In this episode, we listen to the man’s reflection about his beloved, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 57, penned by Nakeerar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse echoes the yearning and suffering in parting.

சிறு பைந் தூவிச் செங் காற் பேடை
நெடு நீர் வானத்து, வாவுப் பறை நீந்தி,
வெயில் அவிர் உருப்பொடு வந்து, கனி பெறாஅது,
பெறு நாள் யாணர் உள்ளி, பையாந்து,
புகல் ஏக்கற்ற புல்லென் உலவைக்
குறுங் கால் இற்றிப் புன் தலை நெடு வீழ்
இரும் பிணர்த் துறுகல் தீண்டி, வளி பொர,
பெருங் கை யானை நிவப்பின் தூங்கும்
குன்ற வைப்பின் என்றூழ் நீள் இடை,
யாமே எமியம்ஆக, தாமே
பசு நிலா விரிந்த பல் கதிர் மதியின்
பெரு நல் ஆய் கவின் ஒரீஇ, சிறு பீர்
வீ ஏர் வண்ணம் கொண்டன்றுகொல்லோ
கொய் சுவற் புரவிக் கொடித் தேர்ச் செழியன்
முதுநீர் முன்துறை முசிறி முற்றி,
களிறு பட எருக்கிய கல்லென் ஞாட்பின்
அரும் புண் உறுநரின் வருந்தினள், பெரிது அழிந்து,
பானாட் கங்குலும் பகலும்
ஆனாது அழுவோள் ஆய் சிறு நுதலே?

In the drylands, we meet the man in the middle of his journey, lamenting to his heart through these words:

“The red-legged bat having small, slender wings, leaps and traverses the vast expanse of the sky and descends down, burning in the scorching heat. Without finding fruits any, filled with sorrow, it recollects those days of plenty in the past, and yearns to find them again, as it hangs down the dull and dry short-legged ‘Ittri’ tree. The thick and dark aerial roots of the tree fall on a small boulder and as a hot breeze blows, lifts up and sways, appearing akin to the huge trunk of an elephant, in those heat-filled long paths amidst the hilly spaces. I’m left all alone here! Will her forehead, which has the appearance of being spread with the many rays of the milk moon, shed its beauty, and take up the hue of the ridge gourd’s falling flowers? When the great Chezhiyan, who rides atop chariots, fluttering with flags, pulled by horses with dancing manes, laid siege to the ancient port of Musiri, and waged war, killing elephants many, with an uproarious sound, many of those who were wounded wallowed in suffering. Akin to these wounded, would she be greatly ruined too, and in the middle of the dark night and in the middle of the day, remain crying ceaselessly? What might be the state of her fine, little forehead?”

Let’s follow the flight of a bat in the drylands and trace the trajectory of the man’s heart! The man starts by talking about a little female bat flying about in the heat of the drylands and not finding any fruit to savour. He then talks about how the bat dreams of better days, when it had plenty to feed on, as it hangs on a short-trunked ‘Ittri’ tree. I was surprised to learn that the English name of this tree is actually ‘Indian Bat Fig Tree’. Stunned by how a two thousand year old verse connects this tree and this animal, as does its modern name. Incidentally, the tree is called so because it’s the bat that helps in the tree’s propagation by spreading its seeds. The ancients seemed to have made the connection through their powers of observation long before modern science. 

Returning to the tree, we find the man talking about its aerial roots, hanging low over a boulder and whenever the wind blows, lifts up, making it appear as if an elephant is lying there and lifting its trunk. Imagine the mindful presence that registers such minute elements! From these outer events in the drylands, the man turns to his own lonely state and he thinks about whether the forehead of his beloved would have lost its moon-like glow and take on the hue of ridge-gourd flowers, the prominent Sangam symptom of pining. He then refers to the historic incident when the Pandya King laid siege to the famous port of Musiri, which is referred as ‘ancient’ in those ancient times. Here, when the king felled elephants, the wounded let out uproarious cries, wallowing in deep angst. He wonders if his beloved too would be crying in that manner, and concludes worrying about the fading of her beauty because of his parting away. The verse intricately fuses the man’s nostalgia with the bat’s yearning for the past and the lady’s pining with the wounded soldiers’ pain, offering us a shot with the perfect blend of nature, history and psychology!