Stirring up the Hornet's nest - Kalki's Sivakamiyin Sabatham reviewed

It was 12:30 AM Tuesday night, when I finally made up my mind to go through Kalki’s so called Magnum opus Sivakamiyin Sabatham (SS). It’s tough to shed your prejudice on something when you actually get into it, especially when the person is highly opinionated. Trust me, with years of reading and my acquaintances with various authors and their books, I’ve practiced to give up my dogmatic approach towards books when I take them up for a study.

I’ve asked myself a question more than 100 times so far!

Why did it take so long for me to grab and apprehend a great (?) work which is 40 years elder to me! Something that has spanned across 3 generations now but still remains the heart throb of Thamizh literary lovers. Something that my grandpa, grandma and dad have read more than 50 times.

The answer is, the climax of the story is disconsolate :-)

I decided not talk anything more on SS until I complete the novel.

Being first of it’s kind, Kalkiyin SS is a “Puthinam” that has a story built against true historical incidents. I’ve heard that it created waves when it was published as a serial in Thamizh weekly “Kalki” for the first time in 1944. From there on till date, it has been published for more than 10 times now in the same weekly owing to Vaasagar’s request and needless to say that it’s reception is overwhelming even today. It’s 50 years now! Mr. Kalki has become Amarar Kalki wherein his works stay young like “markandeyars” and induces the same quantum (in fact more) of excitement and enthusiasm in readers when they read them.

Kalki’s Modus operandi is amazing. He takes us across various locations, various characters, various happenings here and there where everything ends in a secret knot. He further takes us down while we succumb to his style of writing, to our surprise the knot will be fastened at an unexpected juncture revealing the hidden truth. After a point we get addicted to his style of writing that we can never put the book down and the desire to know the secret behind the knots desperate us. I still wonder how people held their breath for a week before the next episode can be read, when it was first published.

SS was no exception to his style of writing. It took me on and on and on for 3 days and this Saturday morning 4 AM I was done. To my disappointment, I realized that it didn’t captivate me to an extent the other puthinams of Kalki or other authors did. When I told this to my omniscient friends, they were surprised.
Wait.. Let me explain!

SS revolves around the incidents that happened during 7th century AD, in the southern and south central part of Bharath (it wasn’t India then). It has one of Bharath’s greatest kings Narasimhavarman I as the hero of the plot.

The History:
Pulikesi was then the greatest Chalukyan ruler who even defeated the colossal Harshavardhana. Harsha ruled the northern part of Bharath from Kamboja. No wonder that his expedition to Kanchi was successful during the reign of Pallava ruler Mahendravarman I, father of Narasimhavarman I. Mahendra was very wise, highly qualified and a benevolent despot. Though Pulikesi’s expedition was successful and he besieged Kanchipuram (the capital of Pallavas), Kanchi never fell, as Mahendra was amazing in his war strategy and planning. A frustrated Pulikesi and his soldiers on their way back home, set fire to hundreds of villages in pallava kingdom, killed warriors and civilians, raped and kidnapped women, disabled elderly ones, artists and craftsmen.
When Mahendra tried to fight this, he was mortally wounded in a battle at Manimangalam. Narasimhavarman I was crowned the ruler of Kanchi then in 632 AD. He prepared himself for 9 long years to fight the mighty Pulikesi and in 642 AD, he marched with an ocean of battalion towards Vathapi. He and his notable general Paranjothi, annihilated pulikesi’s army, killed him and set vathapi ablaze.

The plot:
Kalki introduced Sivakami as Narasimhavarman’s love interest. She was quoted an incredible dancer and the only daughter of a poor sculptor in Pallava kingdom. Pulikesi on his way back to Vathapi, kidnaps Sivakami. She takes a wow after reaching vathapi, that she will not step out of the Chalukyan capital, until Narasimha comes with his army to destruct pulikesi and his capital and liberate her. And king Narasimha does it finally.

The involvement of Pulikesi's twin brother Naganandhi, the deceptive Budhist monk in the proceedings makes him the villain. Both Sivakami and Naganandhi are fictional characters bought into life by Kalki and they never existed in history.

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I have my reasons to be disappointed. For people who envisage Kalki as the best writer of 20th century it might be difficult to digest. After all we have Sandilyan, Aghilan, Balakumaran, Sujatha and so many quickly lining up to be addressed that way. For me SS was just another book.
This blog is growing bigger … after all it’s not easy to fight a history that has created history. :-)

I shall continue writing my views and rationale in my next blog session…