by SI Blog reader Racer44
(Parts 4-5)
Note: Visitors are advised to read Ponniyin Selvan – A Masterpiece from a Master Raconteur (Parts 1-3) before proceeding further.
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The fourth part of the mammoth saga begins with the Crown Prince Adithya Karikaalan reaching the borders of Kadambur with Parthibendra Pallavan and Kandhamaran in tow after having accepted Nandhini’s invitation to see her there. His maternal grandfather Thirukkovalur Malaiyamaan also accompanies Karikaalan but takes his leave outside Kadambur with a final warning to Karikaalan not be gulled by false tears and deceitful ways of women. But Karikaalan is deaf to his grandfather’s wise counsel. His metamorphosis is complete. Torn by insecurity and ever-increasing paranoia as he draws closer and closer to Kadambur, Karikaalan has been reduced, mentally, to little more than a long-suffering wraith, haunted at all times by memories of his final meeting with Nandhini, and even half-believing that executing Veerapandiyan was a monumental folly. Prone to delusions and wild mood swings, Karikaalan constantly keeps his companions on tenterhooks with his stinging barbs and mordant wit.
A trademark of all of Kalki’s novels is a penchant to clearly carve out each of his characters as living breathing human beings who have underlying motives for all their actions. Not for him are the ersatz emotions and sketchy character development. A classic example here is that of Malaiyamaan. He is not just Adithya Karikaalan’s maternal grandfather, but has his roots deep in history. His family had traditionally been bitter enemies of the Kadambur Sambuvarayars, before coming under the common umbrella of the Sozha empire. This clannish rivalry, further fueled by reports of Sambuvarayar offering his daughter’s hand in marriage to Karikaalan, impels him at a basic level to at least try to stop Karikaalan. Thus, piece by piece, we are familiarised with the manifold reasons behind Malaiyamaan’s failed bid to prevent Karikaalan from embarking on his journey. Malaiyamaan also suspects that the marriage “deal” will just be one of the baits to divide the kingdom. To this too he is firmly opposed, as his grandson would be deprived of half the empire and the resulting smaller kingdom would be untenable to defend against their northern foes. And, last but not least, Malaiyamaan acutely fears for Karikaalan’s life, only knowing too well his susceptibility to Nandhini’s charms and sensing that some deeper conspiracy is afoot at the palace, whose ends he cannot foretell.
Meanwhile, at a temple near the outskirts of Kadambur, Vandhiyathevan and Azhwaarkadiyaan come across a band of Pandiya cabal members climbing out of a subterranean secret passage way and, on an impulse, Vandhiyathevan jumps into the same tunnel to track it to its end. His hunch proves right as the secret tunnel leads him to one of the rooms in the Kadambur palace. After a couple of perilously close encounters with the Pandiya plotters at the palace, Vandhiyathevan once again escapes and joins Azhwaarkadiyaan near the palace perimeter. Stealing a couple of horses from soldiers of the battalion announcing the entry of Periya Pazhuvettarayar and Nandhini, both of them set off to meet Karikaalan along the route to Kadambur. They meet his company along the way, but apart from Karikaalan himself who greets them with much bonhomie, there is a distinctly cold welcome to their out-of-the-blue appearance as accusations and recriminations are traded back and forth between Kandhamaran (who claims he was stabbed in the back by Vandhiyathevan inside the dungeons of the Thanjavur treasury) and Parthibendran (who is keen to know how Vandhiyathevan made it alive out of Sri Lanka and what happened to Prince Arunmozhi Varman who had gone to rescue him) on one side and Vandhiyathevan on the other. Peace is enforced by Karikaalan who promises to look into each ones’ grievances and deliver justice. Azhwaarkadiyaan departs for Thanjavur after delivering Prime Minister Brahmmarayar’s warning to Karikaalan on his stay at Kadambur. Continue reading »
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