Aganaanooru 159 – Even Aamoor cannot keep him away

In this episode, we listen to words of consolation rendered to allay the anxiety of another, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 159, penned by Aamoor Kavuthaman Saathevanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse echoes the fame and wealth of a Sangam era town. தெண் கழி விளைந்த வெண் கல் உப்பின்கொள்ளை சாற்றிய கொடு நுக ஒழுகைஉரனுடைச் சுவல பகடு பல பரப்பிஉமண் உயிர்த்து இறந்த ஒழிகல் அடுப்பின்,வடி உறு பகழிக் கொடு வில் ஆடவர்அணங்குடை நோன் சிலை வணங்க வாங்கி,பல் ஆன் நெடு நிரை தழீஇ, கல்லெனஅரு முனை அலைத்த பெரும் புகல் வலத்தர்,கனை குரற் கடுந் துடிப் பாணி தூங்கி,உவலைக் கண்ணியர், ஊன் புழுக்கு அயரும்கவலை, ”காதலர் இறந்தனர்” என, நனிஅவலம் கொள்ளல்மா, காதல் அம் தோழி! விசும்பின் நல் ஏறு சிலைக்கும் சேண் சிமைநறும் பூஞ் சாரற் குறும் பொறைக் குணாஅதுவில் கெழு தடக் கை வெல் போர் வானவன்மிஞிறு மூசு கவுள சிறு கண் யானைத்தொடியுடைத் தட மருப்பு ஒடிய நூறி,கொடுமுடி காக்கும் குரூஉகண் நெடு மதில்சேண் விளங்கு சிறப்பின் ஆமூர் எய்தினும்,ஆண்டு அமைந்து உறையுநர்அல்லர், நின்பூண் தாங்கு ஆகம் பொருந்துதல் மறந்தே. A dash of drylands and a pinch of history in this trip, where we get to listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man remains parted away, having left on his mission to seek wealth: “Taking white salt that was harvested from the clear backwaters, salt merchants journey on, shouting out the price and selling their produce. Then untying their bulls with strong napes, from the curved yokes of their carts, they let the beasts loose to graze around, as they take rest and eat around their stone stoves, which they leave behind, when parting away. Men with curving bows, and arrows, which never miss their targets, bend their sturdy bows, which seem to contain spirits within, and seize many herds of cattle, with a resounding uproar, which makes the land quiver, and then those victorious warriors sway to the sharp beats of thick-throated drums, wearing leaf garlands, and relish the meat they cook on those abandoned stone stoves in those formidable drylands paths! Don’t fall into a deep suffering, thinking that your lover has parted away to such a place, my loving friend!  Having soaring peaks, where the sky’s white steed leaps about, and slopes filled with fragrant flowers, are the hills of ‘Kurumporai’.  To the east of these hills, is the town of Aamoor, filled with dazzling places, guarded by tall forts, under the protection of ‘Kodumudi’, who attacked and seized the bangle-clad tusks of the small-eyed elephants, around whose cheeks, bees buzz, owned by the victorious ‘Vanavan’, who wields a skilful bow in his strong hands. Even if your man were to attain this renowned town of Aamoor, whose fame spreads far and wide, he is not one remain there satisfied, forgetting the embrace of your jewel-clad bosom!” Time to traverse those well-worn arid paths through the drylands! The confidante starts her words to the pining lady by asking her to focus on an object lying about in the drylands. This object is a stove, made of stone, and it’s one that has been abandoned by salt merchants, who had come that way, after selling their harvest of salt from the backwaters. Arriving at this spot after a long journey, they seem to have decided to give their bulls a break, and take one themselves. After loosening the yokes of the cattle, they had settled down for a meal around their stone stove. Once down, they seem to have left that stove behind and gone their way. Cut and we are back in the same spot, but after some time has elapsed. Now, we find jubilant warriors, who seem to have seized cattle, and are celebrating their victory by dancing to the beats of the drum, and settling down for a meal around that same stone stove, abandoned by those salt merchants. After this vivid description, the confidante reveals that this place is none other than the one which the man traverses now. She looks at her friend and asks the lady to worry not, thinking about the man’s travels thither.  Then leaving the barren drylands behind, the confidante takes the lady to the soaring peaks of Kurumporai, where lightning flashes, and the scent of flowers envelops. From there, they travel east and end up in a town called ‘Aamoor’, which has tall forts and is protected by a lord named ‘Kodumudi’, who has the honour of subduing the great elephants of King Vanavan, a Chera king, and seizing their tusks. The confidante concludes by emphatically telling the lady that even if the man were to attain that celebrated town of Aamoor as his reward, the man was not a person to stay behind, settle down and forget the warm embrace of his beloved! In essence, the confidante wishes to stress upon the lady that the man will never forsake her, no matter what the temptation is, and that he would be back the moment his mission was complete. The highlight of this verse though is the journey of that abandoned stove from the hands of salt sellers to the hands of these cattle warriors. Looking at it from another angle, I see how food is the unifying factor here, between very different groups of people, who seemingly have nothing in common. A reminder that if we look closely enough, we’ll be able to find some streak of commonality with people, no matter how far apart in space or time they are from us!