Ponnan’s journey to Uraiyur was uneventful. He headed straight to his aunt’s house, where Valli had been staying in his absence. Valli was not the chirpy young woman that we may recall. She appeared tired, both in mental and physical terms. One reason had been the setbacks to the Chozha royal family, whom she was devoted to. She was missing Ponnan too.
Hence, she cheered up on seeing Ponnan. She welcomed him, held
both his hands and led him inside. “I had been wondering if you sailed away as
the prince had. I even feared that someone might have sacrificed you to Kali! I
went to pray to the goddess and offered my life in place of yours. What news do
you bring? Tell me you have good news!”, she talked breathlessly.
“I have good news, bad news and neutral news. Before I get into
all that, I’m dying of hunger. It has been a while since I had the Adai,
the millet pancake cooked by your hands. I have been longing for good food. I
had been eating whatever I could find on the way, and…”
“Oh, you must have been starving! Is that why you have put on
weight? It must be all the worry”, said Valli, looking at him up and down.
“Have I put on weight? You seem to have lost weight. Did you
worry? About me?”
“Yes, but now I think I shouldn't have. We will discuss all that
later. First, tell me your news. I have some news for you as well.”
“Briefly, our prince Vikraman has returned.”
“What! Really?!”, asked Valli eagerly.
“Yes, I saw him with my own eyes and talked to him.”
“Where is he now?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s a secret!”.
“Fine then, tell me later.”
“We are close to finding the queen’s whearabouts. The sage is
searching for her. He would have located her by now.”
“Ah, the sage!”
“Valli, you are sneaky! You knew who the sage was but did not tell
me. I ripped his fake beard off and discovered his identity!”
“Really? Who is he then?”
“Who else? He is your late grandfather, Veerabadra Achari!”
Valli had a smile on her face. “This won’t do. Start from the time
you took leave from me, and tell me everything.”
“First, light the stove.”
Valli lit fire and started cooking. Ponnan told her about his
journey in detail. Then he asked, “Didn’t you say you have news for me? What is
it?”
Valli said, “Marappan has been here several times in the last four
days. He has been boasting that he is now the commander of the Chozha army. It
has been unbearable. He has been fishing for information, with questions like,
‘I heard there is a gem merchant from Senbaga Island. Is it true that he is
staying in the Spring palace island?”. He has been trying to get me to talk,
but I have denied any knowledge. He has been coming here to check whether you
have returned. He may return today.”
Ponnan was thoughtful. After a pause, he said, “Valli, there is no
time to waste. I need to go to the spring palace island this evening. Have you
locked the hut up? Is the boat safe?”
“It is all safe, but what pretext will you use to go to the
island?”
“The emperor asked me to row for the princess when she visits. I
can go to enquire what she needs.”
“I don’t understand why the sage has been creating these
awkward situations. When is he going to emerge out of his guise?”
“I asked. He said he needs to keep up the guise until he can
fulfil his promise to King Parthiban.”
They finished the meal, walked along the bank of Kaveri and
reached their hut. They unlocked the hut, fetched the boat from the hut and
dropped it in the river. Ponnan promised Valli that he would return before the nightfall and set
off in the boat towards the island.
Ponnan was delighted to be back rowing his boat in Kaveri.
However, when he remembered his days as the oarsman for the Chozha royal
family, he teared up. ‘Will I be able to meet the prince today?’, he thought.
‘I wonder if he has fully recovered. Even if I can speak to him, will I be able
to talk to him in a private setting?’. He was lost in these thoughts and had
not noticed that he was close to his destination. He was approaching a remote
part of the island. He decided to leave the boat there and make discrete
enquiries.
When he raised his eyes to look at the riverbank, he could not
believe his eyes. Prince Vikraman was standing there! He had one leg in the water and the other on solid ground. He was
looking eagerly at the boat as it approached. Ponnan rowed with increased vigor
and reached the riverbank.
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