In this episode, we perceive the blooming beauty of a forest in the rains, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 4, penned by Kurungudi Maruthanaar. Set amidst the blooms of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’, the verse conveys a message of hope.

முல்லை வைந் நுனை தோன்ற, இல்லமொடு
பைங் காற் கொன்றை மென் பிணி அவிழ,
இரும்பு திரித்தன்ன மா இரு மருப்பின்,
பரல் அவல் அடைய, இரலை தெறிப்ப,
மலர்ந்த ஞாலம் புலம்பு புறக்கொடுப்ப,
கருவி வானம் கதழ் உறை சிதறி,
கார் செய்தன்றே, கவின் பெறு கானம்.
குரங்கு உளைப் பொலிந்த கொய்சுவற் புரவி,
நரம்பு ஆர்த்தன்ன, வாங்கு வள்பு அரிய,
பூத்த பொங்கர்த் துணையொடு வதிந்த
தாது உண் பறவை பேதுறல் அஞ்சி,
மணி நா ஆர்த்த மாண் வினைத் தேரன்,
கறங்கு இசை விழவின் உறந்தைக் குணாது,
நெடும் பெருங் குன்றத்து அமன்ற காந்தட்
போது அவிழ் அலரின் நாறும்
ஆய் தொடி அரிவை! நின் மாண் நலம் படர்ந்தே.

And now, we encounter our first song in the ‘Mullai’ landscape and we receive the promise that every verse ending with the number 4, totalling 40, is going to take us on a forest trail. As we have seen in many other collections, this landscape dwells on the theme of patient waiting and in this instance, the confidante can be heard rendering these words to the lady, who is pining away, parted from her beloved:

“The wild jasmine blooms with sharp-tipped buds; Along with the clearing nut tree, the green-trunked golden shower opens out its delicate buds; A stag with dark antlers, akin to twisted iron, arrives at the pebble-filled puddles and then leaps about; The blooming land turns its back on its listless loneliness; All because the elements of the sky come together and scatter drops uproariously, and adorn the forests with the exquisite beauty of the rains. 

As he pulls the harness around his speeding horses with a curving mane to hasten them, thinking that it might disturb the honeybees, resting with their mates in the blooming flower orchards, he silences the tongues of bells in his well-etched chariot! He will, for sure, recollect the esteemed beauty of yours, akin to the fragrance of a flame-lily, opening its buds in the tall and huge hill to the east of Uranthai, a city roaring with the sounds of festivity, O maiden wearing fine ornaments, and come to you!”

Time to travel deeper into the woods! The confidante begins by etching the picturesque changes that happen in the forest, such as the blooming of jasmines, blossoming of the golden-shower tree, the leaping about of stags around water-filled puddles, echoing the joy of the earth at having been blessed with the showers of the sky. In short, it’s the onset of the rainy season, which no doubt is also the promised season of the man’s return.

After this alluring narration of the seasonal changes in nature, the confidante turns to present a slice of the man’s nature, saying he’s someone who would silence his chariot bells, thinking that it might disturb the bees resting with their mates in the flower orchards. Now the confidante turns the spotlight on the lady’s beauty and to do that, she talks about the fragrance of flame-lilies blooming in a hill to the east of ‘Uranthai’, the renowned capital of the Cholas, which is also decked in the uproarious sounds of festivities, no doubt celebrating the many victories of its rulers. A moment to pause and wonder if the hill being referred here to the east of Uranthai is the region currently known as ‘Malaikottai’ in the Tiruchirapalli district. Granted the vegetation is sparse and there’s no chance of a flame-lily blooming here now, but it’s quite possible two thousand years ago, this hill was covered with thick vegetation! Returning from our meanderings, we understand that the glimpse of this city and the hill to its east has been given, only to connect the lady’s beauty to the blooming flame-lilies there, and the confidante finishes her statement saying that the man will surely remember his lady and hasten his return to her!

In this verse, the confidante relays a message of consolation in an intricate way. She talks about the outer changes in the world, a harbinger of how the lady’s world too is going to bloom with the man’s arrival so, and then she talks about the considerate and compassionate nature of the man, who has concern even for the tiny bees, and as if asking how can such a person forget you and your yearning, the confidante consoles the lady with the promise of his return. And yet again, a Sangam verse leaves us in awe when we contemplate the way it employs the understanding of human nature and the power of words to bring hope and positivity to a saddened heart!