In this episode, we perceive subtle words of persuasion, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 100, penned by Ulochanaar. The verse is situated amidst the roaring waves of the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’, and reveals the concern with the man’s current course of action.

அரையுற்று அமைந்த ஆரம் நீவி,
புரையப் பூண்ட கோதை மார்பினை,
நல் அகம் வடுக் கொள முயங்கி, நீ வந்து,
எல்லினில் பெயர்தல் எனக்குமார் இனிதே.
பெருந் திரை முழக்கமொடு இயக்கு அவிந்திருந்த
கொண்டல் இரவின் இருங் கடல் மடுத்த
கொழு மீன் கொள்பவர் இருள் நீங்கு ஒண் சுடர்
ஓடாப் பூட்கை வேந்தன் பாசறை,
ஆடு இயல் யானை அணி முகத்து அசைத்த
ஓடை ஒண் சுடர் ஒப்பத் தோன்றும்
பாடுநர்த் தொடுத்த கை வண் கோமான்,
பரியுடை நல் தேர்ப் பெரியன், விரிஇணர்ப்
புன்னைஅம் கானல் புறந்தை முன்துறை
வம்ப நாரைஇனன் ஒலித்தன்ன
அம்பல் வாய்த்த தெய்ய தண் புலர்
வைகுறு விடியல் போகிய எருமை
நெய்தல் அம் புது மலர் மாந்தும்
கைதை அம் படப்பை எம் அழுங்கல் ஊரே!

Many fascinating sights of the shore are to be found in this trip to the seas, and here, we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he is about to leave, after his nightly tryst with the lady:

“Applying well-ground sandalwood paste and wearing a garland high upon your chest, you come here at night, embrace her fine bosom, leaving wounds in it, and then part away at daybreak. This is something pleasant to me too. 

Our town is a place, where on those cloud-filled nights, when other than the huge roar of the oceans, the world stands still, and fishermen in search of fatty fish traverse the dark seas, and dispel darkness with a radiant lamp, whose light is akin to the bright glow that emits from the golden ornament, adorning the face of a battle elephant, in the encampment of a great king, with a principle of never retreating, and one, which is fenced by pandanus trees, where on a cool and fresh morning, a buffalo feeds on the new flower of the blue lotus! 

Akin to the calls of flocks of storks arriving in the shore of Puranthai, filled with groves of laurel wood trees, ruled by the great King Periyan, renowned for his generosity, the one who has horses and fine chariots, whom singers have praised endlessly, slander resounds in this uproarious town of ours!”

Time to take a walk amidst the pandanus trees of this shore and learn more! The confidante starts by sketching what the man has been doing lately, which is to arrive at the lady’s place, with his chest, streaked with sandalwood paste, and embrace her by night, and leave in the morning. This friend concedes it’s indeed a good thing. Then she goes into a lengthy description of their town, talking about how the fisherfolk traverse the seas at night, with lamps on their boats, and which glow like the golden ornament of a battle elephant. Is the confidante warning the man that there’s danger of discovery by these night fishermen? Then, she also mentions how this town is naturally fenced by pandanus trees, and when dawn breaks, a buffalo can be found savouring a newly bloomed blue lotus flower. No doubt she says this as a metaphor for the man’s secret trysting with the lady!

Finally, the confidante comes to the crux of the matter and points to the loud sounds echoing from the throats of storks that arrive in the fertile port town of Puranthai, ruled by the celebrated King Periyan, and connects this noise to the rumours spreading in their town about the man’s relationship with the lady. In short, the confidante impresses upon the man that it’s time to give up his temporary trysting and choose the permanent path of happiness with the lady. In this song filled with vivid images, the line that made me smile was the reference to the buffalo munching on the blue lotus and the connection of this scene in nature to the dynamics of a relationship!