Book 01: Chapter 01: The Pier

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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

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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..