Ponnan and Valli had plenty to laugh about the next day.
Marappan had arrived with his men and torches when the boat was
leaving. What fuss he made! He had thrown his weight about, issuing orders like
– ‘stop the boat’, ‘don’t leave them’, ‘tie them up’ and ‘check the
boat’. Ponnan and Valli had stayed calm through all this. When the boat
was searched, they had stood out of the way, ashore.
When nothing was found on the boat, Marappan’s face displayed
disappointment and anger. “Where is it?”, he asked.
“Where is what, commander?”, asked Ponnan.
“Whatever you had in your hand”.
“If I had something in my hand, it would still be in my hand,
wouldn’t it?”
Marappan threatened them, but his threats had no effect. His men
even searched the bottom of the tree and river. Nothing was found. Once in a
while, Valli whispered something in Ponnan’s ears and giggled. This annoyed
Marappan even more.
“Why are you making a stealthy trip at this time of night?
Whose boat is this?”
“This is my grandfather’s boat. We are taking it to our pier. We
are leaving now, so we can be there before dawn”, said Valli.
“You stole something from the palace, and hid it somewhere. If you
don’t confess, I will throw you in jail”.
“Which jail?” asked Ponnan.
Valli intervened, “Why are you talking to him? We can sort it all
out with the emperor tomorrow”.
Marappan’s face fell. He lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Then he
sent his men away. He addressed Ponnan in a calmer voice, “Ponna, we have known
each other for a long time. We have had our differences, but they can all be
attributed to your wife’s sharp tongue”.
“Oar is his weapon, tongue is mine”, said Valli.
“Valli, don’t intervene when men are talking”, said Ponnan.
“Oh, you are both men? I can’t tell. Perhaps I can be sure after
daybreak”, muttered Valli.
Marappan said, “Ponna, don’t exclude Valli. She should listen to
what I am about to say. I need some help from you two. If you help me now, I
may be of use to you at some point. Even a small toothpick can be indispensable
at times”.
“If you are a toothpick, God help the teeth”, muttered Valli.
Ponnan said, “What can I do to help you Commander? I am just
a poor boatman!”
Valli intervened again, “No one will believe you if you claim to
be poor. Solid or molten, you can buy whole kingdoms!”, said Valli. His name,
‘Ponnan’ is derived from ‘gold’.
Even Marappan had a smile on his face. “Ponna, your name belies
your modesty. What I meant to talk about was about that fraud, the sage. I have
promised the princess that I will catch him for her. As things are, she is very
angry with the two of you. If you help me catch the sage, I might be able to
put in a word and get you in her good books.”
Ponnan said, “We row boats to make a living. How does anyone’s
anger affect us?”
“So, you won’t tell me where that sage is?”
“I have to know the answer to be able to tell you anything”, said
Ponnan.
“That imposter is in Uraiyur today. Would you swear that he is
not?”
“How can we swear anything? He has magical powers. He can travel
anywhere on a whim”, said Valli.
“Do you swear you don’t know where he is?”
“Yes, I do”, said Valli and Ponnan simultaneously. Indeed, they
were not sure where he was.
“Be that way. If I am a real man, I will catch that sage one day,
peel off his fake beard and reveal his identity. I will teach you both a lesson
too”, said Marappan, and left in a huff.
Valli watched him walk away, and said, “If he finds out who the sage is,
he’d die of shock”, said Valli.
“You were going to tell me the sage’s real identity”.
“You tell me what is in the box first”.
“That is painful for me to think about. If we have indeed lost
that box, how can I face our Queen?”
“What is so precious about it that you fuss so much?”
“It is indeed precious Valli. The box has Emperor Karikalan’s
sword, and the palm scrolls containing Thirukkural. The scrolls are
hand-written by Sage Valluvar himself. King Parthiban handed the box over
to the queen before he headed to the battlefield. He asked her to give the box
to Prince Vikraman when he became an independent king of a country”.
“The box was safe so far in the palace. Why did she ask you to
fetch the box now? Did she want to send it to the prince?”
“How would she send it to the prince? No one knows where he is and
what sufferings he is enduring! No, it was not that. She ordered me to get the
box when she heard that the Pallava Emperor is visiting Uraiyur. Don’t you know
the nature of Pallavas? They covet anything with artwork. They take away
all good sculptors and artists. The only things they can not take are
frescoes and paintings on walls. It is a good thing King Parthiban established
only an art gallery with wall paintings in Uraiyur”.
“Oh, is that so? I did not know!”
“That was the reason I hesitated to give the box to the sage. You
forced me into giving him the box.”
“I thought there was no choice at that time. But my instinct tells
me that the box is safe”.
“I hope you are right. I can’t face the queen otherwise! Now tell
me, who do you think the sage is?”
Valli whispered something in Ponnan’s ear. His jaw dropped in
surprise.
They heard hoofbeats and the noise of palanquin carriers. They
went out of the hut to see who it was.
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..
Art by Sujatha, unless otherwise credited.
No comments:
Post a Comment