Ponniyin Selvan-Kalki

[s ramaswamy]

(some corrections to my earlier posting)

Hi, I am new to this forum, but I am a kalki fan out and out from my childhood and have read ponniyin selvan, sivakimiyin sabadam and paarthiban kanavu endless no of times and also possess copies of these novels, thankfully sold at a very reasonable price, at home.

Ponniyin Selvan is easily Kalki's magnum opus and the last major completed novel he wrote before he died of asthma in 1954 aged 55. He died very young, but had accomplished ten times what people double that age would accomplish in their lifetime!

Since this topic relates to PS, I would mention a few things that have struck me about this extraordinary novel. It's one of the major works of world literature, whether anyone else agrees to this or not. The twists and plots in this novel, as also its predecessor Sivakamiyin Sabadam (correction), take the breath away every time one reads it.

The sweep of the novel is so vast and the characters so many that one may excuse Kalki had he not done justice to even a minor one like vaithiyar magan pinakapani. But he has done justice to all, including the reprehensible character Pinakapani who, I think, deserves the way he dies finally, killed by the spear thrown at him by (sorry got it wrong first) Kandamaran who thinks the man crossing the river is his bete noire vandiyathevan.

The other characters who come to be hated by the readers are Kandamaran (Kandan Maravel) and Pallava Parthibendran. Both are drawn to the extraordinary beauty of Nandini, a male version of Neelakesi (naganandi adigal of Sivakimiyin Sabadam), like moths to the flame and are consumed totally, making them look like total idiots to the reader's eyes.

One of the finest characters in this novel is Chinna Pazhuvettarayar, who stands by his brother throughout though is constantly trying to warn him about Nandini. His is an outstanding character of fierce loyalty to his elder brother and the chola kingdom.

What abt Nandini? Another outstanding piece of work by Kalki, as good, if not better, as Naganandi, the Budha Bikshu in Sivakamiyin Sabadam. Both are crucial to the plot of the two novels.

And what about Kalki's fertile imagination> Can any one come near his art of tying fiction with fact in his own inimitable style? I have read Chandilyan's novels. They are good, like Kadal Pura and Yavana Raani, but pale in comparison to Kalki's magnificent double whammy.

And one more pice of info. Kalki wrote Parthiban Kanavu, which actually is a continuation of Sivakamiyin Sabadam, before the latter novel.