Milk and honey
The muddy water from a stagnant pool
in his land
which drinking deer had stirred up
was far sweeter to me
than the milk and honey here.(what the girl told her friend, back home after a brief period of elopement)
Kurinji
–KapilarAinkurunuru 203
Make it larger!
Hear me, potter:
Like a little lizard
that travels with a cart,
perching on the wheel,
I had travelled all the way with him
crossing many a wilderness.
Have pity on me,
and make his funeral urn
a little oversize.–Anon
Purananuru 256
From the must read translation, Love stands alone: selections from Tamil Sangam Poetry, translated by M L Thangappa and edited by A R Venkatachalapathy. Here is the review in the Hindu, and here are some excerpts from Hindu literary review. The review from the Telegraph was also very positive.
