In this episode, we perceive a path to face the fall in motivation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 21, penned by Kaavanmullai Poothanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays an attempt to boost a flagging heart.

‘மனை இள நொச்சி மௌவல் வால் முகைத்
துணை நிரைத்தன்ன, மா வீழ், வெண் பல்,
அவ் வயிற்று, அகன்ற அல்குல், தைஇத்
தாழ் மென் கூந்தல், தட மென் பணைத் தோள்,
மடந்தை மாண் நலம் புலம்ப, சேய் நாட்டுச்
செல்லல்’ என்று, யான் சொல்லவும், ஒல்லாய்,
வினை நயந்து அமைந்தனைஆயின், மனை நகப்
பல் வேறு வெறுக்கை தருகம் வல்லே,
எழு இனி, வாழி, என் நெஞ்சே!

…………………………………………………புரி இணர்
மெல் அவிழ் அம் சினை புலம்ப, வல்லோன்
கோடு அறை கொம்பின் வீ உகத் தீண்டி,
மராஅம் அலைத்த மண வாய்த் தென்றல்,
சுரம் செல் மள்ளர் சுரியல் தூற்றும்,
என்றூழ் நின்ற புன் தலை வைப்பில்,
பருந்து இளைப்படூஉம் பாறு தலை ஓமை
இருங் கல் விடரகத்து, ஈன்று இளைப்பட்ட,
மென் புனிற்று அம் பிணவு பசித்தென, பைங் கட்
செந்நாய் ஏற்றை கேழல் தாக்க,
இரியற் பிணவல் தீண்டலின், பரீஇச்
செங் காய் உதிர்ந்த பைங் குலை ஈந்தின்
பரல் மண் சுவல முரண் நிலம் உடைத்த
வல் வாய்க் கணிச்சி, கூழ் ஆர் கோவலர்
ஊறாது இட்ட உவலைக் கூவல்,
வெண் கோடு நயந்த அன்பு இல் கானவர்
இகழ்ந்து இயங்கு இயவின் அகழ்ந்த குழி செத்து,
இருங் களிற்று இன நிரை, தூர்க்கும்
பெருங் கல் அத்தம் விலங்கிய காடே.

We are again in the drylands and in the company of the man, who’s tussling with his heart, torn between love and duty. The words of the man to his heart in the middle of his journey through the drylands are:

“Akin to white, wild jasmine buds, spreading on the young chaste tree at home, perfectly aligned, are her white teeth, which seem to attract bees many; That maiden also has a beautiful midsection, wide waist, well-decorated and low-hanging tresses, soft and delicate bamboo-like arms. Even when I said to you, ‘Let’s not let the fine beauty of that naive maiden to fade and part away to the faraway land’, you heeded me not and desired the task of gathering wealth. Now, let’s make that wife of mine smile by rendering her all kinds of wealth! So rise now, long may you live, O heart of mine!

Let’s head there, where leaving beautiful branches, which bloom with delicate clusters of buds, to lament in loneliness, as if a strong man hit with a stick, flowers fall, touched by the fragrant southern breeze that has rustled through burflower trees, and as these flowers fall, they adorn the curls of warriors, who traverse the drylands, in those heat-filled, listless spaces, filled with toothbrush trees, atop which rest eagles. Here, in the nearby dark mountain ranges, perceiving its mate tire out after giving birth and yearn for meat, the male red-eyed red dog attacks a boar. Seeing this, the female boar runs away in fear and dashes against a date palm tree, making the red fruits scatter down from its green clusters, and fall upon the pebble-filled, sandy ground. When trying to break this ground with sharp-mouthed pickaxes, gruel-drinking cattleherds, finding no water sprouting therein, abandon their efforts and leave the pits covered with leaves. Thinking these are traps laid by loveless foresters, who desire their white tusks, upon paths often taken trusting no harm will befall, herds of huge elephants fill those pits with mud and stones, in those boulder-filled paths of the drylands jungle. Let’s go there right now, O heart!”

Time to delve into the scenes in this barren landscape! Although it’s a long song, filled with many different frames of action, in essence, the thought conveyed here is about how a man misses his beloved as he’s traversing in the drylands and nudges his heart to keep moving. In the first segment, the man describes the beauty of his lady, talking about the confusion of bees, when seeing her teeth, for they mistake them for white jasmine buds! What a beautiful way of praising the lady’s fragrant mouth! The man goes on to describe the other exquisite attributes of his beloved such as the waist, tresses and arms and reminds his heart how he told it not to nudge him to leave her, but still to no avail, for his heart seems to have done exactly that and brought him here, and now it was languishing. So, he cheers up his heart and says they must make the lady smile by bringing her all kinds of gifts, and to do that, they have to get going through the drylands. 

Almost like a nature documentary with multiple episodes, the man paints many different images. First, we see flowers, nudged by fragrant southern winds, dropping down in clusters on the heads of warriors walking forth. Next, we take a glance at the oft-mentioned view of eagles resting atop toothbrush trees. Following this, we are taken to the mountains nearby, where a female red dog or dhole has just given birth, and perceiving its mate’s fatigue and hunger, the male ventures out to hunt and attack a male boar. Seeing this fight, the female boar runs in fear and dashes against a palm tree, making those red fruits fall down upon the sandy, pebble-filled path. And here, some cowherds try their luck at digging up a well, and after a while, seeing no success, they abandon those pits, covering them with leaves. These pits are spotted by astute elephants traversing that path, and these wise animals think those are traps laid by cruel foresters, who seek their tusks, and together they cover up those pits with mud and stones! The man thus concludes with this vivid sketch of the various elements of the drylands, through which he and his heart have to pass through.

In this description of the drylands, I could perceive the repeated theme of falling. Flowers fall down; date fruits, pushed by the female boar, drop down and scatter; and elephants, fear falling down the imagined traps and take steps to avert the situation. To me, this seemed to project the man’s perception of how his own heart was falling down in despair, missing his beloved. This was the man’s attempt to pull his heart back on its feet and get moving! Such a situation is not something confined to the ancient past. Even in our endeavours today, we often find our hearts flagging midway and like this ancient Sangam man, all we have to do is recollect our ‘why’, the reason we chose to begin this journey, and then, find the cheer to keep going, all the way to that ‘why’!