In this episode, we listen to the angst of unfulfilled expectations, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 62, penned by Paranar. Set amidst the soaring peaks and descending cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’, the verse reiterates the presence of a renowned man-made structure in those times.

அயத்து வளர் பைஞ்சாய் முருந்தின் அன்ன
நகைப் பொலிந்து இலங்கும் எயிறு கெழு துவர் வாய்,
ஆகத்து அரும்பிய முலையள், பணைத்தோள்,
மாத்தாள் குவளை மலர் பிணைத்தன்ன
மாஇதழ் மழைக்கண், மாஅயோளொடு
பேயும் அறியா மறை அமை புணர்ச்சி
பூசல் துடியின் புணர்பு பிரிந்து இசைப்பக்
கரந்த கரப்பொடு நாம் செலற்கு அருமையின்,
கடும் புனல் மலிந்த காவிரிப் பேரியாற்று
நெடுஞ்சுழி நீத்தம் மண்ணுநள் போல,
நடுங்கு அஞர் தீர முயங்கி நெருநல்
ஆகம் அடைதந்தோளே, வென்வேல்
களிறு கெழு தானைப் பொறையன் கொல்லி
ஒளிறு நீர் அடுக்கத்து வியல் அகம் பொற்பக்
கடவுள் எழுதிய பாவையின்,
மடவது மாண்ட மாஅயோளே.

Treading through the hills, we listen to the man’s yearning at a time, when his expected tryst with the lady did not come through:

“Akin to flower buds of the whitehead spike sedge grass that grows in watery spaces, shines her teeth, adorned with smiles in her red mouth. With budding bosoms, bamboo-like arms, huge-petaled rain-like eyes, akin to two blue lotuses, with black stems, intertwined together, is that dark-skinned maiden. At a time, not known even to ghosts, I united with her in secret. Still they have spread slander about our union, with the uproar of ‘thudi’ drums, by assembling together and going separate ways. So, it has become rare for us to come together! Knowing this, yesterday, as if she was swimming in the long, swirling whirlpools in the huge flood of the River Kaveri, brimming with copious waters, ending the shivering suffering within, she embraced me again and again, and lay on my chest, without moving away. Such were the actions of my dark-skinned maiden, resplendent in her naivety, the one, who looks like the goddess statue, carved to add glory to those wide spaces, with radiant waters flowing down the Kolli hills, by Poraiyan, renowned for his army of elephants and his victorious spears!”

It’s all about a lady’s qualities in this one! The man starts by describing his beloved saying she has smiling teeth, akin to particular sedge grass, which I learnt was the ‘whitehead spike sedge’, also called ‘white water sedge’, to indicate the watery spaces it abounds, as illustrated by the first two words of this Tamil verse. Yet again, impressed by the connection between the common modern English name and the ancient Tamil descriptor of this plant! Returning, we find the man next talking about the lady’s red mouth, her blooming bosoms, her arms, akin to bamboo, and those eyes, which are not only rain-like, but are also akin to two huge-petaled blue lotuses threaded together. The man talks about how he and the lady united at a time that even ghosts know not about, implying it could be in dead secret, in the darkest hour, when even the ghosts would want to get some sleep! But even more perceptive than those ghosts, were the slander-spreading folk of their town, who have been sharing gossip about them, and that’s why meeting the lady has become a rare thing, the man explains. He thinks back to how realising this, the lady had embraced him over and over, as if she was dipping in the brimming floods of the River Kaveri, and would not even part away from his chest for a very long time. He sighs thinking about the past, and concludes, by placing the lady’s appearance, in parallel with the statue of a goddess in the Kolli hills, built by King Poraiyan, known to have a victorious army of elephants and soldiers with spears!

The repeated reference to this structure in many verses, and that too, in parallel with the beauty of a woman, makes me think this was a much-celebrated work of art in Sangam times. Just like the Mona Lisa, Statue of Liberty, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal to us, for whom the world has shrunk, this statue of the Kolli Goddess was to the people of ancient Tamil land. Wonder how such a celebrated structure lost its battle to time! The other interesting aspect that can be unearthed from the actions of the lady with the man the previous day is the timeless fact that when we get a feeling that something is going to become rare, often an urgency to relish it to the full soars within, whenever it becomes available! And likewise, reframing taken-for-granted things in our life as something precious and something which could be lost at any time, is the perfect recipe to rekindle our appreciation for the same!