In this episode, we listen to an angry retort to an inanimate element, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 125, penned by Paranar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse weaves in a relevant historical reference as an apt simile to echo an emotion within.

அரம் போழ் அவ் வளை தோள் நிலை நெகிழ,
நிரம்பா வாழ்க்கை நேர்தல் வேண்டி
இரங் காழ் அன்ன அரும்பு முதிர் ஈங்கை
ஆலி அன்ன வால் வீ தாஅய்,
வை வால் ஓதி மைஅணல் ஏய்ப்பத்
தாது உறு குவளைப்போது பிணி அவிழ,
படாஅப் பைங் கண் பா அடிக் கய வாய்க்
கடாஅம் மாறிய யானை போல,
பெய்து வறிது ஆகிய பொங்கு செலற் கொண்மூ
மை தோய் விசும்பின் மாதிரத்து உழிதர,
பனி அடூஉ நின்ற பானாட் கங்குல்
தனியோர் மதுகை தூக்காய், தண்ணென,
முனிய அலைத்தி, முரண் இல் காலை;
கைதொழு மரபின் கடவுள் சான்ற
செய்வினை மருங்கின் சென்றோர் வல் வரின்
விரிஉளைப் பொலிந்த பரியுடை நல் மான்
வெருவரு தானையொடு வேண்டு புலத்து இறுத்த
பெரு வளக் கரிகால் முன்னிலைச் செல்லார்,
சூடா வாகைப் பறந்தலை, ஆடு பெற
ஒன்பது குடையும் நன் பகல் ஒழித்த
பீடு இல் மன்னர் போல,
ஓடுவை மன்னால் வாடை! நீ எமக்கே.

We stay back with the lady, instead of taking the tour of the drylands, in this instance, and hear her say these words to the northern winds, as her confidante listens nearby, when she learns that her man, who had parted away was on his way home to her:

“Making those beautiful bangles, shaped by a saw, to slip away from the arms; Having an intention of destroying this incomplete life; Plucking white flowers, akin to hailstones from the touch-me-not tree, whose mature buds are like the ironwood tree’s seeds; Loosening the buds of the blue lily, filled with pollen, akin to the dark beard of the sharp-tailed lizard; As thick clouds, dried up after pouring down the rain, appearing akin to a strong male elephant with sleepless green eyes, wide feet and strong mouth, in whom the flow of musth has stopped, roll around in the dark and wide expanses of the sky, in the middle of the dark night, when the dew pours down, without understanding the limits of those who are lonely, even when I have no quarrel with you, you spread suffering by blowing with coolness;

When the one who has parted away, worshipping his mission with folded hands and seeing it as God, returns speeding on his fine, radiant horses, with swaying manes, then akin to those kings lacking honour, who lost nine royal umbrellas on one single day, when the great and famous Karikaal Peruvalathaan arrived with his fear-evoking army, seized the lands he desired and conquered them, in the battlefield of ‘Vaagai’, you too shall run away, O cruel northern wind, turning your back to me!”

Time to observe the antics of an element of the weather! The lady starts by detailing the activities of the northern winds in the cold season. First, it’s the wind’s effect on her, which is the epitome of pining, reflected in the slipping away of her bangles, and then, she makes a comment that the intention of the wind seems to end her still incomplete life, echoing the torment she feels. Then, the lady moves on to the outer effects such as, how the winds make touch-me-not white flowers drop down, and how these open out the tightly closed buds of the blue lily. There’s a striking comparison here which led me to a curious discovery. The pollen on the blue lily has been placed in parallel to the beard of a lizard, which was said to have a sharp tail. When searching for an Indian lizard with a beard, I came across an ‘Oriental Garden Lizard’, and Lo, its tail was long and ended in a sharp point. Looking closely at its neck, I found the reptile to have a serrated, scaly neck and this image turned out an exact match for the pollen-filled inner core of a blue lily. This left me with awe at the skills of these ancients in connecting disparate elements like a flower and a lizard, which stands testimony to their creativity. 

Returning, we see the lady continuing to detail what the northern winds are up to, by talking about the dry clouds in the sky, appearing like elephants, whose period of musth is done with, telling us this season appears after the rainy season, and most probably is the ‘Koothir Kaalam’, the ‘Cold Season’ by Sangam definition. Next, she talks about how the dew pours down ceaselessly, and the cold that envelops test the very limits of those who are lonely, and she asks the northern winds why it’s doing all this to her, when she has no fight with it! Finally, she turns to the winds and concludes by saying, ‘The moment my beloved, who has left on his mission, returns, you will run away, defeated in front of me!’. To etch this image, the lady brings in the battlefield of Vaagai, where King Karikaalan defeated not one, not two, but nine kings, and seized their royal parasols, and made them flee in fear!

The beauty of this verse is the exquisite layering with unique and stunning similes, ending with that celebration of a renowned Sangam King. A moving expression by the lady on how the elements seem to turn an enemy, when her beloved was not by her side, and the hope she has of conquering this foe, in the near future, just with an embrace of her dearest!