In this episode, we perceive a friend’s concerned thoughts, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 50, penned by Karuvoor Poothanchaathanaar. The verse is situated amidst the leaping waves of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal landscape’ and describes the lady’s state of lament.

கடல்பாடு அவிந்து, தோணி நீங்கி,
நெடு நீர் இருங் கழிக் கடுமீன் கலிப்பினும்;
வெவ் வாய்ப் பெண்டிர் கௌவை தூற்றினும்;
மாண் இழை நெடுந் தேர் பாணி நிற்ப,
பகலும் நம்வயின் அகலானாகிப்
பயின்றுவரும் மன்னே, பனி நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பன்,
இனியே, மணப்பருங் காமம் தணப்ப நீந்தி,
”வாராதோர் நமக்கு யாஅர்?” என்னாது,
மல்லல் மூதூர் மறையினை சென்று,
சொல்லின் எவனோ பாண! ”எல்லி
மனை சேர் பெண்ணை மடி வாய் அன்றில்
துணை ஒன்று பிரியினும் துஞ்சாகாண்” என,
கண் நிறை நீர் கொடு கரக்கும்,
ஒண் நுதல் அரிவை, ”யான் என்செய்கோ?” எனவே.

Another little trip to the seas, and here, we hear about the lady’s yearning in the voice of the confidante, as she renders these words to the bard, the man’s companion:

“Shirking the task of going to the seas, being apart from the boat, even if the fish in the dark marshes, filled with copious waters, grows in abundance; Even if harsh-mouthed women spread slander, he would mind that not! Making his tall chariot, adorned with fine ornaments, wait for a long time, even if it was day, he would not part away from her. That was the custom of the lord of the cool shores then. But now, perhaps since his desire to embrace her has ebbed away, he does not come here, and doesn’t think what she means to him. That young maiden, with a shining forehead, turns to me and says, ‘The red-naped ibis, with a curved mouth, resting on the tall palmyra tree by our home, sleeps not at night, even if its mate stands a little apart from it. What am I to do? ’,  as she tries to hide her tear-filled eyes from me. Why don’t you go to that ancient town, filled with abundance, and tell him about this secretly, O bard?”

Time to take a dive into the seas and swim with the plentiful fish to learn what’s in the lady’s heart! The confidante starts by talking about the past, when the man would be with the lady, day in and day out, forgetting his task of fishing in the seas, forsaking his boat, and not even caring about the slander of the women in the lady’s town. Such was his craze to be with the lady then, she says. Contrasting that to his long absence now, the confidante wonders if his affection has ended and is that why he doesn’t come to visit the lady, forgetting all that the lady meant to him. Turning from the man to talk about the lady, the confidante says the lady would turn to her at night and point to the call of the red-naped ibis and tell her that those birds had such a deep bond that one would not sleep if the other stood even a little distance apart. What can she, who has been forsaken by the man, do, the lady would query to her friend, even as she tried hard to hide the tears brimming over in her eyes. Seeing her pitiable state, the confidante decides to take things in her own hands and she goes to the bard, the man’s companion, and tells him that he must go to the town, where the man lives, and share the plight of his lady discreetly. 

Some interpreters have seen this as a case of the man being with courtesans that usually occurs in the farmlands landscape. However, owing to the absence of any direct mention, I choose to interpret this as a time, when the man had parted away from the lady before marriage, owing to some mission or to gather wealth, and the lady wallows in this state, unable to accept his parting. At this time, the confidante chooses to intervene and convey the lady’s state to the man through the bard, so that the man would hurry up and return from his mission, and bring joy back to his beloved. The highlight of this verse is the care and concern shown by the confidante, whom I consider the epitome of a selfless friend, one who is completely present, listens to words said and unsaid, and works tirelessly to bring joy in the life of her friend. This is a character, who inspires me to think, ‘I should be that kind of friend to someone!’.