In this episode, we listen to a mother’s lament, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 63, penned by Karuvoor Kannam Pullanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse sketches the journey of a maiden in the mind’s eye of her mother.

கேளாய்; வாழியோ! மகளை! நின் தோழி,
திரு நகர் வரைப்பகம் புலம்ப, அவனொடு
பெரு மலை இறந்தது நோவேன்; நோவல்
கடுங்கண் யானை நெடுங் கை சேர்த்தி,
முடங்கு தாள் உதைத்த பொலங் கெழு பூழி
பெரும் புலர் விடியல் விரிந்து, வெயில் எறிப்ப,
கருந் தாள் மிடற்ற செம் பூழ்ச் சேவல்
சிறு புன் பெடையொடு குடையும் ஆங்கண்,
அஞ்சுவரத் தகுந கானம் நீந்தி,
கன்று காணாது, புன் கண்ண, செவி சாய்த்து,
மன்று நிறை பைதல் கூர, பல உடன்
கறவை தந்த கடுங் கால் மறவர்
கல்லென் சீறூர் எல்லியின் அசைஇ
முதுவாய்ப் பெண்டின் செது காற் குரம்பை
மட மயில் அன்ன என் நடை மெலி பேதை
தோள் துணையாகத் துயிற்றத் துஞ்சாள்,
”வேட்டக் கள்வர் விசியுறு கடுங் கண்
சேக் கோள் அறையும் தண்ணுமை
கேட்குநள்கொல்?” எனக் கலுழும் என் நெஞ்சே.

Elopement’s in the air in this trip to the drylands and we hear these words of the lady’s mother to the lady’s confidante:

“Listen, may you live long, my girl! I worry not that your friend left with him beyond the huge mountains, leaving this wealthy mansion in loneliness. Let me tell you what I worry about. A harsh-eyed elephant, bending its legs, and using its long trunk, kicks up the golden dust. As the great dawn arrives and the sun scorches, the male black-necked red quail, along with its delicate, little mate pecks around, in the fearsome scrub jungle. Traversing such a place, she would come at night to an uproarious hamlet, where robbers have tied stolen cows many, in the town centre, and those herds, bending their ears, with sorrowful eyes, not seeing their calves, would be crying out in suffering. Here, my naive daughter, who has a gentle gait like a peacock, would rest in a wise old woman’s rickety hut. That she would not be able to sleep, even when he offers her his shoulder, because she would be frightened by the hunting robbers’ resounding beats on their ‘thannumai drums’, as they seize cattle, worries this heart of mine, shedding tears!”

Time to take a walk amidst the swirling dust of the scorching drylands! Mother starts by clarifying to the lady’s confidante that her pain, sorrow and anxiety was not about the fact that the lady had left them. and gone with the man, beyond the mountains. Mother imagines the place where the girl walks at the moment through the barren, blistering expanses of the scrub forest, where an elephant kicks up dust and quails peck around, looking for some food, some moisture. Mother continues saying crossing such spaces, the lady would come to a little hamlet, which happens to be the abode of robbers, who have just stolen cows, and these cows stand there, sending out sorrowful cries, missing their calves. A subtext for mother’s yearning! Next, mother visualises that her daughter would be resting in an old woman’s hut, and even though her man would offer his strong shoulder, the girl would find no rest, for she would be startled by the beating of the robber’s drums, as a mark of their successful cattle hunt. This is the precise thing that wrings her heart and tears up her eyes, mother concludes. The highlight of this verse is no matter how this woman was hurt by the actions of her daughter, she seems to be more concerned about her child’s welfare. That’s a mother for you, the verse seems to say, with a wise smile!