When Ponnan and Valli came out of the hut, they saw something that they had not seen since King Parthiban’s days. A royal entourage was coming from the direction of Uraiyur. Among the group were cavalry, soldiers, well-groomed horses and royal palanquins with pearl and ivory adornments. Ponnan and Valli were surprised to find the entourage stop at the pier.
It was not the only surprise. A set of well-decorated boats were
floating eastward from Uraiyur. At the center of the formation was a beautiful
boat with the lion flag. Ponnan concluded that the Emperor must be on that
boat. While he was speculating if the boat would land at the pier, it appeared
to change direction and cruise towards the spring palace. He wondered if the
Emperor was visiting Queen Arulmozhi. He went to the mango orchard to confirm
his thought with the soldiers. His theory had been right. The emperor, princess
Kundavi, Siruthondar and his wife were visiting the spring palace to see the
queen. They were to cross the river to the pier after the visit. Siruthondar
would travel east to the Chozha country to resume his pilgrimage. The Emperor
and the princess would return to Uraiyur.
Ponnan was dying to know what was going on. He wanted to go to the
spring palace. He told Valli this. She said, “How would it look if you went
there without the Emperor’s orders while he is there? What is the hurry? We
will come to know how the visit went. Just wait!”.
Ponnan was restless but managed to stay put. About an hour and
half later, there was some activity on the other shore. A group appeared on the
dock, boarded the boats and started crossing the river. Ponnan and Valli were
looking at the boats with great interest as they crossed. As the boats
approached, the occupants became clear. The Emperor and an ascetic with shaved
head were on board the boat with the lion flag. The other boat had three women
on it. Did one of them not look like Queen Arulmozhi?
It was indeed queen Arulmozhi. When the boats docked and everyone
stepped out, Ponnan and Valli had eyes and ears for only one person. They
touched Arulmozhi’s feet and stood transfixed, looking at her face.
Queen Arulmozhi said in a broken voice, “Valli and Ponna, I can’t
bear to stay alone here. I am going on a pilgrimage to holy sites. Please don’t
worry about me. Continue to stay here. If I ever come back…”. At this point,
Arulmozhi saw that Ponnan and Valli were in tears. She teared up as well, and a
lump in the throat seemed to prevent her from finishing her sentence. She
grabbed the arm of Siruthondar’s wife and moved on.
That day, the currents of Kaveri seemed to compete with the flow
of tears. The Emperor and Siruthondar shed tears as they said goodbye to each
other. When Kundavi bade farewell to Arulmozhi and Siruthondar’s wife, they all
shed copious tears.
The group traveling east left first. Siruthondar climbed into a
palanquin alone. His wife and Arulmozhi occupied the other palanquin. Servants
and maids followed the palanquins. Horsemen were placed in front of the
travelers, and behind them.
After they left, Ponnan remembered something. He ran to the
palanquin that Arulmozhi was in. The queen stopped the palanquin, and asked,
“Ponna, why are you so agitated?”
Ponnan started saying, “Ma’m..”, then paused, looking indecisive.
Arulmozhi said, “Looks like you have something confidential to
say. Go ahead. You can speak freely in this lady’s presence”.
“My queen, your instructions on the box…”
“Did you get the box?”, asked Arulmozhi eagerly.
“Yes…. No! I will soon get it. But what to do with…”, stammered
Ponnan.
After a thoughtful pause, Arulmozhi said, “You have to safeguard
the box. I was going to leave the box in your custody in any case. If he comes
when I am not here…”. She finished in muffled sobs.
“As you command, my queen. I will hand it over to the prince”,
said Ponnan tearfully. The palanquin went on.
When Ponnan returned, he saw that Kundavi was standing beside her
palanquin, crying, and the Emperor was consoling her. Ponnan heard her say, “I
thought I had gained a mother. That did not last.”
Kundavi got into her palanquin. The Emperor mounted his horse.
They set off towards Uraiyur.
When he returned to the hut, Valli was in tears as well. She said,
“I wish I had known. I would have offered to go with our queen. What would I do
here without her?”
Ponnan mustered some courage, and said, “You talked brave words,
but have proven that you are a woman, after all”.
They heard hoof-beats outside again. They came out and saw that
the Emperor had returned alone on horseback. He asked, “Ponna, you intend
to stay here at the pier, don't you? You are not looking to relocate elsewhere?”
“I will be here, your majesty. I am not going anywhere”.
“I have ordered that the palace boat be left here. Princess
Kundavi may want to come here to stay in the spring palace for a while. You
will need to row her across on those occasions”.
“As you command, your majesty!”
“There is one more thing. A friend of mine, a Shaivite sage, asked
me to give you a box. It is at the bottom of the boat. Take it”, said the
Emperor, and turned to look at Valli.
Valli, who was staring at his face, looked down with a shy smile.
The Emperor’s horse galloped away.
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.
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