Fiction: Ponniyin Selvan has vanished after a devastating shipwreck off the coast of Lanka

No old man who marries a young woman is exempt from feeling a gnawing suspicion towards all strangers. In the world of doubt and anxiety from which they have no escape, it is but natural for them to feel irritated by any younger man. Pazhuvettaraiyar had reason for more irritation than usual. He didn’t like it one bit when Nandini stood before him and spoke directly to other men. But he couldn’t bring himself to snub her either.

And so, he decided to drop a hint. “Rani!” he said, before Parthibendran could respond, “The world is very large, and there are millions of people whom we don’t know. We can’t know every one of them, surely! And it is no great loss either.”

Parthibendran said, at once, “Aiya! It is no loss in the slightest for the queen consort of this beloved king of Pazhuvoor not to know who I am. The loss is entirely mine. And so, please permit me to introduce myself. Ammani! They call me Parthibendra Pallavan.”

“Oh! Is that so? Why, then, I have heard your name!” Nandini said.

“Parthibendra! Why would you introduce yourself with just your name, leaving out all the honours and epithets to which you’re entitled? Nandini! He is not just Parthibendran. He is Vengiyum Kalingamum Vendru Veerapandiyan Thalaikkonda Parthibendra Pallavan – Parthibendra Pallavan, Conqueror of Vengi and Kalinga and Beheader of Veerapandiyan!” Pazhuvettaraiyar said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

For a moment, Nandini’s face was as a dark cloud in a stormy sky. Two bolts of lightning shot from her eyes and disappeared at once.

The next moment, she laughed.

“Aiya! How many men lay claim to this title, Beheader of Veerapandiyan? Is anyone keeping count?” she asked.

“Ammani! The Dhanadhikari is being all too generous to me. To tell you the truth, I cannot lay claim to that title. Aditya Karikalar is the lone claimant to the honour of having beheaded Veerapandiyan.”

“Why are you being so dismissive, son? Don’t you want any part in the glory of having trampled on a dead snake?” Pazhuvettaraiyar said mockingly, and snorted with laughter.

“No, arase, no! Aditya Karikalar did not kill a dead snake! When he raised his sword, Veerapandiyan was very much a living snake. A woman as beautiful as Mohini from Devaloka stood between them. She went down on her knees and pleaded with Aditya Karikalar to spare Veerapandiyan’s life. If I’d been in his place, I’d have flung my sword to one side. Veerapandiyan would have lived,” Parthibendran said, his eyes fixed on Nandini although he was addressing her husband.

Nandini, aware that the conversation was taking a dangerous turn, smiled at Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar. “Nadha, why are we wasting our time on these old stories now? We haven’t asked our guest on what mission he has made the journey here.”

At once, Pazhuvettaraiyar said, “Yes, thambi, why are we retelling the same old tale? Tell us your tale, now. Why have you laid anchor here?”

Parthibendran, who had lost possession of his senses after having laid eyes on Nandini, now remembered why he was here.

“Aiya! Do forgive me. I’ve gone on and on, without telling you the crucial news I bring. I have terrible news, news that would sink all of Chozha Naadu into an ocean of sorrow. Prince Arulmozhi Varmar, who boarded this ship with me at Eezham, jumped off the deck during the storm at sea. We have no idea what became of him. I came here to see if he had made it to this shore. I was hoping I would find him alive and well.”

Before he could finish his speech, Pazhuvettaraiyar hollered, “What! What are you saying!”

As he spoke, he fell to the ground, as a giant tree that had been uprooted by the cyclone.

Parthibendran leapt forward to lift him up, but Nandini blocked his path and gripped the hand he had extended. Shoving Parthibendran’s arm aside, she sank down to the ground by her husband’s side, cradled his head with her delicate hands and laid him gently on her lap.

“Water!” she called. “Someone bring me water!”

A servant ran forward with water. Several soldiers came running too, as did the keeper of the lighthouse, along with his family.

Nandini commanded them, in an authoritative tone, to stand aside. She sprinkled some water on Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar’s face.

‘Nadha!’ she cooed to him softly. ‘Nadha …’

The old man came to, within a few minutes. And then he remembered what he had heard.

“Nandini! Did I dream it all? Did I really hear what I did? What did this Pallavan say? He said the sea had swallowed Ponniyin Selvan, didn’t he? When that strapping young man was a toddling boy, I have hoisted him up on my shoulders and delighted in his laugh at our little game. And it was with those very hands that once held his small body that I placed the seal on the scroll ordering his arrest. Aiyo! What will Chozha Naadu say about me? How will the people remember me?” Pazhuvettaraiyar cried, and began to bang his head against his enormous hands.

Nandini had never imagined this war hero, hard as diamond and unbreakable as steel, could ever break down and sob like this. No one had ever seen him in such a state.

“Nadha! Don’t panic. He hasn’t finished what he was saying. Let’s hear him out, and then decide the next course of action,” Nandini said.

“Yes, you’re right. Parthibendra, make it quick. You said Ponniyin Selvar had drowned in the sea, didn’t you? You said he’s dead, didn’t you? Is that true? Or have you been driven by evil intentions to make up such a heinous story? You’re dancing before a starving tiger, you hear? Beware!” Pazhuvettaraiyar said, his eyes blazing.

“Aiya, please forgive me for contradicting you, but I did not say the prince was dead. I cannot believe that Tamizhagam could have incurred such a terrible loss. I only said he jumped off my ship at the height of the tempest. He might have got out alive, by the grace of God. He might have been washed ashore. It was hoping against hope I would find him here that I made my way to Kodikkarai.”

“He jumped off the ship at the height of the tempest, you say! Why? Why did he jump? And why did he board your ship in the first place? What were you doing when he jumped?” Pazhuvettaraiyar fired question after question at Parthibendran.

Nandini cut in at this point. “Aiya, the story must begin from an earlier point. Let him tell us what he was doing in Lanka in the first place.”

“Yes, start at the beginning and tell me everything. Don’t you dare lie! If you don’t speak the truth, you will not have a chance of escaping from here. I …” Pazhuvettaraiyar growled at Parthibendran, gnashing his teeth as he spoke.

Excerpted with permission from Deathly Sword, Kalki, translated from the Tamil by Nandini Krishnan, Ekada/Westland.