In this episode, we perceive an animated reaction to a proposal, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 121, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse relates the discomfort in a journey through this domain.

நாம் நகை உடையம் நெஞ்சே! கடுந் தெறல்
வேனில் நீடிய வான் உயர் வழி நாள்
வறுமை கூரிய மண் நீர்ச் சிறு குளத்
தொடுகுழி மருங்கில் துவ்வாக் கலங்கல்
கன்றுடை மடப் பிடிக் கயந்தலை மண்ணி,
சேறு கொண்டு ஆடிய வேறுபடு வயக் களிறு
செங் கோல் வால் இணர் தயங்கத் தீண்டி,
சொரி புறம் உரிஞிய நெறி அயல் மரா அத்து
அல்குறு வரி நிழல் அசைஇ, நம்மொடு
தான் வரும் என்ப, தட மென் தோளி
உறுகண் மழவர் உருள் கீண்டிட்ட
ஆறு செல் மாக்கள் சோறு பொதி வெண் குடை
கனை விசைக் கடு வளி எடுத்தலின், துணை செத்து
வெருள் ஏறு பயிரும் ஆங்கண்,
கரு முக முசுவின் கானத்தானே.

In this crisp trip through the drylands, we encounter many different scenes as we hear the man say these words to his heart, on hearing from the lady’s confidante that the lady intends to accompany the man, if he were to part away:

“It makes me burst out laughing, O heart! As the sweltering heat of summer rained down day after day on those sky-high paths, impoverished, the tank dug up for drinking water, turns muddy, losing its moisture. In that slushy space with undrinkable water, a strong male elephant rubs mud on the soft head of its pregnant, naive mate, and then bathes in that mud. With its hue changed, it pulls the red-stalked, white clusters hesitantly and then rubs its rough and itchy back on the burflower tree, near the path. Resting under the lined shade of such a tree, the maiden with curving, soft arms, would accompany me, they say, through those paths, where after harsh-eyed highway robbers have troubled wayfarers, their white palmyra boxes holding food, would be carried away by fast-blowing winds, and would sound like a shower of arrows to a male deer, which would call out frightened, for the safety of its mate, in that jungle, filled with black-faced monkeys many!”

Let’s join the man in his walk through the drylands and learn more! The man starts by saying that he has heard some really amusing words that are making him laugh out loud. Without saying what these are, the man launches into a long description of the drylands, in which first we see how the sun has scorched the moisture out of the region, in that harsh season of summer, and owing to that, tanks that had been dug up thoughtfully to provide drinking water to wayfarers had dried up, and in that slush-filled vicinity, a male elephant was cooling its pregnant mate’s head by rubbing some mud, and then, the male elephant takes care of itself by rolling in that slush with meagre moisture, after which it searches for a burflower tree trunk to rub its scratchy back against. The man connects to this scene by saying that the lady was planning to come with him, through the drylands, resting under such a burflower tree now and then, and walk on. He then goes on to describe that space as filled with paths, where highway robbers have troubled wayfarers and the lunch boxes of these travellers, made of palmyra leaves were lying scattered, only to be picked up by the hot wind. As these palmyra leaves are pushed and pulled by the hot winds, the sound that arises resembles a shower of arrows, which startles a male deer and makes it fear for the safety of its mate, and such is the jungle, filled with black faced monkeys that the lady wants to accompany him, the man concludes, explaining that this was the reason for his mirth!

That the man believes that such a drylands path was no place for his delicate lady is evident from his reaction. The portrayal of the male elephant taking care of its mate by rubbing mud and the male deer startled by the seeming sound of arrows and worried about its mate’s safety are all projections of the man’s mind about his beloved’s ability to bear the dangers and discomfort of the journey through the drylands. Is this a right assessment of the lady’s ability to handle the discomfort or an underestimation of her abilities? It reminds me of the mother’s amazement at how her delicate girl is going to bear the journey through the drylands, when she hears that the girl has eloped away with her man. In both instances, love is being portrayed as fear and protectiveness. Something tells me in spite of all these worries in the minds of those who care, the lady has what it takes to brave the discomforts and take on any journey she needs to!