Falling head over heels in Love with Ponniyin Selvan—All Over Again!!!

I have been reading Ponniyin Selvan for the second time. The first time I read was sometime in 2001-2002. My tamil reading is not that fluent, as in am not a fast reader when it comes to tamil, but I can still read and am really really proud about that. Also, am thankful to my teacher and dad for struggling to make me write and read the language and all the patience they had with me when I was learning it. But for them, I wouldn’t be enjoying reading books like these. But this time, me thinks, that I have improved a lot from where I was a few years back in reading tamil, for I am reading real fast and in 2 weeks I finished Book 1 or is it the craze of PS that’s making me read it fast, I do not know. Whatever, I am in Book 2 and am enjoying the conversations between Poonghuzhali and Vandhiyathevan right now. Just way too good. I almost feel like, I am a spectator in that boat with Samudra Kumari and Vallavaraayan on Bay of Bengal, on my journey to Singalam, when they happen to spot those islands from afar in the sea. The way he uses the word Maragatham to mention the color of the land from afar on sea is just superb.

The novel as such leaves a lot things for you to imagine in between the lines and the way Kalki has done the characterization of each characters is just way too awesome. Every one of them, come alive in front of your eyes and you can picture them with even the dress that they are wear. The language that he uses, the simple urainadai thamizh, I am at a loss of words here to talk about that. All in all it’s a treat to read PS no matter how many times.

My Heartfelt Thanks to:

1. Kalki—for having written something like that in the first place—thanks for the wonderful gift that we still enjoy way after you are gone.
2. Miss Rani and Miss Kamala—for the amount of patience they had in teaching me thamizh at school.
3. My Dad—for putting that fight in making me read and write thamizh all through those years and for introducing me to lovely world of Kalki and his novels. For the way he used to talk about the characters of these novels. And the way he still is there for me to discuss after reading each volume.
4. My Mom—for all the wonderful stories she said and the way she used to get animated when discussing PS which also was a reason for me to read the book.

Thank you lord for giving me this wonderful life with so many different lovely things to enjoy! Makes life worth living it!