Book 01 - Chapter 07: Queen Arulmozhi

Roughly at the same time Ponnan and Valli arrived at the Uraiyur fort, Queen Arulmozhi was entering the royal gardens. She had received a report on the exchange the king had with the Pallava messengers. The queen wanted to entertain herself until the king was able to join her. She found a corner with a dense growth of Champaka trees and sat down on the marble bench. She could see the sunset through the trees. The western sky was glowing as if of pure gold. As she was watching, the glow faded. The sun set in a while, and the sky turned crimson red. This reminded Arulmozhi of the battlefield and bloodshed. She shuddered and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, moonlight was peeking through the trees. Memories came flooding back. It had been twelve years since she entered this palace as Parthiban’s new bride. The two of them had walked hand in hand in the garden many nights. They had sat on the very same bench and had lost track of time. Occasionally, Parthiban would play his flute. Arulmozhi used to lose herself in that music. It would seem to her that Parthiban was Krishna reborn. For a while, life had an idyllic quality. Vikraman’s birth seemed to get them to the height of happiness. She recalled whispering endearments to the child on the same bench.

Why could those days not go on? But how could they, when Parthiban was quietly suffering a secret conflict? It turned out that it was unrealistic to expect blissful married life when a secret sorrow was gnawing at his heart. Arulmozhi learnt of his conflict only later in their married life, and shared his suffering ever since. And it saddened her further to learn that she was the reason for his sorrow.

Arulmozhi was born to a minor king of the Chera clan. Those days, she was known for her peerless beauty. When arrangements were in full swing to get her married to Parthiban, the Chera king received a message from Mahendra Pallava. The emperor had expressed a desire to get her married to prince Narasimha Varma. Her relatives were thrilled at the proposal. Arulmozhi declined, saying she had taken Parthiban as her husband in her mind, and would not dream of marrying another man.

Mahendra Pallava was magnanimous enough not to press the issue further. He found a suitable match for his son in the Pandya princess. Parthiban did not learn of these developments until after they were married. Occasionally, he would say, “Arulmozhi, you were born to be an empress, but somehow ended up on the throne of this tiny kingdom”. Arulmozhi initially thought this was banter. In due course. She realized that Parthiban was indeed torturing himself with this line of thinking. She tried hard to assure Parthiban he was what she wanted, but her assurances did not seem to help. It got even worse after Vikraman was born. Parthiban would tell her, “Your son could have been the heir to a mighty empire. Instead, he was born to a vassal who is beholden to another empire”. Another time, he said, “I can’t reward your son with an independent crown, but I will give him the pride of being the son of a brave warrior”.

It was now time to redeem that pledge. It would have been better if she was able to follow the brave queens of the olden days who gave up their lives at the deaths of their warrior husbands. Prathiban forbade such thoughts. He wanted her to bring Vikraman up as a brave warrior.

She broke out in sobs with these thoughts.

She heard a stern voice say, “Arulmozhi, I thought you were a courageous queen! Are you so feeble?!”. She turned to see King Partibhan behind her. Her tears dried up instantly.

Parthiban said, “This is not the time for your tears and my consolation. Let’s head to the palace”. They quietly walked, hand-in-hand to the palace.

They were just in time for the lamps in the prayer hall. There was a Shivalinga accompanied by an exquisite statue of Goddess Parvati. The Goddess was flanked by Ganesha and Muruga. On another side, Vishnu appeared, accompanied by Goddesses Bhoodevi and Sridevi. All idols were decorated by panneer, night-jasmine and champak flowers. Prince Vikraman was watching the prayers with his palms together. The priest finished the prayers, distributed the offering food to the royal family and took his leave.

Vikraman looked at Parthiban and asked, “Father, did you not say we can go to the painting gallery?”.

“Yes, you should go ahead. I will be right there”.

After the prince left, the king pointed to a long wooden chest kept at the feet of the Vishnu deity and addressed the queen, “My dear, you have asked me what is in that box several times, and I have promised to tell you at the right time. Now is the time. The box contains the timeless and priceless treasure of the Chozha clan. Let me show you”.

He opened the box, which contained a handsome sword and a bundle of palm scrolls. The sword had a brilliant golden handle, with embedded gems. The blade was gleaming, indicating it had been sharpened and well oiled. The blade challenged the brilliance of its handle. By contrast, the palm scrolls looked really old.

Parthiban said, ‘My queen, this sword dates back all the way to the famous ancient Chozhas. Emperors Karikalan and Nedumudi Killi wore this sword with pride and ruled this country. The scroll contains Thirukkural, the gift from the divine poet of this land. These two are the priceless treasures of our clan. You have to protect them until Vikraman comes of age and hand them over to him. Arulmozhi, my father wore this sword, but I did not. Being a minor vassal, I could not bring myself to carry the sword that came all the way from the times of Karikalan and Nedumudi Killi. I want you to impress this upon Vikraman. Tell him that he earns this sword only when he is an independent king of at least a small country. When he becomes an independent king, he should wear this sword and run the country by the wisdom of The Thirukkural. I am giving you this responsibility. You need to bring Vikraman up to be brave and worthy of these treasures. Will you promise me at the altar of God that you will fulfill this responsibility?”

Arulmozhi, in a breaking voice, said, “I swear my lord!”.

The king said, “May God give you the necessary courage to fulfill that vow” and wiped her tears with his upper robe.

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Book 01 - Chapter 06: The Drums of War

Valli emerged from the kitchen after ensuring that the hoof-beats faded away, and returned to the courtyard. She picked up one of the swords that Marappa Bhupathi had kicked down.

She said, “Grandpa, what good does it do for you to make all these swords and shields? You let that man walk out alive after speaking ill of our king!”

The old man asked, “Valli, why are you so angry? The ex-commander said exactly what you said, that the war is pointless”.

Valli said, “I'm not against the war. I only wanted to know the reason”.  She was in tears.

“Yes Valli, I was about to complete the story when this sinner intruded. Didn’t I say the emperor of Vatapi marched south and committed several atrocities on his way back? Emperor Narasimha Varma wanted to avenge those, and was preparing for a war for a long time. After about six years, he marched north with his army. He wrote to King Parthiban, asking him to join his forces. Our king wrote back, agreeing to march with his army, but on one condition – Chozha kingdom would be free from that point on, and would not pay tribute to the Pallavas. Chozha’s Tiger flag would receive equal treatment from the Pallavas. Narasimha Pallava did not pay heed to this. He started his march north without responding to this message. Our king also stopped paying tribute to Pallavas from that point on. That is the reason for this war, Valli. Should we take a backward step? Is it acceptable that we lower the tiger flag from the Chirappalli hill and raise Pallava’s flag instead? If that happens, what would be the point of living with that indignity?”.

“I don’t know all that grandpa. I trust our king. There is a special place in hell for people who speak ill of him. I still can’t get over the fact that you let Marappan walk away after saying all that. King Parthiban is a noble king”.

“He is noble. Too noble for his own good. That is why he gave a place of honour for this ill-born Marappan”.

“What does that mean?”

“Marappa Bhupathi is not our king’s real brother. Our older king was tempted into marrying an evil woman after he turned fifty. No one liked that marriage. Marappan was born to that evil woman. The older king had decreed that Marappan would succeed our king if our king did not have an heir. Marappan had the proud title of crown prince until our prince Vikraman was born.  King Parthiban has shown him love and favor. This guy has proven ungrateful. We should have guessed. After all, his bad blood shows”.

“Grandpa, Why do you associate with him? Why did you have to read his horoscope?”

“That is all because of you Valli”.

“Because of me? A likely story!”

“I am going to tell you something I have kept from you all this while. These are dangerous times. I am not sure what will happen to our king or the Chozha kingdom. The only thing I am sure of is that Marappan will find a way to avoid going to war. You should be very careful with this guy”.

“That is a strange warning grandpa. Why should I be afraid of this ogre?”

“Just listen to me without interrupting. This guy wanted to marry you. He was quite insistent”.

“May the lightning strike him!”.

“The lightning did not strike him, it struck my family instead. From planetary positions, I foresaw that something bad was going to happen to our family. I also heard that Marappan was going to come with his thugs and abduct you. If your brothers were around, there would be bloodshed. So I sent all of you off to attend a wedding across the river. Death came in the form of a hurricane and took all your brothers. God spared you for my sake”.

The old man heaved a long sigh, and was lost in thoughts.

“So, this guy was responsible for my brothers’ deaths? I never knew!”

“After you all left by boat, this guy came with his men, as I had expected. When he saw that you were not here, he threw a fit. I used my reputation as a fortune teller to appease him. I said, “don’t yield to these minor temptations. You are destined for greater things. You are going to marry into an emperor’s family”. He has been building castles in thin air after that episode.”

Valli said, ‘Now I understand the meaning of his words. What will I do if my oarsman goes to fight the war? You have to take care of me!”. She grabbed the old man’s hands. She shivered.

The old man said, ‘Silly girl! Why are you shaking like this? Ponnan will not go to war. Our king knows the misfortune that befell us. He also knows you are all we have in the family for progeny. That’s why he forbade Ponnan from going to war”.

At that time, they heard the drumbeat. There was a loud call. “Victory is near!  The war is coming. This is the war to keep the Chozha country’s honor. All real men can join. All except invalids and the lone sons of a family should enlist. Everyone with good blood in their veins should enlist! Victory is near!”

There was a deafening drum roll. The old man and Valli went out to take a look. The drummer and the announcer were on an elephant. There were a few soldiers in the party as well.

The old man and the granddaughter were watching the procession with rapt attention until they turned the corner. The old man heaved a sigh and said, “Valli, God and Ponnan will take care of you. There is no one left in my family to aspire for the heaven of warriors. I will go to war myself”.

A bright shooting star emerged in the southern sky. It shot across the sky brightly and disappeared. Valli shivered again at the sight.

At the same time, Ponnan saw the shooting star and experienced flutters as well. He was walking along the Royal street. There were four days to go for the full moon. The waxing moon was shining brightly.  The castles and palaces of Uraiyur bathed in the moonlight, and resembled dreamland.

There appears to be a tide in the affairs of towns, just as is the case with men. These days, Tiruchirappalli is a city and Uraiyur is its suburb. Those days, Uraiyur was the capital and Chirappalli (or Tiruchirappalli) was a hamlet. The border between these towns had blurred, as there were several tradesmen and shops doing business in the streets connecting the two towns.

Ponnan wanted to reach the palace before the king descended from the Chirappalli hill. He could guess what the king would have shown the prince on their way down from the Chirappalli hill. The symbols of the Chozha dynasty’s disgrace were located there. There were some paintings depicting Parthiba Chozha’s father kneeling in front of Mahendra Pallava and offering gems and jewels as tribute. Ponnan’s blood boiled on thinking about those paintings. He had wondered how long the Chozha people could live with that indignity. An opportunity had arisen to right the wrong by going to war. ‘How could I hide at home rather than fight this righteous war?’, he thought as he sped up.

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Book 01 - Chapter 05: Marappa Bhupathi

The audiobook version is posted here.

The rider who arrived was a young, affluent looking man of about twenty-five. His magnificent outfit indicated that he belonged to nobility. His face displayed the restlessness of a wild lifestyle and ambition.

The old man greeted him with “Welcome to my home, commander!”.

“Who is the commander? Don’t call me that from now on. I’m not the commander. I’m not Marappa Bhupathi. I’m not my father’s son!”, said Marappan with undisguised rage.

He entered the house and sat where the old man had been sitting.

“The prince appears to be upset”.

“I’m no longer the prince! Prince is that misfit who was born yesterday. Long live the prince! Victory to Prince Vikraman”, said Marappan in a mocking voice and guffawed. After a while, he asked, “Let us forget all that, what do your cowrie shells say about the future?”.

In addition to metalworking, Veerabadra Achari was known as a fortune teller as well. He used to predict people’s fortunes using cowrie shells.

“Prince, do you really need all this…”

“You can lecture me later. Did you really work on reading my fortune, or did you just plan to give me the run around?”

“I did read your fortune. If you have specific questions, I can answer those”.

“The most important thing is the upcoming war. If you can’t tell me what the outcome is going to be, your horoscopes are useless. I will throw your palm scrolls and cowrie shells in the river myself”.

“Please do so, my prince! They were of no use to my own life. I saw my whole family drown in a single day. All I have in my family is a female grandchild”.

“Is Valli well, Achari?” asked Marappan. He had a strange look on his face as he spoke of Valli.

“She is well”.”

“If Ponnan goes to war, what will Valli do?”

“God will look after Valli. And this old man will take care of her too”, said the old man emphatically.

“You're right. Why should I worry about her when you are around? We digress. We were talking about the outcome of the war. Tell me if your cowrie shell calculations can foretell something. If not, wind up your fortune telling”.

“I wound it up long ago, my prince. I reopened it only upon your insistence”.

“Ok what did it say after you reopened it?”

“The planetary positions show a disastrous result. One side will be wiped out at the end of the war. No one of that side will return alive. But I can’t tell you which side it is.”

“I don’t need your cowrie shells to tell me which side will be destroyed. The Chozha army is going to be destroyed. It will all be on your king’s head”.

“My prince, it does not befit you to speak like this.  We may have our differences, but when we have an enemy…”

“Who is the enemy? Narasimha Varma Pallava? No, the enemy of the Chozha country is Parthiba Chozha. He does not know the use of sword or spear. He is set out to battle the Pallava army. Is battling Pallavas a small matter? They have more soldiers than there are grains of sand in the ocean. On the one side, you have the vast Pallava Kingdom that stretches from the river Kaveri to Godavari. The other side, you have this tiny, weak kingdom. Can we fight someone who just traveled 100 yojnas (640 kilometres), defeated the tyrant Pulikesi and burnt his capital to the ground? We will be like a mosquito fighting an elephant”.

“My prince, why are you telling me all this? Should you not say this to our king?”

“Old man, do you think I did not? I was rewarded by being removed from the commander’s post. The king will command the army as well. He is going to lead the army to war. Let him! Who wants this great job?!”

“What does that mean, my prince? Will you not fight in the war?”

“Who, me? I will go if I am invited. I won’t go if I am not invited. Listen, I want to hear your prediction on the outcome of the war. Tell me one more time”.

“Yes, my prince. One of the sides will be destroyed. No one will return alive”.

“They won’t return alive. Does that mean they will return as zombies?”. Marappan said this and laughed aloud. He added, “If I die in the war, I will return as a ghost and possess Valli”. He laughed again.

Valli heard this from the kitchen, wrung her hand and mumbled, “I will choke you to death, like this”. The old woman, who was hard of hearing, asked, “What did you say?”. Valli closed the old woman’s mouth with her palm.

Marappan asked, “who spoke just now?”

“Who else?. The old ghost that possessed me must be speaking to herself!”

“Ok, I must go now. All your predictions - they are real, right? If I find out later that you have been lying to me….”

“Why would I lie to you, my prince?”

Marappan stood up. looked around and spotted the stack of swords, spears and shields. “Oh! It looks like you have been working hard! Look at all these swords, spears and shields! Your king is going to use these banana knives and grass sickles to fight the mighty Pallava emperor! What a joke!”. He guffawed again, and kicked them. They came crashing down.

The old man’s eyes flared, just like his furnace would.

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Book 01 - Chapter 04: The Grandfather and the Granddaughter

The audiobook version is posted here.

Ponnan and Valli arrived at a house in the Metalworkers’ (Kammala) street. The front door was closed.

Valli called out “Grandpa!”. The door opened after a while. The old man, who opened the door greeted the visitors, “Valli, welcome home! Come on in, grandson-in-law!”. And then called out, “Old woman, see who is here!”

An old lady emerged, asking “who is here?”. Her face broke into a toothless grin when she saw Ponnan and Valli. She hugged Valli with the inquiry “How have you both been?”.

Ponnan said, “Grandpa, I have safely got your granddaughter to you. I’m going out for a while.”

“But you have just arrived, where are you going already?”

“I’m going to see the king.”

The old man said, “But the king is not in the palace. Come here, I will show you.” He led them to the open courtyard. Everyone looked in the direction he pointed to. They could see the lamps lit in the Ganesh temple on the Chirappalli hill.  Some people were climbing down with torches. After a steady climb down, the torches stopped and stayed stationary.

“Why have they stopped? What are they looking at?”, asked Valli.

The old man said, “Emperor Mahendra’s statue is there. It seems that the king is showing the prince the statue.”

“They are on their way down grandpa. Let me head to the palace now. I want to see the king tonight”, said Ponnan, and walked out. The old man accompanied him to the door, and talked in a whisper, “Ponna, you need to give a confidential message to the king. Ask him to be careful with Marappa Bhupathi. Tell him this in a private setting.”

“What about Marappa Bhupathi?”

“I will tell you later. Just make sure you tell him this”.

The grandmother went into the kitchen to start the dinner for the visitors. Valli and her grandfather sat down in the courtyard.

“Grandpa, what are these?” Valli pointed and exclaimed. She was pointing to a stack of swords and spears, which was near the steel furnace.

“These are weapons, of course. You are not too used to being around these. In olden days…”.

“But what are these for?”

“What sort of question is this? The swords are for cutting the enemies down; and the spear is for pulling out their intestines!”.

“What a horrible thought! Gives me the shivers”, said Valli.

“Give it a few more years, and the men of this country will talk like you as well. They will start asking what swords and spears are for. Valli, did you know what this place looked like in my grandfather’s days? They were making weapons on a continuous basis. In every town, the Metalworkers’ street was the busiest. Kings and princes used to frequent the iron-smiths. All that changed in my father’s time. Iron-smiths started relying on making knives, sickles and wheel axles for a living. I hadn't even seen swords for a long time. My arms don’t have the strength that they used to. How I wish this war had come twenty years ago…”

“Not you too! I was hoping you would talk some sense into my husband. He wants to go to war.”

“Ponnan is not going to war. His hands are for holding oars. Besides he is too fond of his woman to go to war.”

“Don’t say that. He wants to go to war. The king forbade it, and asked him to teach the prince to swim."

“If only your father and uncles were alive! I would have given them a sword and a spear each and urged them to go to war. Should the Gods have taken all of them on the same day?” The old man sighed.

Valli remembered that horrible day. The  whole family, with the exception of her grandparents was on their way to attend a wedding across the river. High winds caused the boat to capsize. Ponnan was on the shore. He jumped in and tried to save the occupants of the boat. By God’s grace he could save Valli, but she was the only one he could save.

The old man continued, “You are the only one to keep the family tree alive. If you’d had a baby, I would have pushed Ponnan to go to war.”

“What is the war for, grandpa?”

“It’s for our honor my child. Can the tiger flag fly lower than the flag with the ox? The war is to wipe out that ignominy”.

“Whose flag has the ox symbol”?

“You should know that. It is the symbol of the Pallavas!”

“You mean that lion symbol? The messengers were carrying flags with the lion symbol”

“Yes, they changed their symbol for ox to lion. The ox does not become a lion if it beats the pig.”

“This is all very confusing to me, grandpa. Can you explain?”

“Let me start from the beginning”, said the old man. “This happened around the time you were born. Emperor Mahendra was ruling in Kanchi then. His bravery was widely talked about. He visited Uraiyur once. His statue on the Chirappalli hill was erected to commemorate that visit. During that time, the Pulikesi, the Chalukya king marched south with a large army. It was an ocean of warriors. Emperor Mahendra did not dare face that army. He retreated into the Kanchi fort. Pulikesi laid siege, lost patience after a while, and started marching further south. He reached the other side of the Kollidam river. Uraiyur went through the wringer during that period. Our king, Parthiba Chozha had just ascended the throne at that time. He was preparing to fight the Chalukyas.

Pulikesi received word on some crisis back home. He never crossed the Kollidam river. He turned back. The demon-king and his forces committed countless atrocities at that time. They pillaged, plundered, and set fire to the villages on their way back.

The reputation of Emperor Mahendra suffered serious damage as a result. He did not live long after that episode. Emperor Narasimha Varma succeeded him. He wanted revenge. He wanted to restore the Pallava reputation. He trained a large army and marched north, defeated Pulikesi, killed him and burnt the city of Vatapi to the ground.  He changed his symbol from the ox to the lion after that victory. He returned just a month ago. In all  this…”

Valli was listening with rapt interest, but interrupted with a question at this point. “Why do we have to fight such an emperor, grandpa?”

“Silly girl! It is …”

They heard hoof-beats. A horse seemed to stop in front of their house.

Someone called out, “Veerabadra Achari!”.

“That crook Marappa Bhupathi is here. He should not see you. Go into the kitchen. I will call you after I get rid of him!”, said the old man.

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Book 01 - Chapter 03: The Pallava Messengers

The audiobook version is available here: https://youtu.be/fIchSbpp_A8

Ponnan and Valli locked their hut up and set off towards Uraiyur.  Uraiyur was about a kadam (approximately 16 km) west of where they lived. It was about 1370 years ago - well before steam engines and automobiles were invented. Noblemen traveled on horseback, elephants or chariots. Common people rode bullock carts or walked. Wide, well-engineered roads had been laid to facilitate all this traffic. The Chozha kingdom was known for its picturesque roads, with tree cover on either side for the travelers’ comfort. Of those roads, the royal highway tracking the southern shore of Kaveri was the best known.

Ponnan and Valli took that road to Uraiyur. At the time of our story, the Chozha kingdom had lost its eminence. The kingdom was squeezed by Pandyas in the south and newly emerging  Pallavas from the north; and was living in the shadows of these two bigger powers. But these two kingdoms could not take away the fertility of the Chozha country. They could not steal the river Kaveri, which was the main cause of the fertility. The richness of the land was in view on either side of the royal highway. On one side, you could see Kaveri with its torrential flow, and the tall, dense growth of coconut trees. The other side was also green as far as you could see. The transplantation of paddy was complete for the season. The paddy fields were transforming from light green to a rich, dark shade  indicative of maturing crops. Water was gushing through the culverts. White cranes, standing on one leg in the fields, were highlighting the greenery. You could see banana and coconut plantations interwoven with paddy fields. Such serenity was going to be disrupted by the war. Ponnan and Valli were able to sense people’s anxiety during the trip to Uraiyur. The peasants dropped what they were doing and rushed to meet Ponnan and Valli when they saw them, and had several questions.

“Ponna, what is the latest news?” “Are we really going to be at war?” “What’s the latest on the Pallava messengers?”.

Ponnan gave whimsically inconsistent answers. To some, he said, “There is no chance that our king will pay tribute to the Pallavas. So, be ready, and keep your weapons sharpened!”.  In some cases, he feigned ignorance and said “I know only what you know”.  Some people protested, “how could you not know? You are the real prime minister of the country. How could they keep secrets from you?”. Valli brimmed with pride on hearing these comments.

Some others asked “Ponna, will you go to war with the king?”. These questions irked Valli. Ponnan responded to the effect that it would depend on the king’s wishes.

After the peasants left, Ponnan said , “See? I can’t avoid going to war. People will laugh at me”.

Valli responded “Who said you can’t go? By all means go if the king lets you go. All I ask is to take me along”.

With such interruptions, dusk had set in by the time they reached the gates of Uraiyur. Just as they were approaching, the gates of the fort opened. Soldiers bearing flags with the lion symbol were coming out of the fort. Ponnan recognized them as the messengers from the Pallava emperor. The couple stood out of the way, as the horses galloped away after crossing the gates. Ponnan and Valli watched them disappear until the dust settled, and entered the city.

The city streets were full of clusters of people talking. Ponnan and Valli joined one of those clusters. A man was describing the scenes from the royal court when the messengers delivered the message: “I can’t possibly do justice to the scene at the court today. The king was seated at the throne. The prince, the commander of the army and the ministers had taken their respective seats. You could hear a pin drop. The king asked the messengers to be brought in. His voice was stern. The messengers came in and paid their respects to the king. The king asked, ‘Emissaries, do you have a message for me?’.  The messenger seemed to lose his nerve hearing our king's voice”.

“He could barely speak. He started saying, ‘we are the emissaries of the great emperor Narasimha Varma, the ruler of the three realms …’. The court jester intervened, “which three realms – solar, lunar and the stars, or did you mean the purgatory, the abyss and the hell?’. The courtiers laughed and the messenger seemed to lose his nerve even more. He stammered, composed himself and said, ‘your majesty has not paid the tribute as per the practice since your grandfather’s days. You are overdue for six years. My emperor sent me to ascertain the reason’“.

“You should have all seen our revered king at that time. He said ‘Tell your emperor he will get his reason on the battlefield”. I had goosebumps!!”.

The man paused and the crowd prompted him for more – “What happened then?”

“The messenger seemed taken aback. He paused and said ‘If that is the case, my emperor asked you to be ready for the war. The Pallava army would have left Kanchi by now. My emperor asked you to pick the time as well’. Our king responded, ‘We will meet at the banks of Vennar on the full moon day of the month Purattasi.’. The courtiers cheered and chanted “victory to the king!”.

The crowd chanted “Victory to the King!” as well. Ponnan chanted with the crowds and left the place along with Valli.

It was dark now. The moonlight was obscured by white clouds. The street corners had large lamps that were being lit one after another. They started burning, with some smoke.

There was a booming noise from a tall tower somewhere. It made the noise of “boom, boom” with thunderous echoes of ‘aboom, aboom’. The towers, walls and ramparts of Uraiyur amplified the echoes. Ponnan tensed. The veins in his arms stood out.

Valli seemed terrified. “What is this noise? I have never heard anything like this!”.

“These are the drums of war, Valli”

“And what happened to you? You don’t look well”.

Ponnan said, ‘I’m fine, Valli”. After a pause he added, “I really have to go to this war”.

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Next: Book 01: Chapter 04 - Grandfather and the Grandaughter

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Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..

Book 01- Chapter 02: The Royal Family

After Ponnan left, Valli got busy with the domestic chores. She mopped the floor and milked the water buffalo. Then she went to Kaveri and bathed in an area with leaf cover provided by the low branches. She changed her clothes, lit fire and started cooking again. But her mind was restless. She came out, and looked all around, as if she expected something big to happen. Her intuition had been right. After a while, about fifteen horsemen arrived from the direction of Uraiyur, along with two well-groomed white horses and an ivory palanquin. There was no one riding either the horses, or the palanquin. Eight well-built men were carrying the palanquin. They all arrived at the pier. The men put the palanquin down. The horsemen dismounted and tied their horses to the trees. Valli was watching all this with rapt interest.

One of them said, “Let’s go get a drink of water from Valli.”

The other asked “Velappa, why do you need to ask Valli for water? The river is full.”

Velappan said, “Drinking from river is not the same as drinking the water Valli serves!”

They both walked to the hut. Velappan asked Valli for water.

Valli went inside and got them two mud pots full of buttermilk. While they were drinking, she asked “I heard the king is returning to Uraiyur today. Why is he in a rush? He usually stays in the spring palace these months, doesn’t he?”

Velappan said, “Why are you asking us Valli? Ask your husband. There is no royal secret that the royal oarsman does not know!”

Valli said, “Ponnan sat down to eat. The royal messenger brought a message for the king. He went away with the messenger. He did not even finish his breakfast”

“Look at that concern. Befits a devoted wife!”, remarked Velappan.

“Enough! Stop teasing”. Valli blushed.

“Not sure how long we will get to tease you like this Valli”, said Velappan.

“Why do you all talk like this?”

“Did you not hear that there is going to be a war?”

“I heard that, but I’m not sure what the war is for”

“Our king has not paid tributes to the Kanchi emperor, Narasimha Varman. The emperor has returned from the north after his campaign. He has sent messengers asking our king for reasons for defaulting on the tribute. I heard that the messengers will arrive today”

“Why fight a war over this? Why can’t we pay the overdue tributes?”

“Our king does not want to do that. He says he does not want to take a backward step on this matter”

While they were talking, they could see a boat approaching the shore. Velappan and the other man went to join the other soldiers. The boat reached the shore. This was not the ordinary boat that Ponnan rowed across. It was a beautifully crafted royal boat with a towered roof. There were three people on board. They were king Parthiba Chozhan, queen Arulmozhi and prince Vikraman.

They were flanked by two bodyguards who were wearing long swords and were carrying spears. Ponnan and the other men were rowing the boat.  The bodyguards got off the boat first and announced,

“The King of Kings, ruler of the Chozha Realm, King Parthibhan is here!”

All the soldiers put their palms together in respect and responded with “Victory to the king!”

The king got to the shore and looked towards the hut. His sight fell on Valli. He signaled to her to come closer. She hurried closer and prostrated in front of him as a gesture of respect.  The king gestured to her to stand up. Valli respectfully took a spot behind Ponnan.

“Valli, does Ponnan take good care of you?”, asked the king.

Valli was too shy to respond.

The queen said, “Wrong question! She would have responded if you asked her if she takes good care of Ponnan!”

The king laughed and said, “Did you hear that Valli? Take good care of Ponnan. Don’t let him go far. He may rescue someone else, just like he rescued you from the river!”

Valli squirmed with a mixture of pleasure and shyness. Ponnan did not seem to have paid attention to this banter. He put his palms together and said, “Your majesty, please grant me a boon. When you go for war, please take me along.”

The king paused a bit and responded, “Ponna, I know what your wishes are, but I can’t grant them. Your place is here. I’m entrusting you with the job of teaching the prince to swim, in case I don’t return from the war. Do you understand?”

Ponnan and Valli were both in tears. The queen sighed. Who knows what was passing through her mind!

Valli was back to her usual self after the king and his entourage went a fair distance. “Ponna, did you hear the king? You can’t stir from this place without getting my permission.”

“In that case, I will ask you right now. I need to go to Uraiyur this afternoon”.

“What is happening there?”

“Significant things. The messengers from Kanchi are going to be in Uraiyur, asking our king to pay tribute. And the king is going to decline to pay. I have to be there to witness”

Valli imitated Ponnan. She put her palms together and said, “Your majesty, please grant me a boon. When you go to war, please take me along!”

“If you are going to tease me like this, let's forget the whole thing.”

Ponnan really seemed to forget. He was frolicking in the water for a while. However, when he heard the hoof-beats, he got very agitated and got ashore to look. Valli came out to look as well. They saw a horseman carrying a flag with a lion symbol. There were four more horsemen behind him. The horses were galloping towards Uraiyur.

“Who are these people carrying the lion flag?” asked Valli.

Ponnan, who had stood frozen, started, and said “Valli, these people are Pallava messengers. I really need to be in Uraiyur. If you want, come along. You can see your grandfather.”

Prev: Book 01: Chapter 01: The Pier
Next: Book 01: Chapter 03: The Pallava Messengers

Click here for the audiobook version
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..

Book 01: Chapter 01: The Pier

Click here for the Audiobook version

The riverside looked serene. The reddish morning sunlight was adding a golden hue to the currents of river Kaveri. The river’s nickname of ‘Ponni’ (the golden one) seemed apt. A gentle breeze was playing magical tricks on the whirls in the river. The waves collided and sprayed countless droplets that shone like gems, enhancing the magical view of Kaveri.

The shore was covered by banyan trees who had sprawled with the help of aerial prop roots. The trees had gone through the seasonal shedding of leaves and started sprouting new leaves. Sunlight shone on the fresh foliage, making it all glow. There was an emerald green island in the north-eastern direction. A majestic palace with a gleaming golden kalasa was towering above the trees in the island. The morning was pleasantly quiet, and the natural sounds of the riverbank were highlighting the peaceful ambiance. Various types of birds were chirping, making their music. The river’s flow was adding a harmonic drone to the birds’ music. Birds were getting ready to go hunt for prey, and were bidding temporary, affectionate farewell to their chicks.

The lone peepal tree in the middle of all the banyan trees was making rustling noises to advertise its presence. The currents of the river were trying to pull the barges tied to the prop roots of the banyan trees. The ties were too strong. The currents reluctantly pulled away groaning with disappointment.

There was a hut beneath one of the banyan trees. Smoke was coming  out of its chimney. The pleasant smell of kezhvaragu adai, pearl millet pancake was wafting through the air. There was a water-buffalo chewing cud outside the hut. A calf was nearby, glancing up at its mom with wonder.

Hoof-beats disturbed this peaceful ambiance, and grew progressively louder. There was a soldier on a majestic horse that was trotting towards the hut. Both the horse and the rider were drenched in sweat. The soldier dismounted near the pier.

Inside the hut, a young woman was making pancakes. A strapping young man was sitting nearby, eating the pancakes with spinach stew. He smacked his lips appreciatively and said, ‘Valli, I'm not sure how long I will get to eat your delicious pancakes and stew”.

“You keep saying that. Say it one more time, I am going to toss this stove into the river”.

“I’m not kidding Valli. I overheard the conversation between the king and the queen yesterday. There is going to be a war”.

“How does that matter to you? No one is inviting you to the army. You should stay here and row boats”.

“That won’t happen. I am going to request our king to take me to war”.

“And I will ask you to take me along. If you don’t want to take me, just push me in the river before you go. After all you rescued me from the river as I was being swept away”.

“That’s right. That is the plight of the Chozha kingdom now. Men are hiding in their houses and you … Hold on, I can hear someone”. They could now hear the hoof-beats.

The young man perked up. He ran outside without washing his hands. The soldier called out, “Ponna, get the boat out. I have a message for our king”.

Ponnan said “I’ll be right there”, and ran back inside the hut.

Valli was about to pour the batter for another pancake. Ponnan said, “Valli, urgent message from Uraiyur”.

“You and your urgent messages! You can’t be even half full”.

“What can we do? That is part of life as a royal servant!”. He approached her and turned her angry face towards him. Valli smiled, tied her hair up, looked up at him and said “Ok, return soon”. He leaned in towards her.

There was a call from outside, “Ponna, what is taking so long?”

Ponnan, startled, said, “I’m coming” and sprinted out.

Note to the readers: You can navigate to the next chapter using the "Next" link below. Alternatively, you can use the table of contents.

Prev: Preface
Next: Book 01: Chapter 2: The Royal Family

Click here for the audiobook version
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..