Aganaanooru 119 – Sigh of a wounded elephant

In this episode, we perceive the yearning in a lady to part away with her man, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 119, penned by Kudavayil Keeraththanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse presents various aspects of this domain. ”நுதலும் தோளும், திதலை அல்குலும்,வண்ணமும், வனப்பும், வரியும், வாடவருந்துவள், இவள்” எனத் திருந்துபு நோக்கி,”வரைவு நன்று” என்னாது அகலினும், அவர் வறிது,ஆறு செல் மாக்கள் அறுத்த பிரண்டை,ஏறு பெறு பாம்பின் பைந் துணி கடுப்ப,நெறி அயல் திரங்கும் அத்தம், வெறி கொள,உமண் சாத்து இறந்த ஒழி கல் அடுப்பில்நோன் சிலை மழவர் ஊன் புழுக்கு அயரும்சுரன் வழக்கு அற்றது என்னாது, உரம் சிறந்து,நெய்தல் உருவின் ஐது இலங்கு அகல் இலை,தொடை அமை பீலிப் பொலிந்த கடிகை,மடை அமை திண் சுரை, மாக் காழ் வேலொடுதணி அமர் அழுவம் தம்மொடு துணைப்ப,துணிகுவர்கொல்லோ தாமே துணிகொளமறப் புலி உழந்த வசி படு சென்னிஉறுநோய் வருத்தமொடு உணீஇய மண்டி,படி முழம் ஊன்றிய நெடு நல் யானைகை தோய்த்து உயிர்க்கும் வறுஞ் சுனை,மை தோய் சிமைய, மலைமுதல் ஆறே? A winding tour of the drylands in this one, where we hear these words spoken by the lady to her confidante, who has come with the news of the man’s intention to part away from the lady: “Without seeing with clear eyes that ‘Making her forehead, arms and spotted waist lose its light, lustre and lines, she would worry greatly’, and without deciding ‘Seeking her hand is the right way’, he intends to part away to those barren paths, cluttered with the vines of the adamant creeper, appearing akin to pieces of a snake, shot down by thunder. Near such paths in the drylands, reeking with odour, lies the stone stove, abandoned by the caravan of salt merchants, now being used by highway robbers, with curving bows, to cook their meat. Without thinking that such spaces are forsaken by all, with strength in his heart, holding a dark-tubed spear, which appears akin to a blue lotus, and is fitted firmly, with a beautiful, shining, leaf-like tip and a stem, adorned with peacock feathers, as he leaves to subdue that raging battlefield, will he dare to take me along, in that mountain path, surrounded by dark clouds, where a tall, fine elephant, attacked by a strong tiger, and wounded on its head, with much pain and sorrow, bends its legs and thrusts its trunk in vain into that dried-up spring, letting out a loud sigh?” Time to capture the essence of this desolate space. The lady starts by declaring how the man doesn’t seem to realise that she would lose her health and beauty and be thrown into the throes of depression. Why she says this is because the man seems to have no thought about seeking her hand, but instead he has decided to walk on, to aid his king and subdue the enemy in that raging battlefield. To this end, the man walks on with his sturdy spear for company, through the drylands, where one can see pieces of ‘pirandai’ vines, chopped up by wayfarers, appearing like pieces of a snake, severed by thunder. A moment to note that this is an echo of the Sangam people’s belief that thunder was snake’s arch enemy and it had this one purpose of ruining this creature! Returning, the lady moves on to other sights, bringing our attention to an abandoned, old stove, which once belonged to travelling salt merchants, now under the custody of the fear-evoking robbers, who are using the apparatus to cook their reeking meat. The lady continues her description of the drylands by talking about the plight of an elephant, wounded on its head by a fierce tiger, which has come running, panting, seeking a drop of refreshing water, and has found only a dried-up spring, and no matter how it nudges with its trunk, no water rises to quench its angst, making that gentle giant let out a loud sigh. Connecting that this is where her man walks, the lady concludes by wondering if the man would dare to take her along through such a drylands path.  The lady wishes to elope away with the man, instead of falling a prey to the slander of the townsfolk, much like how the stone stove belonging to the salt merchants has fallen into the fierce hands of the highway robbers. She sketches her own state of pain and anguish by projecting these emotions on the wounded elephant in search of the succour of water. The question remains as to whether the man would concede to take the lady along through these dangerous paths or will he choose the alternate path of seeking the approval of the lady’s kith and kin to marry her. Whatever be his answer, the verse echoes how the lady has boldly decided that ‘No matter the danger, my place is by my man’s side!’.