கலித்தொகை
Kalittokai — The Kali Anthology
Sangam Anthology · c. 300 BCE – 300 CE · One of the Eight Anthologies
One hundred and fifty poems of dramatic fire — the Sangam anthology of the kali metre, the most theatrically vivid collection in classical Tamil literature. Lovers argue and concede; friends mediate; voices alternate; wit flashes. Organized in five books by landscape, each with its own poet: the wasteland's grief, the mountain's peacock-dance, the forest's patient waiting, the river-field's furious wit, the seashore's aching vigil.
Five landscapes of dramatic love
Twenty-nine poems of separation across burning desert sands: the grief of parting, the body's memory of union, the unresolvable longing of those who wait. The most emotionally intense book — composed by Peyanār.
Twenty-nine poems of the mountain's secret trysts: peacocks dancing before the rains, the kurinji flower, the bamboo grove. The most theatrically exuberant book — composed by Kapilar, the greatest Sangam poet.
Seventeen poems of patient forest waiting: the jasmine's fragrance at dusk, the cuckoo's call, the rains that signal the hero's promised return. The quietest and most lyrical book — composed by Nallantuvāṉar.
Thirty-five poems of lovers' quarrels and reconciliation: the heroine's furious wit, the hero's pleas, the friend's mediation. The most dramatically charged and socially acute book — composed by the king-poet Cēramāṉ Kaṇaikāl Irumporai.
Forty poems of the seashore vigil: the ache of sea-separation, herons and dolphins, the thunder of waves, the moment of arrival at the tide-line. The largest and most varied book — composed by Marutanilānākaṉār.