Historical novel

THE KILLER SWORD - Kalki's ``Ponniyin Selvan'': Translated by C. V. Karthik Narayanan; Macmillan India Ltd., 21 Patullos Road, Chennai-600020.

Rs. 250.

IT IS only with Kalki that one can get away while presenting a literal translation and still remain eminently readable. Such was the camaraderie with readers achieved by his action - studded style when he launched upon the massive historical novel, Ponniyin Selvanhalf a century ago. Those were the days of weekly excitement as well as anxious expectation when the work was serialised in the Kalki.

The translator, who had been in his early teens at that time was caught in Kalki's net and has never been able to come out of the magnetism of Nandini's killer-eyes, Vandiyathevan's exploits that often resemble those of Don Quixote, Arulmozhivarman's princely ways, the hootings of the owl, the howlings of the jackal. For Narayanan it has been a labour of love, plodding through the hackery of translating the liveliness of Kalki's Tamil. But love's labour has not been lost. The book takes us to the centre- point of the novel where Nandini's charms set her at the apex of power. The plot to kill Aditha Karikalan thickens and the translation reads very well.

While Kalki's characters perfect the art of eavesdropping, there is the marvellous foretelling of the future when Arulmozhivarman, in a feverish frenzy, speaks of his dream-visions to rebuild the Buddhist Choodamani Vihara and construct immense temple structures for Shiva: ``Look at the Nandi, he's growing bigger! It's growing larger and larger, it's pierced through the roof! It's grown sky high! Here come the demons! They look at Nandi with deference and ask his permission to have a darshan of Siva. If Nandi is so big, how big will the temple where Siva dwells be? Shouldn't we build a gopuram as tall as the sky and call it Dakshina Meru, the Meru of the south? Shouldn't the prakaram, the corridor around it, be large enough to be in keeping with it? The temples in the Chozha country are now fit only for the short Rishi Agasthya, not for Siva.''

The love of Kundavi and Vandiyathevan, Arulmozhi and Vanathi, Poonkuzhali and Chenthan Amudhan and the loveless thirst for revenge exhibited by Nandini certainly made the novel very popular in the past. However, there were also other things that caught the purposeful attention of the readers. For instance, a single chapter presenting Thirunaraiyur Nambi and the manner in which Sembianmadhevi caused the Thevaram hymns to be collected, lit in our hearts a lasting love for the poems. Sundarar's decads on Madurai, Thiruvarur and Kodikarai were placed in appropriate contexts and even those readers who would not normally reach out for such hymns came to love them. Large patches of narrative containing information about Buddhism, the Choodamani Vihara of Nagapattinam and the Buddhist places of worship in Lanka enlarged the general knowledge of the common reader. Such was the ancient Tamil land, was it? Kalki helped the common reader with footnotes on the ancient history of Tamil Nadu as well.

Yet another aspect of Kalki's historical novels is the return to a heroic past as imaged in his novels. The old ``pure'' Tamil words like ``aapathuthavi'', Poonkuzhali and Arulmozhivarman as well as caste/class/professional sobriquets (Pazhuvettaraiyar, Vellar, Kantan Maaran, Vallavaraiyan) sank deep in Tamil consciousness and perhaps gave a helping hand to the Tamilisation of proper names in the 1960s (Narayanaswami - Nedunzhezhian, Somasundaram - Mathiazhagan). The anxiety to bring out forgotten heroes like Perumpidugu Mutharaiyar and Veeran Azhakumuthu Kone also could be traced to the enthusiasm generated by Kalki's historical novels that were followed by the works of writers like Akilon and Sandilyan.

Thus, Karthik Narayanan's undertaking will be widely welcomed by researchers. Linkages become easier for the non-Tamil reader when he can have access to such a dependable translator. Personally, it was a wonderful experience to keep ``Kolai Vaal'' and ``The Killer Sword'' side by side and read both to find that very little has been lost in the translation.

It is true we miss some proverbs as the one that compares the cyclone to lumpen elements, but this is understandable. Or, for no reason, the paragraphs get jumbled up (chapter two) though without affecting the trend of the narrative.

Why should Kalamukar be referred to as Kalamuhar? Why not a note to signify Alavai as another name of Madurai? Why was not ``Thazhambu'' translated? If the original Tamil word was felt needed, why has it been missed out in the glossary?

Alas, perfection always eludes the translator, but the hero as translator does not look behind. So the march is on towards the fourth volume, that has several dramatic episodes including the watch of dumb queen Mandakini gazing at the aged, ailing Emperor Sundara Chozhar and the delirious scene of Nandini acting like Lady Macbeth, instigating her aged husband to murder the crown prince. We shall await the English version with quiet expectation.

PREMA NANDAKUMAR

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Feudalism in Indian Society
Next     : Rehabilitating the disabled