Reading the Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kuṟikkoṇṭu nōkkāmai yallā lorukaṇ / ciṟakkaṇittāḷ pōla nakum.
She never looks straight at him. But out of the corner of one eye, as if it were nothing, she takes him in — and afterwards she smiles to herself. The glance she refuses to admit is the one that tells him everything.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“She seemed to see me not; but yet the maid / Her love, by smiling side-long glance, betrayed.”
“She doth not seem to see me, it is true: but she smileth to me the while she affecteth but to wink an eye.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
குறிக்கொண்டு நோக்காமை அல்லால்= நேரே குறிக்கொண்டு நோக்காத் துணையல்லது; ஒருகண் சிறக்கணித்தாள் போல நகும்= ஒருகண்ணைச் சிறக்கணித்தாள் போல என்னை நோக்கிப் பின் தன்னுள்ளே மகிழாநிற்கும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains this couplet as the hero's words about the heroine. She does not look at him straight and deliberately; instead, like someone narrowing one eye, she takes him in with a sidelong glance, and afterwards she quietly rejoices within herself.