Ponniyin Selvan -The Great Novel

In the early hours of the evening, a young warrior rode on horseback along the banks of the Veeranarayana Lake. The horse was tired, the cavalier didn't push it too hard. He rode at ease, enchanted by the beauty of the lake. He was called Vallavarayan Vandhiya Dhevan… Thus begins one of the most celebrated historical novels ever written in Tamil – Ponniyin Selvan.Readers in the 1950s were addicted to it. Even now, 60-odd years after it was written, the novel is hugely popular. Walk into any lending library today and ask for Ponniyin Selvan, and you are likely to be told, “Sorry, all copies are in circulation.” You need to give them a few days' notice if you want to borrow that book.

“There are readers who have read Ponniyin Selvan over 150 times. What is it that makes this novel so special that people read it over and over again? “

“True, it's a page-turner, fast-paced and all that. But, the reason what I felt to reread is that no matter what goes wrong, you know help will arrive. You know the battle will be won, peace will be restored. It's a good feeling,” And it is never bored. “

Besides, I do not always read the entire novel. I reread only my favourite chapters.I enjoy Kalki's writing style. He gets straight to the plot without any frills. Sandilyan is good at descriptions of people and places .I wanted to find out how Raja Raja Chola was in real life.Ponniyin Selvan holds an irresistible attraction even to those not well versed in Tamil.

Remember that this novel came in the weekly magazine "KALKI" in the 1950's.. I always used to wonder how people could contain their excitement till they got to read the next chapter... the plot is woven such that the suspense is carried throughout the novel.... Kalki would have written in such a way that at any given point the story will go in different places, be it Kodiyakarai, Thanjavur, ilangai, Nagapattinam or Pazhayaarai - He will carry the story back and forth between these places and he would leave a suspense waiting at the end of every chapter...

Ponniyin Selvan - though it is hailed as a great historic novel, was written only based on some historic facts surrounding the death of Adhithya Karikaal Cholan and how RajaRaja Cholan ascended the throne. It is written in simple tamil and though kalki quotes certain poems from Tamil Literature he has explained the meaning in a simple manner. I used to get up really early in the morning and go to sleep late in the night to read "Ponniyin Selvan", for two months the only thing i was doing other than taking care of kavin was reading "Ponniyin Selvan".

The story of Raja Raja Chola and his kith and kin, the heroic women, the secrets within the castle walls, the valour and tales of adventure and love are lessons in history in their own way.I want to visit thanjavur immediately while reading third part itself..After travelling alongwith Vanthiyathevan, after walking with Kundavai and Nandini in the palaces of Thanjavur, After swimming with Arulmozhi varman and poonguzhali i felt really lonely when the novel ended... so i started to look into online forums to get more information related to the novel . When I visited Thanjavur, I was overwhelmed. I was thrilled to be standing where Raja Raja Chola and his people lived over 1,000 years ago.”

Now I got Raja RajaCholan fever ....So my medicine is Udayar by Balakumaran .This novel deals with the building of the Tanjore Temple, depicting in detail the mindset of the people, Rajaraja chola's courtiers and relatives. It also throws light on the significance of the various innovations that were done during the building of the temple. Some parts of this story also deals with the death of Aditya Karikalan, Rajaraja's brother.