In this episode, we listen to how an intricate message is conveyed, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 48, penned by Thankaal Mudakotranaar. The verse is situated amidst the soaring peaks of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and sketches the first interaction between the man and the lady.

”அன்னாய்! வாழி! வேண்டு, அன்னை! நின் மகள்,
”பாலும் உண்ணாள், பழங்கண் கொண்டு,
நனி பசந்தனள்” என வினவுதி. அதன் திறம்
யானும் தெற்றென உணரேன். மேல் நாள்,
மலி பூஞ் சாரல், என் தோழிமாரோடு
ஒலி சினை வேங்கை கொய்குவம் சென்றுழி,
”புலி புலி!” என்னும் பூசல் தோன்ற
ஒண் செங்கழுநீர்க் கண் போல் ஆய் இதழ்
ஊசி போகிய சூழ் செய் மாலையன்,
பக்கம் சேர்த்திய செச்சைக் கண்ணியன்,
குயம் மண்டு ஆகம் செஞ் சாந்து நீவி,
வரிபுனை வில்லன், ஒருகணை தெரிந்துகொண்டு,
”யாதோ, மற்று அம் மா திறம் படர்?” என
வினவி நிற்றந்தோனே. அவற் கண்டு,
எம்முள் எம்முள் மெய்ம் மறைபு ஒடுங்கி,
நாணி நின்றனெமாக, பேணி,
”ஐவகை வகுத்த கூந்தல் ஆய் நுதல்
மை ஈர் ஓதி மடவீர்! நும் வாய்ப்
பொய்யும் உளவோ?” என்றனன். பையெனப்
பரி முடுகு தவிர்த்த தேரன், எதிர்மறுத்து,
நின் மகள் உண்கண் பல் மாண் நோக்கிச்
சென்றோன்மன்ற, அக் குன்று கிழவோனே.
பகல் மாய் அந்திப் படுசுடர் அமையத்து,
அவன் மறை தேஎம் நோக்கி, ”மற்று இவன்
மகனே தோழி!” என்றனள்.
அதன் அளவு உண்டு கோள், மதிவல்லோர்க்கே.

In this trip to the mountains, we listen to an interesting tale. Here, the lady’s confidante says these words to the lady’s foster mother, who is also her own mother, marking a turning point in the lady’s love relationship with the man:

“‘O mother! may you live long! Listen to what I have to say, mother! You worry about how your girl doesn’t drink her milk, and also, how, with much suffering, pallor seems to be spreading on her. So, you are asking me about that. I too do not know the reason clearly. But let me tell you this:

One day, when along with our playmates, we were walking on the flower-filled slopes, wanting to pluck flowers from the luxuriant branches of the Kino tree, hearing the shouts of ‘Tiger, Tiger’, a man, wearing a needle-threaded, fine garland of radiant red waterlilies, with beautiful petals, akin to eyes, and a head garland, with strands of jungle flame flowers hanging on one side, streaking red sandalwood paste on his wide and handsome chest, holding a decorated bow and an arrow in his hands, appeared there. Seeing us, he stood there inquiring, ‘Tell me which way did that beast go?’. Hearing this, with our modesty restraining us, we tried to hide behind each other. With gentleness, he remarked, ‘O maiden with dark and moist tresses, woven into five-part braids, and a beautiful forehead, do you know how to speak lies too?’. Gently stopping his horses from speeding up, as he sat on his chariot, he sought out the kohl-streaked eyes of your daughter again and again, and then only did he leave, that lord of the mountains! Later, at the end of the day, when the flame above bid adieu, looking in the direction he had left, she said to me, ‘He is a fine man’. Those who are sharp in the mind can ascertain the true meaning of that!”

Let’s walk along with these mountain maiden, who are on a mission to pluck beautiful flowers, and listen to this tale of love. The confidante starts by remarking how the lady’s foster mother has been enquiring about the change in behaviour in the lady, in her refusing food, and in the way, she seemed to be filled with unease as evident from the pallor spreading on her form. The confidante responds saying that she does not know the exact reason for all this, however there was something that she needed to share with mother. She then goes on to talk about a day, when she, the lady and other playmates had decided to go pluck ‘Vengai’ flowers. Remember how in many verses, we have seen how these very flowers are mistaken for a tiger, given their bright yellow hue. Apparently, there seems to have been a tradition of shouting ‘Tiger, Tiger’ when plucking these flowers, in a belief that the tree would bend and shower its flowers. Most probably these young ladies were screaming these words, echoing their belief.

Suddenly, hearing these shouts, thinking they were in trouble, a man wearing a red waterlily garland around his sandalwood-streaked chest and a head garland of jungle flame flowers, appeared there, bow and arrow in hand, and asked them which way the tiger had gone. Unable to answer him because of their shyness, the girls seemed to have hid behind one another. Realising that he had been fooled by their shouts, the man seems to have wondered out aloud whether these pretty maiden knew how to speak such lies. As he prepared to leave, his eyes fell on the lady’s kohl-streaked eyes, and he kept looking at her, again and again, before trotting off on his chariot, the confidante narrates. And as the final scene in her piece, she talks about how when dusk arrived, the lady looked in the direction the man had left and remarked on what a fine man he was. The confidante concludes with a piercing message to mother that those who are perceptive, will know exactly what the lady meant just then.

In essence, the confidante is revealing the lady’s love for the man to her mother, who will in turn, take it to the lady’s mother, and from the lady’s mother to the rest of the family, hopefully ending in the happy marriage of the man and the lady. Beyond these curious customs of sharing about love blooming in the heart of another, the thing to be appreciated here, is the vivid narration of events and leaving the interpretation of its meaning to the audience, much in the style of a well-written play!