In this episode, we listen to a man’s yearning to be back home, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 124, penned by Madurai Aruvai Vaanikan Ilavettanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming jasmines and buzzing bees of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest landscape’ and describes a homeward journey.

‘நன் கலம் களிற்றொடு நண்ணார் ஏந்தி,
வந்து திறை கொடுத்து, வணங்கினர், வழிமொழிந்து
சென்றீக’ என்பஆயின், வேந்தனும்
நிலம் வருத்துறாஅ ஈண்டிய தானையொடு
இன்றே புகுதல் வாய்வது நன்றே.
மாட மாண் நகர்ப் பாடு அமை சேக்கைத்
துனி தீர் கொள்கை நம் காதலி இனிதுற,
பாசறை வருத்தம் வீட, நீயும்
மின்னு நிமிர்ந்தன்ன பொன் இயற் புனை படை,
கொய்சுவல் புரவி, கை கவர் வயங்கு பரி,
வண் பெயற்கு அவிழ்ந்த பைங் கொடி முல்லை
வீ கமழ் நெடு வழி ஊதுவண்டு இரிய,
காலை எய்த, கடவுமதி மாலை
அந்திக் கோவலர் அம் பணை இமிழ் இசை
அரமிய வியலகத்து இயம்பும்
நிரை நிலை ஞாயில் நெடு மதில் ஊரே.

In this familiar path through the forest, we hear the man say these words to his charioteer, when he’s about to return home, after completing his mission of aiding his king in battle:

“If it becomes true that enemies would arrive with elephants and fine vessels, offer tributes, bow to the king, praise his greatness and bid farewell, then there’s a good chance that the king, along with his huge army, which torments the earth beneath, would return to his country today. That’s a good thing! 

In the fine, decorated mansion, upon the well-crafted bed, lies my beloved with no notion of dislike. To delight her and to diminish my pains of the battlefield, you have to ride like a flash of lightning, wielding with firm reins, the speedy horses, having a swaying mane and fitted with a golden saddle. Dashing through the long roads, fragrant with the scent of fallen flowers of the wild jasmine, with green vines, loosened by the steady downpour, at the time, when bees buzz along, hasten, so that, as the fine music of beautiful bamboo flutes of the herders resounds around the widespread spaces, we shall reach the tall-walled town, with rows of fortified gates!”

Time to trot along in the speeding chariot through the fragrant forest! The man looks at the happenings around him and declares everything looks set for the enemies to surrender to his king, offer him tributes, and bid him farewell. He declares that would be a wonderful thing because in that case the king would return with his huge army, back to his capital. The man’s mind turns to his beloved waiting patiently for him back home and he sees how she has not a bit of anger towards him. He decides that he must delight this beautiful soul, and at the same time, give him the much needed relief from the exertions of the battlefield. To this end, the man concludes by asking his charioteer to ride like the lightning through the forests, blooming with jasmines and buzzing with bees, and enter the gates of his fortified town, even as the music from the flutes of the herders spreads around that space, in the tormenting hour of twilight. In this request to express the eagerness in the man’s heart to be back home, we learn about the man’s mission to aid a king in battle, the success of that king, the mode of transport, the highways of the past, the season of flowering jasmines and the man’s rich and fortified town, implying his position as a wealthy lord and leader! Amusing how there’s so much story in these simple words, whose modern equivalent would be nothing more than a GPS location!