Aganaanooru 66 – A child’s hold

In this episode, we listen to the narration of a unique intervention, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 66, penned by Selloor Kosikan Kannanaar. Set amidst the wealthy streets of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’, the verse celebrates the presence of a child at a home. ”இம்மை உலகத்து இசையொடும் விளங்கி,மறுமை உலகமும் மறு இன்று எய்துப,செறுநரும் விழையும் செயிர் தீர் காட்சிச்சிறுவர்ப் பயந்த செம்மலோர்” எனப்பல்லோர் கூறிய பழமொழி எல்லாம்வாயே ஆகுதல் வாய்த்தனம் தோழி!நிரை தார் மார்பன் நெருநல் ஒருத்தியொடுவதுவை அயர்தல் வேண்டி, புதுவதின்இயன்ற அணியன், இத் தெரு இறப்போன்மாண் தொழில் மா மணி கறங்க, கடை கழிந்து,காண்டல் விருப்பொடு தளர்பு தளர்பு ஓடும்பூங் கண் புதல்வனை நோக்கி, ”நெடுந் தேர்தாங்குமதி, வலவ!” என்று இழிந்தனன். தாங்காது,மணி புரை செவ் வாய் மார்பகம் சிவணப்புல்லி, ”பெரும! செல் இனி, அகத்து” எனக்கொடுப்போற்கு ஒல்லான் கலுழ்தலின், ”தடுத்தமாநிதிக் கிழவனும் போன்ம்” என, மகனொடுதானே புகுதந்தோனே; யான் அதுபடுத்தனென் ஆகுதல் நாணி, இடித்து, ”இவற்கலக்கினன் போலும், இக் கொடியோன்” எனச் சென்றுஅலைக்கும் கோலொடு குறுக, தலைக்கொண்டுஇமிழ் கண் முழவின் இன் சீர் அவர் மனைப்பயிர்வன போல வந்து இசைப்பவும், தவிரான்,கழங்கு ஆடு ஆயத்து அன்று நம் அருளியபழங் கன்ணோட்டமும் நலிய,அழுங்கினன்அல்லனோ, அயர்ந்த தன் மணனே. It’s the farmlands and though the theme dwells around the conflict between the man and the lady owing to relations with courtesans, here we hear the lady recollect a recent incident to her confidante, and remark on its inferences about the man’s gracious behaviour: “Many have quoted the proverbial statement, ‘Those great people, who have borne children, having a blemish-less appearance relished even by enemies, will surely live with fame in this life, and attain the next life without any trouble’. I realised how true these words are, my friend! Yesterday, the lord, adorned with many garlands on his chest, desiring a union with another woman, wore a new and shining attire, and prepared to leave our street. As the finely etched bells of his horse resounded and he crossed the gate, with a wish of seeing his father, with toddling steps, my flower-eyed son rushed towards him. Seeing him, the man said, ‘Stop the chariot, O charioteer’ and got down. Without pausing, he lifted his son, and pressing the child’s red mouth, akin to coral, on his chest, he held him close, and said to the child, ‘My noble lord! Go inside the home now’. The child, refusing to heed this request, started crying. And so, the great lord with much wealth, stopped by his son, entered our home, carrying him. Thinking the blame for the child’s action would fall on me, with shame, I scolded the child, ‘This little terror has muddled the lord’s plans’ and went near him with a rod. The lord embraced his son and pulled him away. Just then, even though sweet sounds of the resounding drum, inviting him to their home, fell on his ears, the lord avoided going thither, and with the same old thoughtful eyes with which he graced me, when playing with  ‘Kazhangu beans’ with my friends back then, he gave up the thought of parting away for his desired union!” Time to tackle the love troubles in this rich region! The lady starts by quoting a proverb from those times which talks about how those people who have adorable children are sure to live gloriously in this life, and not only that, the next eternal life is guaranteed for them, as well. Saying she had thought it to be a mere old saying but recently realised that it was perfectly true. Then the lady goes on to describe how on a previous day, the man had wanted to leave for his rendezvous with a courtesan, and had stepped out of his home, adorned with garlands and new accessories. As he was leaving out of the gate, with the bells on his horse tinkling, the man’s young son, playing on the street, had come running to see his dear daddy. Spotting the child, the man asked his charioteer to hold on and he got down. He lifted the child and held the toddler close to his chest. Then remembering his appointment, the man turned to the boy and said, ‘Why don’t you go inside the home now?’ As all children do, the boy refused and started crying. So, the man stepped inside his home. Observing all this, the lady thought she was going to be blamed for the boy’s actions and came there scolding the child, and brandishing a rod. The man seemed to have pulled away the child from her reach and hugged him. The lady concludes by saying that even though the drums roared from the house of the courtesan, inviting him there, the man did not heed that, and with the same love and care in his eyes he had had, when he first looked at the lady, as she was playing with her mates back in the day, he gave up his prior plans of uniting with the courtesan, and remained at home with her and her son. Thus, with his tiny fingers and little arms, the innocent child seems to have done the magic trick of binding his strong and powerful father to their home, so effortlessly. The nuanced highlight of this verse is the way the lady is able to perceive the love the man had for her in their days of courtship, after the years have passed, under unlikely circumstances, in the actions of the man towards their son. Perhaps a promise that true love, felt and lost, could once again be found, if we care to see with different eyes!