Author: Kalki
Translator: C V Karthik Narayanan
Publisher: Macmillan
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 344
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0333 93551 9
Description
It is now widely acknowledged that 'Kalki' was the first Tamil writer who used the ancient history of famous Tamil dynasties and the region as the background of attractive stories.
The best historical writing requires not only a precise knowledge of the incidents or facts that laborious research has collected, but the capacity to weave the the matter so as to form a lasting fabric which discloses character and motive. Imagination is thus no less necessary to the writer of novels as it is to a historian. In both cases it has to be used with restraint and judgement. A novel, which is not true to life, will kill itself. Facts woven round an attractive story are better grasped and remembered than when given as dull narrative of the conventional historical type.
It is this aspect of Ponniyin Selvan that makes it a fascinating reading.
Translator of the book is C V Karthik Narayanan.
An Excerpt:
Who will wear the crown?
My child! It is indeed a heinous crime for a mother to betray the son born to her. But its’ what my husband ordered me to do and it is my duty to obey his orders. Listen to me! It is wicked to desire power: To desire a kingdom is even more despicable. No one in this world has as many worries as one who wears a crown. Wasn’t it because of the crown on his head that Vecrapandyan met his death? Siva Loka, the kingdom of Siva, is far greater than the kingdom of this world. Come, let’s go away from this place. Let’s visit all the sacred spots and go to Kailasam, the abode of the gods. Let us be vessels that receive the grace of the lord of Kailasam.
Contents
The sponsors
The translator
The artist
The Translator’s Note
Characters
The Story so far
On the Banks of the Kollidam Again
In the Mountain Cave
Give Me Leave to Go!
Danger to Azhwarkadiyan
Nandini Disappears
You Are Not My Son!
The Unfortunate One
Kundavai’s Anxiety
Manimekalai Craves a Boon
The Release is Prevented
Vanathi’s Idea
Pinakapani’s Task
The Madman
The Saviour Who Arrived in Time
Freedom
Karuthiruman’s Story
An Inauspicious Omen
Amudhan’s Problem
The Engagement
The Spear Strikes!
Pinakapani’s Treachery
Speak the Truth!
Aiyo! A Ghost!
Maduranthakan Disappears
It is Not a Worldly Kingdom That I Crave
Prince For a Day
A Sword for a Sword!
The Command of the Fort
The Thevar Born of the Revered Womb
A Competition to Renounce to throne
Vanathi’s Stealth
Only I Must be Crowned!
Disastrous Consequences
The Vadavar Flows Back
A Full-Grown Tree Falls Down
The Friends Part
A Meeting on the Roadside
The Lower of the Earth-Maiden
The Cat and the Parrot
Chinese Merchants
The Scene Which Appar Saw
Gifts for the Coronation
The Inner Meaning of a Sculpture
Reality or Dream?
The Poet is Shocked
The Coronation
Spring Arrives
Golden Showers
A Flower Droops and Falls
Conclusion