1133. The Shy Lover

"Manickam!" called Doraiswamy.

"Yes, daddy" said a feeble voice from inside the house. Presently, Doraiswamy's son Manickam came to the living room from inside the house.

"Your uncle and aunt have come to our house. You have been sitting inside, without coming out and greeting them!" Doraiswamy chided his son, in an affectionate tone.

Manickam looked at his uncle and aunt, sitting on the sofa in the living room and paid obeisance to them, by folding his palms, and then asked them, "How are you, uncle and how are you, auntie?"

"We are fine, Manickam. You, being a man, are feeling shy like a woman! Even your voice is so feeble, as if struggling to come out of your vocal chord!" said his uncle, smiling.

"That is his nature" said Manickam's mother Meenakshi, coming to her son's defence. "He is very shy. He feels inhibited to speak to anyone other than us, his parents. He feels shy even to come and stand before other people."

"You have been working as a machine operator in a good company. You are at the ripe age of getting married. You can't be shy!" said his uncle.

"His shyness will vanish, once the wife comes into his life" quipped his aunt. She then turned to Meenakshi and asked her, "Are you in the look out for a bride for him?"

"We are keen to fix an alliance for him soon. But he keeps asking us to wait for some more time" said Meenakshi

"Dear damsel, with eyes of a doe,
This is a letter expressing my desire
But what I have penned here is
A poem of supreme love.

After reading the first few lines of the poem, Kannamma laughed and said, "What is this, man! You have simply reproduced the lyrics of a film song! Can't you write something original?"

"I have used the lines of a film song only at the beginning. After these lines, I have written several lines of my own. Won't you read them?" asked Manickam, grudgingly.

"I have read your poem in full, even when I was at home - not once, but ten times! I pretended to begin to read the poem just now and commented on the first four lines, just to tease you" said Kannamma, smiling.

"You have read the poem in full!" asked Manickam, his face muscles curling, reflecting his shyness and nervousness. "How do you find it?"

"I said I read it ten times. From this, can't you understand how much I liked it!"

She then held his hands with affection and asked him, "We met only yesterday. Why did you write this letter, as if we have been separated and living at two different places?"

"Well, one can't express everything he can put in a letter, while talking in person, can he?"

"Yes, it is true. Now, I understand" said Kannamma.

She unfolded the letter again and began to read. "You have written 'on your lips resembling rose petals...'"

"Don't read it aloud. I feel shy" said Manickam and closed her lips with his fingers.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 114
Shedding Shyness

Verse 1133 (in Tamil):
nANodu nallANmai paNdu udaiyEn inRu udaiyEn
kAmuRRAr ERum madal.

Meaning:

I once possessed shyness and chivalry. But now, like people smitten by love, I have resorted to writing love letters.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nAn ezhudhuvadhu ennavenRAl' by the same author.)

Verse 1134 (Soon)
Verse 1132