A prolific writer, a respected journalist, connoisseur of arts, and a revolutionary, R. Krishnamurthy, better known as Kalki, was a literary giant, whose body of work includes Alai Osai, and his famous trilogy, Parthiban Kanavu, Ponniyin Selvan and Sivakamiyin Sabatham a prequel to Parthiban Kanavu. Kalki’s novels, written between 1941-54, belonged to a historical genre, a mix of drama, action, intrigue and passion. He chronicled social issues, where fact and fiction merged to provide the background for his stories.
“Kalki to most people is the author of one novel – Ponniyin Selvan,”says Gowri Ramnarayan who translated his biography which runs into two huge volumes. She undertook this humungous work, not because he was her grandfather, but because he was an amazing writer, whose ideals and work needed to be exposed to an English-speaking public. He wore many caps, as freedom fighter with Gandhian ideals, social activist, a man whose powerful pen shaped lives with his words, kindling the spirit of the freedom struggle.
His stories were serialised in the popular weekly Ananda Vikatan and the growing sales graph was testimony to the popularity of the series as readers waited impatiently for the next instalment. He published a magazine called Kalki at a time when publishing was rare and had little or no rewards. Rajaji was his mentor.
Translations are necessary in the literary world where the language barrier denies readers great works of literature. It is indeed an onerous task which requires finesse and understanding, a rewrite in a different language without taking away the nuances of the story in the original. To this end, Nandini Vijayaraghavan has done a remarkable job of translating Parthiban Kanavu into English which reads nearly 400 pages. She also translated Sivagamiyin Sabatham. Overcoming the challenges of crossing over to a foreign language, giving expression to aphorisms in the Tamil narrative which are used for everyday conversation, which include local idioms, Nandini Vijayaraghavan has seamlessly presented the storyline with near accuracy to the original. The illustrations by the late S. Gopalan, aka Gopulu add a rich dimension to the book.
The novel, Parthiban’s Dream, describes clashes between the Cholas and Pallavas, and the attempts of Vikramanan the son of the Chola king Parthiban to wrest control of the Chola empire from the Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman 1.
In the 7th century the Cholas were the feudal tenants of the Pallavas to whom they swore homage and allegiance. It was the Chola Emperor Parthiban’s dream that the Chola dynasty be continued and lost glory regained, since independence was plucked from them. His ardent desire was that this dream should be realized by his son Vikramanan. A martyr, he dies on the battlefield fighting bravely for his kingdom, and opens his heart to a compassionate monk who promises to do his best to make Parthiban’s dream come true. A promise of grooming Vikramanan to be a brave soldier with the right values, something that as a father Parthiban could not accomplish together with a resolution to help him regain the Chola Empire.
When Vikramanan grows up he plots his revenge against the Pallavas and plans a takeover, but his designs are botched by his treacherous uncle Marappa Bhupathi who betrays him with vested interests. Consequently, Vikramanan is arrested and exiled to a far-off island by Narasimhavarman.
Enroute, shackled by chains, he sees a beautiful maiden in a palanquin and for the two of them it is love at first sight. After three long years, Vikramanan returns to search for his mother and is haunted by the memory of the young woman whose identity is not known. Both Vikramanan and the maiden hide their identities from one another though they see through the guise much later, after a series of events peel off the layers of subterfuge. The woman is none other than Kundhavi daughter of the sworn enemy Narasimhavarman.
The novel goes through several twists and turns, the suspense is kept intact, and hidden identities are not unraveled till the end. The writer keeps the tension going, and the mystery of the Sivanandayar the monk, is unsolved. Ponnaiyan the boatman and his wife Valli, loyal Chola subjects, play a major role in bringing the events to conclusion.
When the sentence is to be passed on Vikramanan for returning to a place from where he was banished, the monk reveals his identity as the Pallava Emperor Narasimhavarman.
The kidnapped Arulmozhi Parthiban’s wife, taken captive by savages belonging to the Kapalika cult who believe in human sacrifices to appease Goddess Kali, is rescued, and the Emperor himself is rescued by Vikramanan believing him to be an ascetic. The king keeps his word of helping to reinstate Vikramanan as the ruler of an independent kingdom in Uraiyur, and gets his daughter Kundhavi married to Vikramanan.
The novel ends on a happy note. Parthiban’s Dream was ultimately fulfilled three hundred years later as the Chola dynasty passed on from father to son.
Kalki’s writing moves swiftly, so one does not realise that the story spans a little under 400 pages under the skillful pen of the translator.
The writing is quaint and old world, uncomplicated, nevertheless holds the modern reader in thrall, those who savour classics written at a time when styles, narratives, and plots were totally at variance with present day writings. Kalki’s word images takes one back to the days where kings fought to the very end to regain lost empires, and yet kept their humanitarian values intact.
A non-linear narration, the writer takes us through the pages of history, the great divide between the mighty conquerors, going back and forth in a seamless meld of events, where right is upheld against wrong.
Descriptions are so vivid that you can visualise the dark forests, the steeds which carry their riders to their destination with unerring accuracy, the trumpeting of elephants, the clang of swords in the battlefield and the cries of death. No wonder then that Kalki handed over his novel to be made into a film Parthiban Kanavu with the legendary Gemini Ganesh and Vyjayanthimala in the lead roles, a film which encapsuled every detail of the book in a linear flow.
Irrespective of being on opposite sides, valour and integrity are shown up as the most important factors in the main characters. A sworn enemy, the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in disguise, posing as a holy man, keeps his promise to the dying Chola king Parthiban on the battlefield strewn with blood and corpses.
Amidst the series of events that conspires, Naraismhavarman’s unwavering intent to keep his promise to Parthiban is the guiding factor through the course of the novel. Remarkably consistent, he protects Parthiban’s family throughout his life, an unseen protector who clears the debris of evil from their pathways, using the subterfuge of disguise so that he might not be recognised.
Known as an enemy not to be trusted, the Pallava king is fully aware, that if he presents himself in his true form, there would be chaos and suspicion. So he assumes the role of a benefactor whose identity is shrouded in a nebulous veil. Intrigue, arson, plots and sub plots, and murderous intent are the underlying factors of this historically fictitious novel. The reader is kept guessing the ascetic’s identity till the time of denouement at the very end of the book.
And what story is complete without love? A love which in those days was kept under cover, a passion which was reined in dictated by the norms of “decency”. A love where eyes met and conveyed all, and where hearts beat in unison, where love rose beyond the thorny path of familial discord, where two young people just wanted to be together for the rest of their lives. Kundhavi and Vikramanan, each belonging to families which hated one another.
Images move with each word in the novel, in a trajectory of events, acceptable in those times when Kalki wrote the novel, and amazingly, popular even now. His prequel to Parthiban’s Dream, Sivagamiyin Sabatham was another timeless classic.
With the complex run of so many characters, my submission is that the characters be listed with their identities, at the very beginning, which would serve as a referral making the reading of the novel more pleasurable.
I read the novel twice, which is proof enough that I enjoyed being transported to a different century, enjoying the experience.