Aganaanooru 261 – Walk on ahead O beloved

In this episode, we listen to a narration of events that unfolded, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 261, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse subtly sketches a moment of love. கானப் பாதிரிக் கருந் தகட்டு ஒள் வீவேனில் அதிரலொடு விரைஇ, காண்வர,சில் ஐங் கூந்தல் அழுத்தி, மெல் இணர்த்தேம் பாய் மராஅம் அடைச்சி, வான் கோல்இலங்கு வளை தெளிர்ப்ப வீசி, சிலம்பு நகச்சில் மெல் ஒதுக்கமொடு மென்மெல இயலி, ‘நின்அணி மாண் சிறுபுறம் காண்கம்; சிறு நனிஏகு’ என, ஏகல் நாணி, ஒய்யெனமா கொள் நோக்கமொடு மடம் கொளச் சாஅய்,நின்று தலை இறைஞ்சியோளே; அது கண்டு,யாம் முந்துறுதல் செல்லேம், ஆயிடைஅருஞ் சுரத்து அல்கியேமே இரும் புலிகளிறு அட்டுக் குழுமும் ஓசையும், களி பட்டுவில்லோர் குறும்பில் ததும்பும்,வல் வாய்க் கடுந் துடிப் பாணியும் கேட்டே. In this familiar walk through the drylands, we encounter an interesting scene, as we listen to the man say these words to the confidante, about his travels with the lady through the drylands, on returning to the lady’s village, after their marriage: “When I heard the roar of the huge tiger, after it attacked a male elephant and killed it, and the sharp beats of the strong-mouthed drums resounding from the hill hamlets, echoing the revelries of the bowmen, I said to her, ‘Tying together the shining trumpet flowers with dark petals, blooming in the scrub jungle, along with summer wild jasmines, in a picturesque manner, wear on your exquisite tresses, and adding on the gentle clusters of the bee-buzzing burflowers, swaying your hands and making those white, rounded, shining bangles to tinkle, and with those anklets resounding, taking small, soft steps, gently walk so that I can get to see the small of your back, so pleasing to my eyes. Please do walk on, a little ahead’. Feeling shy to walk ahead, quickly, with a look of a delicate deer, filled with naivety, she bent her head down. Seeing that, without proceeding further, right there, in that drylands, we stayed back then!” Time to sneak in closer to hear those romantic words! The context is as sweet as the content in this one. A while ago, the lady and the man had eloped away, owing to the lady’s kith and kin refusing to accept their relationship. After traversing the harsh drylands, the man and lady had married in the man’s village. Later, the lady’s parents were appeased and invited the couple back home. At this time, the confidante, who had been of great help for the man’s relationship with the lady, in the style of a modern friend, must have asked the man, ‘Begin from the beginning and tell me everything, leaving nothing at all’! The man obliged her with these words, and started sharing about a moment, when he was in the middle of the drylands with the lady, when he heard two sharp sounds – One, of a tiger’s proud roar after killing an elephant, and the other, the sharp drum beats of mountain folk, who were at their evening revelries, drinking and dancing. He suddenly realises that the lady walking slowly behind would feel startled if she caught those sounds, and so he asks her to adorn her hair with trumpet flowers, wild jasmines and burflowers and step ahead, swaying her hands, tinkling her bangles and anklets, so that he could admire her beautiful back. Hearing this, the maiden was overcome with shyness, and she stopped there, looking like a deer, bending her head and standing, not knowing what to do. The man concludes by telling the confidante that was the end of their travel that day and they had to stop right there, and rest in the middle of the drylands.  I can hear the peals of laughter that would have risen from the confidante, as the man narrated this story. Curiously, these words of the man from this ancient piece of Tamil literature, asking the lady to step ahead so that he could admire her, reminded me of a scene in the English novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, and the words of that famous fictional character, Lord Darcy, who says to Caroline Bingley, when she asks him to join Elizabeth Bennet and herself, who were walking ahead: “Either you are in each other’s confidence and have secret affairs to discuss, or you are conscious that your figures appear to be at the greatest advantage by walking. If the first, I should get in your way. If the second, I can admire you, much better from here”. Absolutely different cultures, different characters but the same thread of human experience! Beyond these amusing words of admiration about a lady’s walk, at the core of this verse is the man’s sense of the world around, his attention to the lady’s anxiety, and his quick thinking to distract her with compliments, echoing aloud the thoughtfulness and kindness in his personality, the right ingredients for a long-lasting, loving relationship!