Aganaanooru 291 – A heart that forgets not

In this episode, we perceive the sorrowful situation of a person parted from his beloved, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 291, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the challenging spaces of this domain in vivid detail.

வானம் பெயல் வளம் கரப்ப, கானம்
உலறி இலை இலவாக, பல உடன்
ஏறுடை ஆயத்து இனம் பசி தெறுப்ப,
கயன் அற வறந்த கோடையொடு நயன் அறப்
பெரு வரை நிவந்த மருங்கில், கொடு வரிப்
புலியொடு பொருது சினம் சிறந்து, வலியோடு
உரவுக் களிறு ஒதுங்கிய மருங்கில், பரூஉப் பரல்,
சிறு பல் மின்மினி கடுப்ப, எவ்வாயும்
நிறைவன இமைக்கும் நிரம்பா நீள் இடை
எருவை இருஞ் சிறை இரீஇய, விரி இணர்த்
தாது உண் தும்பி முரல் இசை கடுப்ப,
பரியினது உயிர்க்கும் அம்பினர், வெருவர
உவலை சூடிய தலையர், கவலை
ஆர்த்து, உடன் அரும் பொருள் வவ்வலின், யாவதும்
சாத்து இடை வழங்காச் சேண் சிமை அதர
சிறியிலை நெல்லித் தீம் சுவைத் திரள் காய்
உதிர்வன தாஅம் அத்தம் தவிர்வு இன்று,
புள்ளி அம் பிணை உணீஇய உள்ளி,
அறு மருப்பு ஒழித்த தலைய, தோல் பொதி,
மறு மருப்பு இளங் கோடு அதிரக் கூஉம்
சுடர் தெற வருந்திய அருஞ் சுரம் இறந்து, ஆங்கு
உள்ளினை வாழிய, நெஞ்சே! போது எனப்
புலம் கமழ் நாற்றத்து இரும் பல் கூந்தல்,
நல் எழில் மழைக் கண், நம் காதலி
மெல் இறைப் பணைத்தோள் விளங்கும் மாண் கவினே.

In this trip to the drylands, we get scene after scene of images, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, in the middle of his journey, after having parted from the lady, so as to earn wealth:

“As the skies have refrained from rendering the prosperity of rain showers, the forest has dried up and appears bereft of leaves. Herds of cattle with bulls many are tormented by deep hunger, as the harsh summer winds blow, drying up ponds in those wide spaces near the tall ranges. Here, after forcefully attacking a tiger with curving stripes furiously, the strong male elephant treads along, and in its footprints, thick pebbles shine, akin to many little fireflies, glittering and scattering their light in all directions. In those deserted long paths, frightening a huge-winged vulture, with the music of bees that buzz around when feeding on the pollen of blossoming flowers, arrows streak past with much speed, from bows of those men wearing frightening head garlands. As they rove those paths and steal away precious belongings, merchants avoid those spaces. In those paths near the peaks, the small-leaved gooseberry’s thick clusters of sweet fruits drop and scatter. Wishing for their spotted, beautiful mates to feed on these fruits, with heads bereft of old antlers, quaking the new antlers bumping up from behind the skin, the male deers call out, in those formidable spaces, scorched by the sun.

Even after coming here, you are thinking about the radiant beauty of our beloved, who has thick, dark tresses that waft with the fragrance of flowers across the land, exquisite, rain-like eyes and bamboo-like arms with soft wrists! Long may you live, O heart!”

Time to take a trek through that arid scrub jungle and listen to the man’s heartbeat! He starts with a lengthy description of this space, where we see that there’s no rain, no leaves, cattle suffering with hunger, hot winds tormenting the land and so on. From the land, the man shifts the lens to focus on fighting animals, an elephant and a tiger in specific, and the former giant seems to emerge victorious and as it walks away with a sense of accomplishment, in those spots where it presses down on its pillar-like legs, pebbles seem to glitter like fireflies in the harsh light of the sweltering sun, the man sketches.

Then, he zooms on the humans in this space, and to do that, he focuses on the arrows flying from the hands of highway robbers and the way they frighten vultures, with a sound of bees buzzing that too. The man talks about how these robbers are so scary and steal away precious belongings that merchants avoid those paths at all costs. He then zooms on to a gooseberry tree and the way it drops its sweet fruits, the only source of succour in those arid spaces. Upon seeing the same, male deers want their mates to feed on the same and call out with much love, making their newly sprouting antlers to tremble in the effort, the man sketches with precision. He has given this description only to say that he has seen those sights, crossed all those scenes, and arrived there, and even after coming that far, all his heart seemed to do was to think about his beautiful, beloved maiden with flower-like tresses, rain-like eyes and bamboo-like arms!

A note of disbelief rings aloud in the voice of the man as he separates himself from his heart and sees how he’s unable to take the lady off his mind, even though he’s firmly set on the path of seeking wealth! A precise portrait of the timeless war between the heart and the mind, between being in the comfort of love and leaving for the sake of ambition!