In this episode, we perceive the anxiety of the lady, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 36, penned by the Chera King Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko. The verse is situated in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’ and reveals troubling questions in the lady’s mind.

‘கொடு மிடல் நாஞ்சிலான் தார் போல், மராத்து
நெடுமிசைச் சூழும் மயில் ஆலும் சீர,
வடி நரம்பு இசைப்ப போல் வண்டொடு சுரும்பு ஆர்ப்ப,
தொடி மகள் முரற்சி போல் தும்பி வந்து இமிர்தர,
இயன் எழீஇயவை போல, எவ் வாயும் இம்மென,
கயன் அணி பொதும்பருள் கடி மலர்த் தேன் ஊத,
மலர் ஆய்ந்து வயின் வயின் விளிப்ப போல் மரன் ஊழ்ப்ப,
இருங் குயில் ஆல, பெருந் துறை கவின் பெற,
குழவி வேனில் விழவு எதிர்கொள்ளும்
சீரார் செவ்வியும், வந்தன்று;
வாரார், தோழி! நம் காதலோரே

பாஅய்ப் பாஅய்ப் பசந்தன்று, நுதல்;
சாஅய்ச் சாஅய் நெகிழ்ந்தன, தோள்
நனி அறல் வாரும் பொழுது என, வெய்ய
பனி அறல் வாரும், என் கண்

மலையிடைப் போயினர் வரல் நசைஇ, நோயொடு
முலையிடைக் கனலும், என் நெஞ்சு
காதலின் பிரிந்தார்கொல்லோ? வறிது, ஓர்
தூதொடு மறந்தார்கொல்லோ? நோதக,
காதலர் காதலும் காண்பாம்கொல்லோ?
துறந்தவர் ஆண்டு ஆண்டு உறைகுவர்கொல்லோ? யாவது?’

“நீள் இடைப் படுதலும் ஒல்லும்; யாழ நின்,
வாள் இடைப்படுத்த வயங்கு ஈர் ஓதி!
நாள் அணி சிதைத்தலும் உண்டு” என நய வந்து,
கேள்வி அந்தணர் கடவும்
வேள்வி ஆவியின் உயிர்க்கும், என் நெஞ்சே’

The same two players discussing the man’s absence! The words can be translated as follows:

“Akin to the garland on the one with fierce strength, holding a plough, atop the burflower tree, peacocks surround and sing together harmoniously; Akin to the music that arises from the strings of a lute, bees and beetles resound aloud; Akin to the sound of bangles on dancing maiden, black bees hum around; Akin to the sound of many musical instruments, loudly echoing everywhere, in the groves adorned with ponds, honeybees buzz around the blossomed flowers; As if analysing and deciding which flower is for whom and then inviting them close, trees bloom to the brim with flowers, many, many; The black cuckoo calls out aloud; The huge river shore becomes adorned with beauty; Young spring is here and the time of festivals, when everyone rejoices, has arrived; However, that lover of mine, hasn’t retuned, my friend!

Pallor spread little by little and has covered my forehead entire; Ill health spread little by little and has thinned my arms fully; Thinking this is the time when streams trickle past huge mounds of sand, my eyes shed tears plenty;

Wishing for the one, who went to the mountains to return, my heart burns, filled with affliction, within my bosom; Has my lover left me? Did he forget to even send a message? Will I ever get to see the love of my lover, who has made me suffer so? Will the one who abandoned me decide to live wherever he left to? What is to happen?

‘It is common for people to traverse long paths and stay apart, O maiden, wearing moist and shining tresses, trimmed with steel, and it’s common for them to stay beyond the promised day. However, this does cause ruin to your good beauty!’ – Saying these words, akin to smoke that rises from ritual pits, tended to by wise priests, my heart lets out a huge sigh!”

Let’s delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of the man’s parting after marriage and speaks in the worried voice of the lady initially followed by the confidante’s response. The lady starts by talking about spring, mentioning peacocks singing atop burflower trees, many kinds of bees and the sounds they make, which she equates to music from lute strings, dancing maidens’ bangles and assorted musical instruments. A tree is personified to be calling everyone around to come and adorn themselves with its flowers, the lady sketches. The prominent bird of the season, the black cuckoo is sending out its notes in the air and the river shore seems to bedecked with much beauty. All this signifies the arrival of spring, the lady says. A moment to pause and savour the word used for ‘spring’ here – ‘குழவி வேனில்’ is the phrase employed and to translate it verbatim that would be ‘baby summer’. I smiled to see how time is sketched as a person, especially in the nuance of how spring holds all the adorable qualities of an infant that everyone wants to cuddle. Extending this simile, only later does this cute ‘baby summer’ mature and torment with sweltering heat, like teens and adults, I guess!

Returning from our musings, we find the lady complaining about her pallor-coated forehead, thinning arms and tearful eyes. Then, she starts putting forth questions one after the other, wondering if the man has left her forever, why didn’t he send her even a single message, would she ever see and sense his love again or would he decide to live wherever he left to! Questions arising out of a feeling of utter dependancy on another, in a moment of despair and helplessness. Usually, we find the confidante consoling and cheering the lady, but here she remarks although it’s common for men to part away and stay beyond their promised day of return, that doesn’t change the fact that her friend’s beauty was getting utterly ruined. Seeing this, the confidante expresses how her heart is letting out a sigh that appears like the smoke atop a ritual fire-pit. And here, through the confidante’s words, we see a case of empathy that feels as one with the emotions of another.

Also, with this verse, we come to the end of poems situated in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands’ landscape. Interesting how every verse, with a single exception, spoke about a man’s parting away after marriage, and that one exception alone dealt with emotions around an elopement. In the last few, we have been seeing multiple repetitions of the same theme of ‘spring’s here, but he’s not’. Which makes me wonder how a poet decides they are done writing the segment? Why didn’t this poet stop with the previous song or the one before? Interesting to think about who made these choices and why! In any case, it’s time to bid bye to this land and this poet and venture ahead to explore the emotions and expressions of yet another landscape!