Love poetry

Love is missing in the Veda Vedic gods did not care much for it Neither did Vedic sages They spoke of fertility ie sex for children but rarely about sex to express affection or experience pleasureAbout 2000 years ago songs from the Tamil region were composed by women and men in the Kaveri Vaigai and other river basins Love was the inner affectionate realm of the household We notice there is hardly any difference between love and lust This was long before there was a separation between body mind and heart that happened during the Bhakti movementHere the body is desired the mind is loved and the heart is worshipped simultaneously Here marriage and fidelity do not seem to be the primary concern as much of the poetry deals with premarital and extramarital relationships Mothers do not disapproveHere is a woman expressing her longing for pleasureLike sweet milk now spilt unsucked by a calf uncollected in a vessel my complexion is being eroded by lovesickness neither enjoyed by him not retained by meHere is a boy enchanted by a girlA tiny beautiful snake can bring down a mighty elephant Thus have I been brought down by that girl with sparkling teeth and bangled wristsThis is how a man describing loveWithout shame when in love one is even desperate to ride a toy horse made of palm stem and a wreath of flowers and be the laughingstock of the marketplaceHere is the anxiety of separationTerrifying is the roosterrsquos call Dawn is a cruel sword that cuts me away from my belovedrsquos armsHere is the torment of lossHe stroked my hair he hugged me and wiped my tears What has become of him now Itrsquos harvest time Winter has come But not himHere is a woman mocking her lover who has returned to his wifeThis manmdashfrom that village where fish in fields snatch mangoes that fall from nearby trees mdashhaving broken his promises to me has gone back to his sonrsquos mother his body now a puppet whose string she pullsHere is a wife forgiving her unfaithful husbandYoung manmdashfrom the land of sapphire lagoons where plants bear thorns like squirrelrsquos teethmdashknow this this life ends another follows and all I seek is t be your wife mistress of your heartHere a girl nudges her lover to propose marriageShe has become suspicious My mother Did she notice the strange fragrance on my hair or the lovesick pallor on my face She says nothing But sighs and finds excuses to keep me in the houseWhere do we find such love poetry today In a few lyrics of a few film songs maybe As religion rejects love and confuses it with fidelity and loyalty and submission to authority we need to return to the romantic love where gods and goddesses were those magical beloveds who understood us despite our physical emotional and sensual shortcomingsThe author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times Reach him at devduttpattanaikmiddaycom