It was about four hours after dusk. Peace reigned in Uraiyur. The lamps on the lampposts at street intersections started going out, having run out of oil. The segment of Kaveri river between Srirangam and Uraiyur was shrouded in darkness. It was the fourth night past the new moon day, and a cloudy one at that. There were a few drops of rain as well.
On such a dark night,
you could hear the noise of a boat cutting through the water. You could make
out a boat travel from east to west, hugging the shore of the river. Someone
was seen seated at the boat. Another person was pulling the rope attached to
the boat, while walking along the shore. If you look carefully, you would
recognize both the figures. Ponnan was the one pulling the boat. Valli was
seated on the boat and was carrying a basket. There was a lamp inside the
basket. Valli had covered the basket to protect the flame from the
breeze.
It was not an easy task
to pull the boat against the currents at such a dark night. The task was made
even harder by the tree roots, pavilions and steps, which were making the shore
uneven. Ponnan braved all these obstacles and was making good progress. A tall
figure was following the boat, lagging about hundred meters. The figure stopped
when the boat stopped and resumed when the boat moved. If we look carefully, we
would realize that it was Marappa Bhupathi. Quietly following Marappa Bhupathi
along the same shore was another tall figure. It was a sage with braided hair
and a beard. Yes, the same sage whom we had met on the Vennar battlefield and
in Ponnan’s hut.
When it was almost
midnight, Ponnan stopped the boat and said in a quiet voice, “Valli, we have
reached the spot. Get off the boat.”
Almost instantly, the
bell of Sri Ranganatha temple tolled, announcing midnight prayers. The
noise rang out in the quiet night, and seemed to spread out in waves into the
night sky. Ponnan and Valli shuddered a bit.
Ponnan said, “The bell is a good omen Valli. We are going the succeed in the quest!”
Valli got off the boat
carefully. Ponnan tied the boat to the tree roots. They climbed ashore and walked
along the fortifying wall along the river. They reached a locked door. Ponnan
took a key from his waistband and opened the lock. As they opened the door and
entered, they were greeted by the fragrance of the Champaka flowers.
Ponnan said, ‘How nice
these flowers smell! You have not had a chance to the enter the palace garden
before this”.
Valli said, “Keep the
voice down!”
“Don’t be afraid, just
follow me!”
“My only fear is that
you make too much noise”.
They both walked into
the Champak garden.
Marappan got to the same
door. He latched the door from outside. Then he climbed down the river bank, untied
the boat from the tree root and let it float away. And he started walking
quickly along the wall.
The boat floated towards the sage, who caught it and tied it to a tree root. He climbed up the riverbank, went to the door and undid the door latch. He went back to the tree the boat was tied to; and sat down behind the tree.
At that time, there was
a group of people on the other shore, carrying torches. Those torches moved
gradually. In a while, they were in the middle of the river, indicating that those
people were crossing the river by boats. The boats reached the shore to the
east of where the sage was seated. People got ashore. Among the group were
Kundavi, Siruthondar and his wife. General Achutha Varman, who was ruling
Uraiyur as the Emperor’s regent, was at the head of the group. The rest of the
entourage, along with the servants, was at the rear of the group. They must
have been returning from the midnight prayers at the Ranganatha Temple. The
emperor was conspicuously absent from the group. As the group came ashore, the
torches lit up the riverside. The sage withdrew further behind the tree to hide
himself from view and stood motionless, breathing very quietly.
The group went into the city. After the torches faded away, the riverside looked even darker. The sage came out from behind the tree and sat near the boat. His eyes and ears were focused on the door, waiting for it to open.
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..
Art by Sujatha, unless otherwise credited.
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