The breathtaking poems in Love Stands Alone speak to us across time, space, language and culture. The interior, akam, and the exterior, puram, form their two overarching themes. The akam poems are concerned with love in all its varied situations: clandestine and illicit; conjugal happiness and infidelity; separation and union. The puram poems encompass all other aspects of worldly life: wars and battlefields, the munificence of kings and chieftains, and the wisdom of bards. With a comprehensive introduction by A.R. Venkatachalapathy, M.L. Thangappa's translations delight the senses and bring alive a world long past.