Reading the Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
ceṟāac ciṟucolluñ ceṟṟārpō ṉōkku / muṟāarpōṉ ṟuṟṟār kuṟippu.
The curt word and the cold look are not the message; they are the cover. When someone close to you speaks sharply in company and then acts gently in private, the sharpness was a disguise worn for the room, not a verdict passed on you.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The slighting words that anger feign, while eyes their love reveal. / Are signs of those that love, but would their love conceal.”
“The halfhearted reproach and the offended look are the marks of those who pretend to spurn but who really love us in their hearts.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
செறாஅச் சிறுசொல்லும்= பின் இனிதாய் முன் இன்னாதாய சொல்லும்; செற்றார்போல் நோக்கும்= அகத்துச் செறாதிருந்தே புறத்துச் செற்றார் போன்ற வெகுளிநோக்கும்; உறாஅர் போன்று உற்றார் குறிப்பு= நொதுமலர் போன்று நட்பாயினார்க்கு ஒரு குறிப்புப்பற்றி வருவன.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that the "small harsh word" of this couplet is a word that is unpleasant when it is first heard and turns sweet afterwards, and that the "look of one who hates" is an angry glance shown outwardly by someone who carries no hatred at all inside. Both of these, he says, arise from a private intention in people who behave like strangers but have in fact become attached to each other.