[1] It is an "akam genre – love and erotic – collection par excellence", according to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar.
Some scholars attribute the collection to five authors, including one by the famed Sangam poet Kapilar.
The poets who composed the Kalittokai created what comes across as a "one-act plays", sometimes with "coarse, spicy, racy, rude, bawdy, or humorous" dialogues, states Zvelebil.
[6] According to Herman Tieken, these compositions are examples of lasya minor dance scenes as described in the chapters 19 and 31 of the Natyasastra.
[9] The anthology is also notable for including allusions and references to pan-Indian love and moral legends found in Epics– and Puranas–genre Sanskrit texts.
[9] The poems of Kalittokai show evidence of the ancient music of the Tamil people with its rhythmic phrases.