In this episode, we listen to a subtle message of consolation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 59, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse refers to mythological elements to depict aspects of parting.

தண் கயத்து அமன்ற வண்டு படு துணை மலர்ப்
பெருந் தகை இழந்த கண்ணினை, பெரிதும்
வருந்தினை, வாழியர், நீயே! வடாஅது
வண் புனல் தொழுநை வார் மணல் அகன் துறை,
அண்டர் மகளிர் தண் தழை உடீஇயர்
மரம் செல மிதித்த மாஅல் போல,
புன் தலை மடப் பிடி உணீஇயர், அம் குழை,
நெடு நிலை யாஅம் ஒற்றி, நனை கவுள்
படி ஞிமிறு கடியும் களிறே தோழி!
சூர் மருங்கு அறுத்த சுடர் இலை நெடு வேல்,
சினம் மிகு முருகன் தண் பரங்குன்றத்து,
அந்துவன் பாடிய சந்து கெழு நெடு வரை,
இன் தீம் பைஞ் சுனை ஈரணிப் பொலிந்த
தண் நறுங் கழுநீர்ச் செண் இயற் சிறுபுறம்
தாம் பாராட்டிய காலையும் உள்ளார்
வீங்கு இறைப் பணைத் தோள் நெகிழ, சேய் நாட்டு
அருஞ் செயற் பொருட்பிணி முன்னி, நப்
பிரிந்து, சேண் உறைநர் சென்ற ஆறே.

Our visit to the drylands takes us in the presence of the confidante, who says these words to the lady, when she wallows in separation from the man, who has left in search of wealth:

“With your eyes, losing their great beauty, akin to twin flowers forever buzzed around by bees, abounding in cool ponds, you worry a lot, my friend, may you live long! In the North, where the forceful ‘Thozhunai’ gushes, upon the wide shores filled with its sands, to help the daughters of cow herders wear their attires of cool leaves, the Lord Maal bent the tree branch, by stepping on it. Akin to that, to help its naive mate with soft hair feed on the beautiful cluster of leaves, the bull elephant with its cheeks, moist with the flow of musth, swarming with flies, bends the soaring Ya tree.

He thinks not of the times when he delighted in the knots of tresses on your back, adorned with the moist and scented blue lilies, from the fresh and fragrant springs, in the cool hills of ‘Parangkundram’, filled with sandalwood trees, which has been sung about by Anthuvan, the resting abode of the furious Lord Murugan, who holds a leaf-edged, tall spear, after he routed the demons. In the traversed path of the one, who parted away and left to a faraway country to gain that hard-to-attain wealth of a distant land, he shall glimpse upon the scene of the male elephant bending the branch for its mate!”

It’s all about a pair of pachyderms in this one! The confidante starts by portraying how the glow of the lady’s eyes is lost, because of her worry. And then she turns to talk about the path, where the man walks in a distant land, and here we see a male elephant, deeply distressed by the flow of musth, still taking care of its mate, through its action of bending the branch of Ya tree for its mate to feed on. This caring action is placed in parallel to a mythological tale that happens in the North of India, by the ‘Thozhunai’ river, identified as the contemporary River Yamuna, where Lord Thirumaal bends a branch for the daughters of cow herders to adorn themselves with their leaf garments.

Then, the confidante brings in another such reference talking about the hills of Thiruparankundram, the resting abode of Lord Murugan, after his fight with the demons, and specifically about the red waterlilies blooming here, and how these used to adorn the lady’s hair, and how the man used to worship the sight and scent of the same. Now he doesn’t think of all that, but has just gone on this mission to attain wealth in some far-off country, the confidante says, and concludes by connecting that even here, the man will see that caring action of the elephant. Although it appears as if the confidante is taking the lady’s side and regretting that the man has parted away, in that image of the loving male elephant taking care of its mate, the confidante places a hope that the man will be moved by the scene, and will soon, return to the lady’s fold. Even in this conversation between the confidante and the lady, in the way this friend bends the narrative to feed hope to the lady’s heart about the man’s return, we can see the same love and care between those elephants in the drylands!