Reading the Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
yāṉōkkuṅ kālai nilaṉōkku nōkkākkāṟ / ṟāṉōkki mella nakum.
When I look at her she studies the floor; the moment I look away, she looks at me and smiles to herself. The feeling is not in either half alone — it is in the switch between them.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I look on her: her eyes are on the ground the while: / I look away: she looks on me with timid smile.”
“When I look at her, she looketh at the ground: but when I look away, she looketh on me and solely smileth.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
யான் நோக்கும் காலை நிலன் நோக்கும்= யான் தன்னை நோக்குங்கால் தான் எதிர் நோக்காது இறைஞ்சி நிலத்தை நோக்காநிற்கும்; நோக்காக்கால் தான் நோக்கி மெல்ல நகும்= அஃது அறிந்து யான் நோக்காக்கால் தான் என்னை நோக்கித் தன்னுள்ளே மகிழாநிற்கும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The man describes his beloved: when he looks at her, she does not meet his look but bends her head and looks at the ground; and when, knowing this, he does not look, she looks at him and rejoices quietly within herself — so Parimelazhagar explains.