In this episode, we listen to the anguished words of a mother, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 153, penned by Cheraman Ilanguttuvan. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse muses on the transformation of a young girl.

நோகோ யானே; நோதகும் உள்ளம்;
அம் தீம் கிளவி ஆயமொடு கெழீஇ,
பந்துவழிப் படர்குவள் ஆயினும், நொந்து நனி,
வெம்பும்மன், அளியள்தானே இனியே,
வன்கணாளன் மார்புஉற வளைஇ,
இன் சொற் பிணிப்ப நம்பி, நம் கண்
உறுதரு விழுமம் உள்ளாள், ஒய்யெனத்
தெறு கதிர் உலைஇய வேனில் வெங் காட்டு,
உறு வளி ஒலி கழைக் கண் உறுபு தீண்டலின்,
பொறி பிதிர்பு எடுத்த பொங்கு எழு கூர் எரிப்
பைது அறு சிமையப் பயம் நீங்கு ஆர் இடை
நல் அடிக்கு அமைந்தஅல்ல; மெல் இயல்
வல்லுநள்கொல்லோ தானே எல்லி
ஓங்கு வரை அடுக்கத்து உயர்ந்த சென்னி
மீனொடு பொலிந்த வானின் தோன்றி,
தேம் பாய்ந்து ஆர்க்கும் தெரி இணர்க் கோங்கின்
கால் உறக் கழன்ற கள் கமழ் புது மலர்
கை விடு சுடரின் தோன்றும்
மை படு மா மலை விலங்கிய சுரனே?

In this trip to the hot drylands, we get to hear the mother say these words, at the juncture she learns that her daughter has eloped away with her beloved:

“I’m hurting; My heart suffers; Joining together with her playmates, who render sweet and beautiful words, even when she used to lightly move around, playing with her ball, she would feel fatigued and distressed. Isn’t she to be pitied, now that the harsh-eyed man had embraced her close to his chest and said sweet words many, and believing that, without thinking of the angst-ridden sorrow she inflicts on us, she has parted away to the searing forest, which the summer sun burns with its scorching rays, and as hot winds dash against and caress lush bamboos, sparks fly about and huge flames soar high in those mountains, lacking any vegetation, leaving those long paths, bereft of any comfort, making these unsuitable for the treading of fine feet! In the peaks of soaring mountain ranges, appearing like the star-studded sky, buttercup trees’ flower clusters are buzzed around by bees, and their new flowers, wafting with the scent of toddy, break apart in the breeze and appear, akin to sparks that scatter when a hand kindles a lamp. Has my gentle-natured girl become capable now of crossing such a harsh drylands, amidst those huge cloud-enveloped hills?”

Let’s brave the fiery drylands and learn more! Mother starts by declaring that she’s in much pain. She thinks back to how her girl would fuss and cry after just playing ball with her playmates. But now, that delicate girl had fallen for the words of a man, and trusting him, she had left to the harsh drylands, where the summer sun throws its weight about, making sparks fly from bamboos, destroying anything green, thus leaving those paths unfit for use. Mother further talks about how the buttercup tree, bereft of leaves, but filled with flowers looks like the night sky, dotted with stars, and at the moment, the winds raid the branches, those flowers fall down and appear akin to sparks that fly out, when a lamp is kindled by hand. Mother concludes by wondering from where her daughter gained the strength to traverse such a long and formidable path!

At the core, it’s the timeless surprise that pops in the minds of parents, when taking in the dramatic changes in their children, whom they once held in their hands as helpless beings, utterly dependant on them for everything, but who have suddenly sprouted wings and taken to bold new skies on their own!