However, he is also a master of the other side of love: separation and unrequited longing. His poems on heartbreak ( viraha thalam ) are gut-wrenching. He uses silence, darkness, and the absence of sound to describe the pain of a lover.

In a typical , you will not find generic descriptions of love. Instead, you will find love compared to the germination of a seed, or a woman’s eyes compared to the depth of a well in a dry land. He possesses a unique ability to "read" the landscape.

In his early collaborations with composer Ilaiyaraaja, was a breath of fresh air. He spoke of droughts, of farming struggles, and the raw beauty of village life. He made the "village" a setting for high romance and philosophy, elevating the struggles of the peasant to the level of epic poetry.

is a deep meditation on environmental pollution and the human relationship with water. Rural Life : Through works like Kallikattu Ithikasam