Aganaanooru 211 – The promised return

In this episode, we perceive a message of reassurance, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 211, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches a curious act of war. கேளாய், எல்ல! தோழி! வாலியசுதை விரிந்தன்ன பல் பூ மராஅம்பறை கண்டன்ன பா அடி நோன் தாள்திண் நிலை மருப்பின் வயக் களிறு உரிஞுதொறும்,தண் மழை ஆலியின் தாஅய், உழவர்வெண்ணெல் வித்தின் அறைமிசை உணங்கும்பனி படு சோலை வேங்கடத்து உம்பர்,மொழி பெயர் தேஎத்தர் ஆயினும், நல்குவர்குழியிடைக் கொண்ட கன்றுடைப் பெரு நிரைபிடி படு பூசலின் எய்தாது ஒழிய,கடுஞ் சின வேந்தன் ஏவலின் எய்தி,நெடுஞ் சேண் நாட்டில் தலைத்தார்ப் பட்டகல்லா எழினி பல் எறிந்து அழுத்தியவன்கண் கதவின் வெண்மணி வாயில்,மத்தி நாட்டிய கல் கெழு பனித் துறை,நீர் ஒலித்தன்ன பேஎர்அலர் நமக்கு ஒழிய, அழப் பிரிந்தோரே. In this trip to the drylands, the detour takes us to faraway shores, as we hear the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth: “Won’t you listen to this, my dearest friend? Akin to the spread of lime paste, the many-flowered burflower tree, with a wide trunk, akin to a drum,  sheds its blooms, akin to a cool rain of hailstones, when a strong and huge male elephant, with sturdy tusks, rubs against it. These flowers scatter akin to grains of white paddy spread on a rock to dry, in the cloud-covered orchards of the Venkatam Hills. The man has traversed beyond these hills, to a country, where an unknown language is spoken.  Hearing the uproar of the herd of female elephants with their calves, caught in a pit, naive Ezhini left without capturing them, and so, the king got furious and ordered Maththi to enforce his order. Maththi left to the faraway country and captured Ezhini with his army. Maththi then pulled out the teeth of this Ezhini and pressed it upon the sturdy fort door at ‘Venmani Vayil’. Akin to the roaring waves of boulder-filled cool shores nearby, slander has soared in town. He who had left us in tears, leaving the burden of slander, though far away, will indeed return and grace you soon!” Time to brave the harsh domain once again! The confidante starts by requesting her friend to listen to her. Then with a stack of similes, she depicts how the burflower tree’s flowers fall like hailstones and scatter like drying white paddy grain, when elephants rub against its drum-like trunk. She has mentioned this scene as a description of Venkatam Hills up north, which the man is currently traversing and going to a land, where an unknown language is spoken. Then, leaving the man there, the confidante starts narrating a historic incident in which apparently, a lord named Ezhini refused to capture female elephants and their calves, trapped in a pit, against the orders of a superior king. Perhaps, he was a kind-hearted soul! But as leaders with too much power are bound to do, that superior king lost his cool and asked another of his lords, Maththi to go teach this Ezhini a lesson, which the said lord did successfully. But the curious thing this Maththi seems to have done is to pull out the teeth of this Ezhini and impress it on the doors of the fort at a place called ‘Venmani Vayil’. Sounds bizarre yes, but we have already encountered one such instance, some time back in our Sangam exploration, in Natrinai 18, to be exact, wherein a King named Poraiyan does the exact same tooth-pulling to his enemy named ‘Moovan’ and imprints the said teeth on the fort doors at Thondi! Seems to have been one of those acts of war and proclaiming one’s power! Returning to this verse, we find that long reference has been made by the confidante to say that the shores near that ‘Venmani Vayil’ was filled with the roar of the oceans, and just like that, slander was soaring through their town, because the man had left the lady and gone. This tells us this separation between the man and the lady has happened before the lady’s marriage with the man. However, the confidante concludes by telling the lady that the man will indeed return soon, far though he may be! Speaking of far, the Venkatam Hills mentioned seems to have been a favourite haunt of these men, who were in search of wealth. Yet again, like a recent verse we saw, it’s the trope of ‘slander spreads’ but ‘he shall be back soon’. Indeed, nothing works to allay sorrow like the comforting words of a friend!