In the seventh volume of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Ponniyin Selvan, translated to English by Nandini Krishnan, rival factions converge within the Kadambur Palace as tensions reach a breaking point. Aditya Karikalan answers Nandini’s summons, confronting a past shaped by love and betrayal, while Vandiyadevan senses the growing danger of a conspiracy now taking clearer and more ominous form.
As alliances are forged through strategic marriages and long-buried secrets begin to surface, questions of loyalty and moral duty loom large over the Chozha court. Meanwhile, the mysterious Oomai Rani, brought to Thanjavur, emerges as a figure of profound significance as her hidden past and possible ties to the royal lineage threaten to alter the fate of the empire itself.
Book Excerpt: Bejewelled Crown
14: Will The Dream Come True?
Nandini cupped Manimeghalai’s chin and searched her lovely eyes.
‘My kanmani! It’s best you keep your secret to yourself. It hasn’t even been a day since we first met. You should only let your oldest friends in on matters of the heart.’
No, akka. With you, I have the sense of being around an old friend. My heart wants to confide in you, tell you things I have told no one else. And I have the courage to ask you things I haven’t dared ask anyone else.’
‘Then please do, kanne!’
‘They speak of illusions in stories, of someone appearing before us without actually being there. Is that really possible, akka? Can such a thing happen?’
‘At times. People whom we love dearly, perhaps more than we should, we can sometimes see them even when they’re not really there. Why, you must have heard the story of Mayakannan surely, Manimeghalai? And seen plays staged about the episode? Kamsa was obsessed with his nephew Krishna. And so, he would see the boy everywhere he looked, even when Krishna was not really there. He would aim knives at these visions, only for them to fall on the floor or bounce off the walls. And then, there were gopikas who were in love with Krishna. They too would see him everywhere. They would run to hug pillars and trees, and even the running waters of the river, thinking they saw their beloved Krishna there. Adiye, Manimeghalai, who is the mayakannan who has caught your fancy?’
‘Akka! I first saw him in person only four months ago. Before that, my brother Kandamaaran would speak of him often. But I never saw an image of him in my mind’s eye. It was only after I met him that he began to appear in my dreams. At times, even during the day, I would think I saw him somewhere …’
‘And you saw that mayavi yesterday too, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, akka. How did you know?’
‘Has no one told you about my magical powers?’
‘They have. But is that true, akka?’
‘Why don’t you put me to the test? Would you like me to use my magical powers to divine the identity of the young man who has captured your heart?’
‘Please do. Let’s see. The thing is … I can’t bring myself to speak his name,’ Manimeghalai said, blushing.
Nandini closed her eyes for some time and then opened them.
‘The man who has captivated you is the scion of the Vaanar clan, Vallavarayan Vandiyadevan. Am I right?’
‘Akka! It is certainly true that you possess magical powers!’
‘Adi penne! When you’re so in love with someone, why haven’t you told your brother about it? Why tempt Madurantakar? Why try to persuade Aditya Karikalar? And why drag me all the way here?’
‘Akka! My brother Kandamaaran does not like him …’
‘Why does that matter? Is your brother going to marry him? But … didn’t you say it was your brother who spoke of him to you? And that it was your brother who invited him here?’
‘Yes, it was Kandamaaran who told me about him and who brought him to the antapuram too. But he had a change of heart later. And not without reason. I believe he stabbed my brother in Thanjavur, akka! It seems my brother recuperated from the wound in your palace? And it was your tender care that saved his life?’
‘Your brother has exaggerated my role in this. But let’s leave that aside. What are you going to do now? Your beloved has made an enemy of your brother.’
‘But do you know what he says?’
‘Who is “he”?’
‘He is … him! The person whose name you spoke sometime ago. He swears he did not stab Kandamaaran. Someone else had stabbed my brother and left him to die. And it was he who saved Kandamaaran.’
‘And when did he tell you this?’
‘Yesterday.’
‘So, you saw Vandiyadevan in person yesterday? You said you had an illusion that he was there?’
‘That’s the thing, akka, I’m all confused. I don’t know whether it was really he that I saw, or whether it was an illusion. When I think back to the events of yesterday, I get the sense that it was all a dream. Akka! They say the spirits of the dead can come back and talk to us. Is that true?’
Manimeghalai’s voice was laced with terror as she asked the question. Nandini’s entire body shook and her eyes darted about as she said, ‘Yes, it is! People who die young, who go before their time, their spirits appear before the living. If it is someone who has been beheaded, sometimes the head appears alone, and sometimes the headless body appears. At times, both appear side by side and ask, “Have you avenged my death?”’ With this, she turned to Manimeghalai and asked, ‘Adi penne! Why did you ask me this question? Are you afraid your beloved has met such a fate? Who aroused such a suspicion in your heart?’
Excerpted with permission from Bejewelled Crown (Ponniyin Selvan Book 7), translated by Nandini Krishnan, published by Ekadā, Westland.
