When he turned the corner at the end of a quiet road, he dashed against the young girl walking from the opposite side.
Vairavan held her, in an attempt to prevent her from falling down. He was surprised to see that she was wearing bangles, covering her hands up to the elbows.
Saved from falling down, the girl looked at her hands, as if to check whether any bangle had broken.
She then looked at Vairavan, smiled at him and said, "Thank you, for saving my bangles from breaking!"
"I saved you from falling down. But, rather than thanking me for that, you are thanking me for saving your bangles!" exclaimed Vairavan. "Are you so fond of bangles? Covered with bangles, your hands resemble vadaimalai, adorning the idol of Hanuman" he added.
She looked at her hands again, with satisfaction and pride.
"Where do you live?" asked Vairavan.
"See this cross street here? If you enter that street, my house will be the last on the right hand side. If you ask anyone 'which is Pandit** Valaiyapathi's house?' they will point out the house. Valaiyapathi is my father's name."
"Oh! Vailai in Tamil means bangle. Being the daughter of Valaiyapathi, it is no wonder that you are fascinated by bangles. By the way, I only asked you where you lived. But you have given me your address and your father's name. Is it your desire that I should visit your house, meet your father and ask him to give me your hand in marriage" asked Vairavan, with a smirk.
She looked at him with a smile and said, "Before asking for my father's consent for marrying me, should you not ask my consent? How can I consent to marry you, without meeting you a couple of times and getting to know you better?"
Excited by an accidental dashing having sown the seeds of an intimate relationship, Vairavan said, joyfully, "In that case, why don't we meet every evening at some place nearby, a place that will provide us some privacy?"
"Of course, we can. But, you should wait for five or six days, for these meetings to happen. We are leaving for a short trip to another place tomorrow."
"When will you be back?"
"We will be back before the Full Moon day. We will meet at this spot on the Full Moon day, the same time in the evening."
After saying this, she flew away.
'Today is the seventh day aster the New Moon day. When is the Full Moon day?'
Vairavan began to calculate how many days were left for the Full Moon day.
She was waiting for him at the specified spot, the evening of the full Moon day.
On seeing her, Vairavan gave her the palm leaf manuscripts*** he was holding in his hand.
"What are these?"
"These are the letters written by me, one each day, starting from the next day of our meeting."
"You wrote me letters, when I was away. But you hand them over to me in person, after I have returned home! Are you mad?"
"Yes. I am mad with love. From the time I met you, the evenings have changed for me. I have not been able to think clearly. The clinking sound of your bangles has been constantly ringing in my ears. Every day, I wrote letters to you, pouring out my feelings. Since I couldn't send the letters to you, I kept them with me. I am handing them over to you now!" said Vairavan.
"You are really mad!" she said, laughing.
"It was you who made my mind go crazy in the evenings. Again it was you, who made me write letters to you, to overcome that craze!" said Vairavan.
*Vadamalai - a garland of vadais, a small dish of circular shape, with a hole at the centre, traditionally offered to the idol of the Hindu God Hanuman. The vadais are then distributed to devotees as prasad (divine offerings).
**Pandit - a title given to a scholar in a field.
***Palm leaf manuscripts - During ancient times, palm leaves were used for writing on.
Section 3
Shedding Shyness
thodalaik kuRundhodi thandhAL madalodu
mAlai uzakkum thuyar.
Verse 1134
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