A Sangam poem

Eating plenty of plantain

of the rich swaying leaves,

along with the sweet shelves

of jack-fruits, resisting further intake,

changing gulps of honey-like water,

coursed with rich bouts of wine,

the monkeys find it impossible,

to scale the sandal trees,

and just doze off
on the beds of heaps of fallen blossoms;

effortless pleasures are aplenty

for all the living beings of thine hills,

easily got with no strain;

then forsooth, aimed pleasure,

is it so difficult for thee?

Bounteous beauty

and bamboo-smooth shoulders

branching off and entwining

as it were the heart,

ever pressing forth to thwart;

all for the sake of thee, if then,

she is tightly in guard by daytime

and you venture the night not sir;

the seasons fade fast away

and the wretched moon lingers long

down in the town.

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(Translation of one Sangam song, 'what is that?')

Srirangam V Mohanarangan

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