1090. Why did Murugan Give Up Drinking?

"The destructive habit of drinking has been inherited by my son from his father. I have been repeatedly pleading with him to give it up, but he won't listen to me" lamented Meenakshi.

"Don't worry. He will come out of it, once he gets married" said her friend Mangalam.

"I doubt! My husband didn't give up his drinking habit after our marriage!"

"Well, some men get into this habit only after they get married?"

"What do you mean?" asked Meenakshi, wondering what her friend was implying.

"I was referring to my own experience" said Mangalam.

"Then, how do you say that my son will come out of this habit, once he gets married?"

"My son gave up his drinking habit, soon after his marriage. The same thing may happen with your son too!" said Mangalam.

Meenakshi was confused.

"However, we can't say that getting married will automatically make a man give up driving!" said Mangalam, smiling.

Meenakshi became even more confused.

"My mother had been pleading with me to give up the drinking habit. But I couldn't do it. But soon after I began to love you, I have given up drinking" said Murugan.

"How can it be? I never asked you to give up drinking!" asked Nila.

"I am not sure whether I would have been able to do so, if you had asked me to. After all, I was not able to give it up, when my mother asked me to!"

"Then, how did you give it up?"

"When I drink, I feel intoxicated. That intoxication makes me feel elated. But, after I started loving you, I feel that I am in a state of intoxication throughout the day. When I am intoxicated already, I don't feel the need to drink alcohol!" said Murugan.

"I don't understand what you say!" said Nila.

When Murugan was thinking how to explain his point to Nila, his attention was drawn to the song that was being played in her mobile phone.

'If you drink alcohol, you will get intoxicated.
That intoxication will come from love also!'

"How beautifully has the lyricist explained the point I have just made. Do you understand now?"

Nila nodded her head, signaling that she had understood the point and smiled.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 109
Beauty that Torments

Verse 1090 (in Tamil):
uNdArkaN alladhu adunaRAk kAmam pOl
kaNdAr magizh seydhal inRu.

Meaning:

Brewed spirits intoxicate only when they are consumed.

They cannot, like love, enthrall even those who merely behold.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vittadhu pazhakkam' by the same author.)

Verse 1091
Verse 1089