Aganaanooru 67 – Despair of the drylands

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we listen to a frustrated response, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 67, penned by Noy Paadiyaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse depicts the dreary state of the place the man traverses.

யான் எவன் செய்கோ? தோழி! பொறி வரி
வானம் வாழ்த்தி பாடவும், அருளாது
உறை துறந்து எழிலி நீங்கலின், பறைபு உடன்,
மரம் புல்லென்ற முரம்பு உயர் நனந்தலை,
அரம் போழ் நுதிய வாளி அம்பின்,
நிரம்பா நோக்கின், நிரயம் கொண்மார்,
நெல்லி நீளிடை எல்லி மண்டி,
நல் அமர்க் கடந்த நாணுடை மறவர்
பெயரும் பீடும் எழுதி, அதர்தொறும்
பீலி சூட்டிய பிறங்கு நிலை நடுகல்
வேல் ஊன்று பலகை வேற்று முனை கடுக்கும்
மொழி பெயர் தேஎம் தருமார், மன்னர்
கழிப் பிணிக் கறைத்தோல் நிரை கண்டன்ன
உவல் இடு பதுக்கை ஆள் உகு பறந்தலை,
”உரு இல் பேஎய் ஊராத் தேரொடு
நிலம் படு மின்மினி போல, பல உடன்
இலங்கு பரல் இமைக்கும்” என்ப நம்
நலம் துறந்து உறைநர் சென்ற ஆறே!

A trip to the drylands and here it’s all about the place! The lady says these words in response to the confidante, who asks her to bear with grace, the man’s parting from the lady, in pursuit of wealth.

“What can I do, my friend? Though the spotted, striped skylark sings praising the skies, without rendering its graces of showering down raindrops, the clouds part away heartlessly. Losing their leaves, trees appear listless in those pebble-filled high and wide spaces. In the dark of the night, wielding arrows with split edges, shaped by saws, with eyes focused on their targets, many left to recover their cattle, and won those battles but perished in the fight. Amidst those paths, filled with gooseberry trees, appearing akin to a battlefield, inscribed with the name and fame of those honourable warriors, hero stones abound between the bushes, adorned radiantly with peacock feathers. Akin to heaps of blackened shields tied with ropes, belonging to the armies of kings, who wish to conquer other lands, where different languages are spoken, appear stone graves in the vast spaces, without people any. Many say, ‘Akin to fireflies flitting on land, twinkle those shining pebbles, amidst the formless, deceiving mirages’ about the path that the one, who abandoned my beauty, traverses now!”

Let’s get walking through the scorching drylands with the man! The lady starts by responding to her confidante that she is unable to help her response of despair and anxiety. Then she goes on to say why describing in detail, the rain-less, leaf-less, shade-less spaces, where the man treads. She also mentions about hero stones being put up in these places for warriors, who perished in their battles to recover their cattle, and how these are adorned with peacock feathers. Then, she talks about shallow stone graves of wayfarers buried there, appearing like blackened shields of conquering kings. As the final image, she mentions how those dry, blistering places are filled with mirages, and shining pebbles that spread everywhere seem like fireflies, flitting about on the land. ‘So dreadful is the place my beloved walks and how do you expect me to be calm and composed?’, the lady concludes to her confidante. A simple verse that talks about the pain one feels on behalf of another. The lady no doubt is in the comfort of her wealthy home, but still she feels the distress and despair of her man so faraway. That empathy is perhaps the guiding beacon for those in love!