி,பேர் அமர் மழைக் கண், பெருந் தோள், சிறு நுதல்,நல்லள் அம்ம குறுமகள் செல்வர்கடுந் தேர் குழித்த ஞெள்ளல் ஆங்கண்,நெடுங் கொடி நுடங்கும் அட்டவாயில்,இருங் கதிர்க் கழனிப் பெருங் கவின் அன்னநலம் பாராட்டி, நடை எழில் பொலிந்து,விழவில் செலீஇயர் வேண்டும் வென் வேல்இழை அணி யானைச் சோழர் மறவன்கழை அளந்து அறியாக் காவிரிப் படப்பை,புனல் மலி புதவின், போஒர் கிழவோன்,பழையன் ஓக்கிய வேல் போல்,பிழையல கண், அவள் நோக்கியோர் திறத்தே! In this trip to the farmlands, it’s all about a maiden, as we hear the confidante say these words to the man, when he returns seeking entry into the lady’s house, after courting a courtesan: “Having skin spreading with exquisite beauty spots many; huge rain-like eyes; thick arms; small forehead; pretty indeed is that young maiden! Praising her beauty, which is akin to the lush spread of fields, filled with huge, dark stalks, in the flag-fluttering town of Attavayil, where streets are burrowed by the speeding chariots of the wealthy, you should take an elegant walk with her, and join along in the festivities, O lord! Akin to the spear thrown from the hand of the victorious Chozha king, Pazhaiyan, who wields adorned battle elephants, and rules over ‘PoOr', a town fitted with sluice gates to direct the gushing floods of the River Kaveri, whose depth cannot be fathomed by any bamboo pole, are her eyes, which no one can escape from, the moment she glances at them!” Time to see the sparks fly in this uproarious domain. The confidante starts by describing, in no doubt a sarcastic tone, the beauty of the courtesan, mentioning her perfect pallor spots, eyes and forehead. She talks about how that courtesan’s beauty is like the lush fields of Attavayil, a town filled with wealth and prosperity, and then she turns to the man and asks him to go and praise the courtesan, and take her along to the festivities in their town. The confidante concludes by saying she says so, because once that courtesan has looked at someone, they cannot escape her eyes, which are exactly like the spears, which a Chozha King, the ruler of the river-gushing PoOr, known by the name of Pazhaiyan, throws at his enemies! High praise from the confidante about the beauty and attraction of the courtesan, seems like! What the confidante actually means is that once the courtesan has cast a glance at a man, he cannot escape her hold. So there’s no point in forgiving the man and letting him into the lady’s house, for he will bounce back to her in no time, this good friend of the lady implies. A message to the man that he has not been forgiven for his forsaking the lady! Amidst all this drama, there’s a character, which is quietly standing in the background, not speaking a word but one we cannot escape from, much like the courtesan’s eyes and Pazhaiyan’s spears, and that is wealth, clothed in lush fields of paddy, riding chariots of gold and delighting in festivities. Indeed the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few men, is the root cause of all this strife and trouble in this land of plenty!

In this episode, we perceive a lady’s situation in the midst of a dilemma, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 325, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse mentions the respect and admiration rendered unto a Sangam-era king. அம்ம! வாழி, தோழி! காதலர்,”வெண் மணல் நிவந்த பொலங் கடை நெடு நகர்,நளி இருங் கங்குல் புணர் குறி வாய்த்தகளவும் கைம்மிக அலர்ந்தன்று; அன்னையும்உட்கொண்டு ஓவாள் காக்கும்; பின் பெரிதுஇவண் உறைபு எவனோ? அளியள்!” என்று அருளி,”ஆடு நடைப் பொலிந்த புகற்சியின் நாடு கோள்அள்ளனைப் பணித்த அதியன் பின்றை,வள் உயிர் மாக் கிணை கண் அவிந்தாங்கு,மலை கவின் அழிந்த கனை கடற்று அருஞ் சுரம்வெய்யமன்ற; நின் வை எயிறு உணீஇய,தண் மழை ஒரு நாள் தலையுக! ஒள் நுதல்,ஒல்கு இயல், அரிவை! நின்னொடு செல்கம்;சில் நாள் ஆன்றனைஆக” என, பல் நாள்,உலைவு இல் உள்ளமொடு வினை வலி உறீஇ,எல்லாம் பெரும் பிறிதாக, வடாஅது,நல் வேற் பாணன் நல் நாட்டு உள்ளதை,வாள் கண் வானத்து என்றூழ் நீள் இடை,ஆள் கொல் யானை அதர் பார்த்து அல்கும்சோலை அத்தம் மாலைப் போகி,ஒழியச் சென்றோர்மன்ற;பழி எவன் ஆம்கொல், நோய் தரு பாலே? In this long trip to the drylands, we take a short walk amidst the familiar spaces and spend more time in the minds of the protagonists, as we listen to the lady say these words to the confidante: “Listen, my friend! May you live long! My beloved had said, ‘In the tall mansion, with a well-adorned entrance, filled with white sands, during the deep dark hour of midnight, our secret love relationship groomed by the trysts had grown out of bounds, causing slander to spread. Understanding this, her mother now guards her ceaselessly. At such a time, how is it possible for her to remain here? She's to be pitied'. Saying so, he had endowed his grace and kindness. Then, continuing, he mentioned, ‘After the life time of Athiyan, who bid Allan to take over his country, which had been one of ceaseless dance and festivities, the resounding sounds of the huge ‘Kinai' drums that sing a patron's praise, fell utterly silent'. Akin to that, the mountains have utterly lost their beauty, and only scrub jungles spread densely in those formidable drylands, which will be sweltering and impossible for you to traverse. May the cool rains pour soon one day, so that your sharp teeth get to savour it, O young maiden, with a radiant forehead and a swaying gait! At that time, I shall take you along with me. So, why don't you bear with this separation for a few days?'. Saying so, with an unswerving heart, he had stressed upon setting out on his mission to gain wealth, leaving everything to go to great ruin. Many days ago, he had left to the north beyond the fine country, ruled by Paanan, who wields fine spears, to those long and winding paths, scorching with the sword-like rays of the sun, where killer elephants, rest and wait, in those jungles, leaving me to suffer many lonely evenings here! Now, what to do about the shame of this illness rendered unto me?” Time to walk on to distant countries and learn more! The lady starts by recollecting the man’s words. At first he had understood the lady’s delicate situation, wherein their relationship had grown strong with the trysts, gossip had spread in town, and owing to that, mother was keeping the lady under guard. So, he empathises with the lady and says it’s impossible for the lady to remain at her wealthy home, amidst this crisis. The man knows the alternative is to elope with the lady and take her to his town. At the same time, he pauses to note that this is the harsh summer season, where the mountains and paths are utterly devoid of moisture or beauty. To etch this, he brings in the simile of a Sangam era King, Athiyan, who apparently gave away his country to another named ‘Allan’, and gave up his life. After that loss, overcome by grief, the bards refused to play their Kinai drums and utter silence filled that place known for its exuberant festivities. That silence and absence of joy, the man equates to the loss of fertility and pleasantness in the mountains. Saying so, the man had told the lady that at this time it would be impossible for the lady to leave with him. He had promised the rains would soon come, and at that time, he would take her along. Wishing to go earn wealth at this time, he had asked the lady to bear the separation, and had left to the drylands beyond Paanan’s country, leaving the lady to face many a lonely evening. The lady concludes by wondering what they are going to do about the blame and shame that will rise because of the illness of pining, brimming over in her! This is a verse where we get to see the reasoning why the man sometimes takes the lady and elopes through the drylands, and at other times, he leaves her behind. The man is juggling with two options in his mind and deciding what’s best for the moment. Here’s an example of no matter how much thought goes into a decision, things don’t always work out well for all concerned at all times. A verse which seems to tell me that ultimately, we can only do what we think as best and leave the rest for time to teach us about!

In this episode, we listen to joyous voices foreseeing an awaited arrival, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 324, penned by Okkoor Maasaathiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the rain-soaked flowers of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and sketches the trajectory of a speeding chariot. விருந்தும் பெறுகுநள் போலும், திருந்து இழைத்தட மென் பணைத் தோள், மட மொழி அரிவைதளிர் இயல் கிள்ளை இனிதினின் எடுத்தவளராப் பிள்ளைத் தூவி அன்ன,வார் பெயல் வளர்த்த, பைம் பயிர்ப் புறவில்பறைக் கண் அன்ன நிறைச் சுனை தோறும்துளி படு மொக்குள் துள்ளுவன சால,தொளி பொரு பொகுட்டுத் தோன்றுவன மாய,வளி சினை உதிர்த்தலின், வெறி கொள்பு தாஅய்,சிரற் சிறகு ஏய்ப்ப அறற்கண் வரித்தவண்டு உண் நறு வீ துமித்த நேமிதண் நில மருங்கில் போழ்ந்த வழியுள்,நிரை செல் பாம்பின் விரைபு நீர் முடுக,செல்லும் நெடுந்தகை தேரேமுல்லை மாலை நகர் புகல் ஆய்ந்தே! In this trip to this fragrant landscape, we get to see many pleasant sights, as we listen to the man’s helpers say these words to themselves, at a time when the man is returning home, after completing his mission: “It appears as if that young maiden, with curving, soft arms, who wears well-etched jewels and speaks naive words, would get to spread a feast this evening. Akin to the feathers of the young chick, raised with joy by the mother parrot, in the hue of tender sprouts, grows fresh blades of grass, raised by the pouring rains, in the forest. Here, akin to the eye of drums, water brims over in the springs. Akin to blooming buds of lotuses, bubbles form on the ground and vanish away. As the breeze shook them from the branches, bright hued, fragrant flowers in the shade of a Kingfisher's feathers spread on the silt-covered ground, and are buzzed upon by bees. These flowers are chopped by the wheels speeding on the cool spaces of the road, and water gushes to fill the imprints made by these wheels, appearing akin to snakes, slithering away in neat rows. If we think about it, it seems certain that the chariot of the esteemed lord, which plies so, will arrive at the lady's mansion in the evening hour, when wild jasmines bloom!” Time to race along with that ancient chariot! The man’s helpers start by remarking that it seems like the lady would attain her wish of spreading a welcome feast that evening. After that statement, they etch the sights along their journey by stacking one simile after another. First, it’s the blades of grass popping out of the forest bed, thanks to the loving care of the rains, and these are compared to the tiny feathers on a young parrot chick, raised by its mother, which is in the hue of tender sprouts. Next, they talk about how springs everywhere are brimming with water and appearing akin to the eye of drums. Their eyes next falls on the bubbles dancing on those rain-soaked roads and disappearing and these are equated to lotus buds in the slush. As we move long, the helpers then point to fallen flowers in a bright hue, like that of a kingfisher’s feathers. Those flowers become collateral damage in the hands of the chariot wheels, and as the wheels move on, leaving their imprints in the soft and wet ground, water rushes to those spaces, and this looks like snakes slithering in neat rows after them, the helpers etch with precision. They conclude by saying seeing how the chariot is speeding in this manner, it’s all but certain the man would reach his home in the hour the jasmines bloom, and get to enjoy the feast of the lady, they had mentioned in the beginning. If we perceive closely, we can sense a feeling of constant motion, from the blades of grass, to brimming springs, to vanishing bubbles, to fallen flowers and most prominently, to water flowing like slithering snakes in the wheels’ path! It gives an extra-dimensional effect of making us feel as if we are moving in the chariot ourselves! A verse which brings out the finesse of Sangam poets in carving the world around them and making motion pictures, all with a few magical words!

In this episode, we listen to words of consolation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 323, penned by Puranaattu Perunkotranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse renders hope to an anxious heart! இம்மென் பேர் அலர், இவ் ஊர் நம்வயின்செய்வோர் ஏச் சொல் வாட, காதலர்வருவர் என்பது வாய்வதாக,ஐய செய்ய மதன் இல சிறிய நின்அடி நிலன் உறுதல் அஞ்சி, பையத்தடவரல் ஒதுக்கம் தகைகொள இயலி,காணிய வம்மோ? கற்பு மேம்படுவி!பலவுப் பல தடைஇய வேய் பயில் அடுக்கத்து,யானைச் செல் இனம் கடுப்ப, வானத்துவயங்கு கதிர் மழுங்கப் பாஅய், பாம்பின்பை பட இடிக்கும் கடுங் குரல் ஏற்றொடுஆலி அழி துளி தலைஇக்கால் வீழ்த்தன்று, நின் கதுப்பு உறழ் புயலே! In this trip to the familiar domain, we hardly see that space, and instead take in the weather changes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth: “Withering away words of those in this town, who speak, spreading resounding echoes of slander against you, your lover shall return! To see this come true, go on and press down upon those beautiful, etched, delicate, little feet of yours, which fear the ground, and gently bending your form, walk on with beauty, O maiden with brimming chastity! Akin to herds of elephants that live in bamboo-filled mountain ranges, packed with plenty of jackfruit trees, dimming the radiant orb in the sky, striking down on hoods of snakes, roaring with a thundering voice, shedding drops filled with hail, pouring a huge downpour, spread storm clouds, akin to your tresses!” Let’s listen to this loving conversation between friends and learn more! The confidante starts by acknowledging how slander is spreading in town owing to the gossiping mouths of the townsfolk. This indicates that the separation between the man and the lady has happened before their marriage. The confidante continues by saying that the man would soon be back, putting an end to all the talk of the townsfolk. Then, she points to how the thundering rain clouds are looming in the skies, and compares them to both herds of elephants in lush mountain ranges, as well as the lady’s tresses, in a double-edged simile. The confidante concludes by asking the lady to put those beautiful feet of hers to use and walk on outside to see this come true! To understand these words, we have to know about the man’s promise to return when the rains arrive. The confidante is pointing to the skies and saying to her friend, ‘The rains are approaching and so will he!’. The aspect of this verse I most related to was in how the confidante tells the lady to make those feet of hers touch the ground, and keep walking to see her joy approaching her. I imagine that the lady was languishing, refusing to even get up from her bed, and this is the confidante’s way of making the lady take a walk and take in the world outside. A subtle whisper of that timeless wisdom that there’s nothing like a walk to soothe a mind in the middle of whatever crisis it may find itself in! 

In this episode, we listen to words of despair, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 322, penned by Paranar. The verse is situated amidst the falling cascades and soaring peaks of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and reveals the unique qualities of a king’s domain. வயங்கு வெயில் ஞெமியப் பாஅய், மின்னு வசிபு,மயங்கு துளி பொழிந்த பானாட் கங்குல்;ஆராக் காமம் அடூஉ நின்று அலைப்ப,இறு வரை வீழ்நரின் நடுங்கி தெறுவர,பாம்பு எறி கோலின் தமியை வைகி,தேம்புதிகொல்லோ? நெஞ்சே! உரும் இசைக்களிறு கண்கூடிய வாள் மயங்கு ஞாட்பின்,ஒளிறு வேற் தானைக் கடுந் தேர்த் திதியன்வரு புனல் இழிதரு மரம் பயில் இறும்பில்,பிறை உறழ் மருப்பின், கடுங் கண் பன்றிக்குறை ஆர் கொடுவரி குழுமும் சாரல்,அறை உறு தீம் தேன் குறவர் அறுப்பமுயலுநர் முற்றா ஏற்று அரு நெடுஞ் சிமை,புகல் அரும் பொதியில் போலப்பெறல் அருங்குரையள், எம் அணங்கியோளே! In this trip to the highlands, we get to traverse formidable spaces, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, at a time when he’s unable to meet with the lady for a tryst by night: “As the radiant sun vanished, clouds spread, lightning streaked across and drops of rain poured down in the middle of the night. As unceasing passion attacks relentlessly, you tremble with fear, akin to one who falls from a mountain peak, and remaining all alone, akin to a discarded staff, thrown away after beating a snake, you are whimpering, O heart! With the roar of thunder, elephants clash and swords flash in that battlefield, where the army of shining spears fight on, lead by Thithiyan, who wields speedy chariots. In his mountain forest, filled densely with trees, where cascades gush down with force, after feeding on the fleshy pieces of a harsh-eyed wild boar, having a tusk, akin to the crescent moon, a striped tiger roars aloud in the slopes. This is a place where the clefts soar so high, making it impossible even for daring honey collectors to climb and gather. Akin to this hard-to-enter Pothiyil mountains, ruled by Thithiyan, so hard and precious to obtain is that maiden, who torments me!” Time to brave the midnight downpours of this domain! The man starts by talking about the time of the day he finds himself in. It’s midnight, and thick clouds dominate the sky and presently, they are flashing with lightning and pouring down as well, he says! On such a night, the man finds that he’s trembling in the manner of person, who has fallen from a mountain peak, and that he remains alone like a rod that has been thrown away after hitting a snake. Here’s a cultural nuance indicating the practice of discarding a rod, used to hit a snake, for fear the snake’s poison may remain. The man turns to his heart and acknowledges the way it’s crying as passion torments him. Then he goes on to talk about a king named ‘Thithiyan’, who is in the middle of an uproarious battlefield, filled with elephants, swords and spears. From that arena of blood, the man traverses to an entirely different scene, one in a mountainous forest, where a tiger has just had its fill of a wild boar meat and is roaring contently. The man reveals that this place is the Pothiyil mountains, ruled by Thithiyan and talks about how impossible it’s to reach this place, so high and impassable that even honey collectors, who go everywhere, give up exhausted. He concludes by saying just like this impenetrable place, his beloved too is hard to attain. The creativity of Sangam folks comes to the fore here, in their seeing a person’s preciousness in a place’s inaccessibility! 

In this episode, we perceive an emphatic attempt to change a person’s path, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 320, penned by Madurai Koolavaanikan Seethalai Saathanaar. The verse is situated amidst the leaping waves of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and sketches scenes of wild life and human life on this domain in vibrant detail. ஓங்கு திரைப் பரப்பின் வாங்கு விசைக் கொளீஇ,திமிலோன் தந்த கடுங் கண் வய மீன்,தழை அணி அல்குல் செல்வத் தங்கையர்,விழவு அயர் மறுகின் விலை எனப் பகரும்கானல் அம் சிறுகுடி பெரு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்ப!மலர் ஏர் உண்கண் எம் தோழி எவ்வம்அலர் வாய் நீங்க, நீ அருளாய் பொய்ப்பினும்,நெடுங் கழி துழைஇய குறுங் கால் அன்னம்அடும்பு அமர் எக்கர் அம் சிறை உளரும்,தடவு நிலைப் புன்னைத் தாது அணி பெருந் துறைநடுங்கு அயிர் போழ்ந்த கொடுஞ்சி நெடுந் தேர்வண்டற் பாவை சிதைய வந்து, நீதோள் புதிது உண்ட ஞான்றை,சூளும் பொய்யோ, கடல் அறி கரியே? In this trip to the balmy landscape, we have to plenty to see and hear, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he arrives for his tryst by day with the lady: “From the seas with soaring waves, harsh-eyed, strong fish, gathered by the pull of sturdy nets, are brought ashore by fishermen, and handed over to their precious sisters, wearing beautiful leaves around their waists. They take this catch to the streets, filled with festivities, and sell by shouting out the price in your picturesque hamlet, filled with groves, O lord of the huge seashore! You have failed by not showering your grace to remove the rumours, spreading in town, and end the suffering of my friend, with flower-like, kohl-streaked eyes. The short-legged seabird which had been fishing in the deep backwaters, dries its exquisite wings upon sand dunes, filled with beach morning glory vines, upon which the laurel wood tree with curving trunks shower their pollen, beautifying those huge shores, where splitting the fine wet sand, your tall, decorated chariot had arrived, ruining sand dolls carved on the shore. Arriving so, when you relished the beauty of her fresh arms, didn't you take an oath, with the sea as your witness? Are you going to fail in keeping your word too?” Time for a dip in the pristine seas of the past! The confidante first takes us right to the middle of the seas, where we see ancient fishermen casting their nets and pulling in a rich catch of fish. Then, we travel back to the shore and see how their work done, the men hand over the catch to their sisters, who take up the task of selling this catch by finding the right spot in the streets, where festivities are unfolding. Isn’t that a good division of labour? I wonder what the price of that catch would be? Was it barter or money? Would those fine maiden let their customers bargain and negotiate? Interesting to ponder on these questions about the past. Returning, we learn the confidante has mentioned this scene only to describe the man’s hamlet, where such things unfold. Then, she turns to the man and accuses him of not fulfilling his role of showering grace upon the lady because slander was spreading in town and he seemed to be doing nothing to allay the lady’s suffering on account of that. Then the confidante turns to describe their huge shores, where seabirds rove above the backwaters, fishing, and then come to dry their wings on the sand dunes, which are coated with the fragrant pollen of the laurel wood tree. Describing this exquisite place, the confidante recollects how the man had come through those very shores, splitting the sands with the wheels of his tall chariot and ruining the sand dolls, those girls had carved with much love on the shore. The confidante turns to talk about how at that time, the man had taken an oath before relishing the lady’s beauty, with the sea as his witness, probably saying that he shall never let the lady suffer again. The confidante concludes by asking the man if he was going to fail in fulfilling that oath too! In essence, it’s a strong warning invoking promises made, bidding the man to ‘Marry the lady’, instead of seeking the temporary pleasure of trysting. It must have been a time when a man breaking his word was huge deal and it’s that moral currency the confidante employs here. Beyond these usual relationship dynamics, it was indeed a refreshing trip to the seas, taking in the commotion of humans and the calm of flora and fauna that resonate on those ancient shores!

In this episode, we listen to words that attempt to dissuade a person from a course of action, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 319, penned by Erukkaattoor Thaayankannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse etches the qualities of the lady and the land. மணி வாய்க் காக்கை மா நிறப் பெருங் கிளைபிணி வீழ் ஆலத்து அலங்கு சினை ஏறி,கொடு வில் எயினர் குறும்பிற்கு ஊக்கும்கடு வினை மறவர் வில்லிடத் தொலைந்தோர்படு பிணம் கவரும் பாழ் படு நனந்தலை,அணங்கு என உருத்த நோக்கின், ஐயெனநுணங்கிய நுசுப்பின், நுண் கேழ் மாமை,பொன் வீ வேங்கைப் புது மலர் புரையநல் நிறத்து எழுந்த, சுணங்கு அணி வன முலை,சுரும்பு ஆர் கூந்தல், பெருந் தோள், இவள்வயின்பிரிந்தனிர் அகறல் சூழின், அரும் பொருள்எய்துகமாதோ நுமக்கே; கொய் தழைத்தளிர் ஏர் அன்ன, தாங்கு அரு மதுகையள்,மெல்லியள், இளையள், நனி பேர் அன்பினள்,‘செல்வேம்’ என்னும் நும் எதிர்,‘ஒழிவேம்’ என்னும் ஒண்மையோ இலளே! In this trip to this familiar domain, we get to meet its prominent denizens, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he informs her of his intention to part away with the lady and go in search of wealth: “The huge, dark-hued flock of the sapphire-beaked bird, feeds on corpses of those, who have fallen to the bows of those robbers with speeding arrows, who rise from their little strongholds, and climb on to the swaying branches of a banyan tree with tasseled aerial roots, and take aim at wayfarers, who traverse those ruined wide spaces. If you are thinking about going thither, parting away from her, who has a form, akin to a female spirit, a waist that is exquisitely slender, many little beauty spots, exquisite bosoms, dotted with pallor spots, in the hue of the fine shade of fresh, golden flowers of the Kino tree, bee-swarming tresses, wide arms, then may you attain that hard-to-obtain wealth that you seek. However, she, who is akin to tender sprouts plucked with care, the one with no strength to bear, the gentle one, the young one, the one with immense love for you, does not have the understanding and wisdom to reply, ‘I shall remain here' when you tell her, ‘I'm leaving'!” Let’s take that oft-repeated walk through this landscape. The confidante starts by describing the drylands where the man intends to leave to, and to do that, she zooms on to particular bird, which most interpreters have identified as a ‘crow’ because of the presence of the word ‘Kaakkai’, the contemporary word for this bird. However, let’s look deeply into the description to investigate other possibilities. The confidante describes this bird as one with a sapphire-like radiant beak and the way this bird would feed readily on the corpses of wayfarers, shot down by the drylands robbers, who take their aim, climbing on those sturdy banyan trees, and send out their speeding arrows. Now back to the bird, which feeds on these corpses. Crows are indeed omnivorous but there’s another possible candidate, matching especially the descriptor of a ‘sapphire’ beak and that’s the ‘Black Kite’ found in South India and known to frequent scrub jungles. It’s also one of the birds that feed on corpses laid out in the traditional sky burial of the Zoroastrian tradition. So, the poem could possibly be referring to a ‘Black Kite’ rather than a ‘Crow’.  Returning from our ornithological meanderings, we find the confidante revealing that the man intends to leave to such a forsaken place, parting away from the lady. She wishes the man success but at the same time, emphatically describes how the lady, who is beautiful and perfect in every way, does not have the strength to bear with the man’s loss, and does not have the maturity or clarity to promise that she would stay there and wait for the man’s return! In short, it’s a ‘Don’t you leave her’ message to the man! The way the confidante describes the lady as someone not strong or bold makes me think how affronted we would be, if one of our friends described us so! Perhaps that was an age when being helpless was considered an attractive quality in a woman. It’s not only in this Sangam verse from two thousand years ago that we see such a representation, but even in movies from many parts of the world, in the previous decades. Truly refreshing to see women and girls of these times giving up those outdated modes of being, just to charm a man, and choosing strength and confidence every day, all the way!

In this episode, we listen to a pointed message to persuade a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 318, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated amidst the singing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and depicts the dangers of a tryst by night. கான மான் அதர் யானையும் வழங்கும்வான மீமிசை உருமும் நனி உரறும்அரவும் புலியும் அஞ்சுதகவு உடையஇரவுச் சிறு நெறி தமியை வருதிவரை இழி அருவிப் பாட்டொடு பிரசம்முழவு சேர் நரம்பின் இம்மென இமிரும்,பழ விறல் நனந்தலைப் பய மலை நாட!மன்றல் வேண்டினும் பெறுகுவை; ஒன்றோஇன்று தலையாக வாரல்; வரினே,ஏம் உறு துயரமொடு யாம் இவண் ஒழிய,எக் கண்டு பெயருங் காலை, யாழ நின்கல் கெழு சிறுகுடி எய்திய பின்றை,ஊதல் வேண்டுமால் சிறிதே வேட்டொடுவேய் பயில் அழுவத்துப் பிரிந்த நின்நாய் பயிர் குறி நிலை கொண்ட கோடே! In this trip to the highlands, we get to see the familiar fauna, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he arrives for his nightly tryst with the lady: “In the path, where wild animals rove, elephants tread too; Atop the skies, thunder roars aloud; Snakes and tigers are to be found there, evoking great fear; Walking this narrow path in the middle of the night, you come all alone, O lord of the prosperous mountains, a domain known for ancient victories and wide spaces, where the song of the cascade that descends from the mountains, along with the buzzing of honeybees, hums akin to the music of a drum accompanied by the strings of a lute! If you were to seek marriage, you would attain it; So, don't come in this manner from today; If you have to come like this, as she remains here with deep suffering when you part away after seeing her, after reaching your hamlet in the hills, you need to blow a little on that horn, used to call out to your dogs, when hunting amidst the bamboo-filled jungles, and relay your whereabouts!” Time to brave that trek in the dark! The confidante starts by sketching fearful images of wild animals, elephants, snakes and tigers frequenting the mountain path. As if these creatures on land weren’t scary enough, the sky too makes one quiver with its thunderous roars, the confidante adds, and mentions how the man seems not to mind any of this as he comes walking through the very path in the dead dark of the night. Then, she goes on to shower some praise on the man’s rich mountain country, filled with resounding cascades and humming bees, and this duet is placed in parallel to the sound of drums and lute soaring in the air. Then, she comes to the matter at hand and promises the man if he were to seek the lady’s hand, he would get it. ‘When that is true, why should you come like this in the dark’, she questions the man and asks him not to do this anymore. The confidante concludes by adding that if the man insisted in coming this way in the middle of the night facing all those dangers, then he must do something to allay the anxiety of the lady, who worries after he leaves her, and that something is to blow the horn used to signal hunting dogs, after he reaches his village, so as to convey that he is safe!  A nuanced verse that reveals the care and love of the lady and places that as the core for demanding a change in this temporary path of trysting. Instead of ordering the man to seek the lady’s hand, the confidante brings out all the anxiety, fear and stress that mount in the lady every time the man leaves her, and presents the situation lucidly, so that the man comes to the conclusion that the only viable path is to seek the lady’s hand in marriage. The reference to blowing the hunting horn after reaching the village made me think of how we tell friends and loved ones in our times, to send a message or give a missed call, after reaching their place safely. The modes of communication may change but the presence of a caring heart seems to be a constant across the eons!

In this episode, we listen to a reflection on a joyous moment, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 317, penned by Vadamothankizhaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the seasons and the changes they bring in vivid detail. “மாக விசும்பின் மழை தொழில் உலந்தென,பாஅய் அன்ன பகல் இருள் பரப்பி,புகை நிற உருவின் அற்சிரம் நீங்க,குவிமுகை முருக்கின் கூர் நுனை வை எயிற்றுநகை முக மகளிர் ஊட்டு உகிர் கடுக்கும்முதிராப் பல் இதழ் உதிரப் பாய்ந்து, உடன்மலர் உண் வேட்கையின் சிதர் சிதர்ந்து உகுப்ப,பொன் செய் கன்னம் பொலிய, வெள்ளிநுண் கோல் அறை குறைந்து உதிர்வன போல,அரவ வண்டினம் ஊதுதொறும் குரவத்துஓங்கு சினை நறு வீ கோங்கு அலர் உறைப்ப,துவைத்து எழு தும்பி, தவிர் இசை விளரிஉதைத்து விடு நரம்பின், இம்மென இமிரும்ஆன் ஏமுற்ற காமர் வேனில்,வெயில் அவிர் புரையும் வீ ததை மராஅத்துக்குயில் இடு பூசல் எம்மொடு கேட்பவருவேம்” என்ற பருவம் ஆண்டைஇல்லைகொல்?” என மெல்ல நோக்கி,நினைந்தனம் இருந்தனமாக, நயந்து ஆங்குஉள்ளிய மருங்கின் உள்ளம் போல,வந்து நின்றனரே காதலர்; நம் துறந்துஎன்னுழியதுகொல் தானே பல் நாள்அன்னையும் அறிவுற அணங்கி,நல் நுதல் பாஅய பசலை நோயே? In this trip to this domain, we hardly see the familiar spread of the land, and instead, take a ride through the changing seasons, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time when the man had parted away from the lady, prior to marriage, and gone in search of wealth: “The cloudy skies had ceased their duty of pouring rains and dried up, and then came the season of winter, dressed in a garment in the shade of smoke, spreading darkness even during the day. Even that passed, and upon the sharp edges of the Coral tree buds, appearing, akin to reddened nails of maiden with sharp teeth and smiling faces, honeybees with a desire to feed on flowers, pounce and make many immature petals drop down. Akin to how small rods of silver, shortened when severed, drop and decorate a golden bowl, as buzzing bees swarm around, white Tarrenna flowers in the soaring branches drop down on fragrant buttercup flowers. The intermittent noise of bees that dive and rise, echo like the ‘Vilari' tune, rising from the plucked strings of a lute, with a humming sound. In this desirable season of spring that delights animals many, burflower trees fill with flowers that appear like radiating sunlight, and cuckoos let out a huge uproar. He had said when you happen to hear that uproar, I shall be back with you. ‘Doesn't this season he promised appear there where he is too?', you had wondered about, looking outward softly. Just like how when something appears out of the blue the moment you desire and think of it, he came and stood there, that lover of yours! That which had been tormenting you for days together, revealing all to mother, that disease of pallor that had spread on your fine forehead, where did it run away now, deserting you?” Time to dive deeper into the words of these maiden! The confidante starts by talking about how first the rainy season had come and the sky had filled with huge clouds, and once their job of pouring was done, they had parted away, and she continues as follows: Next came the season of winter when the whole world seemed to be dressed in the hue of smoke, confusing everyone if it was day or night. And now, the Coral tree buds, looking like the nails of smiling women, were buzzed upon by eager bees, making their buds drop down. The bees, not content with just the coral tree flowers, turn their attention to the radiant white Tarrena flowers and make these drop down on the buttercup flowers below, and this scene is so exquisitely placed in parallel to the image of silver sticks being cut and dropped onto a golden bowl. After that expensive simile, the confidante turns to focus on the sounds around and equates the buzzing of these bees to the ‘Vilari’ tunes that hums from a lute. As if saying ‘Yes, you got it right!’, the confidante announces that this is the season of spring indeed! Now burflower trees are opening their buds and looking like little balls of sunshine, she sketches. Then the good friend recollects how the man had promised the lady that he would be back when the cuckoos sent out their loud calls in this very season and narrates how the lady had wondered whether there was no such season of spring wherever the man was. Just then, the man had appeared there, in the manner of attaining something the moment we desire it. The confidante concludes by asking with joy where that tormenting pallor that had taken residence on the lady’s forehead, snitching about her state to mother, had suddenly run away now!  A simple verse announcing the man’s arrival at the right moment, and making the lady’s heart spring forth with joy and relief. The highlight is the way this verse takes us from wherever we may be, and transports us to that moment in the past, and makes all our senses delight in the freshness of that pristine season of spring! 

In this episode, we listen to an angry outburst, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 316, penned by Orambokiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the attractive white-lilies of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and records the beliefs of a particular time and place about the role of a wife. ‘துறை மீன் வழங்கும் பெரு நீர்ப் பொய்கை,அரி மலர் ஆம்பல் மேய்ந்த நெறி மருப்புஈர்ந் தண் எருமைச் சுவல் படு முது போத்து,தூங்கு சேற்று அள்ளல் துஞ்சி, பொழுது பட,பைந் நிண வராஅல் குறையப் பெயர்தந்து,குரூஉக் கொடிப் பகன்றை சூடி, மூதூர்ப்போர் செறி மள்ளரின் புகுதரும் ஊரன்தேர் தர வந்த, தெரிஇழை, நெகிழ் தோள்,ஊர் கொள்கல்லா மகளிர் தரத் தரபரத்தைமை தாங்கலோ இலென்’ என வறிது நீபுலத்தல் ஒல்லுமோ? மனை கெழு மடந்தை!அது புலந்து உறைதல் வல்லியோரே,செய்யோள் நீங்க, சில் பதம் கொழித்து,தாம் அட்டு உண்டு, தமியர் ஆகி,தே மொழிப் புதல்வர் திரங்கு முலை சுவைப்ப,வைகுநர் ஆகுதல் அறிந்தும்,அறியார் அம்ம, அஃது உடலுமோரே! In our visit to this quarrelsome landscape, we get to see the usual flora and fauna, and learn something about what was expected from the woman at home, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time when the man had previously left the lady to court courtesans but had now returned home, seeking entry into the lady’s house, and having managed to convince the lady’s confidante about his cause: “In a pond with deep waters on that river shore brimming with fish, an aged male buffalo with a moist cool back and curving horns grazes upon the pretty flowers of the white lily, then sleeps amidst the thick, slushy mud, and waking at dawn, trampling on the fatty flesh of murrel fish, steps out, wearing radiant flowers of rattle-pod vines, appearing like a warrior, who has returned to his ancient town after a battle victory. Such is the town of the lord! Saying, ‘The lord seems unable to resist the attraction of those courtesans, who do not yield to the customs of a town, for he roves around with those maiden, clad in well-etched jewels, in his chariot ceaselessly', you lament uselessly, O maiden who brightens the home! Is this right on your part? Those who think they can live forever sulking with their husbands, will soon find that the goddess of wealth forsakes them, and they will end up cooking and feeding on but a few grains of rice, living all alone, as their honey-voiced infants suck helplessly at their shrivelled breasts. Those who live in such a state of quarrelling, without accepting their men, even after knowing that this would happen, are utterly foolish indeed!” Time to take a dip into the slushy ponds of this wealthy domain! The confidante starts by describing the man’s town, and to do that, she brings forth the scene of an aged male buffalo feeding on white lilies in the lush ponds and sleeping in the muddy waters at night, and then at the crack of dawn, the buffalo would step out of the pond, trampling the poor murrel fish there, and walk on, wearing a vine of rattlepod flowers around its head, looking like a victorious warrior returning to his home town after a battle. After all these verses, you would know that the scene of the buffalo is a metaphor for the man enjoying the company of courtesans and then returning home to his wife. Turning from that dynamic image of the buffalo, the confidante moves on to describe the lady’s stance saying the lady had been complaining how the man was not resisting the charm of those courtesans, who were trying to tempt him, for he kept yielding to them and taking them around in his chariot and courting with them endlessly. Then, instead of supporting her friend, this confidante asks whether this is right on the lady’s part to keep quarrelling with the man so, and ends with a generic statement about the fate of those women, who do not accept their men in such circumstances, saying that poverty would take residence with them and that their children would not even find milk in their dried-up breasts.  I know! Such a difficult verse to process! I took a long time to understand what the confidante was saying and to accept these as her words. The confidante is a person whom I always held in high regard for her selfless love towards the lady but here she seems to dash it all to the ground, when she asks the lady to accept the man, no matter what his wrongdoings were! Having given vent to my feelings as a modern woman of the twenty-first century, let me try to see where this friend is coming from. She seems to be talking in a tone of exasperation with the lady’s attitude and that tells one good thing that the lady is refusing to accept the man stubbornly. This verse reveals that the fact a man will meander was a taken-for-granted thing in that rich society and it was an implicit rule that his woman should accept such misgivings of his. So, here the confidante is trying to threaten the lady into submitting to the man’s reconciliation, by talking about a horrible fate that awaits if she does not. Is the confidante simply frightening the lady or speaking what she sees as true? And, the most disturbing thing about this verse is that it has been written by a female poet. But why blame that poet? All of us, at all times, are in some sense, a victim of our times. We operate within the boundaries of what we know as right, and that truth seems to be a changing phantom across the ages. Let’s focus on the positives of the past, noting how the woman had the right to dissent and refuse such a lord with wealth and power, regardless of their views about what a wife should do. Also, let’s rejoice in the strides women have made here and in many parts of the world in overcoming the shackles of such patriarchal views. At the same time, we must not forget the plight of our sisters and mothers in some parts of the world, who suffer a fate, worse than even this wife from the Sangam era, two thousand years ago. They are fighting in the dark against an all-consuming power that denies them education and even freedom! Here’s wishing for them and every last woman the sweet fate of throwing away those chains that bind them and soar as an equal in the sky of humankind!

In this episode, we listen to a mother’s lament, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 315, penned by Kudavayil Keerathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the thoughts of a mother at a moment of loss. ‘கூழையும் குறு நெறிக் கொண்டன; முலையும்சூழி மென் முகம் செப்புடன் எதிரின;பெண் துணை சான்றனள், இவள்’ எனப் பல் மாண்கண் துணை ஆக நோக்கி, நெருநையும்,அயிர்த்தன்றுமன்னே, நெஞ்சம்; பெயர்த்தும்,அறியாமையின் செறியேன், யானே;பெரும் பெயர் வழுதி கூடல் அன்ன தன்அருங் கடி வியல் நகர்ச் சிலம்பும் கழியாள்,சேணுறச் சென்று, வறுஞ் சுனைக்கு ஒல்கி,புறவுக் குயின்று உண்ட புன் காய் நெல்லிக்கோடை உதிர்த்த குவி கண் பசுங் காய்,அறு நூல் பளிங்கின் துளைக் காசு கடுப்ப,வறு நிலத்து உதிரும் அத்தம், கதுமென,கூர் வேல் விடலை பொய்ப்பப் போகி,சேக்குவள் கொல்லோதானே தேக்கின்அகல் இலை கவித்த புதல் போல் குரம்பை,ஊன் புழுக்கு அயரும் முன்றில்,கான் கெழு வாழ்நர் சிறுகுடியானே. In this trip to the drylands, it’s more about a mother’s inner landscape, as we listen to her say these words, when she learns of her daughter’s elopement: “Her tresses had taken to forming little curls, and her bosoms, round and soft, had blossomed with finesse. As my eyes showed me all this many times, thinking, ‘Oh! She's turning into a woman', even yesterday, my heart let out a sigh. And yet, owing to my ignorance, I failed to put her under guard. In our well-protected, wide mansion, akin to the renowned Vazhuthi's town of Koodal, without letting the ‘anklet ceremony' happen, she has left afar and would be languishing, near a dried-up spring, where fruits of the rough-trunked gooseberry tree, pecked on by pigeons, shed by hot winds, lie in heaps of green, appearing akin to marble discs that have slipped from a severed string, on that barren land. Such is the drylands space, where she has left to, hastily, with that young man, wielding a sharp spear, listening to his lies. In that bush-like, little hut in a hamlet, where forest dwellers relax in their front yard, sharing cooked flesh on wide teak leaves, would she now be resting?” Let’s listen to this mother’s cry and learn more! Mother starts by recollecting the thoughts that had gone through her head, just the previous day. Having glanced at the lady’s changing form, noting the curls in her tresses, and the blossoming of her bosoms, mother had been sighing, thinking of how her little one seemed to be becoming a woman. Even so, mother kicks herself now for not heeding these changes and doing what mothers then did, which is to keep their daughters under lock and key! Because of this oversight on mother’s part, now there’s no room for an important ceremony in a girl’s life to take place in their wealthy mansion, the ceremony of changing a girl’s anklets before her marriage, mother laments. Why because, the lady had left listening to the lies of that young man with a spear, and left to the drylands, where the springs are dried up, and even the gooseberries are pecked by pigeons, and lie on the ground, appearing like marble discs broken from a necklace string, mother explains. Then, she concludes by wondering if that precious daughter of hers would now be resting in a hamlet of foresters, where in the front yard of their huts, they would share cooked flesh on teak leaves. In the final lines, beyond all the pain and disappointment in mother’s voice, we sense a hope that strangers somewhere will be taking care of her daughter. A simple verse that echoes a mother’s love, which silently wishes well for her offspring, no matter where they are or what they have done!

In this episode, we perceive words of a warm welcome, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 314, penned by Madurai Alakkar Gnaazhaar Makanaar Ammallanaar. The verse is situated amidst the rain-soaked earth of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and portrays how angst has been routed by a much-awaited arrival. ”நீலத்து அன்ன நீர் பொதி கருவின்,மா விசும்பு அதிர முழங்கி, ஆலியின்நிலம் தண்ணென்று கானம் குழைப்ப,இனம் தேர் உழவர் இன் குரல் இயம்ப,மறியுடை மடப் பிணை தழீஇ, புறவின்திரிமருப்பு இரலை பைம் பயிர் உகள,ஆர் பெயல் உதவிய கார் செய் காலை,நூல் நெறி நுணங்கிய கால் நவில் புரவிகல்லெனக் கறங்கு மணி இயம்ப, வல்லோன்வாச் செல வணக்கிய தாப் பரி நெடுந் தேர்ஈர்ம் புறவு இயங்கு வழி அறுப்ப, தீம் தொடைப்பையுள் நல் யாழ் செவ்வழி பிறப்ப,இந் நிலை வாரார்ஆயின், தம் நிலைஎவன்கொல்? பாண! உரைத்திசின், சிறிது” என,கடவுட் கற்பின் மடவோள் கூற,செய் வினை அழிந்த மையல் நெஞ்சின்துனி கொள் பருவரல் தீர, வந்தோய்!இனிது செய்தனையால்; வாழ்க, நின் கண்ணி!வேலி சுற்றிய வால் வீ முல்லைப்பெருந் தார் கமழும், விருந்து ஒலி கதுப்பின்இன் நகை இளையோள் கவவ,மன்னுக, பெரும! நின் மலர்ந்த மார்பே! The scenes of the lush forest greet us in this trip, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he returns home, after having parted with the lady a while ago: “Saying, 'Carrying a womb, brimming with sapphire-like waters, quaking the dark skies with its roar, clouds have poured down rain, cooling the land and making the forest flourish. Sweet voices of farmers calling their kin resounds aloud, and in the forest, a male deer with twisted antlers, after embracing its pregnant, naive mate, leaps about amidst the green bushes. On this day of rains, when the downpour has descended, wielding those perfect horses, which would be placed in parallel to the wind, in the eyes of books, making those tinkling bells echo aloud, as that tall chariot, which leaps with control in the reins of the charioteer, cuts across its path in the moist-backed forest, as the sweet strings of the melancholic lute sends out the ‘Sevvazhi' tune, if he does not arrive even now, what is to be said about his nature, O bard? Tell me a little!', that maiden with a god-like chastity suffered greatly, tormented by her helpless, confused heart. Slaying that hateful sorrow, you have arrived here! You have rendered bliss unto her! Long live, your garland! May your embrace of that sweet-smiling young maiden, with thick, luxuriant tresses, wafting with the scent of a huge garland, woven with white, wild jasmine flowers, encircling the fence, last long upon your wide and blooming chest, O lord!” Let’s trot along with the man and bask in that resounding reception! The confidante starts by repeating the words the lady had been saying to a bard. The lady had spoken about the rain clouds, imagining them as a mother carrying the womb of sapphire-hued water, and as the time was up, they had delivered their child of rains, which the hands of the land had received as a blessing from the skies, and then spread the green smiles all around the lush forest. The joy the earth and the trees felt were reflected by the trotting male deer and its delighting mate, pregnant, as well. Is the lady trying to convey some ‘good news’ to the man? Returning, after that rousing rendition of the rains, the lady had asked the bard if the man does not arrive there, wielding his horses, described as the wind in great books, as his charioteer weaved a path through the moist lands, at that evening hour when the ‘Sevvazhi’ tune resounded on the lute, then what only can you say about him. A statement of dejection from the lips of this dame! The confidante after saying that’s how crestfallen the lady had been, turns to the man and celebrates that he has now returned, vanquishing that sorrow and suffering in the lady, and filling her with the sweetness of joy. The confidante concludes by blessing the man’s garland and wishing that he continues to remain in the embrace of his beloved mate for long! A verse which portrays a moment when the pain of the past is driven into disappearance just by a person’s presence! Coming home to a waiting beloved is the stuff of legends many, which do extend a timeless appeal even, and perhaps, especially, in this modern age of hyper-communication!

In this episode, we listen to words of consolation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 313, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the state of the lady and the land with picture-perfect parallels. ”இனிப் பிறிது உண்டோ? அஞ்சல் ஓம்பு!” எனஅணிக் கவின் வளர முயங்கி, நெஞ்சம்பிணித்தோர் சென்ற ஆறு நினைந்து, அல்கலும்,குளித்துப் பொரு கயலின் கண் பனி மல்க,ஐய ஆக வெய்ய உயிரா,இரவும் எல்லையும் படர் அட வருந்தி,அரவு நுங்கு மதியின் நுதல் ஒளி கரப்ப,தம் அலது இல்லா நம் இவண் ஒழிய,பொருள் புரிந்து அகன்றனர்ஆயினும், அருள் புரிந்து,வருவர் வாழி, தோழி! பெரியநிதியம் சொரிந்த நீவி போலப்பாம்பு ஊன் தேம்பும் வறம் கூர் கடத்திடை,நீங்கா வம்பலர் கணை இடத் தொலைந்தோர்வசி படு புண்ணின் குருதி மாந்தி,ஒற்றுச் செல் மாக்களின் ஒடுங்கிய குரல,இல் வழிப் படூஉம் காக்கைக்கல் உயர் பிறங்கல் மலை இறந்தோரே. In this trip to this familiar region, we get to see vivid scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time when the man continues to remain parted away: “Saying, ‘Is there anything for you to worry about anymore? Let go of your fears', he had embraced you, making your exquisite beauty flourish, and captured your heart.  Thinking about the path he now treads, all day, akin to fish that dip in water and attack each other, your eyes brim over with tears. Letting out hot sighs gently, day and night, as you worry with deep suffering, the shine of your forehead dims, akin to the moon, swallowed by a snake. Leaving you so, he has parted away, treading those dry and barren spaces where, akin to a cloth bag emptied of its treasures, the skin of snakes sags, bereft of flesh, and where after drinking up blood spilling out of wounds of wayfarers, killed by the arrows of robbers, crows call out in the subdued voices of spies, and then seek out ruined homes to rest in those soaring highlands with peaks. Forsaking you, who has no solace other than him here, even though he has left thither in search of wealth, with grace, he will return, my friend! May you live long!” Time to brave those challenging spaces yet again! The confidante starts by talking about the past when the man had won the lady over with his words, promising that there was nothing more to fear in their life, since they had united as one. In contrast to these predictions and promises, the lady now languishes, the confidante continues, because the man had left her to go in search of wealth. She talks about how the eyes of the lady appear like fighting fish submerged in water, as they brim over and shed copious tears all day. Then she mentions how the lady’s forehead has lost its shine in the manner of the moon, being swallowed by a snake, a reference to the way Sangam folks viewed a lunar eclipse. The confidante then goes on to talk about where the man has left to, describing this as a dry and arid region, where a snake would appear like a bag from which treasures have been emptied, fleshless and sinking. From the snakes, she turns to crows, which, being the omnivores they are, have taken to drinking the blood of the fallen wayfarers, reduced to that fate by the arrows of drylands’ robbers. With much nuance, the confidante describes how these crows then call out not in a bold and loud way, but quite subdued, filled to the full with that sticky food they just had, and she places this particular voice of the crows in parallel to that of spies who rove the land. Let’s return to this simile in a moment. The confidante concludes by declaring though the man had gone far, he would return to the lady soon and shower his grace. In essence, a verse which consoles a friend with a ‘Worry not’ message. Though this is a familiar theme, the similes about that fleshless snake or the voice of crows add so much finesse to these words. Now, going back to the voice of those crows, let’s imagine the character of spy! The person has to be a lizard on the wall, a chameleon in the woods, and if he were to shout about and have a loud character, their days of spying would soon be over indeed! That’s the facet so well captured by comparing their voice to that subdued voice of the crow. Be it in life or through such a body of work, though the path we take may often seem familiar, tiny treasures like this can change the mundane to memorable in a moment!

In this episode, we perceive a technique of conveying a timely message, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 312, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated amidst the flowing cascades of the 'Kurinji' or 'Mountain Landscape' and conveys the precariousness of the situation in a subtle manner.

In this episode, we listen to thoughtful words of consolation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 311, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the 'Paalai' or 'Drylands landscape', the verse throws the spotlight on the nature of a tribe in ancient Tamil land.

In this episode, we listen to a message of acceptance, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 310, penned by Nakeerar. The verse is situated amidst the roaring waves of the 'Neythal' or 'Coastal landscape' and reveals the manner in which a man courts a lady in those times.

In this episode, we perceive the helplessness in a lady’s voice, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 309, penned by Karuvoor Kanthapillai Saathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse details the activities of a tribe of robbers in the drylands. வய வாள் எறிந்து, வில்லின் நீக்கி,பயம் நிரை தழீஇய கடுங்கண் மழவர்,அம்பு சேண் படுத்து வன்புலத்து உய்த்தென,தெய்வம் சேர்ந்த பராரை வேம்பில்கொழுப்பு ஆ எறிந்து, குருதி தூஉய்,புலவுப் புழுக்கு உண்ட வான் கண் அகல் அறை,களிறு புறம் உரிஞ்சிய கருங் கால் இலவத்துஅரலை வெண் காழ் ஆலியின் தாஅம்காடு மிக நெடிய என்னார், கோடியர்பெரும் படைக் குதிரை, நல் போர் வானவன்திருந்து கழற் சேவடி நசைஇப் படர்ந்தாங்கு,நாம் செலின், எவனோ தோழி! காம்பின்வனை கழை உடைந்த கவண் விசைக் கடி இடிக்கனை சுடர் அமையத்து வழங்கல் செல்லாது,இரவுப் புனம் மேய்ந்த உரவுச் சின வேழம்தண் பெரு படாஅர் வெரூஉம்குன்று விலங்கு இயவின், அவர் சென்ற நாட்டே? In this trip to the drylands, we take two different paths and encounter vivid scenes, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the confidante expresses worry about the lady’s state, as the man continues to remain parted away: “Killing with their sturdy swords, deflecting with their bows, those harsh-eyed robbers capture herds of cattle, and after showering their arrows to keep away those who might follow, they traverse to the harsh drylands. There, standing in the shade of the rough-trunked Neem tree, where their god resides, they kill a fatty cow, and shower its blood as their offering. Afterwards, they spread and eat its cooked flesh on a high and wide boulder, upon which a dark-stemmed silk-cotton tree, on which a male elephant has rubbed its back, showers its white seed pods, akin to hailstones. Without thinking that such a jungle is faraway, those performers travel, desiring the flawless feet of the battle-worthy King Vaanavan, who wields a huge army of horses. Why don't I too go in that manner, my friend, to that country, through those paths that wind through the peaks, where without moving during the time when the scorching sun blazes and when the bamboo's fine shoots are shattered by stones speeding from slingshots, a raging elephant chooses to go by night to graze in the millet fields, fearing the moist and high fences therein!” Yet again, a trip through this challenging landscape! The lady starts by describing the drylands domain, and to do that, she focuses on its denizens, namely the robbers, who wield swords, bows and arrows, and successfully steal a huge herd of cattle. Then driving these animals to their hideout in the drylands, they first offer a sacrifice of a fat cow to their god, who is said to reside in a Neem tree. Some interpreters have identified this god to be ‘Kottravai’, the goddess of war, worshipped by people in these parts. After showering the cow’s blood, then they go on to cook its meat and eat, spreading it on the plate of a huge boulder. Later, because an elephant came and rubbed its back and shook it, a silk cotton tree sheds its white seeds on that boulder, appearing like a shower of hailstones. After this scene by scene narrative, the lady reveals she has talked about these drylands, not the one to which her beloved has gone, but the region that performers worry not about, when they go seeking the patronage of that generous Chera King, Vanavan. The lady then turns to her friend and concludes by asking whether she too should leave like those performers, not minding the dangers of the drylands, and seek out her beloved, who walks through paths, where even elephants fear to traverse in daylight, fearing the slingshots, and come by night to graze in the millet fields. The simple thought is ‘Isn’t it better to brave whatever dangers may come my way, and go in search of my man, rather than languish here?’. Sadly, that time and culture forbade the lady to undertake such travels, and all she could do was to fantasise about some way of being near her beloved! Reflectively, I wish to take a moment of gratitude for living in this place and time that lets a woman go where she wants and do what she dreams!

In this episode, we listen to a nuanced attempt to change a person’s course of action, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 308, penned by Pisiranthaiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the flowing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and etches the domain in picturesque detail. உழுவையொடு உழந்த உயங்கு நடை ஒருத்தல்நெடு வகிர் விழுப் புண் கழாஅ, கங்குல்ஆலி அழி துளி பொழிந்த வைகறை,வால் வெள் அருவிப் புனல் மலிந்து ஒழுகலின்,இலங்கு மலை புதைய வெண் மழை கவைஇ,கலம் சுடு புகையின் தோன்றும் நாட!இரவின் வருதல் எவனோ? பகல் வரின்,தொலையா வேலின் வண் மகிழ் எந்தைகளிறு அணந்து எய்தாக் கல் முகை இதணத்து,சிறு தினைப் படு கிளி எம்மொடு ஓப்பி,மல்லல் அறைய மலிர் சுனைக் குவளைத்தேம் பாய் ஒண் பூ நறும் பல அடைச்சியகூந்தல் மெல் அணைத் துஞ்சி, பொழுது பட,காவலர்க் கரந்து, கடி புனம் துழைஇயபெருங் களிற்று ஒருத்தலின் பெயர்குவை,கருங் கோற் குறிஞ்சி நும் உறைவு இன் ஊர்க்கே. In this trip to the highlands, we encounter characteristic scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he arrives for his nightly tryst with the lady: “After fighting with a tiger, a male elephant with a fatigued gait, finds its wounds of war, carved by those sharp claws, washed in the midnight downpour of rain and hailstones. Owing to this shower, the bright, white cascade brims over with a new flood and gushes down in those radiant mountains, buried by white clouds, which appear akin to smoke that rises when pots are burnt in a kiln. Such is your mountain country, O lord! Why do you come by night? If you were to come by day, resting upon the platform in the mountain cleft, unreachable by elephants, built by our father, who delights in charity and wields an unerring spear, along with her, you can chase away parrots that come to raid the little millets. And then, treating her tresses, filled with many honey-flowing, shining, fragrant flowers of the blue-lily that blooms in the lush waters of springs near prosperous rocks, as your soft pillow, you may sleep. Then, when the day ends, akin to a huge male elephant that has grazed in a well-protected field, avoiding the guards, you may part away to your pleasant town, where the black-stemmed Kurinji blooms aplenty!” Let’s get going on that trek to the hills! The confidante starts by describing the man’s mountain country and to do that, she brings forth the image of an elephant, whose battle wounds, caused by a tiff with a tiger, is washed away by the shower of raindrops and hailstones in those cloud-covered hills. The extent to which pottery was ingrained in this culture is evident from that matter-of-fact simile, comparing the fog around those mountains to the smoke that rises when pots are browned in a kiln. Next the confidante comes to the point and asks the man why he choses to come by night to tryst with the lady. Then she goes on to give an alternative proposal wherein he could come by day, and chase parrots with the lady, sitting atop a tall loft, built by the lady’s father, known for his generosity and his unfailing spear. Carrying on with the proposal, the confidante adds the man could then sleep on the pillow of lady’s blue-lily adorned tresses and leave in the evening, walking majestically like an elephant that has escaped the eyes of the fearsome guards, and retire to his pleasant town, where Kurinji flowers bloom! To the inexperienced eye, it may appear as if the confidante is simply proposing a change in the time of tryst. ‘Don’t come now, come then’ it seems like! However, there’s more! First in the image of the lady’s father as a man, who has built a loft that cannot be reached by elephants, and one who has a victorious spear, the confidante portrays the formidable man that the lady’s father is! Next, in that comparison of a huge elephant, grazing in the millet fields, and then escaping without inviting the attention of guards in a well-protected field, implies the impossibility of such a thing happening. A huge elephant cannot walk away after raiding such a field, and likewise the man too cannot relish that tryst by day with the lady. In short, the only course of action for the man was to seek the lady’s hand in marriage. That note about the lady’s father being a generous person should fill the man with hope about the success of his venture. What a thoughtful way of persuading a person by directing them to come to those conclusions about the only viable path! Yet again, a lesson in negotiation from the pages of the past!

In this episode, we perceive persuasive words to change a person’s path, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 307, penned by Madurai Eezhathu Poothan Thevanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse sketches the consequences of the man’s parting away. ”சிறு நுதல் பசந்து, பெருந் தோள் சாஅய்,அகல் எழில் அல்குல் அவ் வரி வாட,பகலும் கங்குலும் மயங்கி, பையென,பெயல் உறு மலரின் கண் பனி வார,ஈங்கு இவள் உழக்கும்” என்னாது, வினை நயந்து,நீங்கல் ஒல்லுமோ ஐய! வேங்கைஅடு முரண் தொலைத்த நெடு நல் யானைமையல் அம் கடாஅம் செருக்கி, மதம் சிறந்து,இயங்குநர்ச் செகுக்கும் எய் படு நனந்தலை,பெருங் கை எண்கினம் குரும்பி தேரும்புற்றுடைச் சுவர புதல் இவர் பொதியில்,கடவுள் போகிய கருந் தாட் கந்தத்துஉடன் உறை பழமையின் துறத்தல்செல்லாது,இரும் புறாப் பெடையொடு பயிரும்பெருங் கல் வைப்பின் மலைமுதல் ஆறே? We encounter a lot of wildlife in this trip through the drylands, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he conveys his decision to part with the lady and go in search of wealth: “Without considering that her little forehead will be coated in pallor, her thick arms will waste away, the beautiful lines on her wide and beautiful loins will fade, she will be in utter confusion, knowing not if it's day or night, and akin to a flower in a rain shower, her eyes will shed the dew of tears, as she suffers with angst here, you wish to part away, desiring wealth, O lord! Do you think this is right? After vanquishing an attacking tiger with strength, the tall and handsome elephant, blinded by its maddening musth, attacks those who traverse those weary spaces, where long-armed bears in search of termite combs, dig up tall mounds, amidst overgrown bushes, in what was once a town centre, where the residing god had parted away from the sturdy, black pillar, and where owing to the habit of living there for long, without forsaking the space, a huge pigeon coos along with its mate. Such are those rocky spaces amidst the hills, where the path you wish to tread winds through!” Time to tread these familiar but fearsome spaces! The confidante starts by accusing the man that he doesn’t seem to care about what would happen to the lady when he parts away. She elaborates that pallor will come to coat her friend’s forehead, the lady’s arms would thin away, her health and beauty would fade, and all day, all night, the lady would be languishing, with her eyes shedding tears like a bloom in the rain. The confidante asks the man if what he intends to do is right and goes on to describe where he would be travelling. First she brings in the image of a mad elephant in musth that has just killed a tiger and with its rage still not diminished, it comes to attack wayfarers who dare to walk that path. Next, from the elephants, the confidante turns to portrays bears on the prowl, looking out for termite combs and topping ant hills to find their tasty meal. She explains that this space has not always been a scrub jungle but was once a town centre, and people worshipped a god, who was said to live in a huge pillar, constructed therein. Intricately, she mentions how that god had left the premises and all that remained were overgrown bushes, and yet because they had lived for long in those spaces, a pigeon and its mate did not want to give up their residence there and continued to make their calls resound in those uninhabited spaces. The confidante concludes by telling the man that his path through the hills would take him faraway to such spaces and asks him whether it was right on his part to let the lady suffer and take on that tiresome journey himself! Though it’s the usual message of ‘Don’t go there, leaving her here’, what flashed so brightly in the lines was that statement about how God had left the pillar when the people no longer worshipped there, but the pigeons and other wild life continue to remain. What flows is a tangential reading indeed, but to me, it appears as if God vanishes when the people do, but nature, which was there before people, continues to be there, an entity of permanence. As these lines say if God were to leave, when people don’t pray anymore, was God truly there? Are people following God or is the God following the people and their prayers? These are the questions that this particular journey through the drylands have brought forth in my mind!

In this episode, we listen to an encrypted refusal, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 306, penned by Madurai Koolavaankian Seethalai Saathanaar. The verse is situated amidst the swaying sugarcanes of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands Landscape’ and conceals profound meanings in its scenic metaphors. பெரும் பெயர் மகிழ்ந! பேணாது அகன்மோ!பரந்த பொய்கைப் பிரம்பொடு நீடியமுட் கொம்பு ஈங்கைத் துய்த் தலைப் புது வீஈன்ற மாத்தின் இளந் தளிர் வருட,ஆர் குருகு உறங்கும் நீர் சூழ் வள வயல்கழனிக் கரும்பின் சாய்ப் புறம் ஊர்ந்து,பழன யாமை பசு வெயில் கொள்ளும்நெல்லுடை மறுகின் நன்னர் ஊர!இதுவோ மற்று நின் செம்மல்? மாண்டமதி ஏர் ஒள் நுதல் வயங்கு இழை ஒருத்திஇகழ்ந்த சொல்லும் சொல்லி, சிவந்தஆய் இதழ் மழைக் கண் நோய் உற நோக்கி,தண் நறுங் கமழ் தார் பரீஇயினள், நும்மொடுஊடினள் சிறு துனி செய்து எம்மணல் மலி மறுகின் இறந்திசினோளே. In this quick trip to the fields, we get to enjoy images of this fertile land, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he returns to the lady’s house, seeking entry after having left to court a courtesan: “O lord of the town, having great fame and name! Do not stand here trying to appease! Do part away now! Near the vast pond, grows the rattan cane along with the thorny branched touch-me-not vines. The soft-headed, new flowers of these vines join along with the mango tree's tender leaves in stroking a beautiful bird sleeping peacefully therein. With such well-watered, fertile fields, where crawling away from the bent backs of field sugarcanes, a turtle basks in the warmth of the fresh sunshine, in the paddy-filled spaces of your picturesque town, O lord! A maiden, with a handsome forehead, akin to the esteemed moon, and clad in shining ornaments, spoke disparaging words to you, and then, with her reddened, beautiful, many-petalled, rain-like eyes piercing sharply, she tore apart the moist and fragrant garland you gave her. After quarrelling so with you, she came and created a little ruckus in our sand-filled streets and left from here. Is this what they celebrate as your greatness?” Let’s listen to the drumbeats of discord in this domain! The confidante opens by addressing the man as a person of great renown, telling us he was well-respected and admired by many. Next, she sharply asks him to not keep seeking to praise and calm, but to leave from there. Then she goes on to describe his rich town, where there’s a huge pond and rattan cane grows nearby and along spreads the vines of the touch-me-not, which are known for their fuzzy-headed flowers. Now these soft flowers join along with the tender leaves of the mango tree and caress the head of a sleeping bird, the confidante sketches. What a serene scene! Then, from the tree branches, the confidante flies downwards to the lush fields, and points to a turtle that seems to have become fatigued with its abode of sugarcane fields, as it steps out to enjoy the sunshine. A moment to note that this reference is most probably to the ‘Indian Flapshell Turtle’, which is said to live in lakes, rivers and flooded fields of South Asia. The confidante concludes this montage of images by saying such are the prosperous places in the lord’s town.  After glorifying the man’s town so, the confidante turns to box him in the ears, describing how the man’s well-dressed and pretty courtesan had insulted the man, tore up the garland he had given her, and after that quarrel with him, the courtesan seems to have come near the lady’s house and created a ruckus there too. The confidante concludes by asking the man, ‘Is this what you call noble?’! Remember how the confidante started by praising the man’s fame and she ends up by asking him if what he’s doing was befitting that praised name of his! Openly, the confidante is refusing the man entry into the lady’s house. In that scene of the turtle, tiring of its sugarcane abode, and wanting to venture out for something fresh, the confidante places a metaphor for how the man seems to have tired out of the lady and sought out the company of courtesans. After that depiction of his current actions, though she outwardly refuses the man, then, by describing the scene of the growing touch-me-not flowers and mango leaves caressing a bird, the confidante hides a promise to the man that good things, such as the lady’s acceptance, will happen to him, on its own, if only he bides his time. With those images from the world around, the confidante weaves a web of the dynamics of these relationships in this land of riches many!

In this episode, we perceive the piercing pain of parting, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 305, penned by Vadama Vannakkan Peri Saathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the changes in the season and the sounds in the breeze. பகலினும் அகலாதாகி, யாமம்தவல் இல் நீத்தமொடு ஐயெனக் கழிய,தளி மழை பொழிந்த தண் வரல் வாடையொடுபனி மீக்கூரும் பைதல் பானாள்,பல் படை நிவந்த வறுமை இல் சேக்கை,பருகுவன்ன காதலொடு திருகி,மெய் புகுவன்ன கை கவர் முயக்கத்து,ஓர் உயிர் மாக்களும் புலம்புவர்மாதோ;அருளிலாளர் பொருள்வயின் அகல,எவ்வம் தாங்கிய இடும்பை நெஞ்சத்துயான் எவன் உளெனோ தோழி! தானேபராரைப் பெண்ணைச் சேக்கும், கூர்வாய்,ஒரு தனி அன்றில் உயவுக் குரல் கடைஇய,உள்ளே கனலும் உள்ளம் மெல்லெனக்கனை எரி பிறப்ப ஊதும்நினையா மாக்கள் தீம் குழல் கேட்டே? Rather than stepping onto that barren domain, we step into the lady’s heart, as we listen to her say these words to her confidante, when she receives the news that the man has parted away, in search of wealth: “Without dispersing during the day, not ceasing at night too, bringing heavy floods, rainclouds pour down and then move away slowly, ushering in the cold and moist northern winds. On one such freezing midnight hour of suffering, imagine a couple, who lies on a mattress, bereft of poverty, stacked to many levels, with love that seems like a drink to be relished, intertwined in an embrace, tied by hands of desire, and seem to be made of one life. Even they would feel lonely!  While that is so, when that man without grace any has parted away in search of wealth, at this time, with an angst-ridden heart, where sorrow has taken residence, how can I bear this, my friend? Especially, as the solitary, sharp-beaked red-naped ibis, sitting on a rough-trunked palmyra tree, kneads me with its melancholic song, and without thinking that the burning embers in my heart will burst into flames when I hear that, those thoughtless people play on their sweet flutes?” Time to let our empathy surface as we listen to this song of separation! The lady starts by talking about how the rains have poured, day in and day out, without taking a break even at night, and then decided to move away. Immediately following in their tracks, the northern winds had entered the scene, the lady adds. She declares that even a couple, inseparably intertwined in love, would feel lonely in those brief moments this northern wind assails them. Then as if saying ‘imagine my plight’, she goes on to talk about how the man has decided to leave at such a time, without thinking of the angst in her heart, which will have to host sorrow until his return. The lady concludes by telling her friend her pain is specially sharp when she hears the twin sounds of a solitary ‘Andril’ bird calling out to its mate, from atop a palmyra tree, and that of flutes being played by people, who spare no thought for the flames that erupt from the embers of her heart!  What is exquisitely beautiful in the world outside becomes extraordinarily painful, when the eyes within see it so! The only cure is for the rains of these pains to part and for the man to return like the timely northern winds, and make these sounds become the solace they truly are!

In this episode, we listen to a man’s anxious words, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 304, penned by Idaikaadanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming flowers and pouring showers of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and etches the beauty of the land in the season of rains. இரு விசும்பு இவர்ந்த கருவி மா மழை,நீர் செறி நுங்கின் கண் சிதர்ந்தவை போல்,சூர் பனிப்பன்ன தண் வரல் ஆலியொடுபரூஉப் பெயல் அழி துளி தலைஇ, வான் நவின்று,குரூஉத் துளி பொழிந்த பெரும் புலர் வைகறை,செய்து விட்டன்ன செந் நில மருங்கில்,செறித்து நிறுத்தன்ன தெள் அறல் பருகி,சிறு மறி தழீஇய தெறிநடை மடப் பிணை,வலம் திரி மருப்பின் அண்ணல் இரலையொடு,அலங்கு சினைக் குருந்தின் அல்கு நிழல் வதிய,சுரும்பு இமிர்பு ஊத, பிடவுத் தளை அவிழ,அரும் பொறி மஞ்ஞை ஆல, வரி மணல்மணி மிடை பவளம் போல, அணி மிகக்காயாஞ் செம்மல் தாஅய், பல உடன்ஈயல் மூதாய் ஈர்ம் புறம் வரிப்ப,புலன் அணி கொண்ட கார் எதிர் காலை,”ஏந்து கோட்டு யானை வேந்தன் பாசறைவினையொடு வேறு புலத்து அல்கி, நன்றும்அறவர்அல்லர், நம் அருளாதோர்” என,நம் நோய் தன்வயின் அறியாள்,எம் நொந்து புலக்கும்கொல் மாஅயோளே? A plethora of pleasant sights greet us in this trip to the forests, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, at a time when he continues to remain parted away from his beloved: “Dark clouds that arose in the wide skies, in the manner of a water-filled palmyra fruit, whose eye breaks and scatters, have showered moist hailstones, as if frozen by spirits, along with a heavy downpour that has leaped from the skies and turned into rain drops in the dawning horizon. As if painted, appear the red forest lands. Here, drinking up the clear waters, which appear as if filtered and heaped, a naive female deer, with a trotting gait, embraces its little one, and along with its esteemed mate with right-whorled antlers, rests in the serene shade of the wild lime tree with a swaying branch. As bees buzz around, sprouts of wild jasmine open their buds; A peacock with precious spots dances; Upon the lined sand, appearing like a jewel made from coral tied with sapphires, amidst the withered flowers of the ironwood tree, many red velvet mites with moist backs crawl around. On one such picturesque, well-adorned morning in the rainy season, without understanding my affliction and my yearning for her, would that dark-skinned maiden say, ‘The one who graces me not, staying in a far away land on a mission for the king, who wields elephants with uplifted tusks, is not a man of justice', denouncing and detesting me?” Time to bask in the bounty of nature! The man starts by pointing to the skies and the way the dark clouds that were looming in the sky had opened up and poured down. To compare this scene, he conjures an image of the black palmyra fruit, whose eye has broken, and down falls, the white fruit and moisture within. The man talks about how freezing hailstones and fat drops of rain fall and decorate the horizon at dawn. From the skies, the man flies straight to the red earth beneath, and calls it a painting, and there, we have crystal clear water, which a female deer is delighting in, then with love, hugging its little one, and finally resting with its antlered mate, in the shade of the wild lime tree. In addition, the wild jasmines are being opened by the buzzing of bees, and most exquisitely, on the ground, around the faded, violet flowers of the ironwood tree scattered about, red velvet mites roam around, making it appear as if it’s a jewel made by interweaving corals and sapphires. Precious simile indeed! Looks like all the world is filled with joy. However, the man’s mind wonders if at this time, his promised season of return, the lady would be lamenting about how he continues to remain far away at the behest of his king, accusing him of not caring about her, without knowing how much he yearns to be back in her company. A classic clash between love and duty indeed. Hope the king is satisfied soon with his conquests and the lady remains with hope till the chariot bells resound in her ears! 

In this episode, we observe a woman’s angst, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 303, penned by Avvaiyaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the glory and fame of some Sangam kings and their lands. இடை பிறர் அறிதல் அஞ்சி, மறை கரந்து,பேஎய் கண்ட கனவின், பல் மாண்நுண்ணிதின் இயைந்த காமம் வென் வேல்,மறம் மிகு தானை, பசும்பூண் பொறையன்கார் புகன்று எடுத்த சூர் புகல் நனந்தலைமா இருங் கொல்லி உச்சித் தாஅய்,ததைந்து செல் அருவியின் அலர் எழப் பிரிந்தோர்புலம் கந்தாக இரவலர் செலினே,வரை புரை களிற்றொடு நன் கலன் ஈயும்உரை சால் வண் புகழ்ப் பாரி பறம்பின்நிரை பறைக் குரீஇயினம் காலைப் போகி,முடங்கு புறச் செந்நெல் தரீஇயர், ஓராங்குஇரை தேர் கொட்பின் ஆகி, பொழுது படப்படர் கொள் மாலைப் படர்தந்தாங்கு,வருவர் என்று உணர்ந்த, மடம் கெழு நெஞ்சம்!ஐயம் தெளியரோ, நீயே; பல உடன்வறல் மரம் பொருந்திய சிள்வீடு, உமணர்கண நிரை மணியின், ஆர்க்கும் சுரன் இறந்து,அழி நீர் மீன் பெயர்ந்தாங்கு, அவர்வழி நடைச் சேறல் வலித்திசின், யானே. This trip to this drylands domain is full of detours to fertile hills ruled by famous kings, as we listen to the lady say these words to her heart, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left the lady before their wedding, to go in search of wealth: “Fearing that others would come to know, I hide my heart within, akin to how those who have seen a ghost in their dream talk not about it. However, the nuanced, well-etched passion of mine resounds, akin to gushing cascades that leap from the peaks of the huge and dark ‘Kolli hills’, filled with wide spaces, which the rain clouds love and divine spirits reside, ruled by Pasumpoon Poraiyan, with a victorious spear and a courageous army. Resounding so, it spreads slander all around town. From the ‘Parambu hills', ruled by Paari, celebrated in songs many, and renowned for his generosity of rendering fine vessels and elephants, akin to hills, to those supplicants, who arrive before him, climbing those highlands with their talent as their pole, birds which spread their wings in neat rows, fly out in the morning, so as to bring red paddy crop ears with curved backs, search with precision for what they seek, and as the day diminishes, in that suffering-filled evening hour, would return back to the hills. Akin to this assured return of the birds in the evening hour, you think the one who had left, letting slander spread in town, would come back to me, O naive heart! Be rid of these thoughts! To those spaces in the drylands, filled with barren trees, where crickets chirp, akin to the sound of bells on herds of cattle, driven by salt merchants, akin to a fish that migrates from diminishing waters, I have decided to dare and go join that path he now treads!” Let’s be transported to that arid region and see the rain of love in the lady’s heart! She starts by explaining her situation, mentioning how she had tried hard to hide whatever she was feeling for the man. To etch this, she presents a unique simile, talking about how people who had seen a ghost in their dream would never talk about it to anyone. This points to a specific Sangam belief and I wonder if the reason is the fear that talking about a dream would make that come true! Though we will not know the answer to this riddle, what we can understand is that the lady had tried her best to conceal what was in her heart. While that may be so, her heart refused to heed her restraints and seemed to shout out, akin to the cascades in the divine and lush ‘Kolli hills’, ruled by the Chera King ‘Pasumpoon Poraiyan’, known for his brave army and conquering spear. So consequentially, the townsfolk saw these loud changes in the lady and spread slander about her relationship with the man, the lady adds.  Next, she starts narrating about a significant event that happened in the ‘Parambu hills’, ruled by ‘Paari’, who was renowned all over the land for his extraordinary charity to supplicants, honouring their intelligence with elephants and gifts many. This event is the act of certain birds, mentioned as parrots in other verses, and how they were trained to go search for paddy crops. and that they would leave in the morning as a huge flock, and return back to the hills in the evening, carrying those crop ears in their beaks. Why is this significant is that this was a time when Paari’s domain was laid siege by the three emperors, the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings, who put up a food blockade. This story tells us how that blockade was overcome with strategy of training these parrots. Coming to why the lady has mentioned these famous parrots is to point out to her heart that in the manner of the returning birds in the evening, the lady’s heart too was holding on to the hope that the man would return to her. The lady concludes by asking her heart to banish such thoughts and follow her, as she has dared to leave like a fish in a pond with receding waters, to that path in the drylands space, where crickets call out, amidst barren trees, like the sounds of cattle bells, belonging to salt merchants, where her man walks now! How can a fish leave a pond, no matter how much it wants to? Likewise, the lady knows it’s a futile desire to think she can go where the man is, and yet renders this wish in a nuanced way to etch the helplessness of her situation. An insightful verse that paints a person’s state in a philosophical manner, dipping the brush of poetry in the hues of history!

In this episode, we perceive how a pointed message is relayed in a hidden manner, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 302, penned by Madurai Aruvai Vaanikan Ilavettanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming Kino flowers of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches scenes of serenity. சிலம்பில் போகிய செம் முக வாழைஅலங்கல் அம் தோடு, அசைவளி உறுதொறும்,பள்ளி யானைப் பரூஉப் புறம் தைவரும்நல் வரை நாடனொடு அருவி ஆடியும்,பல் இதழ் நீலம் படு சுனைக் குற்றும்,நறு வீ வேங்கை இன வண்டு ஆர்க்கும்வெறி கமழ் சோலை நயந்து விளையாடலும்அரிய போலும் காதல் அம் தோழி!இருங் கல் அடுக்கத்து என்னையர் உழுதகரும்பு எனக் கவினிய பெருங் குரல் ஏனல்,கிளி பட விளைந்தமை அறிந்தும், ”செல்க” என,நம் அவண் விடுநள் போலாள், கைம்மிகச்சில் சுணங்கு அணிந்த, செறிந்து வீங்கு, இள முலை,மெல் இயல் ஒலிவரும் கதுப்பொடு,பல் கால் நோக்கும் அறன் இல் யாயே. In this little trip to the highlands, we delight in picturesque images and learn about the situation at hand, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, pretending not to notice the man listening nearby, but making sure he’s in earshot: “The beautiful, swaying leaves of the red plantain that soars on slopes, nudged by the breeze, gently caresses the thick back of a sleeping elephant in the fine mountain ranges of the lord. It seems like bathing in the cascades, plucking many-petaled blue lilies from picturesque springs, and playing with desire in those thickly scented groves, where swarms of bees buzz around fragrant flowers of the Kino tree, in the company of the man, are all no longer possible for you, my loveable friend! Even though she knows that parrots are raiding the fields, where thick-stalked millet crops, sown by our brothers in the huge mountain spaces, have bloomed prosperously, akin to stalks of sugarcane, she doesn't say to us, ‘Go there'’. Instead, that unjust mother of ours looks pointedly at your close-set, blooming young bosoms, adorned with exquisite pallor spots, and the gently swaying, thick, dark tresses of yours, over and over again!” Time for the trek through those ancient mountains that never fails to amaze! The confidante starts with a description of the man’s mountain country, and to do that, she freezes an image of a sleeping elephant, whose back is gently caressed by the long leaves of the red plantain, every time a mountain breeze swirls around. What a delight for the senses to see and sense this image! A moment of appreciate this renowned delicacy, the red plantain, from various regions of Western Ghats called by the contemporary Tamil name ‘Sevvaazhai’, with sub-varieties growing in ‘Palakkad’ and ‘Thiruchur’ regions of Kerala, as well as the ‘Palani Hills’ and ‘Kumbum valley’ in Tamil Nadu. It’s a nutritional powerhouse having high Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘C’, a rich source of fibre and potassium, and inspite of its exquisite sweetness, having a lower glycemic index than other bananas! Returning from our sweet fruit meanderings, we find the confidante now talking about all the activities the lady had been relishing with the man, such as bathing together in the bubbling cascades, plucking blue-lilies from the springs, and relaxing in the groves, filled with Kino trees and swarming bees around those fragrant flowers. These young lovers from these lush mountains seem to have realised that the foundation of a long and lasting relationship is spending time with one other! Returning, we find the confidante saying that all these activities are no longer possible. She explains the reason for this shocker by describing Mother’s attitude. Mother can clearly see the millet crops are fully grown, like thick sugarcanes that too, and are tempting the passing parrots, and yet she takes no steps to ask the lady and the confidante to go there and chase away those birds. The confidante concludes by declaring all that unjust mother seemed to do was to look at the lady’s blooming bosoms and thick tresses, with something on her mind!  In essence, we have the lady’s buddy informing the man that these trysts he had been taking for granted are no longer going to be feasible, pointing out how it’s the time for harvest and underscoring mother’s suspicions. It’s a way of telling the man to give up his temporary trysting and come seek the lady’s hand in marriage. The beauty of this communication is that instead of throwing a spear of words straight into the man’s heart, in the gentle manner of those caressing leaves upon the sleeping elephant’s back, the confidante relates to the man, the consequences of the winds of change blowing through the lady’s life just then!

In this episode, we perceive a person’s state of mind, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 301, penned by Athiyan Vinnathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse builds a stack of similes to reach the peak of a perfect and precise portrayal. ‘வறன் உறு செய்யின் வாடுபு வருந்தி,படர் மிகப் பிரிந்தோர் உள்ளுபு நினைதல்சிறு நனி ஆன்றிகம்’ என்றி தோழி!நல்குநர் ஒழித்த கூலிச் சில் பதம்ஒடிவை இன்றி ஓம்பாது உண்டு,நீர் வாழ் முதலை ஆவித்தன்னஆரை வேய்ந்த அறை வாய்ச் சகடத்து,ஊர் இஃது என்னாஅர், ஊறு இல் வாழ்க்கை,சுரமுதல் வருத்தம் மரமுதல் வீட்டி,பாடு இன் தெண் கிணை கறங்க, காண்வர,குவி இணர் எருக்கின் ததர் பூங் கண்ணிஆடூஉச் சென்னித் தகைப்ப, மகடூஉ,முளரித் தீயின் முழங்கு அழல் விளக்கத்துக்களரி ஆவிரைக் கிளர் பூங் கோதை,வண்ண மார்பின் வன முலைத் துயல்வர,செறி நடைப் பிடியொடு களிறு புணர்ந்தென்னக்குறு நெடுந் தூம்பொடு முழவுப் புணர்ந்து இசைப்ப,கார் வான் முழக்கின் நீர்மிசைத் தெவுட்டும்தேரை ஒலியின் மாண, சீர் அமைத்து,சில் அரி கறங்கும் சிறு பல் இயத்தொடுபல் ஊர் பெயர்வனர் ஆடி ஒல்லென,தலைப் புணர்த்து அசைத்த பல் தொகைக் கலப் பையர்,இரும் பேர் ஒக்கல் கோடியர் இறந்தபுன் தலை மன்றம் காணின், வழி நாள்,அழுங்கல் மூதூர்க்கு இன்னாதாகும்;அதுவே மருவினம், மாலை; அதனால்,காதலர் செய்த காதல்நீடு இன்று மறத்தல் கூடுமோ, மற்றே? In this long song with musical line after line, which takes us on a trip to the familiar drylands, we encounter a specific group of people, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away, in response to the confidante’s words of consolation: “‘Akin to a dried-up field in summer, you wilt away and worry, thinking about the one, who parted away, leaving you in suffering. Can you stop doing that for at least a little while?', you ask me, my friend! Saving not even a little from the gifts their patrons bestowed upon them, consuming it all, travelling in resounding carts with thatched roofs, which appear akin to a yawning crocodile that lives in the water, they never claim any town to be theirs, and instead live a life free of impediments. They leave behind the fatigue of their travels through the drylands in the shade of the trees therein. Men among them adorn their heads with dense flower clusters of the pointed milkweed flowers, so pleasing to the eyes, and womenfolk wear garlands, which sway around their radiant and beautiful bosoms, woven with the bright and shiny Tanner's Cassia forest flowers, which appear akin to the glowing light of a blazing flame on a firebrand. As the music of their clear ‘kinai' drums resounds; As the small and long ‘thoombu' horns and the ‘muzhavu' drums unite, akin to the sight of a male elephant uniting with its mate that has an elegant gait, and send out their musical notes; As many small instruments send out short, sharp sounds in rhythm, akin to the croaks of frogs that resound upon the surface of the ponds, when the rainy skies thunder on, these men and women move across many different towns, dancing steadily, carrying many different instruments in their string bags, travelling as a huge group of people. When these performers have left a town after the festivities, and the day after, if the people of that uproarious town happen to look at the dull and listless town centre, they would feel much sadness; That's exactly what I feel in this evening hour. So, how can you think I can forget the love of my beloved even for a little while?” Let’s brave that desolate space that echoes the dejection in the heart of the protagonists and learn more! The lady starts by repeating the words of her confidante, who had felt much sadness seeing her friend wallowing in pining since the man left. The friend had compared the state of the lady to a field that’s drying up in summer, without its nourishing supply of water, and had asked the lady to stop thinking and worrying about the man at least for a short while.  After repeating this question from her friend, the lady launches into a long narrative about a group of people. First she says these people live just for today, meaning that they don’t save a thing that’s rendered to them as income for their services, and finish it all up, without a thought. Then, she turns to talk about their transport, which is a cart having a roof made of thatched grass, and tastefully, she compares these carts to yawning crocodiles. Into the mouths of these travelling crocodiles, these people jump in and traverse the harsh drylands, the lady continues. No doubt the heat and exhaustion of this domain will attack them but they have the talent of leaving behind all their troubles under the few trees they encounter, sketches the lady. That’s a remarkable trait to not carry your burdens but to leave them at the first sign of respite!  Moving on, the lady continues by describing the accessories of the men and women in this group. Apparently, the men wear head garlands of bright white and purple ‘milkweed’ flowers, whereas the women wear neck garlands of radiant ‘tanner’s cassia’ flowers, which are placed in parallel to a flame atop a firebrand, and searching for these flowers, there I found them to be a bright and radiant yellow!  From attire, the lady moves on to the music that seems to surround these people. There’s drums roaring, and another drum and horn fusing together, like elephants in union, the lady compares. Another delightful comparison is between the short, sharp sounds from certain musical instruments, and that of frogs croaking in the surface of the ponds in reply to the thundering skies. No doubt expert musicians will be able to tell which instrument makes this particular sound! With so much music in the air, how can these people remain without dancing? Indeed they do, they dance on, even as they carry their heavy instruments, and walk on through towns many, not claiming any town to be their own, and they live a life free of hurdles any, the lady describes. You can almost sense a note of envy in her voice at the carefree life of these people, who travel wherever they want, whereas she is bound to the confines of her home. So, who are they? As you must have guessed, they are performers, who go from town to town, to take part in the festivities therein.  The lady then pictures a situation, where the performers had helped the town celebrate to the full, and then taken leave to go elsewhere. When the townsfolk wake up the next day and look at that barren arena in the town centre, without all the throbbing life of the day before, they would be crestfallen, and that’s exactly what I’m feeling, the lady connects finally. She ends by asking her friend, ‘Given this situation, how do you expect me to do what you are saying, and even for a short while, forget all the warmth and love of being with my beloved?’! Fair point! With so much missing going on within, the lady no wonder declares that it’s not possible to follow what her friend says! If we can leave behind the familiar notes of pining, we can hear a resounding music in this verse, and that is the attitude and the way of life of these travelling performers. They seem to see all the world as their own, know where to leave their burdens, and to find the music even in difficult circumstances. In more ways than one, these people of the past do show us the way forward through the drylands of our own lives!

In this episode, we perceive a nuanced technique of communicating a message, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 300, penned by Ulochanaar. The verse is situated amidst the leaping fish of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and brings out a trait, deeply encoded in the culture of the Tamils. நாள் வலை முகந்த கோள் வல் பரதவர்நுணங்கு மணல் ஆங்கண் உணங்கப் பெய்ம்மார்,பறி கொள் கொள்ளையர் மறுக உக்கமீன் ஆர் குருகின் கானல் அம் பெருந் துறை,எல்லை தண் பொழில் சென்றென செலீஇயர்,தேர் பூட்டு அயர ஏஎய், வார் கோல்செறி தொடி திருத்தி, பாறு மயிர் நீவி,”செல் இனி, மடந்தை! நின் தோழியொடு, மனை” எனச்சொல்லியஅளவை, தான் பெரிது கலுழ்ந்து,தீங்கு ஆயினள் இவள்ஆயின், தாங்காது,நொதுமலர் போலப் பிரியின், கதுமெனப்பிறிது ஒன்று ஆகலும் அஞ்சுவல்; அதனால்,சேணின் வருநர் போலப் பேணா,இருங் கலி யாணர் எம் சிறு குடித் தோன்றின்,வல் எதிர் கொண்டு, மெல்லிதின் வினைஇ,”துறையும் மான்றன்று பொழுதே; சுறவும்ஓதம் மல்கலின் மாறு ஆயினவே;எல்லின்று; தோன்றல்! செல்லாதீம்” என,எமர் குறை கூறத் தங்கி ஏமுற,இளையரும் புரவியும் இன்புற, நீயும்இல் உறை நல் விருந்து அயர்தல்ஒல்லுதும், பெரும! நீ நல்குதல் பெறினே. In this trip to the seas, we observe a plan being hatched, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, as he prepares to leave after his tryst by day with the lady: “Bringing their day's catch, those killer fishermen, who wield intricate fishing tools, bring their bounty and spread it to dry on the fine sands. Disturbing their plans, birds feast on the drying fish in those orchard-filled, beautiful shores. After spending the day in these cool groves, wishing to leave, you ordered your chariot be yoked. Then straightening her thick, round bangles, and stroking her scattered tresses, you said to her, ‘Go on, O naive maiden, along with your friend, to your home'. The moment you said those words, she started shedding copious tears and ended up wallowing in suffering. If at all you were to leave like an uncaring stranger, I fear something terrible may befall her. So, pretending as if you are coming from far away and acting as if you do not know us, if you were to arrive at our beautiful and fertile hamlet, filled with much uproar, they will quickly approach you, inquiring softly, and will say to you, ‘This is a time when the shore is filled with confusion, when sharks abound in the waters, bringing much danger. The day has ended, O noble heir! Do not leave now!'. As our kith and kin press on you, heeding their request, if you were to stay at our home happily, letting your helpers and horses to delight too, agree to relish the fine feast and accept our offerings, O lord, that would make us joyous indeed!” Let’s take a dip in these waters and learn more! The confidante starts by describing the shores, where the man and lady have had their day’s tryst. To do that, she focuses on fishermen, who reel in their catch, spread it on the sands and let it dry in the warmth. Much to their misery, birds do raid the spread and feast on the drying fish, the confidante adds. She connects by saying in the groves of this shore the man and lady had spent the day together, and now, that the evening had arrived, the man had summoned his helpers and asked them to tie the horses to his chariot, in preparation to leave. When the man turned to the lady and requested that she too leave to her home with her friend, this lady started crying and feeling much pain, the confidante continues. To the man, she pointedly says, ‘Now, if you walk away, like a stranger, who doesn’t care, something bad might happen to the lady, I fear’. So, she outlines a plan to the man, asking him to not leave but instead come to their village, pretending as if he’s coming from a far distance and acting as if he has never met the lady or confidante before. If he were to do that, their townsfolk, the lady’s relatives would welcome the man and insist that he should not leave so late in the evening, citing the danger of rising floods and attacking sharks, the confidante predicts. She concludes by saying if the man were to agree to this request by their kith and kin, that is the very thing that would bring much happiness to the lady and herself! Hidden in this sweet invitation is a sharp message, asking the man to ‘Marry the lady’! How so?, you may ask! If he were to accept this plan to stay at the lady’s home, there would be obvious deception on the man’s part. If the man were to pretend not to know the lady and act as if he were a famished stranger from afar, that might not suit his noble character of honesty, especially to his beloved’s kith and kin. So, the man would decide the right thing to do would be to seek the lady’s hand to avoid leaving her in a state of misery after every such tryst! Beyond these minute manipulations, the thing to focus our attention is that mention of the townsfolk’s welcome to a stranger. In their words, they show true care for the welfare and safety of a person they don’t even know, and etch in indelible letters, an ingrained trait that Tamils are known for, even to this day – Their heartfelt, heartwarming hospitality!

In this episode, we perceive the thing that seems impossible to forget, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 299, penned by Eyinanthai Makanaar Ilankeeranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the emotions of a person at the moment they receive a particular news. எல்லையும் இரவும், வினைவயின் பிரிந்தமுன்னம், முன் உறுபு அடைய உள்ளியபதி மறந்து உறைதல் வல்லினம் ஆயினும்,அது மறந்து உறைதல் அரிது ஆகின்றே கடு வளி எடுத்த கால் கழி தேக்கிலைநெடு விளிப் பருந்தின் வெறி எழுந்தாங்கு,விசும்பு கண் புதையப் பாஅய், பல உடன்அகல் இடம் செல்லுநர் அறிவு கெடத் தாஅய்,கவலை கரக்கும் காடு அகல் அத்தம்,செய் பொருள் மருங்கின் செலவு தனக்கு உரைத்தென,வைகு நிலை மதியம் போல, பையென,புலம்பு கொள் அவலமொடு, புதுக் கவின் இழந்தநலம் கெழு திருமுகம் இறைஞ்சி, நிலம் கிளையா,நீரொடு பொருத ஈர் இதழ் மழைக் கண்இகுதரு தெண் பனி ஆகத்து உறைப்ப,கால் நிலைசெல்லாது, கழி படர்க் கலங்கி,நா நடுக்குற்ற நவிலாக் கிளவியொடு,அறல் மருள் கூந்தலின் மறையினள்,’ திறல் மாண்டுதிருந்துகமாதோ, நும் செலவு’ என வெய்து உயிரா,பருவரல் எவ்வமொடு அழிந்தபெரு விதுப்புறுவி பேதுறு நிலையே. It’s more about the inner world, in this trip to this domain, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey through the drylands: “Having left in search of wealth, with a heart that ceaselessly thinks of the past, day and night, it may be possible to remain here, forgetting one's town, but it's impossible to be so, forgetting that particular moment! Dried leaves from the teak tree, severed from stems by the harsh winds, rise high, and appearing akin to a flock of screeching kites, spread around, hiding the skies. Then these leaves drop down, confusing wayfarers, and preventing them from finding their way, in those drylands, filled with wide jungles. When I spoke to her, expressing my intention to journey thither, in pursuit of wealth, akin to the fading moon at the moment of dawn, slowly, with the thought of loneliness attacking her, her exquisite face lost its new beauty. She bent down, and stroked the land with her toe, as her moist, petaled, rain-like eyes battled with the brimming tears, and losing, shed those clear drops upon her bosom. Her feet wouldn't stand steady and with anxiety brimming over, her tongue started quivering. Hiding herself in her river-sand-like tresses, with unclear words, she said, ‘May this journey of yours attain success and flawless perfection', even as she sighed hotly. The confused state of that maiden, devastated by deep pain and shaken by sorrow, flashes before me, and that is what is impossible for me to forget even now!” Let’s keep in pace with this man through the drylands and listen to the echo of his heartbeat! The man starts by declaring that as he goes on his mission in the pursuit of wealth, it was quite possible to forget one’s town and the familiar ways of life. But whatever he does, he’s unable to forget that one thing, the man adds. He then describes the drylands, where there’s nothing but dried leaves, torn from the teak trees, and the way these rise up, looking like kites with a loud call, hiding the skies, and then these plop down and hide the paths that guide wayfarers to their destination, leaving them in confusion. The man talks about how he had mentioned that he was leaving to those drylands spaces to the lady and goes on to etch the lady’s reactions in intricate detail. He compares the way the lady’s face changed at that moment to how the moon loses its glow when the sun raises its head at dawn. With her luminous beauty lost, the lady seems to have bent her head down, scraped the ground beneath with her toe, and though her rain-like eyes tried to contain her swelling tears, it broke the barrier and split on her bosom. He recollects how the lady was unable to even stand steadily, and hiding herself behind her long, river-sand-like tresses, the lady seems to have spoken in a mumble, wishing him success for his journey, while sighing with sadness. The man concludes by saying it’s exactly this image of his beloved in pain that he’s unable to forget, no matter how far he’s walked on towards his mission. The man etches that relatable feeling of how some scenes remain alive as if they are mountains in our mind, which nothing can shake or shatter. Like this man from the past, all we can do is acknowledge their presence and find our way through them or around them! 

In this episode, we listen to a nuanced rendition of one’s state of mind, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 298, penned by Madurai Panda Vaanikan Ilanthevanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming flowers of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches the man’s domain and his journey to his beloved in vivid detail. பயம் கெழு திருவின் பல் கதிர் ஞாயிறுவயங்கு தொழில் தரீஇயர், வலன் ஏர்பு விளங்கி,மல்கு கடல் தோன்றியாங்கு, மல்கு பட,மணி மருள் மாலை, மலர்ந்த வேங்கைஒண் தளிர் அவிர் வரும் ஒலி கெழு பெருஞ் சினைத்தண் துளி அசைவளி தைவரும் நாட! கொன்று சினம் தணியாது, வென்று முரண் சாம்பாது,இரும் பிடித் தொழுதியின் இனம் தலைமயங்காது,பெரும் பெயற் கடாஅம் செருக்கி, வள மலைஇருங் களிறு இயல்வரும் பெருங் காட்டு இயவின்,ஆர் இருள் துமிய வெள் வேல் ஏந்தி,தாழ் பூங் கோதை ஊது வண்டு இரீஇ,மென் பிணி அவிழ்ந்த அரை நாள் இரவு, இவண்நீ வந்ததனினும், இனிது ஆகின்றே தூவல் கள்ளின் துனை தேர் எந்தைகடியுடை வியல் நகர் ஓம்பினள் உறையும்யாய் அறிவுறுதல் அஞ்சி, பானாள்,காவல் நெஞ்சமொடு காமம் செப்பேன்,யான் நின் கொடுமை கூற, நினைபு ஆங்கு,‘இனையல் வாழி, தோழி! நத் துறந்தவர்நீடலர் ஆகி வருவர், வல்லென'கங்குல் உயவுத் துணை ஆகியதுஞ்சாது உறைவி இவள் உவந்ததுவே! In this trip to the hills, we get to see plenty of this fertile landscape, as we listen to the lady say these words to the man, when he arrives for his nightly tryst with her: “Akin to the many-rayed sun, which renders fertile wealth to the world, one which, in order to perform its radiant duty, climbs on the right, shining upon those brimming seas, in that sapphire-hued evening hour, the brimming clusters of the Kino flowers appear, opening their petals upon the resplendent sprouts that shoot up on the luxuriant, huge branch, shedding cool drops of dew, as the breeze blows through, in your mountain country, O lord! With a rage that subsides not even after killing, with an enmity that recedes not even after conquering, wanting not to mingle with a herd of dark female elephants, with musth flowing like a huge downpour, a humungous male elephant roves in the wide jungles of the fertile mountains. In those paths, bearing a white spear, which slices through the deep darkness, chasing away buzzing bees, upon your low-hanging, flower garland, which has opened its buds, in that midnight hour, that you arrive, is something sweet. In the guarded, wide mansion of my father, who showers copious toddy and wields fast chariots, lives mother, taking care of me. Fearing that she would come to know, in that midnight hour, with a restrained heart, without speaking of my passion, I only spoke of your cruelty. At that time, understanding what I meant, she said to me, ‘Worry not, my friend! May you live long! The one who has parted from you shan't delay any further. He shall return promptly!'. What is sweeter than your coming here, is the joy this caring companion of the night, the one who stayed beside me sleepless, feels now that you are here!” Let’s take that mountain trek and climb the hills of this relationship’s dynamics! The lady starts by describing the man’s mountain country, and to do that, she starts talking about the sun and the way it shines so radiantly upon the sapphire seas, only to connect its appearance to the golden Kino flowers on a branch, shedding dew drops in the breeze. After that pleasant and vibrant image to mark the man’s land, the lady moves on to talk about the way the man arrives in the midnight hour, with a spear for company, walking those very paths, where a huge male elephant roves madly, with its anger no way down, even after killing its enemy, most probably a tiger, without even thinking of joining in a herd of female elephants and relaxing, with its musth fluids pouring down like rain. That denotes the danger the man braves to come meet the lady! Moving on from the man’s situation, the lady talks about her own state, as she lives under the care of her mother in her father’s well-protected, rich mansion. She mentions how she feared that mother would learn of the passion in her for the man, and discreetly spoke to her confidante, mentioning how cruel he must be, for not coming there. The lady continues by saying the friend understood what the lady actually meant, seeing the love brimming over in her heart, and promised the lady that the man would soon be there. The lady concludes by saying to the man, ‘Yes. It’s sweet that you have come here now. But what is even sweeter is the joy of my friend, who stayed near me, sleepless through the night, when she sees you arriving her, fulfilling those words she said to me!’. The lady talks about the dangers in the man’s path, the trouble in her own home and heart, and brings out the need for the man to give up these risky ventures and choose the safe path of marriage. Without saying these exact words, she instead praises the goodness of her friend who stood by her, in that hour of need, hoping to bring out the transformation in the man’s heart. Instead of fighting and accusing, with good words about a friend’s kindness, this lady paves the path to change her life, and shows us, her descendants, that it’s possible to influence someone, without even the slightest hint of force, just with that feather-like weapon of positivity!

In this episode, we listen to the worry of a person about another, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 297, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse sketches scenes of human life and wildlife in this domain. பானாட் கங்குலும், பெரும் புன் மாலையும்,ஆனா நோயொடு அழி படர்க் கலங்கி,நம்வயின் இனையும் இடும்பை கைம்மிக,என்னை ஆகுமோ, நெஞ்சே! நம் வயின்இருங் கவின் இல்லாப் பெரும் புன் தாடி,கடுங்கண் மறவர் பகழி மாய்த்தென,மருங்குல் நுணுகிய பேஎம் முதிர் நடுகல்,பெயர் பயம் படரத் தோன்று குயில் எழுத்துஇயைபுடன் நோக்கல்செல்லாது, அசைவுடன்ஆறு செல் வம்பலர் விட்டனர் கழியும்சூர் முதல் இருந்த ஓமை அம் புறவின்,ஈர் முள் வேலிப் புலவு நாறு முன்றில்,எழுதியன்ன கொடி படு வெருகின்பூளை அன்ன பொங்கு மயிர்ப் பிள்ளை,மதி சூழ் மீனின், தாய் வழிப்படூஉம்சிறுகுடி மறவர் சேக் கோள் தண்ணுமைக்குஎருவைச் சேவல் இருஞ் சிறை பெயர்க்கும்வெரு வரு கானம், நம்மொடு,”வருவல்” என்றோள் மகிழ் மட நோக்கே? Plenty of intricate images as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey through the drylands: “In the middle of the night and in the long, dull evenings, with an unceasing affliction, filled with suffering and sorrow, as the pain that arises in worrying about me gets out of bounds, what will become of her, O heart? As those harsh-eyed robbers, with long, coarse beards, lacking in any great beauty, sharpened their arrows, edges have chipped on those fearsome, ancient hero stones, and those words of praise etched on them, which celebrate the name and fame, had become indecipherable. Ignoring the stones, without looking closely, with much fatigue, wayfarers hastily cross these paths, in those scrub jungles filled with toothbrush trees, atop which spirits reside. Here in the front yard of a hut that reeks of flesh, surrounded by a fence of moist thorns, lies a litter of a painting-like wild cat's kittens, having bushy hair, akin to mountain knotgrass, around their mother, akin to stars that encircle the moon, in that small hamlet, where hearing the cattle-raiding drum beats of robbers, a male vulture spreads its huge wings and flutters away. Such are those formidable, fear-evoking jungles, and it's to such spaces, that maiden, with a joyous, naive appearance had said, ‘I shall come with you!'” Let’s tread the paths of this difficult domain and learn more! The man starts by expressing his anxiety about the lady’s state, who he sees as worrying about him in the night and in the lonely evenings. Then, he goes on to describe the drylands space, and to do that, he zooms on to an ancient hero stone, and how it has become somewhat mutilated because the robbers of the land seemed to use that as the whetstone to sharpen their arrows, and because of this, the words that describe the name and fame of those buried there had become broken, and owing to this state of affairs, wayfarers seemed to rush past these stones, without even reading closely and paying their respects. A lot of culture lies embedded in this description and we’ll delve into that shortly. The man continues by talking about these spaces and now he shifts his attention to a bunch of wild cat kittens lying around their mother, like stars around the moon, and also paints an image of a vulture, spreading its wings and scattering away, upon hearing the drumbeats of the said robbers, announcing a cattle raid. The man concludes by remarking with astonishment that it’s to such a fearsome space that the lady had wanted to accompany him!  This implies that the lady thought all that danger in the world outside was far better than the loneliness of lamenting without the man’s presence. Together, you can conquer anything, is it not? Wonder why the man still refused to bring along his beloved! Maybe his culture forbade him. Speaking of culture, the mention of those ancient hero stones in this ancient verse tells us this practice extended to a time long before this record, and particularly, the mention of words and letters speaking of the glory of that buried person echoes aloud that this was a literate society that had mastered language centuries in the past! And so we find how a few lines about a familiar terrain reveal to us the depth of culture and learning in this ancient society!

In this episode, we listen to an emphatic refusal, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 296, penned by Madurai Peralavayaar. The verse is situated amidst the gushing rivers of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and narrates scenes of celebration in the domain of a famous Pandya king. கோதை இணர குறுங் கால் காஞ்சிப்போது அவிழ் நறுந் தாது அணிந்த கூந்தல்,அரி மதர் மழைக் கண் மாஅயோளொடுநெருநையும் கமழ் பொழில் துஞ்சி, இன்றும்பெரு நீர் வையை அவளொடு ஆடி,புலரா மார்பினை வந்து நின்று, எம்வயின்கரத்தல் கூடுமோ மற்றே? பரப்பில்பல் மீன் கொள்பவர் முகந்த இப்பிநார் அரி நறவின் மகிழ் நொடைக் கூட்டும்பேர் இசைக் கொற்கைப் பொருநன், வென் வேல்கடும் பகட்டு யானை நெடுந் தேர் செழியன்,மலை புரை நெடு நகர்க் கூடல் நீடியமலிதரு கம்பலை போல,அலர் ஆகின்று, அது பலர் வாய்ப் பட்டே. In this crisp trip to the farmlands, we get to witness familiar scenes of romping about, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he had returned after leaving the lady to go court a courtesan: “With that dark-skinned maiden, having tresses, adorned with the fragrant pollen from clusters of blooming flowers, akin to flowering garlands, on the short-legged Portia tree, and radiant, red-streaked, rain-like eyes, you had rested in the fragrant orchards yesterday. Today too, after playing with her in the gushing waters of the Vaigai river, you come here, and stand with your chest, still moist. Did you think it was possible for you to hide all this from us? Those men, who gather heaps of fish in the seas, bring along shells in their catch and sell it in exchange for that delightful, well-filtered toddy in the city of ‘Koodal', ruled by the King of Korkai, one of immense fame, one who wields arrogant, strong elephants, tall chariots and victorious spears, having the name of ‘Chezhiyan'. Akin to the uproar that brims over in the streets of ‘Koodal' with mansions, soaring akin to peaks, spreads slander in our town, from the mouths of many, many.” Time to stroll these lands of plenty and learn more! The confidante starts by describing the courtesan as a maiden who has dark skin, whose tresses waft with the scent of Portia tree flowers and whose eyes are rain-like. So much praise for an adversary! Returning, next she tells the man that he had spent his time with the said courtesan, resting together in the orchards and then today, he had taken to playing with the courtesan in the new floods of the Vaigai river. After all this, he has the gall to come and act as if nothing has happened, standing so audaciously, with a moist chest that too, the confidante adds. She asks him whether he thought he could hide his antics from the lady and herself. Then she switches tracks and goes on to describe the valour of King Chezhiyan, the conqueror of many battlefields and his capital of ‘Koodal’, referring to the contemporary city of ‘Madurai’, and how people from the shores would arrive to the streets of this world-famous city, to barter their shells for its delicious toddy. The confidante concludes by asking the man to reflect on the kind of buzz that would rise from the streets of Koodal and connects by saying that’s how loud the gossip about the man’s meanderings were, in their town! In essence, it’s a strict ‘No’ to the man for his request to enter the lady’s home. Yet again, it’s a depiction of the state of wandering and quarrelling, in the land of riches. Within these pages, however, we get to travel in time and glimpse the buzzing streets of Koodal, and witness scenes involving trade and toddy, the seemingly age-old preoccupations of humans everywhere! 

In this episode, we perceive a promise rendered to a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 295, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse details the nature of the spaces traversed by wayfarers in this formidable domain. நிலம் நீர் அற்று நீள் சுனை வறப்ப,குன்று கோடு அகைய, கடுங் கதிர் தெறுதலின்,என்றூழ் நீடிய வேய் படு நனந்தலை,நிலவு நிற மருப்பின் பெருங் கை சேர்த்தி,வேங்கை வென்ற வெரு வரு பணைத் தோள்ஓங்கல் யானை உயங்கி, மதம் தேம்பி,பல் மர ஒரு சிறைப் பிடியொடு வதியும்கல்லுடை அதர கானம் நீந்தி,கடல் நீர் உப்பின் கணம் சால் உமணர்உயங்கு பகடு உயிர்ப்ப அசைஇ, முரம்பு இடித்துஅகல் இடம் குழித்த அகல் வாய்க் கூவல்ஆறு செல் வம்பலர் அசை விட ஊறும்,புடையல் அம் கழற் கால் புல்லி குன்றத்து,நடை அருங் கானம் விலங்கி, நோன் சிலைத்தொடை அமை பகழித் துவன்று நிலை வடுகர்,பிழி ஆர் மகிழர், கலி சிறந்துஆர்க்கும்மொழி பெயர் தேஎம் இறந்தனர்ஆயினும்,பழி தீர் மாண் நலம் தருகுவர்மாதோமாரிப் பித்திகத்து ஈர் இதழ் புரையும்அம் கலுழ் கொண்ட செங் கடை மழைக் கண்,மணம் கமழ் ஐம்பால் மடந்தை! நின்அணங்கு நிலைபெற்ற தட மென் தோளே. In this trip to this familiar region, we get to see sweltering scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man continues to remain parted away: “The land had lost all its moisture, even wide springs have dried up, branches on hills are set ablaze, owing to the scorching attack of the harsh rays, in those bamboo-filled, wide spaces, where the heat extends unceasingly. Here, even a towering elephant, with a thick, long trunk, which had won over a tiger, languishes in musth, and rests with its mate, on the side of many dried-up trees. Crossing such stony, scrub jungles, groups of merchants, carrying salt from the seas, hastening their sighing, tired bulls, dig up wide-mouthed wells, in those barren spaces, which spouts succour for those wayfarers, who traverse those paths. Such are the peaks ruled by ‘Pulli', clad in resounding warrior anklets, and even when your lover has crossed these formidable jungles spaces, where Vadugars, who shower speeding arrows from sturdy bows, and rejoice in the taste of toddy, spending their time in revelries, and even if he has reached to such lands, where other tongues are spoken, he's sure to return that flawless, fine beauty of your divine, curving soft arms, O young maiden, having red-streaked, rain-like eyes, brimming with beauty, akin to the moist petals of the rainy season's wild jasmines and fragrant, five-part tresses!” Time to take a long walk through this fearsome region! The confidante starts by talking about the arid nature of the drylands, where there’s not a drop of water, even deep springs are dead, and branches catch fire out of nowhere. Explaining all this as the result of the blazing heat, the confidante shows how even a mighty elephant, which had won over a tiger, is made to bow before the fierceness of this heat. She then turns to talk about how wise salt merchants, who rove the land selling their harvest from the seas, join together and dig up wells, that serve as the only source to quench the searing thirst of wayfarers crossing these paths. She mentions how even if the man had crossed such spaces and reached the peaks of Pulli, heard the revels of the Vadugars, who wield bows and arrows and love their drink, and even if the man goes beyond to lands, where other languages are spoken, the man would surely return the beauty of his beloved that he seems to have stolen. The confidante concludes by praising the beauty of the lady’s rain-like eyes and her fragrant tresses! In short, a message of hope to a pining friend! Amidst this promise, the highlight is the mention of those salt merchants, who exert their efforts so that all those who come after them can enjoy a drop of oasis in that desert. That’s the shining beacon of humanity that spreads its light across the centuries through the pages of this poetry!

In this episode, we perceive the soaring agony in a maiden, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 294, penned by Kazhaarkeeran Eyitriyaar. The verse is situated amidst the rain-soaked flowers of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and sketches the changes in the weather and its consequences.  மங்குல் மா மழை விண் அதிர்பு முழங்கி,துள்ளுப் பெயல் கழிந்த பின்றை, புகைஉறப்புள்ளி நுண் துவலை பூவகம் நிறைய,காதலர்ப் பிரிந்த கையறு மகளிர்நீர் வார் கண்ணின் கருவிளை மலர,துய்த் தலைப் பூவின் புதல் இவர் ஈங்கைநெய்த் தோய்த்தன்ன நீர் நனை அம் தளிர்இரு வகிர் ஈருளின் ஈரிய துயல்வர,அவரைப் பைம் பூப் பயில, அகல் வயல்கதிர் வார் காய் நெல் கட்கு இனிது இறைஞ்ச,சிதர் சினை தூங்கும் அற்சிர அரை நாள்,”காய் சின வேந்தன் பாசறை நீடி,நம் நோய் அறியா அறனிலாளர்இந் நிலை களைய வருகுவர்கொல்?” எனஆனாது எறிதரும் வாடையொடுநோனேன், தோழி! என் தனிமையானே. In this trip to this rainy domain, instead of the usual hoofbeats, we hear a song of sorrow, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, in response to the confidante’s attempts to cheer up the lady, as the man continues to remain parted away: “Thick clouds thunder aloud, quaking the sky, and then pour down as pouncing rain drops. After this has ceased, the fog's fine and spotted drops fill the surface of flowers. Akin to tear-filled eyes of helpless maiden, who are separated from their beloved, the dew-covered blue-bellvine blooms. With fuzzy-topped flowers, the touch-me-not vines spread across bushes, and its beautiful sprouts, soaked in water, appearing as if dipped in oil, split into two, akin to a bi-forked branch. Fresh flowers of the bean plant spread around, and the long-speared ripe paddy in the wide fields dance pleasantly, as bees buzz around bent branches in this midnight hour of the cold season. At this time, asking, ‘Will that unjust man, who understands not my affliction and extends his stay in the battle encampment of the furious king, return to weed away this state of mine?', I suffer in loneliness, even as this northern wind blows incessantly, tormenting me, my friend!” Let’s soak in the mist of this landscape and learn more! The lady starts by talking about the rainy season and its events of making the sky tremble with thunder and then pour down as rain. But instead of stopping with that, she mentions how that season is done and dusted and now, there’s only the fog that spreads and coats the surface of flowers. She zooms on to a particular bluebell vine flower, which is soaked in this dew, and compares that to the eyes of women, who are separated from their beloved, her clan in short! Her gaze turns to the touch-me-not vines and their leaves, again soaked in mist. She offers two similes here, one, to talk about their moisture, she compares them to objects dipped in oil, and two, she employs the word ‘eerul’ to mention how these leaves split into two. Most of the interpreters have understood this word to mean the ‘liver’. In my opinion, this word does not yield to the logic of the comparison and I have chosen to see this word as representing a branch or object that is bi-forked.  Moving on from the touch-me-nots, the lady sketches the flowers of the bean plants, the swaying wild paddy in the fields and the bees dancing around the branches in that season. Leaving the outer world, she concludes by talking about the way she repeatedly asks if her man, who seems to have no justice, and continues to remain at the battle encampment of the king, would return soon to end her suffering, and continues her fight with the northern winds which seem to pummel her ceaselessly! In essence, the man’s promised season of return, the rainy season, is long gone and even the next season had arrived and yet the man returned not, complains the lady to the confidante. The usual words of lament transport us to a time when time was not marked by calendars and schedules but by blooming flowers and pouring showers! 

In this episode, we perceive the angst of a woman at the turn of events, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 293, penned by Kaavanmullai Poothanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the desolate spaces of this domain in detail. இலை ஒழித்து உலறிய புன் தலை உலவைவலை வலந்தனைய ஆக, பல உடன்சிலம்பி சூழ்ந்த புலம் கெடு வைப்பின்,துகில் ஆய் செய்கைப் பா விரிந்தன்னவெயில் அவிர்பு நுடங்கும் வெவ் வெங் களரி,குயிற் கண் அன்ன குரூஉக் காய் முற்றி,மணிக் காசு அன்ன மால் நிற இருங் கனி,உகாஅய் மென் சினை உதிர்வன கழியும்வேனில் வெஞ் சுரம் தமியர் தாமேசெல்ப என்ப தோழி! யாமே,பண்பு இல் கோவலர் தாய் பிரித்து யாத்தநெஞ்சு அமர் குழவி போல, நொந்து நொந்து,இன்னா மொழிதும் என்ப;என் மயங்கினர்கொல், நம் காதலோரே? In this trip to the drylands, we get to see the usual sights of abandonment, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when she learns of her man’s intention to part away so as to seek wealth: “Upon a parched, dull-headed tree, which has dried up, losing all its leaves, akin to a spun net, spiders have woven their cobwebs in those wastelands. Akin to the spread of threads on a loom when stitching a garment, the sun's rays shimmer in that sweltering drylands space.  Small, young fruits of the toothbrush tree in the shape of a cuckoo's eyes mature and turn into dark purple fruits, appearing akin to precious gems, and these fall from the soft branches of the tree, in the heat of summer in those arid spaces. They say he's going to part away alone thither, my friend! About me, they say that in the manner of a young calf, which desires to be with its mother, but is separated by herders, lacking culture, I will suffer and suffer, and speak many disparaging things. Why did that lover of mine fall prey to such an illusion?” Time to take a walk through these formidable spaces again! The lady starts by talking about the drylands, and to do that she focuses on the cobwebs spun around a dried-up tree, as if a net has been cast upon it. Then she turns her attention to the scorching sun’s rays and places that in parallel to the threads in a loom at a weaver’s place. The similes continue and she equates the fruits of the toothbrush tree, first to a cuckoo’s eyes when unripe and then to precious gems when ripe. She mentions how these lie scattered in the heat of the summer. All these facets have been recorded to say that’s where the man is heading, all alone, according to the townsfolk. Then she mentions how these same townsfolk are saying that now the lady will cry and wallow like a calf separated from its mother by those cruel cattle herders. The lady concludes by wondering why the man had become so confused and chose this path that leads nowhere! Other than the usual lament about a man parting away, the essence of this verse lies in its picture perfect similes to capture both the spread of the land and the suffering of the mind!

In this episode, we perceive a hidden attempt at persuading a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 292, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated amidst the hanging honeycombs of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches the dynamic flow of a speeding stone from a catapult. கூறாய், செய்வது தோழி! வேறு உணர்ந்து,அன்னையும் பொருள் உகுத்து அலமரும்; மென் முறிச்சிறு குளகு அருந்து, தாய் முலை பெறாஅ,மறி கொலைப் படுத்தல் வேண்டி, வெறி புரிஏதில் வேலன் கோதை துயல்வரத்தூங்கும்ஆயின், அதூஉம் நாணுவல்;இலங்கு வளை நெகிழ்ந்த செல்லல் புலம் படர்ந்து,இரவின் மேயல் மரூஉம் யானைக்கால் வல் இயக்கம் ஒற்றி, நடு நாள்,வரையிடைக் கழுதின் வன் கைக் கானவன்கடு விசைக் கவணின் எறிந்த சிறு கல்உடு உறு கணையின் போகி, சாரல்வேங்கை விரி இணர் சிதறி, தேன் சிதையூஉ,பலவின் பழத்துள் தங்கும்மலை கெழு நாடன் மணவாக்காலே! In this little trip to the mountains, we get to see fast paced action, as we listen to the lady say these words to the confidante, pretending not to notice the man listening nearby, but making sure he’s in earshot: “Tell me what I should do, my friend! Thinking it's something else, Mother showers money wastefully and acts in a confused manner; As for that strange Velan, wishing to kill and sacrifice a goat kid, which feeds on soft leaves of small bushes and gets not to suckle its mother's udders, performs the ‘Veri' ritual and dances with his garlands swaying. For that, I'm ashamed! Moving to other lands, intending to graze at night, comes the elephant. Listening to the sound of its footsteps, in the middle of the night, a strong-armed mountain guard waiting upon a loft, aims a small stone from his swift-launching catapult. Speeding like a feathered arrow, that stone scatters blooming flower clusters of the Kino tree, tears apart a honeycomb, and then rests within a fruit of the jackfruit tree, in the mountains of the lord. Tell me what I should do if he, who made my shining bangles slip away, does not marry me!” Let’s listen to the conversation of these mountain maiden and learn more! The lady starts with a helpless question to her friend, asking what she should do. Then she goes on to relay her troubles about Mother mistaking her symptoms for something else and thinking it’s the ire of God Murugu, throwing about her money to allay the god’s anger with Veri rituals performed by the priest Velan. The lady declares to her friend that all this makes her much ashamed, especially to see a young goat kid, which doesn’t even get to suckle at the udders of its mother, being sacrificed for her sake! Then, she goes on to describe the man’s mountain country, and to do that, she turns her camera on a guard sitting on tall loft in the middle of the night and thinking he’s heard an elephant which arrives to raid the fields, he launches a stone from his catapult and this stone rushes like an arrow, scattering kino flowers, shattering honey combs, and finally resting within a jackfruit. The lady concludes by asking her friend what would become of her, if the man of this mountain does not marry her! In the scene of the mountain guard’s missile shedding flowers, tearing honeycombs and piercing the heart of a jackfruit, instead of nabbing the elephant it was intended for, the lady places a metaphor for how the slander that spreads in town has made the beauty of the lady wither, torn her togetherness with the man, and is resting in the heart of her mother, making her do these strange things. The lady presents her situation in a succinct manner to the man and impresses on the need for him to give up his temporary trysting and come seek her hand without any further delay. ‘Marry me, marry me’ yet again, but quite an intriguing experience to travel on that speeding stone to its sweet destination!

In this episode, we perceive the sorrowful situation of a person parted from his beloved, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 291, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the challenging spaces of this domain in vivid detail. வானம் பெயல் வளம் கரப்ப, கானம்உலறி இலை இலவாக, பல உடன்ஏறுடை ஆயத்து இனம் பசி தெறுப்ப,கயன் அற வறந்த கோடையொடு நயன் அறப்பெரு வரை நிவந்த மருங்கில், கொடு வரிப்புலியொடு பொருது சினம் சிறந்து, வலியோடுஉரவுக் களிறு ஒதுங்கிய மருங்கில், பரூஉப் பரல்,சிறு பல் மின்மினி கடுப்ப, எவ்வாயும்நிறைவன இமைக்கும் நிரம்பா நீள் இடைஎருவை இருஞ் சிறை இரீஇய, விரி இணர்த்தாது உண் தும்பி முரல் இசை கடுப்ப,பரியினது உயிர்க்கும் அம்பினர், வெருவரஉவலை சூடிய தலையர், கவலைஆர்த்து, உடன் அரும் பொருள் வவ்வலின், யாவதும்சாத்து இடை வழங்காச் சேண் சிமை அதரசிறியிலை நெல்லித் தீம் சுவைத் திரள் காய்உதிர்வன தாஅம் அத்தம் தவிர்வு இன்று,புள்ளி அம் பிணை உணீஇய உள்ளி,அறு மருப்பு ஒழித்த தலைய, தோல் பொதி,மறு மருப்பு இளங் கோடு அதிரக் கூஉம்சுடர் தெற வருந்திய அருஞ் சுரம் இறந்து, ஆங்குஉள்ளினை வாழிய, நெஞ்சே! போது எனப்புலம் கமழ் நாற்றத்து இரும் பல் கூந்தல்,நல் எழில் மழைக் கண், நம் காதலிமெல் இறைப் பணைத்தோள் விளங்கும் மாண் கவினே. In this trip to the drylands, we get scene after scene of images, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey, after having parted from the lady, so as to earn wealth: “As the skies have refrained from rendering the prosperity of rain showers, the forest has dried up and appears bereft of leaves. Herds of cattle with bulls many are tormented by deep hunger, as the harsh summer winds blow, drying up ponds in those wide spaces near the tall ranges. Here, after forcefully attacking a tiger with curving stripes furiously, the strong male elephant treads along, and in its footprints, thick pebbles shine, akin to many little fireflies, glittering and scattering their light in all directions. In those deserted long paths, frightening a huge-winged vulture, with the music of bees that buzz around when feeding on the pollen of blossoming flowers, arrows streak past with much speed, from bows of those men wearing frightening head garlands. As they rove those paths and steal away precious belongings, merchants avoid those spaces. In those paths near the peaks, the small-leaved gooseberry's thick clusters of sweet fruits drop and scatter. Wishing for their spotted, beautiful mates to feed on these fruits, with heads bereft of old antlers, quaking the new antlers bumping up from behind the skin, the male deers call out, in those formidable spaces, scorched by the sun. Even after coming here, you are thinking about the radiant beauty of our beloved, who has thick, dark tresses that waft with the fragrance of flowers across the land, exquisite, rain-like eyes and bamboo-like arms with soft wrists! Long may you live, O heart!” Time to take a trek through that arid scrub jungle and listen to the man’s heartbeat! He starts with a lengthy description of this space, where we see that there’s no rain, no leaves, cattle suffering with hunger, hot winds tormenting the land and so on. From the land, the man shifts the lens to focus on fighting animals, an elephant and a tiger in specific, and the former giant seems to emerge victorious and as it walks away with a sense of accomplishment, in those spots where it presses down on its pillar-like legs, pebbles seem to glitter like fireflies in the harsh light of the sweltering sun, the man sketches. Then, he zooms on the humans in this space, and to do that, he focuses on the arrows flying from the hands of highway robbers and the way they frighten vultures, with a sound of bees buzzing that too. The man talks about how these robbers are so scary and steal away precious belongings that merchants avoid those paths at all costs. He then zooms on to a gooseberry tree and the way it drops its sweet fruits, the only source of succour in those arid spaces. Upon seeing the same, male deers want their mates to feed on the same and call out with much love, making their newly sprouting antlers to tremble in the effort, the man sketches with precision. He has given this description only to say that he has seen those sights, crossed all those scenes, and arrived there, and even after coming that far, all his heart seemed to do was to think about his beautiful, beloved maiden with flower-like tresses, rain-like eyes and bamboo-like arms! A note of disbelief rings aloud in the voice of the man as he separates himself from his heart and sees how he’s unable to take the lady off his mind, even though he’s firmly set on the path of seeking wealth! A precise portrait of the timeless war between the heart and the mind, between being in the comfort of love and leaving for the sake of ambition!

In this episode, we listen to a narrative about a person’s state, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 290, penned by Nakeerar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming lotuses of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and portrays the beauty of an ancient Sangam seaside town. குடுமிக் கொக்கின் பைங் காற் பேடை,இருஞ் சேற்று அள்ளல் நாட் புலம் போகியகொழு மீன் வல்சிப் புன் தலைச் சிறாஅர்,நுண் ஞாண் அவ் வலைச் சேவல் பட்டென,அல்குறு பொழுதின் மெல்கு இரை மிசையாது,பைதல் பிள்ளை தழீஇ, ஒய்யென,அம் கண் பெண்ணை அன்புற நரலும்சிறு பல் தொல் குடிப் பெரு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பன்,கழி சேர் புன்னை அழி பூங் கானல்,தணவா நெஞ்சமொடு தமியன் வந்து, நம்மணவா முன்னும் எவனோ தோழி!வெண் கோட்டு யானை விறற் போர்க் குட்டுவன்தெண் திரைப் பரப்பின் தொண்டி முன்துறை,சுரும்பு உண மலர்ந்த பெருந் தண் நெய்தல்மணி ஏர் மாண் நலம் ஒரீஇ,பொன் நேர் வண்ணம் கொண்ட என் கண்ணே? Plenty of picturesque images in this trip to the seashore, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, pretending not to notice the man, who had arrived for his nightly tryst with the lady, as he listens nearby: “As the male tufted grey heron, which had stepped into the black mud, hunting for its day prey, had been caught in the fine threads of the net laid by coarse-haired, young boys, its green-legged female, without chewing on its soft prey, in that suffering-filled, evening hour, hugging its sorrowful child, calls out with love, perched on the beautiful palmyra tree in the little, ancient hamlet with many clans, in the shores of the lord, bound by the huge ocean. Having a heart filled with ceaseless love, he would come alone to the flower-filled orchard, filled with laurel wood trees, near the backwaters. Before he arrives and embraces me, why is it that my eyes, which have the sapphire-like, fine beauty of huge, cool blue lotuses, swarming with bees, blooming in the shore of Thondi, surrounded by clear waves, ruled by the battle-worthy Kuttuvan, who wields white-tusked elephants, have let go of their beauty and have now taken on a gold-like hue, my friend?” Let’s sail along that ancient shore and learn more! The lady starts by zooming onto a male tufted bird, which had gone hunting in the black slush, looking for its food of the day. Next, she shows us how this bird falls a prey to the net cast by young boys, who live in that place. From the male’s sad situation, the lady turns the lens to focus on its female, a green-legged one, which seems to be refusing to eat its food and can be seen crying with sorrow, embracing its chicks, from atop a palmyra tree. It’s a case of heavy personification indeed. But the clues about the tuft of the bird and its green legs helps us tangibly locate the bird as the ‘Grey Heron’. Moving on, the lady has presented this romantic wildlife documentary only to say that’s the seashore town of the lord, said to be an ancient one, having many different communities living together. The man’s land now takes a backseat and the man himself comes forward in the lady’s narrative as she talks about how he would come to visit her, brimming over with love, and tryst in the ‘punnai’ orchards near the backwaters. Then, the lady goes on to humbly compare her eyes to the blue lotuses, blooming in the lush seaside town of ‘Thondi’, ruled by the great Kuttuvan, and concludes by asking what could be the reason for those eyes of hers to lose their beauty and become coated in the rich golden colour of pallor.  Of course, the lady knows the reason but instead of stating it out aloud and blaming the man, she makes him come up with the answer himself. She wishes for him to understand how she pines for him in his absence. This is to nudge the man to give up temporary trysting and seek her hand in marriage. I made a curious connection to the dating scenario in the modern world and how in many instances, it’s always the man who is expected to propose, as the woman waits for that day. Of course I’m saying this after seeing many movies in which the man gets down on a bent knee with a ring and the woman is surprised or acts surprised. This tells me the authority in this important decision in life seems to depend on the male, at least at first, not unlike this ancient couple, two thousand years ago. Different cultures, different times, yet amazing how the style of execution seems the same!

In this episode, we perceive a person’s worry about another, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 289, penned by Eyinanthai Magan Ilankeeranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse renders intricate aspects about the cultural beliefs and practices of the ancients. சிலை ஏறட்ட கணை வீழ் வம்பலர்உயர் பதுக்கு இவர்ந்த ததர் கொடி அதிரல்நெடு நிலை நடுகல் நாட் பலிக் கூட்டும்சுரனிடை விலங்கிய மரன் ஓங்கு இயவின்,வந்து, வினை வலித்த நம்வயின், என்றும்,தெருமரல் உள்ளமொடு வருந்தல் ஆனாது,நெகிழா மென் பிணி வீங்கிய கை சிறிதுஅவிழினும், உயவும் ஆய் மடத் தகுவிசேண் உறை புலம்பின் நாள் முறை இழைத்ததிண் சுவர் நோக்கி, நினைந்து, கண் பனி,நெகிழ் நூல் முத்தின், முகிழ் முலைத் தெறிப்ப,மை அற விரிந்த படை அமை சேக்கைஐ மென் தூவி அணை சேர்பு அசைஇ,மையல் கொண்ட மதன் அழி இருக்கையள்பகுவாய்ப் பல்லி படுதொறும் பரவி,‘நல்ல கூறு’ என நடுங்கி,புல்லென் மாலையொடு பொரும்கொல் தானே? In this trip to this difficult domain, though we do encounter scenes from the land, it’s more of a journey inside the mind, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, as he parts from his lady and ventures on a mission to seek wealth: “Wayfarers, who have fallen to arrows that were aimed from bows, are covered with raised stone graves, and upon this, spreads closely intertwined vines of the wild jasmine. Flowers of these spreading vines are gathered for daily offerings rendered to tall hero stones in that drylands domain, along paths bereft of trees, where I have arrived, with the intention of earning wealth. Thinking about me always, with a confused heart, she would be wallowing in endless worry. That naive maiden, who would become anxious even if my hands that had been holding her gently loosen a little, would now be gazing at the sturdy wall, upon which the days I have spent apart from her would be marked. Then filled with sorrow, the dew of her eyes would scatter on her blooming bosoms, akin to pearls that break away from a string. Lying on that flawless, wide bed, upon a mattress filled with beautiful, soft feathers, with confusion brimming over, she would be losing her strength. Every time a split-mouthed lizard made a sound, she would tremble saying, ‘Speak of good things!' and keep fighting with that listless evening hour, won't she?” Time to take in the scenes of desolation in the drylands! The man starts by describing the place he’s at, and to do that, he talks about the death of innocent wayfarers, who have fallen to the arrows of highway robbers. Though they kill, these robbers have the custom of burying those dead under make-shift stone graves, and upon these stone graves, wild jasmine vines spread, the man adds. He then mentions how those who are coming to worship hero stones also installed in such places, would collect these wild jasmine flowers to bring them as offerings for their ancestor worship. All these facets have been recorded to say that the man has arrived to such a place, dry and parched, without the shade of trees, nudged by his heart to go seeking wealth. From his position, the man’s mind flies to the abode of his beloved, where he sees her wallowing in misery, missing him. The man recollects how this was a person who would suffer so much if the man so much as loosened the hold of her hand even a little. Now that he is so far away, the lady would be looking at a wall, marked with lines, signifying the days since the man had parted, the man visualises. At that moment, he sees the tears in her eyes dropping down and scattering like pearls from a string. He pictures her lying on their well-etched bed, upon a mattress made of soft feathers, and yet without any sleep or rest, suffering ceaselessly. The man concludes with the final portrait of how the lady would be pleading to the house lizard to render good omens about the man’s arrival, every time it opens its mouth and makes a click sound, as the lady would be fighting against the attack of the evening hour. Here, the prevalence of hero stone worship with offerings, drawing lines on a wall to mark a person’s absence and seeking the comfort of lizard omens are etched to talk about how people responded to death and parting in those times. The verse tells how sometimes we can see the plight of another in such a vivid manner even when we can’t see our own state, right before us! The eyes of love see far indeed!

In this episode, we listen to strong words of persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 288, penned by Vitrootru Mootheyinanaar. The verse is situated amidst the flowing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches how a person has a wrong notion about something significant. சென்மதி; சிறக்க, நின் உள்ளம்! நின் மலைஆரம் நீவிய அம் பகட்டு மார்பினை,சாரல் வேங்கைப் படு சினைப் புதுப் பூமுருகு முரண் கொள்ளும் உருவக் கண்ணியை,எரி தின் கொல்லை இறைஞ்சிய ஏனல்,எவ்வம் கூரிய, வைகலும் வருவோய்!கனி முதிர் அடுக்கத்து எம் தனிமை காண்டலின்,எண்மை செய்தனை ஆகுவை நண்ணிக்கொடியோர் குறுகும் நெடி இருங் குன்றத்து,இட்டு ஆறு இரங்கும் விட்டு ஒளிர் அருவிஅரு வரை இழிதரும் வெரு வரு படாஅர்க்கயந் தலை மந்தி உயங்கு பசி களைஇயர்,பார்ப்பின் தந்தை பழச் சுளை தொடினும்,நனி நோய் ஏய்க்கும் பனி கூர் அடுக்கத்துமகளிர் மாங்காட்டு அற்றே துகள் அறக்கொந்தொடு உதிர்த்த கதுப்பின்,அம் தீம் கிளவித் தந்தை காப்பே. In this trip to the highlands, we observe vivid scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he arrives for a tryst with the lady: “Please leave! May your intentions triumph! With a radiant chest, streaked with the sandalwood from your mountains, wearing a dazzling garland that would make God Murugu envious, woven with new flowers, blooming on the branch of a Kino tree in the slopes, you come day after day to the millet field that arose in the fire of the forest, speaking of your sorrow! As you are able to meet her alone in the flower-filled mountain ranges, you seem not to understand her preciousness and think she is easy to attain.  In those narrow paths, where cruel men frequent, amidst the dark ranges, roaring, descends shining cascades, and falls down at that formidable spot, where to end the hunger of its soft-haired female monkey, the father of the monkey infants, digs up sweet slices of the jackfruit. In those fear-evoking, cold mountain ranges, guarded by divine spirits, is the town of ‘Maangaadu'. Akin to that town, is the well-protected mansion, belonging to the father of your lady, who speaks with beautiful, sweet words and has flowing tresses, adorned with flawless flowers!” Time for a trek on the mountain of emotions! The confidante starts by bidding farewell to the man with a blessing. She describes his journey day after day, when he arrives, sandalwood streaked on his chest, and a dangling, dazzling Kino flower garland on him, to speak of his suffering and seek the lady’s company. Adding that just because it’s been so easy to meet with the lady, the man seems to not realise what a rare and precious occurrence that is. Then the confidante goes on to describe a town called Maangaadu, which is apparently in some dense mountain ranges, with leaping monkeys in search of jackfruits, one that is under the protection of divine spirits. Then she concludes by equating the lady’s father’s mansion to this town, explaining that’s how well-guarded the lady’s home is! Words to tell the man that the lady, whose company he had been relishing with ease, was now placed under guard and the only way to be back with her was to seek the lady’s hand in marriage. A long and intricate description of that mountain town to equate it to a person’s house talks about the creative similes that these Sangam poets seem to conjure seamlessly! 

In this episode, we listen to the lament of a lonely heart, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 287, penned by Kudavayil Keerathanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse presents a vivid portrait of the pain in parting. தொடி அணி முன்கைத் தொகு விரல் குவைஇ,படிவ நெஞ்சமொடு பகல் துணை ஆக,நோம்கொல்? அளியள் தானே! தூங்கு நிலை,மரை ஏறு சொறிந்த, மாத் தாட் கந்தின்சுரை இவர் பொதியில் அம் குடிச் சீறூர்நாட் பலி மறந்த நரைக் கண் இட்டிகை,புரிசை மூழ்கிய பொரி அரை ஆலத்துஒரு தனி நெடு வீழ் உதைத்த கோடைதுணைப் புறா இரிக்கும் தூய் மழை நனந்தலை,கணைக் கால் அம் பிணை ஏறு புறம் நக்க,ஒல்கு நிலை யாஅத்து ஓங்கு சினை பயந்தஅல்குறு வரி நிழல் அசையினம் நோக்க,அரம்பு வந்து அலைக்கும் மாலை,நிரம்பா நீள் இடை வருந்துதும் யாமே. In this trip to this familiar domain, we perceive scenes of emptiness, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey through the drylands, in search of wealth: “Bringing together the fingers of her bangle-clad arms, with fasting rituals on her mind, and only the day as her company, won't she be languishing? She is to be pitied indeed! There stands a dark, thick post, where a swaying male black buck has rubbed its back, amidst the blooming bottle gourd vines, in that beautiful hamlet, where a sacrificial offering was forgotten, and empty, stands the altar. A rough-trunked banyan has buried the walls and the hot northern winds kick a lone, long aerial root, which shoos away a mating pigeon couple beneath, in those rainless, wide spaces. A male deer licks the back of its beautiful, thick-legged mate, in the shade of the soaring branches of the Yaa tree, and as I stay in this suffering-filled, spotted shade and look on, misery arrives to torment in this evening hour and makes me lament in this endless, long drylands path!” Let’s walk along with the man and listen to his song of melancholy! The man starts by thinking about what his beloved would be doing right then, and the image of her praying and fasting, worrying about him, comes to his mind and he feels much pity for her. Then, he looks at the world around him. He sees a broken column, where a black buck has rubbed on; a forgotten, empty altar; a banyan burying the once-sturdy walls, and a gush of northern winds, shaking the banyan’s aerial root and making the cooing pigeons beneath to flutter away. His eyes finally rest on the way a male deer is licking the back of its female to cool it down, in the spotted, not-enough shade of a ‘Yaa tree’. Amidst all this desolation, this scene of tenderness makes the man break down and cry about his lonely state to his heart.  The montage of images tells us this is a ruined town, once prosperous and bustling, but now abandoned, perhaps due to some war or famine. As he finds this empty, forsaken space around him reflect his own state of mind, the man gives expression to the sorrow within. The aspect to be celebrated about Sangam Literature is the equality it endows on both men and women when it comes to expressing their emotions. The man feels no qualms in talking about his pain and missing his beloved, in songs many, many, and this echoes in the culture of Tamils even today, where unlike a common notion in many other cultures, which say, ‘Boys shouldn’t cry’, here we can find grown men giving way to their emotions and breaking down in sorrow. An instance of the memory of culture extending beyond the centuries!

In this episode, we perceive an insightful refusal to a request, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 286, penned by Orambokiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the sounds of pounding in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and delves into abstractions about the actions of the noble. வெள்ளி விழுத் தொடி மென் கருப்பு உலக்கை,வள்ளி நுண் இடை வயின் வயின் நுடங்க;மீன் சினை அன்ன வெண் மணல் குவைஇ,காஞ்சி நீழல், தமர் வளம் பாடி,ஊர்க் குறுமகளிர் குறுவழி, விறந்தவராஅல் அருந்திய சிறு சிரல் மருதின்தாழ் சினை உறங்கும் தண் துறை ஊர! விழையா உள்ளம் விழையும் ஆயினும்,என்றும், கேட்டவை தோட்டி ஆக மீட்டு, ஆங்கு,அறனும் பொருளும் வழாமை நாடி,தற் தகவு உடைமை நோக்கி, மற்று அதன்பின் ஆகும்மே, முன்னியது முடித்தல்;அனைய, பெரியோர் ஒழுக்கம்; அதனால்,அரிய பெரியோர்த் தெரியுங்காலை,நும்மோர் அன்னோர் மாட்டும், இன்னபொய்யொடு மிடைந்தவை தோன்றின்,மெய் யாண்டு உளதோ, இவ் உலகத்தானே? In this trip to the farmlands, rather than the usual love-quarrels, we get to see a different dimension, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he informs her about his wish to part away from the lady, earn wealth, and then return to marry her: “With the soft, black sugarcane stems as the silver-capped pestles, swaying their dainty waists to and fro, akin to ‘valli' vines, heaping white sand, akin to fish eggs, in the shade of the portia tree, as the young maiden of the town sing the praises of their kin, in tune with their pounding, a small kingfisher that has feasted on murrel fish sleeps on the low-hanging branch of the Arjuna tree in your cool river shores, O lord! Even if a heart, which tends not to desire unjust things, happens to desire some such thing, with sharp questions as the goad, they would rein it in. Only after delving on questions of justice and fairness, and establishing that one is worthy of something, do they work towards accomplishing that; This is the discipline of those who are noble. When we ponder on the actions of such noble people, if someone like you, who is considered as one such, shows falsehoods in your actions, then where is truth to be found in this world?” Time to take a walk through this town of complexity! The confidante starts by describing the town of the man, and to do that, she paints a picture of young girls, using a sugarcane as a pestle, and the river sand, which appears like fish eggs, as the grains, imitating the actions of their elders, they pound and play, in the shade of a portia tree, even as they sing the praises of their townsfolk. As they sing and pound, a kingfisher, with its tummy full of murrel fish, sleeps on a branch of a ‘Marutham’ tree nearby, in the lord’s lush river shores, the confidante adds. After that tangible depiction of the world around, the confidante jumps into abstractions, talking about how the nature of the noble was to seek only what they think is just and fair and even if their minds sometimes pull them in the other direction, they tame those wild elephants with the goad of their intellect. She also mentions how they would weigh their worth before wanting something and only when they find themselves worthy, they would work towards attaining that. The confidante thus presents a portrait of the noble and concludes by saying to the man, ‘You are considered to be one such noble person. But if your actions show falsifications of these laws, then where only can we find truth in this world?’ To understand these abstractions, we have to travel back to the time when the man took an oath to never part from the lady, which gave confidence to the confidante and the lady, about his sincerity. So, now when the man says he wants to leave, the confidante is talking about how he’s going back on his words and it appears as if he said all that only to win the lady, by any means possible. She tries to appeal to his better nature by asking him that seemingly cynical question about the fate of truth in this world. Perhaps, hearing this, the man would realise the mistake in his ways and try to seek the lady’s hand, instead of parting away. In the scene of the kingfisher that sleeps on, not minding the pounding of young maiden, the confidante places a metaphor for how the man had been intent only on his pleasures of trysting with the lady, unmindful of the slander that he has caused around town. Leaving aside all this heaviness, the aspect that lingers on pleasantly is the memory of those songs of praise, reverberating with the rhythm of the pounding in the river shores of that rich town!

In this episode, we listen to the sharing of a happy news, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 285, penned by Kaaviripoompattinathu Karikannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the dynamic scenes in this domain. ”ஒழியச் சென்மார், செல்ப” என்று, நாம்அழி படர் உழக்கும் அவல நெஞ்சத்துஎவ்வம் இகந்து சேண் அகல, வை எயிற்றுஊன் நசைப் பிணவின் உறு பசி களைஇயர்,காடு தேர் மடப் பிணை அலற, கலையின்ஓடு குறங்கு அறுத்த செந்நாய் ஏற்றைவெயில் புலந்து இளைக்கும் வெம்மைய, பயில் வரிஇரும் புலி வேங்கைக் கருந் தோல் அன்னகல் எடுத்து எறிந்த பல் கிழி உடுக்கைஉலறு குடை வம்பலர் உயர் மரம் ஏறி,ஏறு வேட்டு எழுந்த இனம் தீர் எருவைஆடு செவி நோக்கும் அத்தம், பணைத் தோள்குவளை உண்கண் இவளும் நம்மொடுவரூஉம் என்றனரே, காதலர்;வாராய் தோழி! முயங்குகம் பலவே. In this trip to the drylands, we take in scenes of vivid action, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady: “Thinking, ‘Leaving you to lament here, he will part away', we were with angst-ridden hearts, languishing in suffering. Making that anxiety to part away afar, that lover of yours, who had been intending to leave to the drylands, where, wanting to allay the deep desire for flesh, in its sharp-toothed mate, a male red dog bites on the very thigh that the male deer uses to flee, leaving its naive female to search and scream in the jungle, and then suffers in the sweltering heat in this place, where having clothes tattered in many places, akin to the many-striped, radiant skin of the huge tiger, owing to the attack of highway robbers, wayfarers with dry umbrellas, climb on a high tree, and look up at the scene of a roving, lone vulture that has parted away from its flock, and rises high in search of a prey, has told me, ‘Let that maiden with bamboo-like arms and kohl-streaked, blue-lily-like eyes, come along with me!' Come on, my friend! Let's embrace over and over!” Time to tune in to the chat between these besties! The confidante starts by narrating the worry that had been plaguing them about the man’s imminent parting away from the lady. Then the confidante tells her friend that the man’s words had chased that worry far, far away. She then goes on to describe the drylands, and to do that, she sketches a montage of scenes. First, we see a female red dog languishing in hunger, and seeing the suffering of its mate, the male goes on a hunt, and it finds a huge male deer, and just as the deer is about to run away, the red dog delivers a fatal bite on the thigh of this deer, and brings it down. Next, the scene changes to echo the plight of the female deer, crying out for its mate in the forest. From these wild beings, the confidante turns to sketch the wild nature of robbers, who attack wayfarers and make their clothes torn and appear like the striped skin of the tiger. The confidante continues talking about how these wayfarers can be seen climbing on a tree, intending on saving themselves, and completes this portrait of the drylands, with the eyes of these wayfarers zooming in on a red-headed vulture, soaring in the skies above, in search of a prey. The confidante connects all this by saying this is where the man had intended to leave, and he had told the confidante that he plans to take the lady along. The confidante concludes by jumping in joy as she conveys this news and calls her dear friend so that they could hug and bid farewell to each other. Those vivid images of the conflict between the red dog and the deer in the drylands talk about the tug of war between being with love and leaving for wealth in a subtle manner. The highlight in this verse though is the closing image of the lady and the confidante hugging each other with tears, and preparing to part from each other. A tender bitter-sweet moment between friends!

In this episode, we perceive the eagerness to be back with a beloved, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 284, penned by Idaikaadanaar. The verse is situated amidst the leaping hares of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest landscape’ and paints a portrait of this domain and its denizens. சிறியிலை நெல்லிக் காய் கண்டன்னகுறு விழிக் கண்ண கூரல் அம் குறு முயல்முடந்தை வரகின் வீங்கு பீள் அருந்துபு,குடந்தை அம் செவிய கோட் பவர் ஒடுங்கி,இன் துயில் எழுந்து, துணையொடு போகி,முன்றில் சிறு நிறை நீர் கண்டு உண்ணும்புன் புலம் தழீஇய பொறைமுதல் சிறு குடி,தினைக் கள் உண்ட தெறி கோல் மறவர்,விசைத்த வில்லர், வேட்டம் போகி,முல்லைப் படப்பைப் புல்வாய் கெண்டும்காமர் புறவினதுவே காமம்நம்மினும் தான் தலைமயங்கியஅம் மா அரிவை உறைவு இன் ஊரே. In this trip to these pleasing lands, we observe spirited beings in action, as we listen to the man say these words to his charioteer, at a time when he is returning after completing his mission: “Having small eyes, akin to fruits of the small-leaved gooseberry, are those beautiful little hares with sharp fur. After munching on thick clusters of curved millet crops, these creatures with prominent ears, leap inside the vines. Then, rising from their sweet sleep, along with their mates, they drink up water, placed in brimming vessels, in the front yard of homes in hamlets, surrounding these forest lands near the hills. Here, after drinking up millet toddy, brave men with sharp arrows and tautly tied bows, leave on a hunt, and bringing back deer, they feed on it, in the jasmine-covered forest lands. Near this picturesque forest, is the village, where that beautiful, dark-skinned maiden, throbbing with even more passion than me, lives!” Let’s hop along with those hares and learn more! The man starts by focusing on this very creature and he associates the hare’s eyes with gooseberry fruits. After that picture-perfect plant-animal simile, he talks about how these hares feed on millet crops, rest under bushes, and then rising from sleep, go on to drink the water placed in pots, in front of homes in those little hamlets. Then he talks about the people living there, the hunters who bring back their catch of deer, and about how, spreading on those red lands, they cut and feast on their game. The man concludes by saying his beloved lives in a village near this beautiful forest, talking about how she would be brimming over with more yearning and love, than even him.  In these words, we can infer the subtle notes of the man’s eagerness to see the lady’s lovely town and be back in her company again. Like the happy hare, the man too intends to rest and rejoice with his beloved and drink from their together cup of joy!

In this episode, we listen to a loving wish, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 283, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse describes the transformation of a dreary place into a delightful one. நல் நெடுங் கதுப்பொடு பெருந் தோள் நீவி,நின் இவண் ஒழிதல் அஞ்சிய என்னினும்,செலவு தலைக்கொண்ட பெரு விதுப்பு உறுவிபல் கவர் மருப்பின் முது மான் போக்கி,சில் உணாத் தந்த சீறூர்ப் பெண்டிர்திரிவயின் தெவுட்டும் சேண் புலக் குடிஞைப்பைதல் மென் குரல் ஐது வந்து இசைத்தொறும்,போகுநர் புலம்பும் ஆறே ஏகுதற்குஅரிய ஆகும் என்னாமை, கரி மரம்கண் அகை இளங் குழை கால்முதல் கவினி,விசும்புடன் இருண்டு, வெம்மை நீங்க,பசுங் கண் வானம் பாய் தளி பொழிந்தென,புல் நுகும்பு எடுத்த நல் நெடுங் கானத்து,ஊட்டுறு பஞ்சிப் பிசிர் பரந்தன்னவண்ண மூதாய் தண் நிலம் வரிப்ப,இனிய ஆகுக தணிந்தேஇன்னா நீப்பின் நின்னொடு செலற்கே. In this trip to the drylands, we observe how this formidable land changes colours, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, conveying the lady’s acceptance to elope away with him: “I was fearing about how she would remain here, without you, the one, who caresses her fine, long tresses, and thick arms. But she's gone a step ahead and is anxious to leave on a journey with you, to paths, where chasing old deer with branching antlers, womenfolk from small hamlets gather meagre grains, and as they rove around, an owl's sorrow-filled, soft voice arrives to torment tenderly, making wayfarers to lament as they walk on. So that these paths are not difficult for her to traverse, let those scorched trees bloom with tender sprouts on the many nodes of their trunks, with much beauty. For the heat to recede, may the skies darken, and may those guardians of fertility shower drops beneath, making blades of grass raise their heads in the fine, vast jungle, and akin to dyed cotton specks that spread around, let the bright-hued, red velvet mites decorate the moist lands. Let it all become cool and pleasant during this sorrow-endowing journey of hers, with you!” Time to walk on through the angst-ridden domain! The confidante starts by revealing her worry about the lady remaining there, if her loving man were to leave. But, her friend had decided something else and was intent on eloping with the man, she says, and then goes on to describe those places, where womenfolk on the lookout for anything to bring for their families, chase away grazing deer, and collect whatever little grains they can find in the scrub jungle. At this time, an owl hooting in soft voice would fall on their ears and would fill all wayfarers with much sorrow, the confidante details. Then, she makes a heartfelt wish so that the path the gentle lady was planning to traverse was not so impossible for her, seeking that the scorched trees should start blooming, the skies should start raining, blades of grass should start sprouting, and the entire spread of the land should be covered in red velvet mites, which come to the surface, only to greet the rains. The confidante concludes by saying indeed the lady’s parting away was going to bring much sadness to her and the lady’s family, but even so, she wishes the lady must have a pleasant time on her journey with the man. What a wonderful creature is this confidante, who only wishes well for her beloved friend! If there was ever a soul, who only lives for the welfare of another, I’m sure it’s this character etched in verse after verse in Sangam Literature. An eternal epitome of friendship, whose personality we can try to emulate in our own relationships with others, for a better and more positive world! 

In this episode, we listen to a unique attempt at persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 282, penned by Thol Kabilar. The verse is situated amidst the soaring Kino and Jackfruit trees of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and paints the prosperity of this domain. பெரு மலைச் சிலம்பின் வேட்டம் போகிய,செறி மடை அம்பின், வல் வில் கானவன்பொருது தொலை யானை வெண் கோடு கொண்டு,நீர் திகழ் சிலம்பின் நன் பொன் அகழ்வோன்,கண் பொருது இமைக்கும் திண் மணி கிளர்ப்ப,வைந் நுதி வால் மருப்பு ஒடிய உக்கதெண் நீர் ஆலி கடுக்கும் முத்தமொடு,மூவேறு தாரமும் ஒருங்குடன் கொண்டு,சாந்தம் பொறைமரம் ஆக, நறை நார்வேங்கைக் கண்ணியன் இழிதரும் நாடற்குஇன் தீம் பலவின் ஏர் கெழு செல்வத்துஎந்தையும் எதிர்ந்தனன், கொடையே; அலர் வாய்அம்பல் ஊரும் அவனொடு மொழியும்;சாய் இறைத் திரண்ட தோள் பாராட்டி,யாயும், ‘அவனே’ என்னும்; யாமும்,‘வல்லே வருக, வரைந்த நாள்!’ என,நல் இறை மெல் விரல் கூப்பி,இல் உறை கடவுட்கு ஆக்குதும் பலியே! In this trip to the highlands, we get to witness fascinating scenes, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, pretending not to notice the man listening nearby but making sure he’s in earshot: “Going for a hunt in the slopes of the huge mountains, a hunter carrying well-fitted arrows and a sturdy bow, pulls out the white tusk of an elephant that he battled with and killed. He then uses that tusk to dig out fine gold in those water-filled slopes. As he does that, hitting upon dense gems that twinkle and dazzle one's eyes, the sharp tip of the tusk breaks apart, and the pearls in the tusk drop out, appearing akin to hailstones, made of clear water. Bundling these three different goods together on a bed of sandalwood sticks, he ties them with strong twines, and wearing Kino flower head garlands, that hunter descends down in the mountain country of the lord. Our father, who too has the great wealth and prosperity of soaring, sweet jackfruit trees, has decided to offer your hand to him; As for the gossiping mouths of this slanderous town, they link him with you. Hearing all this, appreciating your thick arms with beautiful wrists, mother too has decided that ‘He's the one'. As for us, wishing ‘Oh! Let the day of wedding arrive with much speed', bringing our soft fingers with lovely knuckles together, let's offer a sacrifice to the god, who resides in our home!” Time to venture out on a mountain hunt! The confidante starts by zooming on to a hunter in the man’s domain, and following him step by step. First, we see this worthy denizen carrying strong bows and arrows. Then, he fells an elephant and pulls out its tusk. But his trip does not end there! He then goes on a solo mission to excavate some gold in those water-flowing slopes. He sure does find that, but in addition, he hits upon some precious blue stones, which happens to break the tip of the tusk. Nothing to worry about, for pearls rain down from that tusk. Now, the hunter picks the gold, the gems and the pearls, bundles them on a sandalwood bed, and comes happily walking down, with the scent of his Kino flower garlands wafting in the mountain breeze.  After that picture-perfect description of the man’s land, the confidante talks about how the lady’s father, a wealthy man himself, with jackfruit orchards many, had decided to give his girl in marriage to the man. While the town continued gossiping, the lady’s mother had accepted her daughter’s choice in a partner, the confidante adds. She concludes by declaring all that remains was for them to pray to the god at home, and offer a sacrifice with folded hands so that the day of wedding arrives promptly. If we think about it, the confidante is not praying to the god at home but the one listening nearby, who has the real power to make things happen. The scene of the hunter returning with unexpected treasures is a metaphor for how a future of permanent happiness with the lady awaits the man, with the blessing of her family and the townsfolk. By presenting the positive views of the lady’s relatives, the confidante seems to be putting that pertinent question to the listening man, ‘What are you waiting for?’!

In this episode, we listen to the lady’s angst, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 281, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse mentions historical facts to etch this story of separation. செய்வது தெரிந்திசின் தோழி! அல்கலும்,அகலுள் ஆண்மை அச்சு அறக் கூறியசொல் பழுது ஆகும் என்றும் அஞ்சாது,ஒல்கு இயல் மட மயில் ஒழித்த பீலி,வான் போழ் வல் வில் சுற்றி, நோன் சிலைஅவ் வார் விளிம்பிற்கு அமைந்த நொவ்வு இயல்கனை குரல் இசைக்கும் விரை செலல் கடுங் கணைமுரண் மிகு வடுகர் முன்னுற, மோரியர்தென் திசை மாதிரம் முன்னிய வரவிற்குவிண்ணுற ஓங்கிய பனி இருங் குன்றத்து,ஒண் கதிர்த் திகிரி உருளிய குறைத்தஅறை இறந்து, அவரோ சென்றனர்பறை அறைந்தன்ன அலர் நமக்கு ஒழித்தே. In this trip to the drylands, we go a history detour, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth: “Analyse and tell me what I should do, my friend! Day after day, staying right here, he spoke words many to remove my fears utterly. Not worrying that those words would become false now, he has left beyond those boulders, broken apart by the Mauryas, wanting to seize the lands to the south, when they marched on and tunnelled through the sky-soaring, dark, dew-covered peaks, so as to make their white-rayed wheels roll on, led by the belligerent Vadugars, who, picking up the feathers dropped by a naive peacock, with a swaying gait, tied those long stems around the sturdy bows, fitted with taut straps, from which with a deep sound, speeding arrows rush ahead. He has left beyond those boulders, leaving us to shoulder all alone, this slander, that resounds akin to the roar of drums!” Time to tread upon those stony surfaces and explore on! The lady starts by asking her confidante what she should do, now that the man had falsified his promises of never parting from her and had left to the drylands. She describes the place where the man’s at by mentioning the rocks that were cut across to make way for the chariots of the northern Mauryas, when they came south, intending to conquer these lands, in the company of the Vadugars, who wield sturdy bows and speedy arrows. The lady concludes by lamenting how the man had left to this place, leaving her all alone to face the slander in town, which seems to echo aloud like a thundering drum. That slander is on the rise is indication that the separation has happened before marriage between the man and the lady. The verse renders a history lesson about the incursion of northern rulers into the southern region of India, two thousand years ago. At the core is a heart, disappointed by broken promises. Hope it heals with the return of the man, speeding back to the lady, like the arrows of those Vadugars!

In this episode, we listen to the plea in a man’s heart, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 280, penned by Ammoovanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming flowers and scuttling crabs of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and echoes the yearning to attain a beloved. பொன் அடர்ந்தன்ன ஒள் இணர்ச் செருந்திப்பல் மலர் வேய்ந்த நலம் பெறு கோதையள்,திணி மணல் அடை கரை அலவன் ஆட்டிஅசையினள் இருந்த ஆய் தொடிக் குறுமகள்,நலம்சால் விழுப் பொருள் கலம் நிறை கொடுப்பினும்,பெறல் அருங்குரையள்ஆயின், அறம் தெரிந்து,நாம் உறை தேஎம் மரூஉப் பெயர்ந்து, அவனொடுஇரு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பின் உப்புடன் உழுதும்,பெரு நீர்க் குட்டம் புணையொடு புக்கும்,படுத்தனம், பணிந்தனம், அடுத்தனம், இருப்பின்,தருகுவன்கொல்லோ தானே விரி திரைக்கண் திரள் முத்தம் கொண்டு, ஞாங்கர்த்தேன் இமிர் அகன் கரைப் பகுக்கும்கானல் அம் பெருந் துறைப் பரதவன் எமக்கே? In this trip to the shore, we perceive scenes of play, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, when he’s returning home, after a tryst with the lady: “Wearing many woven, radiant flowers of the champak, appearing akin to thick clusters of gold, on her exquisite tresses, chasing crabs on the heaped sands of the seashore, that young maiden wearing beautiful bangles, tires out and rests there. Even if the best of earned wealth, filled to the brim of a vessel, is rendered, it would be hard to attain her. If I were to migrate from the country I live in, and along with him, if I toil on the salt fields of this huge and vast shore, and sail along in his boat into the huge seas, and if I submit, surrender and stoop in humility before him, would that lord of the huge shores, filled with groves, the one who gathers picturesque pearls from the deep seas himself and renders unto others in those bee-swarming wide shores, realise it's the just thing to do and offer his beautiful daughter to me?” Let’s follow along on the shore and listen to the man pour his heart out! The man starts by describing the lingering beauty of the lady he had just met and left, and to do that, he mentions the yellow flowers of the champak tree that adorns his beloved’s head like thick golden ornaments. He talks about how she used to run about chasing crabs on the seashore. Then, with a sigh, remarks that even if he were to heap gold sky high, it would not suffice as ‘bride price’ for that maiden, and that it would be impossible to attain her. Thinking in another direction, the man concludes by wondering if he decides to leave his land, come live here and toil in the salt pans and fish in the great seas along with the lady’s father, and utterly bow low before him, then would that lord of the seas, who seems to gather pearls and distribute to his kith and kin on the flower-filled shores, decide the right thing to do would be to offer his daughter’s hand to this wonderful man? For the man, who is a lord of some land himself to decide to bow low before another man, is the surest indicator of the extent he is willing to go to become united with the one he loves. It proclaims aloud how deeply he feels love in his heart for the lady and his determination to leave no stone unturned in making her his own. A verse that made me smile thinking about the man’s attempts to charm his future father-in-law!

In this episode, we perceive a heart that beats for another, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 279, penned by Irunkon Ollaiyaayan Chenkannanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse presents the core reasons for venturing out in search of wealth. ‘நட்டோர் இன்மையும், கேளிர் துன்பமும்,ஒட்டாது உறையுநர் பெருக்கமும் காணூஉ,ஒரு பதி வாழ்தல் ஆற்றுபதில்லபொன் அவிர் சுணங்கொடு செறிய வீங்கியமென் முலை முற்றம் கடவாதோர்’ என,நள்ளென் கங்குலும் பகலும், இயைந்து இயைந்துஉள்ளம் பொத்திய உரம் சுடு கூர் எரிஆள்வினை மாரியின் அவியா நாளும்கடறு உழந்து இவணம் ஆக, படர் உழந்துயாங்கு ஆகுவள்கொல் தானே தீம் தொடைவிளரி நரம்பின் நயவரு சீறியாழ்மலி பூம் பொங்கர் மகிழ் குரற் குயிலொடுபுணர் துயில் எடுப்பும் புனல் தெளி காலையும்நம்முடை மதுகையள் ஆகி, அணி நடைஅன்ன மாண் பெடையின் மென்மெல இயலி,கையறு நெஞ்சினள், அடைதரும்மை ஈர் ஓதி மாஅயோளே? In this trip to the drylands, we experience more of an abstract journey, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his travels to earn wealth: “Thinking, ‘Those who cannot venture beyond the borders of the soft and dense bosoms with gold-like pallor spots have to live and accept the state of lack in friends, sorrow in relatives and prosperity in foes', as the sharp and fierce flames blazed bright in my heart, be it in the middle of the night or the day, pouring my effort as the rain shower, day after day, I suffer here, apart from her. As for her, who is languishing with a deep sorrow, what will become of her now? Back then, when sweet sounds of the ‘vilari' tune resounds from the strings of a small lute, along with the ecstatic voices of a cuckoo in the flower-filled groves, and wakes her up from a deep sleep in that morning hour, as water is sprinkled to cleanse the ground, seeking me as her only pillar of strength, with a gentle gait akin to a picturesque swan, she would walk slowly with a helpless heart and come embrace me!” Time to walk on through that familiar space and learn more! The man starts by talking about what pushed him to tread these spaces, and mentions how a spark of thought appeared in his mind about how those who did not want to move away from the pleasure of being with their beloved would have to live with their friends’ poverty, their kin’s sorrow and their enemies’ rise to prosperity. This spark of thought burst into wild flames in his heart and he decided to quench that with the rain of his hard work and so he left the lady and was suffering there in the drylands. After narrating his state, the man’s mind shifts to that of his beloved, whom he had left behind and reminisces about one morning he had spent in her company. Even when she was right next to him, in the early hours of the morning, when she would wake up hearing the sweet notes of the small lute and the voice of the cuckoo in the grove, as water was being sprinkled on the courtyard, she would immediately miss the man, seek him out with her slow, swan-like walk and embrace him tight, the man recollects, and he concludes by wondering how she would be able to bear with a separation now. Here’s an exquisite moment when a person, who is in deep suffering themselves, thinks beyond them about the state of the one they love. A highlight here is the imagery of the rain of hard work quenching the flames of angst in a heart. Yet another nuance to be relished is what used to wake a person in the early morning hours, in the place of our modern screeching alarm clocks. To wake up to the strings of a lute and the songs of a cuckoo sounds like heaven indeed. A verse which goes on to show how music and nature was an inseparable part of the lives of these ancients!

In this episode, we perceive the subtle art of persuasion, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 278, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated amidst the gushing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches the journey of water and its significance in the lady’s life. குண கடல் முகந்த கொள்ளை வானம்பணை கெழு வேந்தர் பல் படைத் தானைத்தோல் நிரைத்தனைய ஆகி, வலன் ஏர்பு,கோல் நிமிர் கொடியின் வசி பட மின்னி,உரும் உரறு அதிர் குரல் தலைஇ, பானாள்,பெரு மலை மீமிசை முற்றினஆயின்,வாள் இலங்கு அருவி தாஅய், நாளை,இரு வெதிர் அம் கழை ஒசியத் தீண்டிவருவதுமாதோ, வண் பரி உந்தி,நனி பெரும் பரப்பின் நம் ஊர் முன்துறை;பனி பொரு மழைக் கண் சிவப்ப, பானாள்முனி படர் அகல மூழ்குவம்கொல்லோமணி மருள் மேனி ஆய்நலம் தொலைய,தணிவு அருந் துயரம் செய்தோன்அணி கிளர் நெடு வரை ஆடிய நீரே? In this trip to the highlands, we witness the dynamic actions of the elements of land, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, pretending not to notice the man, listening nearby, but making sure he’s in earshot: “Clouds brimming over, after dipping into the eastern seas, looking like rows of shields around many different armies, lead by a king with ‘panai' drums, rises to the right, and akin to a flag that flutters on top of a pole, flashes, splitting the skies, and with an uproarious voice that thunders on, it pours down in the middle of the night, laying siege atop huge hills, and comes down as cascades, shining like swords. Tomorrow, those cascades will come pouncing, breaking tall and beautiful bamboos, in the manner of a speeding horse, and will arrive at the vastly spreading spaces of our town's river shore. Making those dew-covered, rain-like eyes to redden, in the dark of the night, to be rid of this hateful suffering, shall we take a dip in those waters that have arrived here, after playing on the picturesque mountains of the one, who has rendered a ceaseless sorrow, making the old beauty of your sapphire-hued skin to fade?” Let’s listen to the music of this mountain song! The confidante starts by talking about how the clouds have taken a dip in the eastern seas and were travelling west. To sketch their appearance, she brings in parallel, the marching armies of a king, covered in shields, and talks about how these rise to the right, and then roar with a thunderous voice. The companion, lightning, is compared to a fluttering flag on high by the confidante. Now, this army of clouds lay siege to a mountain, and then pour down with gusto, in the middle of the night, says the confidante. Next, she sketches the transformation of that downpour into a cascade, that seems to speed on like a king’s horse, and chop away bamboos standing in the way. In this manner, those gushing waters arrive at their door-step, the river shore of their town, the confidante connects. She concludes by beckoning the lady to go take a dip in those waters which comes from the mountains of the lord, who has brought a great sorrow to the lady and made her beauty wither away! The nuance here is the hidden statement in the words of the confidante to the lady, ‘You seem to suffer without embracing the chest of the man. Perhaps you will find some relief in dipping in the waters that gush from his mountains!’. The listening man would understand the yearning in the lady’s heart to be with him and the angst she suffers when he is not able to tryst with her. Through this, the good friend hopes to nudge the man to give up his sporadic trysting and seek the permanent path of happiness by marrying the lady. Leaving aside this repeated theme, isn’t that picture-perfect parallel depiction of flowing water and a king at war? The army of clouds, rising from the sea, the siege of the mountains, roar of thunder, the flag of lightning fluttering in the sky, leaping horses of cascades and the journey’s end at the river shore of the lady’s town, presents a graphic geography lesson on ‘Orographic rainfall’, with the perfect fusion of poetic elements!

In this episode, we perceive the angst-ridden words of a maiden, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 277, penned by Karuvoor Nanmarban. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands Landscape’, the verse sketches dynamic similes involving birds and animals to etch the situation at hand. தண் கதிர் மண்டிலம் அவிர் அறச் சாஅய்ப்பகல் அழி தோற்றம் போல, பையெனநுதல் ஒளி கரப்பவும், ஆள்வினை தருமார்,தவல் இல் உள்ளமொடு எஃகு துணை ஆக,கடையல்அம் குரல வாள் வரி உழுவைபேழ் வாய்ப் பிணவின் விழுப் பசி நோனாது,இரும் பனஞ் செறும்பின் அன்ன பரூஉ மயிர்,சிறு கண் பன்றி வரு திறம் பார்க்கும்அத்தம் ஆர் அழுவத்து ஆங்கண் நனந்தலை,பொத்துடை மரத்த புகர் படு நீழல்,ஆறு செல் வம்பலர் அசையுநர் இருக்கும்,ஈரம் இல் வெஞ் சுரம் இறந்தோர் நம்வயின்வாரா அளவை ஆயிழை! கூர் வாய்அழல் அகைந்தன்ன காமர் துதை மயிர்மனை உறை கோழி மறனுடைச் சேவல்போர் புரி எருத்தம் போலக் கஞலியபொங்கு அழல் முருக்கின் ஒண் குரல் மாந்தி,சிதர் சிதர்ந்து உகுத்த செவ்வி வேனில்வந்தன்று அம்ம, தானேவாரார் தோழி! நம் காதலோரே. In this trip to the familiar landscape, we get to see striking sights, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away: “Akin to how the moon with cool rays, appears during the day, with its glow ruined, making the light of my forehead wane slowly day by day, so as to gain wealth, with a relentless heart, and a spear for company, he has parted away to the drylands, where a tiger with sword-like stripes and having a voice akin to the churning of curd, unable to bear the deep hunger of its huge-mouthed mate, lies in wait for a small-eyed boar, with hair on its neck like the splinters on a palm tree, in those arid and wide open scrub jungles, where in the spotted shade of trees with hollows, wayfarers treading those paths, find a spot to rest. He, who has left to such a scorching drylands, bereft of moisture, still does not return to me, O maiden wearing well-etched jewels! Having feathers, akin to a swaying, sharp-tipped flame, is the hen that lives in a home. Akin to the bristling hair on the cape of its mate, a courageous rooster, in the middle of a fight, blooms the radiant, fire-like coral tree's flowers, upon whose bright buds, bees swarm around and scatter nectar, announcing the arrival of this season of spring, and still that lover of mine returns not, my dear friend!” Let’s brave the sweltering heat and walk on through this domain! The lady observes how the shine of her forehead is fading just like how the moon loses its glow during the day. The reason for that is the absence of her beloved, who has left in search of wealth with much determination in his heart and a spear in his hand, she says, and goes on to describe where he’s at. To do that, she paints an image of a roving tiger, which wanting to end the hunger of its mate, roams the paths, waiting to snatch a boar, whose rough hair is likened to the splinters of a palmyra tree. The lady further describes how these spaces have hardly any trees, and people walking those paths sit down with relief even in the broken shade of small tree. She goes on to then talk about how the season of spring had arrived at their doorstep, knocking with the sight of bees buzzing around coral tree flowers, whose shape is so exquisitely placed in parallel to the bristling fur around the neck of a rooster in the middle of a fight. The lady concludes by crying that though this beautiful season, meant for togetherness had arrived, her man hadn’t!  A case of lamenting for the man, who’s missing even after the promised season of return. In the reference to the male tiger wanting to appease the hunger of its mate, and the bees swarming around the coral-tree flowers with much passion and desire, the lady seems to say, ‘The whole world around is buzzing with expressions of love, whereas my man shows not this to me!’. This curiously reminded me of the concept of ‘social media envy’ and how seeing the idealised posts and reels of others can point to the lack in one’s own life. Two thousand years ago, the natural world was the place of action wheres now the scene has shifted to the world of 1s and 0s. What remains the same is the human nature of comparison of one’s own state to the world around, and perhaps the cure for this timeless crisis is to just feel gratitude for the things that we do have, regardless of what we don’t and what others may have! 

In this episode, we perceive the ire of a woman, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 276, penned by Paranar. The verse is situated amidst the fish-filled ponds of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and relays scenes of rivalry in a rich town. நீள் இரும் பொய்கை இரை வேட்டு எழுந்தவாளை வெண் போத்து உணீஇய, நாரை தன்அடி அறிவுறுதல் அஞ்சி, பைபயக்கடி இலம் புகூஉம் கள்வன் போல,சாஅய் ஒதுங்கும் துறை கேழ் ஊரனொடுஆவது ஆக! இனி நாண் உண்டோ?வருகதில் அம்ம, எம் சேரி சேர!அரி வேய் உண்கண் அவன் பெண்டிர் காண,தாரும் தானையும் பற்றி, ஆரியர்பிடி பயின்று தரூஉம் பெருங் களிறு போல,தோள் கந்தாகக் கூந்தலின் பிணித்து, அவன்மார்பு கடி கொள்ளேன்ஆயின், ஆர்வுற்றுஇரந்தோர்க்கு ஈயாது ஈட்டியோன் பொருள்போல்,பரந்து வெளிப்படாது ஆகி,வருந்துகதில்ல, யாய் ஓம்பிய நலனே! Sparks fly in this trip to the farmlands, as we hear a courtesan say these words to her friends, conveying a pointed message to the lady’s friends, listening near by: “Searching for prey in the long and vast pond, a stork, wishing to feed on the white male of the scabbard fish, fearing its footsteps would be heard, walks slowly, akin to a thief entering a well-guarded house, and takes soft steps in the shore-filled town of the lord! Why should I hold back out of modesty anymore? When he comes by to our neighbourhood, making sure his women with kohl-streaked eyes with red lines, see, clutching on to his garlands and garments, akin to a female elephant, trained by the Aryars, to seize a huge male elephant, with my arms as the post, I will bind him with my tresses and hold on tightly to his chest. If I don't do this, akin to wealth earned, which is not given away to those who plead in need, without being known and cherished with fame, let that beauty of mine, reared by my mother, languish and turn to ruin!” Let’s watch this familiar tussle in the land of plenty! The courtesan starts by describing the man’s town and to do that, she sketches the scene of a stork walking like a thief entering a guarded mansion, so as to prey upon the scabbard fish, swimming blissfully in a pond. After that scene of stealth, she goes on to say that there’s no use suffering with a sense of shame anymore. Declaring that the next time the man came to their neighbourhood, the courtesan, in the manner of a female elephant, trained by the Aryans to tempt and capture huge wild, male elephants, would clutch on to the man’s clothes and garlands and hold tightly, with her tresses as the rope and her arms as the post. The courtesan concludes with a vow that if she does not do such a thing then let the beauty that her mother reared in her, become ruined without any fame like the wealth of a person, who hoards and gives not, to those who come seeking in need.  The core of this tale is that the courtesan is angered by the disparaging words of the lady that has reached her ears and she intends to send back a sharp message to the lady challenging that her husband was about to be stolen away like an elephant in the wild. The opening image of the stork stealing in softly to make its kill is a metaphor for how the courtesan would snag the man with her stealth and strategy. In a verse full of emotions that have not aged very well, there’s one line that shines and that’s about the purpose of wealth, which according to these ancients was meant to serve the needy. If this future descendant could talk to those women of the past, I would say, ‘Dear ladies, quit the fighting over that silly man and realise the power and beauty of being the best you can be!’