The audiobook version is posted here.
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..
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.
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..
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