If you asked me for one thing that I regret about my schooling, it'd be the fact that I didn't receive a formal education in my native language, Tamil. I learned how to read and write in Tamil at a pretty young age. Yet, I never learned the literature or grammar of the language formally. As a result, all the Tamil I read was in magazines and sign boards when I'm back home in India. I'd started reading Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's autobiography, The Wings of Fire (Agni Siragugal) in Tamil during my bus rides to and from college. But, being a hard core fiction lover, I never found the motivation to finish it. Also, I couldn't read Tamil as easily or as fast as I could read English and I'd just stopped reading the book. Almost four years later, I was intrigued by a Tamil book named Washingtonil Thirumanam (Wedding at Washington) which was about a Tamil Brahmin wedding happening at Washington DC in the 1960's. The book was short and a fun read. Once I finished reading, I wondered why I hadn't read any other Tamil books. My consistent guilt at being a self-proclaimed avid reader who hasn't read anything in her mother tongue, along with the sudden interest I had towards reading Tamil books, encouraged me to read Ponniyin Selvan. It also happened to be probably the most popular and widely loved Tamil novel of all time. Written by Kalki Krishnamoorthy, this 2400 page long historical fiction was set in the 10th century Chola empire. I immediately ordered the entire set (the book is split into 5 volumes) on Amazon. After placing the order, I wondered if I would even like the book since I didn't particularly enjoy reading historical fiction. Also, reading five volumes would take a lot of dedication towards the book. I still decided to go ahead and give this widely loved story, a try.
When I did start reading the first book and was a few pages into it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading. Even then, I pushed myself to continue. The fact that this story is so popular also intrigued me and I had to find out what it was all about. A few chapters into the book and I was hooked! I was drawn into the story and for the three long months (yes, it took me that long) that I was reading it, I also led an alternate life, in the palaces and streets of the Chola empire, being part of political conspiracies and adventurous trips. After reading the first half of the first volume, I realized why this story has such a dedicated fan following. I initially wondered why this story would possibly take 2400 pages. But the author takes you on a trip through the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu and from there to Sri Lanka on a boat. Every scene is so brilliantly described with such rich detail that the reader can easily visualize the situations. I'm not a big fan of very detailed descriptions in books. I like for things to be left to the reader's imagination. However I was not disappointed here. The story ended with a lot of open ended questions, and there's no better way to ensure that the readers don't forget the story soon, than to let them figure out the answers to their questions.
The strongest feature of the story are its multi-faceted characters. The best thing about this story is that it does not overly idealize its characters, maybe except for the character the book was named for - Ponniyin Selvan (Raja Raja Chola I). Interestingly, the book was not named after its title character. The title character is a brave, loyal, witty young man named Vandhiyathevan. The book follows him as he travels through the Chola kingdom to visit the King with a message from his son, the crown prince. Without him realizing, Vandhiyathevan finds himself in the midst of a political conspiracy that would change life as they knew it in the Chola kingdom. As he travels through the kingdom, he meets a lot of interesting people but I was delighted at the fact that the most interesting of them all were the six women he met - Kundavai, Vanathi, Nandini, Poonguzhali, Mandakini and Manimegalai. It was absolutely refreshing to read a story with six strong female characters who were pivotal in driving the plot! Each one of these women were so different from each other. In a way, they were representative of the women we see around us. Not all six of them had always been courageous and strong willed and opinionated, but when the time came, they rose to the occasion and displayed extraordinary courage and determination!
I have always been hesitant to read books that have a lot of hype surrounding them. I usually start reading these books with a lot of expectations and am left disappointed. However this time, I glad I decided to give this story a try. It was not only a wonderful reading experience but has also left me feeling a little closer to Tamil, almost like discovering a connection to my mother tongue that had weakened over time! For a person like me, who fantasizes about traveling the world one day, the road trip-like (or the 10th century equivalent of it, anyway) nature of the story was an absolute treat! Some stories pull you into their world as you read, some stories stay with you long after you finish reading them and some stories make you wish you had met the characters in them. When you find a story that fits into all three categories, it's just perfect! Ponniyin Selvan is one such story.
When I did start reading the first book and was a few pages into it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading. Even then, I pushed myself to continue. The fact that this story is so popular also intrigued me and I had to find out what it was all about. A few chapters into the book and I was hooked! I was drawn into the story and for the three long months (yes, it took me that long) that I was reading it, I also led an alternate life, in the palaces and streets of the Chola empire, being part of political conspiracies and adventurous trips. After reading the first half of the first volume, I realized why this story has such a dedicated fan following. I initially wondered why this story would possibly take 2400 pages. But the author takes you on a trip through the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu and from there to Sri Lanka on a boat. Every scene is so brilliantly described with such rich detail that the reader can easily visualize the situations. I'm not a big fan of very detailed descriptions in books. I like for things to be left to the reader's imagination. However I was not disappointed here. The story ended with a lot of open ended questions, and there's no better way to ensure that the readers don't forget the story soon, than to let them figure out the answers to their questions.
The strongest feature of the story are its multi-faceted characters. The best thing about this story is that it does not overly idealize its characters, maybe except for the character the book was named for - Ponniyin Selvan (Raja Raja Chola I). Interestingly, the book was not named after its title character. The title character is a brave, loyal, witty young man named Vandhiyathevan. The book follows him as he travels through the Chola kingdom to visit the King with a message from his son, the crown prince. Without him realizing, Vandhiyathevan finds himself in the midst of a political conspiracy that would change life as they knew it in the Chola kingdom. As he travels through the kingdom, he meets a lot of interesting people but I was delighted at the fact that the most interesting of them all were the six women he met - Kundavai, Vanathi, Nandini, Poonguzhali, Mandakini and Manimegalai. It was absolutely refreshing to read a story with six strong female characters who were pivotal in driving the plot! Each one of these women were so different from each other. In a way, they were representative of the women we see around us. Not all six of them had always been courageous and strong willed and opinionated, but when the time came, they rose to the occasion and displayed extraordinary courage and determination!
I have always been hesitant to read books that have a lot of hype surrounding them. I usually start reading these books with a lot of expectations and am left disappointed. However this time, I glad I decided to give this story a try. It was not only a wonderful reading experience but has also left me feeling a little closer to Tamil, almost like discovering a connection to my mother tongue that had weakened over time! For a person like me, who fantasizes about traveling the world one day, the road trip-like (or the 10th century equivalent of it, anyway) nature of the story was an absolute treat! Some stories pull you into their world as you read, some stories stay with you long after you finish reading them and some stories make you wish you had met the characters in them. When you find a story that fits into all three categories, it's just perfect! Ponniyin Selvan is one such story.
