In this episode, we listen to the lady’s perspective on the man’s thoughts, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 78, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and reflects the lady’s clarity and perception.

பல் மலர்ப் பழனத்த பாசடைத் தாமரை
இன்மலர் இமிர்பு ஊதும் துணை புணர் இருந்தும்பி,
உண்துறை உடைந்த பூப் புனல் சாய்ப்பப் புலந்து ஊடிப்,
பண்பு உடை நல் நாட்டுப் பகை தலைவந்தென,
அது கைவிட்டு அகன்று ஒரீஇக் காக்கிற்பான் குடை நீழல்
பதி படர்ந்து இறைகொள்ளும் குடி போலப், பிறிதும் ஒரு
பொய்கை தேர்ந்து அலமரும் பொழுதினான், மொய் தப
இறை பகை தணிப்ப அக் குடி பதிப் பெயர்ந்தாங்கு
நிறை புனல் நீங்க வந்து அத்தும்பி அம் மலர்ப்
பறை தவிர்பு அசைவிடூஉம் பாய் புனல் நல் ஊர!

நீக்குங்கால் நிறம் சாய்ந்து புணருங்கால் புகழ் பூத்து,
நாம் கொண்ட குறிப்பு இவள் நலம் என்னும் தகையோ தான்,
எரி இதழ் சோர்ந்து உக ஏதிலார்ப் புணர்ந்தமை
கரி கூறும் கண்ணியை ஈங்கு எம் இல் வருவதை?

சுடர் நோக்கி மலர்ந்து ஆங்கே படின் கூம்பும் மலர் போல் என்
தொடர் நீப்பின் தொகும் இவள் நலம் என்னும் தகையோ தான்,
அலர் நாணிக் கரந்த நோய் கைம்மிகப் பிறர் கூந்தல்
மலர் நாறும் மார்பினை ஈங்கு எம் இல் வருவதை?

பெயின் நந்தி வறப்பின் சாம் புலத்திற்குப் பெயல் போல் யான்
செலின் நந்திச் செறின் சாம்பும் இவள் என்னும் தகையோ தான்,
முடி உற்ற கோதை போல் யாம் வாட, ஏதிலார்
தொடி உற்ற வடுக் காட்டி ஈங்கு எம் இல் வருவதை?

ஆங்க,
ஐய அமைந்தன்று அனைத்து ஆகப் புக்கீமோ,
வெய்யாரும் வீழ்வாரும் வேறு ஆகக் கையின்
முகை மலர்ந்தன்ன முயக்கில் தகை இன்றே,
தண் பனி வைகல் எமக்கு.

It’s the lady’s voice that resounds again in these words, which can be translated as follows:

“A black bee that has happily mated with its companion, buzzes around the sweet flower of the lotus, having thick green leaves in the field, filled with many flowers. When there’s a breach in the river banks and waters gush in to ruin the flower-filled pond, leaving that behind, akin to the people of a country, who leave their cultured and good land, owing to an enemy attack, and traverse to live under the protective shade of a king, the bee searches for yet another pond with much suffering. And akin to those people who return to their old country, when their king destroys those enemies, as flood waters recede, that black bee returns to its old lotus flower and rests there, without flying away, in your town with flowing streams, O lord!

Do you come back here to our home, wearing a garland with worn-out petals, bearing testimony to your being with strangers, because you think, ‘When I part away, her radiance is gone, and when I return, it blooms again. Her beauty is mine to command!’?

Do you come here to our home, with your chest, wafting with the fragrance of flowers worn in the tresses of others, as this disease brims over in me, owing to the shame of slander, because you think, ‘Akin to a flower that blooms when the sun rises, and closes its buds when the sun sets, when I part away, I transform that beauty of hers!’?

Do you come here to our home, showing the imprints of the bangles worn by strangers, as I fade akin to a garland removed from the tresses, because you think, ‘Akin to the rain that makes the arid land flourish when it pours down, if I go to her, she will thrive and prosper!’?

And so, let it all remain so. Please don’t stay here, causing distress to whom you love and who love you. Akin to a flower bud that’s pried open with the hands, for me, who has lived apart from you, day after day, in this cold and moist season, there’s no joy in your embraces now!”

Time to delve into the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a love-quarrel between a man and a lady, owing to the man’s seeking of courtesans and these words are rendered by the lady to the man. Although it’s the same lotus and bee scenario to depict the town, the lady layers it with an apt and unique simile. She talks about how the bee, which was happily playing on that lotus flower in the pond, seeing it ruined because of the arrival of the flood waters, owing to a breach in the river shore, leaves that pond and goes in search of another pond. To sketch this journey, the lady talks about the people of a country forsaking it, when enemies arrive and migrating to live under the shade of another king. Like those people who return to their old land, with much joy, when those enemies have been vanquished by their king, the bee too returns to its old pond to seek its old flower, when the flood waters recede, the lady connects. Such is the beautiful town of the man, she details.

Then, she asks the man whether he comes home bearing signs of being with other maiden, wearing a garland of faded petals, wafting with the scent of flowers worn by them and bearing the imprints of their bangles, because he thinks with much arrogance that the lady’s beauty is under his command, for it fades when he leaves, and flourishes when he returns. To explain his mind, the lady asks him whether he considers their situation similar to how a flower opens its buds when the sun rises and closes it when it sets, as well as how a parched land thrives when it rains and dries up otherwise. Then, she tells him, ‘Let it be so in your mind. But don’t wait here too long, bringing worry to those women whom you seek and those who seek you’.

In a final poetic simile, she talks about how his embraces are joyless and give the same feeling of forcing open a flower, as she remembers how she was lonely all those days of the cold season. And thus, the lady calls out the man for his attention elsewhere and declares that she is not fooled by his coming there. A verse which yet again echoes the same conflict situation between the man and the lady but one which expands our minds by offering us that bouquet of similes to illustrate the the lay of the land and the mind.