Reading the Signs
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ētilār pōlap potunōkku nōkkutal / kātalār kaṇṇē yuḷa.
Two people who love each other can look at one another exactly the way they look at everyone else. Only those two know that the blank, public glance is not blank at all.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The look indifferent, that would its love disguise, / Is only read aright by lovers' eyes.”
“It is only in lovers’ eyes that one can see the look of absolute unconcern, as if they were perfect strangers.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஏதிலார் போலப் பொதுநோக்கு நோக்குதல்= முன் அறியாதார் போல ஒருவரை யொருவர் பொதுநோக்கத்தான் நோக்குதல்; காதலார் கண்ணே உள= இக்காதலை உடையார்கண்ணே உளவாகாநின்றன.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Looking at one another with the ordinary, public look that people give to anybody, as though the two had never known each other before — this, Parimelazhagar explains, occurs only in those who carry this love.