1082. The Return Gaze!

Subramani was feeling nervous. He has seen many young women in his day to day life. He has found some of them attractive too. 

But the thought of seeing a woman as a part of the tradition of selecting a bride was exciting to him, while also making him feel nervous about going through the process.

When he and his parents were about to leave their house for the bride's house, Subramani's father Sadasivam told him, "This is 1965. Times have changed. I never got a chance to look at your mother before marrying her. She was selected by my parents. I saw her for the first time only on the day of our marriage."

"But you would have seen her photo!" said Subramani.

Sadasivam laughed aloud and said, "There was no practice of taking photos of people at that time. We were photographed only during the marriage!"

Subramani and her parents were given a warm welcome by the prospective bride's parents. After refreshments were served, the prospective bride made her appearance. Her mother accompanied her, holding her, as if she was protectively supporting a child walking.

The prospective bride paid obeisance to Subramani and his parents as required by tradition and then sat down on the carpet, with her face looking down.

Subramni felt an instant liking for the girl the moment he looked at her, though he couldn't look at her face clearly, since she was looing down, as a mark of politeness, as required by tradition.

Subramni cursed the tradition that dictated that girls have to keep their heads down before men, especially if they are strangers.

"Subramani! Make sure to have a good look at the girl. You shouldn't complain later that you didn't take a good look at her face" said his mother.

The boy's mother making such a comment and others laughing at this 'joke' had also been a part of the tradition. So, everyone laughed at this joke.

Subramani looked at the girl's face directly, as if responding to his mother's advice. At that moment, the girl also raised her head and looked at him.

Subramani felt as if he was momentarily struck by a dazzling beam of light similar in intensity to a streak of lightning. He lowered his head immediately as if he was correcting himself after committing a mistake. 

It appeared to him that observing his reaction, the girl smiled victoriously. Since he had lowered his head, he couldn't see her smiling but he was able to perceive it.

It was as if she had conquered him and that he had accepted defeat by bowing his head before her!

At that time, a thought that men should have created the rule that women should keep their heads down and shouldn't look at men directly because of the experience they had had in getting struck down by women's graze, similar to the one he himself had had, came to his mind!

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 109
Beauty that Torments

Verse 1082 (in Tamil):
nOkkinAL nOkkedhir nOkkudhal thAkkaNangu

thAnaik koNdadhannadhu udaiththu.

Meaning:

While she was already attacking me by her beauty, the gaze she threw at me by way of returning my gaze, was like her intensifying the attack by bringing an army to her aid.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thalaiyaik kuniyum thAmaraiyE' by the same author.)

Verse 1083

Verse 1081