In this episode, we listen to a friend’s encouraging words, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 68, penned by Oottiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the flowing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and portrays a daring aspect of the man’s personality.

”அன்னாய்! வாழி, வேண்டு அன்னை! நம் படப்பைத்
தண் அயத்து அமன்ற கூதளம் குழைய,
இன் இசை அருவிப் பாடும் என்னதூஉம்
கேட்டியோ! வாழி, வேண்டு அன்னை! நம் படப்பை
ஊட்டியன்ன ஒண் தளிர்ச் செயலை
ஓங்கு சினைத் தொடுத்த ஊசல், பாம்பு என,
முழு முதல் துமிய உரும் எறிந்தன்றே;
பின்னும் கேட்டியோ?” எனவும் அஃது அறியாள்,
அன்னையும் கனை துயில் மடிந்தனள். அதன்தலை
மன் உயிர் மடிந்தன்றால் பொழுதே காதலர்
வருவர்ஆயின், ”பருவம் இது” எனச்
சுடர்ந்து இலங்கு எல் வளை நெகிழ்ந்த நம்வயின்
படர்ந்த உள்ளம் பழுது அன்றாக,
வந்தனர் வாழி, தோழி! அந்தரத்து
இமிழ் பெயல் தலைஇய இனப் பல கொண்மூத்
தவிர்வு இல் வெள்ளம் தலைத்தலை சிறப்ப,
கன்று கால் ஒய்யும் கடுஞ் சுழி நீத்தம்
புன் தலை மடப் பிடிப் பூசல் பல உடன்
வெண் கோட்டு யானை விளி படத் துழவும்
அகல் வாய்ப் பாந்தட் படாஅர்ப்
பகலும் அஞ்சும் பனிக் கடுஞ் சுரனே.

In this tour of the hills, we get to meet the lovers intending to tryst, and hear these words of the confidante to the lady:

“When I said, ‘Mother, may you live long. Listen! Crushing the nightshade flowers blooming in the cool pits in our village, the sweet-sounding cascades flow down and resound. Do you hear that even a little? May you live long, mother! Listen! Thinking the swing, which has been tied to the soaring branches of the ‘Seyalai’ tree with shining leaves having the appearance of being painted with red lac, is a snake, thunder descends and severs the huge trunk. Do you hear that at least?’, mother did not even heed my words and was in a deep sleep. Not only that, it’s a time when all beings resort to rest. 

As the glowing, radiant bangles slipping away from your hand declares this is the ‘perfect time’ for your beloved to come, without falsifying it, with a heart that seeks you, he has come, my friend, may you live long! From the skies, thick clouds resounding with thunder, pour down heavy rain, and without obstacles any, floods swell and pull an elephant calf by its legs into a swirling whirlpool, making the soft-haired, naive female elephants roar out aloud together, and the white-tusked male elephants call aloud and search around, in this cold and harsh jungle with thick bushes, teeming with wide-mouthed snakes. Traversing such a place, which people fear to cross even in the middle of the day, he has come here, my friend!”

Let’s sharpen our hearing amidst the striking sounds of the mountains and perceive the story here! The confidante starts by telling to the lady how she asked mother, whether mother had heard the sounds of the cascades pouring down in their backyard, making a mush of the wild jasmines blooming beneath. Not stopping with that one question, the confidante continues by asking mother, if mother had heard thunder, as it fell down and struck an ‘Ashoka tree’, chopping its trunk, all because the thunder thought the swing tied to the branches of the tree was a snake. A moment to pause and recollect that the Sangam folks held a belief that thunder had something against the snakes and it was the life ambition of thunder to destroy every serpent in sight and that’s why the confidante attributes so much thought on the part of the thunder in its natural act of roaring amidst a lightning shower. Returning, rather comically, not only did mother not hear the cascade or the thunder, she did not even hear the confidante’s question, for she was sound asleep. Now we know that our good friend was not merely testing mother’s hearing capabilities like some ear doctor, but was simply seeing if mother was awake or asleep. Having got a positive confirmation that mother was conked out, the confidante heads to her friend and conveys the news, adding that not only mother, all living beings seemed to be at rest. 

The confidante then highlights how the lady’s bangles were on the verge of slipping away, pining for the man’s presence, and seemed to be shouting out, ‘This is the time for him to come’. As if hearing this wish, the man had indeed come there, the confidante says. She then goes on to sketch the conditions of their surroundings just then, talking about the pouring rains and the swelling floods, which had pulled an elephant calf into the whirlpool, making the female elephants to cry aloud and the male elephants to search around. As if the sounds were not scary enough, there was the rusting of huge-mouthed snakes in the forest bushes as well, the confidante says, and concludes by declaring that such was the fear-evoking place, which a person would fear to cross even in broad daylight, that the man had crossed and come to grace the lady with his love. In a nutshell, it’s the confidante giving her dear friend the much-awaited news, ‘All clear and he’s here!’.