Aganaanooru 250 – The sleepless shore

In this episode, we listen to a pointed question put forth to subtly persuade a person, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 250, penned by Selloorkizhaar Maganaar Perumboothankotranaar. The verse is situated amidst the swaying seashore trees of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and recollects an incident and presents its consequences. எவன் கொல்? வாழி, தோழி! மயங்கு பிசிர்மல்கு திரை உழந்த ஒல்கு நிலைப் புன்னைவண்டு இமிர் இணர நுண் தாது வரிப்ப,மணம் கமழ் இள மணல் எக்கர்க் காண்வர,கணம் கொள் ஆயமொடு புணர்ந்து விளையாட,கொடுஞ்சி நெடுந் தேர் இளையரொடு நீக்கி,தாரன், கண்ணியன், சேர வந்து, ஒருவன்,வரி மனை புகழ்ந்த கிளவியன், யாவதும்மறு மொழி பெறாஅன் பெயர்ந்தனன்; அதற்கொண்டுஅரும் படர் எவ்வமொடு பெருந் தோள் சாஅய்,அவ் வலைப் பரதவர் கானல் அம் சிறு குடிவெவ் வாய்ப் பெண்டிர் கவ்வையின் கலங்கி,இறை வளை நெகிழ்ந்த நம்மொடுதுறையும் துஞ்சாது, கங்குலானே! In this trip to the shore, we perceive scenes of playful fun and more, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, intending to persuade her to further her relationship with the man: “What could be the reason? Long may you live, my friend! Tormented by the muddled spray of the brimming waves, the swaying Laurelwood tree’s bee-buzzing fine pollen scatters down, making the young sand to waft with a fragrance, amidst the picturesque mounds on the shore. Here, when we were playing together with our many mates, asking the helpers on his tall, ornamented chariot to step aside, a man wearing garlands around his neck and head, came close to us, and rendered words praising our lined sand houses. Without receiving words any in response, he parted away from there. From that moment, suffering deeply, which causes thick arms to wane, and troubled by the slander of cruel-mouthed womenfolk in this beautiful, little hamlet of the fisherfolk with exquisite nets, filled with groves by the shore, with bangles slipping away from the forearms, we remain. And so, along with us, the shore too sleeps not, in the middle of the night!” Time to take a walk on that ancient shore and learn more! The confidante starts with a question, pondering on why certain things are happening. Then, she takes us to the seashore and points to how a dancing ‘Punnai tree’, dashed against by the brimming waves, drops its fragrant pollen on the sands, imbuing it with a delicious scent. On such a pretty spread of land, the lady and herself had been playing with many other friends, the confidante recollects. Then she talks about how a man had arrived there, stopped his chariot, asked his helpers to stay a little away, and had come close to them, and praised the sand houses they had been building. Those girls overcome with their sense of shyness, did not reply to him, and he had left quietly, the confidante remembers. Then she talks about how from that moment, there had been significant changes. As we have always seen, the confidante does not separate herself from her friend. So, she says that their arms had been thinning, the womenfolk of the town had been spreading slander, and because of that, their bangles had been slipping away. What the confidante actually means is that these are the changes that are visible in the lady! The confidante concludes by remarking how the shore too does not seem to get a moment of sleep, just like them, even in the dark hour of midnight! That note about the shore sharing the plight of the lady subtly speaks about the sisterhood felt with this element of nature! To us, these words may seem rather cryptic, making us ask, ‘What is the confidante trying to say?’. To understand what she means, we have to know of a protocol that seems to be inherent in these love relationships between the man and the lady. It all starts with the man’s eyes falling on a lady, then he falls in love with her, and wins her affection in return. But the tale does not end there! Apparently, the man has to convince the lady’s confidante about his love for the lady, and if convinced, the confidante will take his message to the lady, and after getting her consent too, will arrange for those trysts, which will deepen the relationship between the man and the lady, and from there, the confidante will go on to nudge the man to marry the lady, as we have seen in songs many. Quite complicated indeed! It makes me smile to think what people in the future will have to say about our so-called ‘simple and seamless’ courting practices of today! Returning to the verse, these words are the confidante’s way of telling the lady, ‘The man seeks your company. I know that you are in love with him too. Shall we take this forward?’. Their innate sense of modesty prevents them from speaking plainly, and that’s the reason for these particular musical words that transport readers across the ages to the past, and spread the delight of the scents and sights of that pristine shore forevermore!