Aganaanooru 215 – The ability to bid adieu

In this episode, we observe an interesting technique of expressing dissent, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 215, penned by Irangukudi Kundra Naadan. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse evokes a sense of ever-present danger in this domain. விலங்கு இருஞ் சிமையக் குன்றத்து உம்பர்,வேறு பல் மொழிய தேஎம் முன்னி,வினை நசைஇப் பரிக்கும் உரன் மிகு நெஞ்சமொடுபுனை மாண் எஃகம் வல வயின் ஏந்தி,செலல் மாண்பு உற்ற நும்வயின், ‘வல்லே,வலன் ஆக!’ என்றலும் நன்றுமன் தில்லகடுத்தது பிழைக்குவதுஆயின், தொடுத்தகை விரல் கவ்வும் கல்லாக் காட்சி,கொடுமரம் பிடித்த கோடா வன்கண்,வடி நவில் அம்பின் ஏவல் ஆடவர்,ஆள் அழித்து உயர்த்த அஞ்சுவரு பதுக்கை,கூர் நுதிச் செவ் வாய் எருவைச் சேவல்படு பிணப் பைந் தலை தொடுவன குழீஇ,மல்லல் மொசிவிரல் ஒற்றி, மணி கொண்டு,வல் வாய்ப் பேடைக்குச் சொரியும் ஆங்கண்,கழிந்தோர்க்கு இரங்கும் நெஞ்சமொடுஒழிந்து இவண் உறைதல் ஆற்றுவோர்க்கே. In this trip to the drylands, we hear the confidante say these words to the man, in response to his request, asking the confidante to convey to the lady his wish to part away in search of wealth: “Beyond the radiant, huge mountain peaks, wishing to go to lands, where many other languages are spoken, with a determined heart that nudges with a desire to earn wealth, holding a well-etched spear in your right hand, you wish to part away to the drylands, where live those uneducated men, who bite their finger, if the arrow they aimed hits not the target, have the harsh nature of holding on to their curving bows ceaselessly and killing people with their sharp arrows, and then covering those corpses in fearsome, shallow graves, from where a sharp-beaked, red-mouthed, red-headed, male vulture, digs up the fresh head of a corpse, with its sharp claws, plucks the eyes, and then carries it to its strong-mouthed mate. To say to you, ‘Go on and be victorious’ is only possible for those, who have the ability to live here, when their heart ceaselessly worries about the one who has parted thither!” Time to explore the fearful paths again! The confidante starts by repeating the man’s wish to part away, wanting to go to a far away land, and earn wealth. She describes how he would tread on with a spear in his hand and leave to a place, filled with highway robbers, who think not one moment before killing others with their fierce arrows. Then she mentions how they would bury the dead in shallow, stone graves. A moment to pause and see how even these thieves seemed to have had a sense of honour. They don’t cast away the bodies and leave just like that. Even though they have the harshness to kill, they show their respect for the dead by burying them in whatever manner possible. Returning, we now find the confidante telling us how their efforts have been in vain, for a red-headed vulture digs out the dead with its sharp claws, and chooses its favourite bit of the corpse’s eyeball and carries it to its mate devoutly. Ending this description of the unimaginable place the man wants to leave to, the confidante concludes by saying, there may be some who have the ability to live quietly, even as their heart worries incessantly about a person who has parted away to such a place, and only they could wish the man good luck and bid farewell on his mission, implying that the lady has no such ability. In a nutshell, the confidante is asking the man not to part away and leave on this mission, for it would be impossible for the lady to live here, in that state of anxiety about his welfare. The confidante’s way of ‘saying no, without saying no’, sketching in one stroke, the danger ahead, the man’s courage and the lady’s love!