Udaiyar by Balakumaran - Facts, Fiction and Highlights

Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899-1954) inspired youngsters of that generation to go on the trails of Vanthiyadevan and Arulmozhivarman. This magnum opus of Kalki brought the fame of Arulmozhivarman, who later was coronated as Rajarajacholan, which this great visionary deserved. Though Ponniyin Selvan was widely celebrated, readers who were so engrossed and travelled back in time didn’t want the story to end. There was a strong feeling of incompleteness. Balakumaran (1946-2018) was one among the millions who got inspired and embarked on the journey to make the readers feel complete with his own magnum opus “Udaiyar”. 

Readers can relate that once they get into the world of history fiction by such eminent authors, there’s no going back. Once I finished the trilogy of Kalki Krishnamurthy, I got to know about many other such history-fiction works. But I was just keen to complete the well-known works of Kalki Krishnamurthy, Balakumaran and Shandilyan (1910-1987). They are fondly known as the trinity of history fiction/Tamil literature. I’m yet to read the works of Shandilyan.

Since I read few authoritative works about the Brihadeeshwara temple and being a beginner in learning history, the myths revolving around the great temple and the death of this great ruler was always a curious anecdote to research. I found the answers for some of the myths and mysteries as I read “Udaiyar”. 

I read Udaiyar immediately after reading Ponniyin Selvan. It was almost like a sequel but written by different authors. Kalki Krishnamurthy’s work was so organized that each and every chapter was properly titled. It followed a pattern. But in Udaiyar, keeping track of the story was a bit difficult. There were so many characters used and they were dropped then and there. Balakumaran kindled the curiosity but disappointed the readers by dropping the characters like Gunaseelan, Vainavadasan etc. The six huge parts of work had so much of repetition. After reading the ‘Meikeerthi’ of Udaiyar Sri Rajaraja Chola Devar again and again throughout the books, I somehow managed to remember and I can even quote few lines from it without refering the book.

Udaiyar sowed the seed of the biggest ever rumour that Karuvurar Devar was the Guru of Rajaraja Cholan. This is one of the commonly heard stories. Balakumaran gave so much importance to this Siddhar. Rajaraja Chola’s Guru was “Eesana Shiva Pandithar” for which find inscription at the Brihadeeshwara temple itself. Karuvurar and the King were not even contemporary. The ultimate outcome of the myth was Karuvurar had to spit for the Shivalingam to be properly installed at the sanctum. There is some literary evidence that suggests that Karuvurar could be a contemporary to Rajendra Cholan. But never the Rajaguru of the latter also. Sarva Shiva Pandithar is the inscribed name of Rajendra’s Rajaguru. Karuvurar Devar’s portrayal in Udaiyar is so cinematic. He beats his thigh out of confidence saying “Rajarajaa You build the temple, I’ll protect you from anything.” While Rajaraja Chola would be sleeping somewhere in his palace. 

 

All these exaggerations and disconnections are not found in the works of Kalki Krishnamurthy. I agree that every author has their own style of writing and injecting their imaginations. But here it seems artificial. 

Balakumaran, like other authoritative scholars, have logically understood and written about the construction of the temple. The myth that is still believed by the masses, is that they planned and built a ramp on one side of the temple and pulled the top stone to that height. Building a ramp on one side means the other end of the ramp would be resting and pushing against the whole structure, which would’ve caused the structure to lean or even collapse. In Udaiyar, we find the simplest logical answer that it was built with the help building a ramp-like structure around the temple, like the cock-screw method used to build the Pyramids in Egypt. 

While there is no match for the greatness of Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola is no less than his father. They both were undoubtedly the greatest ever king the world had seen. Rajendra Chola throughout this Udaiyar has been portrayed as a strict, strong and a  fierce Prince.

I liked the distinctive portrayal of Senapathi Krishnan Raman, who built the surrounding corridor around the grand temple. His son Arunmozhi was equally given importance. Balakumaran brilliantly drew out their constant thoughts of serving and safeguarding the Chola Kingdom in good detail. This makes us delve into the details about their spying and strategy planning etc. Panjavan Maadevi had her fair share of brilliance expressed. The Pallipadai temple of Panjavan Maadevi is a must visit. 

 

There are few heartwarming moments that make us feel real. Vainavadasan’s death, Udaiyar conversing with Panjavan Maadevi while she fights for her life, the death of Rajaraja Cholan and Panjavan Maadevi etc. The sole credit of the peaceful death of Rajaraja Chola should go to Balakumaran. Our history enthusiasts and few other scholars never allowed this great man to have had a peaceful death. There are so many stories woven around this incident. 

This post is just a simple attempt to differentiate the facts from the fictional work. One can’t even imagine criticizing the authors who made the common people learn history but with a big pinch of fiction. Also it is important to understand the fact that readers who know factual history, can easily differentiate the truthful facts and leave behind the fictions as that’s where the creativity of the author comes into play.

Yours East Gaterr

Learnings from Amarar Kalki's Triology

Amarar Kalki’s name still brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm among the elders of most of the Tamil households. The first thing that comes to our mind while hearing the name ‘Kalki’ is none other than his great novel ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. Not only among elders, but Kalki Krishnamurthy’s works are also arguably the most read even by the youngsters of this generation. Reading the historic fiction of Kalki was the most common pastime of the elders of our house. I remember few elders saying that they were eager to grab the next edition of the magazine just to quench their curiosity of what’s happening next in the series.

This post is exclusively about the ‘Trilogy of Kalki’ (Tamil). Those are namely ‘Sivagamiyin Sabadham’, ‘Parthiban Kanavu’ and ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. (Recommended to be read in the same order).

The plot of these titles are as follows: 

• Sivagamiyin Sabadham is about the Pallava-Chalukya war, which was happening in the mid-7^th Century CE. Pallavas were in constant war with the Chalukyas for at least three generations.
• Parthiban Kanavu is slightly connected to the previous series, depicts an understanding between Pallavas and early Cholas (7^th Century CE).
• Ponniyin Selvan as we all know, is the story about the greatest King of Tamil country, Rajaraja Cholan. The plot revolves around the crowned prince Adithya Karikalan defeating and killing the Pandiyan king Virapandiya and the latter’s loyal servants planning for revenge. (Late 10^th Century CE)

We know as many elders in most of the Tamil households have read and reminisced about this historic-fictional classic and now I'm part of the esteemed club. This epic collection had created a huge impact and is still arguably the most sought and read books even among the youngsters of the current generation. 

The simple yet captivating writing style of Kalki Krishnamurthy takes us into the world of these stories. It also helps us to picturise the place that has been mentioned in these novels. Kanchipuram, Mamallapuram, Thanjavur, Sri Lanka and few other places are prominently mentioned in these novels. Aadi Perukku festival is incomplete without the mention of the opening scene of Ponniyin Selvan, in which the protagonist of the novel is introduced to the readers.

Though this is a classic work, the Tamil language used here is kept simple throughout the story. It also brings the character alive in front of us. I was swayed over by the charm of Mahendravarman that I’ve felt throughout reading Sivagamiyin Sabadham. Also, it still haunts me whenever I go to Kanchipuram or even going to the temple that dates back to those periods. The writing makes us feel connected to the individuality of the characters. Also, there is no bias or discrimination towards any characters or any other elements. The way the author describes the characters in the story lets the readers empathize with them. I believe that only a few others can establish such a connection and Kalki makes us feel for every character in these novels. Be it the emotions, description of the natural scenery, twists and turns that are felt while I read these were so real.

 

Prominent works of Kalki Krishnamurthy

All the 3 novel teaches us few things in common.

The valour of the kings expressed through the words of Kalki is something that we will remember forever. I still can’t get over the charm of Mahendravarman that got me since I read the Sivagamiyin Sabadham. But the description of Arulmozhivarmar is also no less. We will feel so captivated by the way every character is best described for their great deeds. Also, the King’s kindness, love and respect towards the people of their country is appealingly managed and justified through the decisions that are being made as the story flows.

Obeying the orders of parents. It has become one difficult thing in the current times where the young generation merely listens to their parents. Imagine the situation of Arulmozhi Varman, who was ordered to be arrested by his father and stays calm. Narasimhavarman, despite being a great wrestler becomes restless when his father Mahendravarman orders him to be within the palace until the war ends. Imagine the intensity of the situation and those princes obeyed their orders of their parents.

The loyalty of the subjects of the country. Loyalty is something that is an essential characteristic for any kind of relationship during that period. Many small yet significant characters are portrayed as the common people of the country in these novels. Loyalty depicted through these characters creates a long-lasting impression. Being loyal towards their duties, towards the country, be it with a friend or for relationship all these are beautifully brought out through the small characters of all kind.

Friendship is beautifully portrayed in these three novels in common. The trust and understanding that these characters share sets a standard for the beautiful bond. The respectful bond that is shared between Narasimhavarman and Paranjyothi, Arulmozhivarman with Vanthiyadevan makes us admire and yearn for such friendship. The jealousy among best friends is also portrayed in an adorable way. When Maanavanman feels jealous about Narasimhavarman being so close with Paranjothi, when Adithya Karikalan trusts Vanthiyadevan more than Parthibendra Pallavan, these instances prove that best friends also feel jealous.

With all these things that create a great impact amongst the readers, we also learn about disguising and spying, strategic planning on war times, beautiful description of the landscapes and few other spine-chilling experiences. Also not to forget how the author was truly secular when the story involved characters that belong to different religion and different classes. All the characters, even the ones who played a minimal role is given equal importance and was complete in their own way.

Apart from all these learnings, readers can also find new things as they read and perceive the characters and their deeds. Also, the twists and turns that the reader will experience while reading this is something to never miss and no other books will pull you into the story. I strongly recommend people to read all three and those who are slow in reading Tamil can also start reading without any doubts as it is written in simple style. Kalki Krishnmaurthy has handed down his magnum opus to the people of Tamil country with the perfect blend of historical facts and fiction that should not be missed at all. 

Yours East Gaterr

Aavarana - The Veil - SL Bhyrappa: Unveiling the Ficitonal Veil

“Aavarana – The Veil” by SL Bhyrappa, translated (into English) by Sandeep Balakrishna, is an eye-opener and a must read for the woke intellects of our country.

Aavarana strikes the nail hard on the heads of the liberals and seculars of the country by beautifully structuring the truth through the fictional characters. The author definitely won persuading the readers with true facts from the history which are intentionally kept hidden by the group of woke intellectuals who are mostly concerned about real harmony of the people by not disseminating the truth. The courage and conviction of the author putting up such truthful facts through fictional characters is a new style that I came across for the first time. Also this is the first fiction that I’ve read in quite some time.

Aavarana - The Veil

The story of this book revolves around Razia, who is a documentary film-maker, feminist and an active contributor of the “progressive intellects”. She abandons her father for marrying the love of her life Amir and later realizes what it takes to be converted and married into the faith of Islam. Also the love of her life Amir never misses an opportunity to reflect the orthodoxy ideologies of his faith towards his wife. Razia, who is actually Lakshmi, got triggered when she visits Hampi and all her thoughts pulls her back to few centuries before. At that time Bharath was completely covered with darkness that was caused by foreign tyrants and invaders.

At the same time, Raziya/Lakshmi gets to know about her father’s death. It was almost 28 years since she had spoken to him. She goes back to her village and was surprised by what her father did in the past. He researched a lot about the Dark Age of Bharath and his command over the subject was evident through his own notes that was fortunately available for Raziya’s reference. She decides to stay back and reads all the works of her father and in his collection.

That’s when she decides to bring out a fictional work that is based on the truthful facts. From here the author takes us through a story within the story. As she skims through the works of various authoritative authors, she finds out from the very own biographers of Islam kings how these fanatic rulers constantly attacked the people of different faith with cruel rules, taxes that general people couldn’t afford and on top of everything the destruction of temples.

Towards the end of the story of Raziya/Lakshmi, she completely understands how this network of progressive intellect works. When she tries to come out of the way and tries to bring out the truth, the intellects starts to corner her.

The author logically penned down how the progressive writers, seculars and modern historians are distorting the true history. This is not just from the book. It is what actually happening in our country. Nobody dares from the progressive thinkers are ready to accept the truth of Islamic barbarism that resulted in 1000s of temples razed to ground. This dirty propaganda game is what now resulted in too much glorifications about the barbarism and covering up the cruelty that they sowed in this divine country.

At one point in this work, the author beautifully penned down that ‘when Hindus are constantly oppressed for what their ancestors did centuries ago, why is the other faith doesn’t even dares to accept the barbarism that their forefathers rather than covering it up and glorifying it’. It also reminds one important fact that the progressive intellects are hiding behind the thick screen called the ‘artistic freedom’.

This book is an easy target of labels like short-sighted, propagates divisive ideology and majoritarianism. But only readers those who can understand what had actually happened in the past and how we should feel apologetic about it could be able to actually realize the essence and importance of this book.

This book helped me to clearly picturize the situation with logical aspects about how the whole environment of the progressive intellects penetrates its ideologies through various creative platforms, all the while they earn from the taxpayers money.

This is the first book of SL Bhyrappa that I’ve read, brilliantly translated by Shri Sandeep Balakrishna – founder and the editor of ‘The Dharma Dispatch’. Glad to have met him at one event where he spoke about his book 'Tipu Sultan - The Tyrant of Mysore'. I was amazed to go through the list of references that were used to write this fiction given as part of the story. I’m looking forward to read more of these excellent writers.

Yours East Gaterr