1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Ponniyin Selvan - Iv Chapter 43

Discussion in 'Varalotti Rengasamy's Short & Serial Stories' started by varalotti, Dec 18, 2013.

  1. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    9,047
    Likes Received:
    1,238
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Male
    This is the English Translation of Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan, which has been nationalized by the Government of Tamilnadu and hence is in public domain.

    The copyright for this translation however rests exclusively with the author, Varalotti Rengasamy. No part of this work shall be reproduced, transmitted or otherwise dealt with in any form whatsoever except with the express written permission of the author. Quoting parts of the work for the purpose of literary criticism or comments, with due credits to the author is however permissible. The author morally asserts his copyright.This is the English Translation of Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan, which has been nationalized by the Government of Tamilnadu and hence is in public domain.
    The copyright for this translation however rests exclusively with the author, Varalotti Rengasamy. No part of this work shall be reproduced, transmitted or otherwise dealt with in any form whatsoever except with the express written permission of the author. Quoting parts of the work for the purpose of literary criticism or comments, with due credits to the author is however permissible. The author morally asserts his copyright.

    PONNIYIN SELVAN PART IV

    THE CROWN

    Chapter 43 –Where Is The Leopard?


    Vandhiya Thevan was quick to find out that Adithya Karikalan was in danger. In a flash he rode towards the wild boar and inserted his spear into its thick skin. The spear was stuck. The boar shook itself violently and turned around to look at the aggressor. Vandhiya Thevan lost the grip of the handle. Soon the spear fell off from the body of the beast.

    The boar now turned towards Vandhiya Thevan. It was only then that he realised that he was trapped. His horse could not withstand the onslaught. He was unarmed.

    The only weapon he carried, a spear, was no longer with him. The Prince was still caught under his horse and was trying to come out.

    The only way out for Vandhiya Thevan was to grab the branch of a tree without getting down from the horse. After having escaped so many great dangers in the recent past Vandhiya Thevan detested being killed by a wild boar.

    Thank God there was a low lying branch nearby. Vandhiya Thevan sprang to the branch from the horse. He held the branch with all his strength and climbed on to the branch.

    At the same time the boar attacked his horse. The horse lost its balance and was about to fall down. It somehow managed to avoid the fall and run away.
    Karikalan was still trapped under his horse.

    Vandhiya Thevan was dangerously perched on the tree-branch. The boar stood between the two men looking at them alternately.

    It was perhaps making a judgment as to whom should it attack first. The Prince had not yet come out from under his horse. Even if he did, whether he would be able to handle the boar without any weapon or help was a big question.

    Of course he had his bow and arrows. But it may take some time to load the arrow in the bow and let loose the shot. The boar might take advantage of the time-gap and might attack him.

    Again the Prince might have been seriously injured. So the best strategy available to Vandhiya Thevan now was to distract the boar and attract it towards him, so that the Prince could buy some precious time.

    Vandhiya Thevan thought at the speed of lightning and made some quick decisions. He shook the branch he was sitting on and made some strange sounds with his mouth with a view to distract the boar.

    His strategy worked. The boar ran ferociously towards the tree.

    “Let it come. Let the wild beast hit against the strong tree trunk.” Vandhiya thought with a glee.

    His happiness did not last long. The branch on which he was sitting cracked with a huge noise.

    Oh My God! What is this? If I were to fall along with the branch, the boar’s teeth will tear me apart the very next second. I have to get hold of another branch. NOW!

    Vandhiya Thevan tried to grab another branch. The branch was a little away. Only one of his hands could reach the branch. The branch was frail. His hand started to slip. His legs were dangling in the air.

    Oh My God! There is no other way. I have to fall down. Fall down to instantaneous death. There is no doubt about it. But I am happy that I could save the Crown Prince in my dying moments. Karikalan is likely to tell this to Kunthavai. She will be happy. And she is likely to shed a few drops of tears for Vandhiya Thevan. That is more than enough for me.

    Vandhiya Thevan heard a terrible noise. His hands slipped from the branch. He closed his eyes and fell down with a noisy thud. And soon became unconscious.

    When he came back to senses he saw Adithya Karikalan sprinkling water on him. He sat up.

    “My God! Prince, you are alive!”

    “Yes, I am, thanks to your help.”

    “What happened to the boar?”

    “It’s there.”

    Vandhiya Thevan looked in that direction. The boar lay dead.

    Vandhiya Thevan looked at it for some time.

    “Your Highness, such a small animal gave us so much trouble! Whatever Kandhanmaran said about the wild boars of this area is true. But tell me, my Lord, how did you manage to kill the beast?”

    “I didn’t kill. It was you. And your spear.”

    Vandhiya Thevan was puzzled.

    “You have put my spear to the best possible use. But I didn’t do anything, my Lord. I am ashamed that I could not help when you were in danger.”

    “Didn’t you shake the branch and shout at the beast? I came out from under my horse at that time. I took your spear. I vented all my pent up fury on the boar. Poor beast! As soon as the spear hit its body it made a terrible sound. I thought I’d go deaf hearing that sound.

    "But it did not die of the spear alone. You fell from the tree. You fell right on the boar. The beast died of shock.”

    Adithya Karikalan laughed. Vandhiya Thevan joined him.

    “Because I fell on the boar I was not injured. You know, my Lord, our mythology tells the story of our kind Lord who took the form of a boar to kill a demon. Till now I could not believe that. But after seeing the antics of this wild boar mythology seems credible to me. Oh My God! What a ferocious beast!”

    “Don’t judge the incarnation of Varaha (boar) by this little beast. In the forest ranges of Vindhya in the North there lives a boar with a single horn. It’s as huge as an elephant. If this boar were to be of that size and if it had hit the tree with all its force just imagine what would have happened to the tree?”

    “The tree would have been uprooted. The spear you threw would have been broken. We would have been killed. That would have saved the trouble for the enemies of the Chozha clan.”

    “Thambi, tell me the truth. When my horse fell down you threw the spear. Was it for the boar or for me?”

    Vandhiya Thevan was furious.

    “My Lord, is that you who are asking this question? If you don’t trust me you could have killed me. Why did you kill the boar and save me?”

    “Yes, yes. I should not doubt your intentions. If you had not shaken the tree branch and made that terrible noise the boar would have killed me. But when you threw the spear I had my doubts. You know nowadays I suspect everything and everybody. I can’t shake off the thought that the Lord of Death is constantly following me. I thought that the Lord of Death came in the form of a boar.”

    “That’s a good sign, my Lord. Death that followed you is dead. All our worries are gone. And we have won in our challenge with Kandhanmaran. Let us drag this boar. Shall we leave now?”

    “What’s the need to hurry? I am tired. Why don’t we relax here for a while?”

    “I am hearing for the first time that you are tired. Yes, you should be, my Lord, for you were caught under the horse for a long time.”

    “That’s nothing. More than my body, my mind is tired. Should we go back in the way we came and join those idiots? Why don’t we cross the lake and go to the other bank?”

    “My god! How can we swim across this lake which resembles an ocean? After saving me from the boar you want to have me killed in this lake?”

    “I now remember: you can’t swim. I too can’t swim across such a huge lake. If we get a boat it’d be easy. Didn’t we see a boat a little while ago? That would be somewhere near on this bank. Why don’t we go look for it?”

    “Our horses? Should we leave them as prey for the wild animals of the forest?”

    Vandhiya Thevan first spoke in a teasing tone. Then he remembered something and stood up startled.

    “OH MY GOD! WHERE THE HELL IS THE LEOPARD?”

    “It has completely slipped from my mind. It should be hiding somewhere. The Lord of Death might come in the form of a leopard as well. To kill me here.”

    The two men looked around. Vandhiya Thevan shouted after some time. “There!”

    There was a canal which feeds water into the lake. The canal became gradually narrow as it approached the lake.

    In the narrow section of the canal a tree had fallen and it kind of acted as a bridge between the two banks of the canal. The leopard was walking over the fallen tree.

    The same thought flashed in the minds of both the men.

    “My God! The women in the boat!” The two men shouted simultaneously.

    “They must have got down at the island near the canal.” – Vandhiya Thevan.

    “Wounded leopards are very dangerous.”

    “Let’s kill the leopard and take it along with the boar.”

    “How can we cross this canal? We can walk over the fallen tree; but not our horses.”

    “There is not much water flowing in the canal. We can get down and walk through the canal along with the horses.”

    Meanwhile Karikalan’s horse had gone near Vandhiya Thevan’s horse. It appeared as if the horses, like their Masters, were exchanging notes in their own horse language about the dangers they faced.

    The men mounted on the horses. They led the horses to the canal. The water level was low. But it was quite muddy. The horses had a hard time crossing the canal.

    Vandhiya Thevan thought of the quick sand in Kodikkarai. “Compared to those death traps this is a breeze.” He told about them to the Crown Prince.

    “My dear friend! You are worried about the quick sand outside. What do you think of the mud in the minds of people? If someone gets caught in the quick sand of evil thoughts it will be very difficult for him to come out of it.”

    Vandhiya Thevan pitied the Prince. Poor soul, his mind was muddy as the canal, he thought.
    The horses reached the other bank of the canal after a great deal of trouble.

    The two men looked carefully in all the directions before riding on. Karikalan was ready with his bow and arrows. Vandhiya Thevan was ready to throw the spear on the leopard.

    Suddenly a woman’s shrill voice was heard over the usual sounds of the forest: “Amma! Leopard! Danger! Amma! Leopard!”

    When Manimekalai saw the leopard on the tree branch one of the maids who was cooking in the Mandapam also saw the animal and shrieked. The two men heard the noise. Their hairs stood straight.

    They rode fast in the direction of the voice. As soon as they negotiated the turn they were shocked by what they saw.

    Nandini and Manimekalai were climbing down the steps to bath in the lake. At the same time the leopard was slowly climbing up the branches of the tree.

    The leopard was badly hurt in its fight with the wild boar. And its only thought was survival. But that was known only to the leopard at that time.
    Karikalan and Vandhiya Thevan thought that the leopard was going to pounce on the two women soon.

    Vandhiya Thevan was hesitant to use the spear. If it missed the mark and fell on the ladies.... it might kill them. Karikalan was not hesitant. He loaded his bow with an arrow and aimed a shot at the leopard.

    The arrow landed on the leopard’s stomach. The leopard roared and pounced on the two women. Nobody knew what happened. The leopard and the two women were not to be seen.

    A few minutes later each one appeared in a different place in the lake. Blood mixed with the water in the lake. A part of the lake became red.

    Original Author: Kalki
    Translation: Varalotti Rengasamy
    Editing Support: knot2share

    © Varalotti Rengasamy aka R.Sridharan,MADURAI
     
    Loading...

    Similar Threads
    1. curlytweethere
      Replies:
      74
      Views:
      9,045
    2. curlytweethere
      Replies:
      223
      Views:
      29,616
    3. gayababu
      Replies:
      0
      Views:
      1,261
  2. swt.charu

    swt.charu Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    931
    Likes Received:
    1,352
    Trophy Points:
    263
    Gender:
    Female
    Oh no !! the women in danger !!!

    But a leopard cannot do anything to the stone hearted woman like Nandini ... I think she would be have killed the leopard and that's the blood in the lake...

    waiting for more Sridhar
     
  3. Lalitha Shivaguru

    Lalitha Shivaguru Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    3,774
    Likes Received:
    310
    Trophy Points:
    215
    Gender:
    Female
    Oh my what an adventure... Finally everybody is safe... atlast I could heave a sigh of relief...

    VT is quite quick in his actions and thinking...

    Waiting for more... thanks for the fast pacing, thrilling episode...
     
  4. cvvamsi

    cvvamsi Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Gender:
    Male
    The episode ended too fast Sridhar. Now we need to wait till next week to know about the Leopard and the women. Too unfair.
     
  5. Sriniketan

    Sriniketan IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,521
    Likes Received:
    1,436
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    Sridhar,
    Great escape for Karikalan and VT ( nice of him to think of Kunthavai at that time) earlier and now waiting to know the great escape tale from Nandhini's mouth :)

    Sriniketan
     
  6. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    9,047
    Likes Received:
    1,238
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Male
    thanks, Charu, for coming in. And wish you and yours a very happy new year. My new year gift to you is two chapters to be posted today.
    Do you think the leopard can't do anything to Nandini? Just watch today's episode.
    regards
    sridhar
     
  7. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    9,047
    Likes Received:
    1,238
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Male
    Happy new year Lalitha. Do you think everybody's safe? Well watch out todays episode.

    love,
    sridhar
     
  8. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    9,047
    Likes Received:
    1,238
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Male
    And sorry Vamsi I made you wait for two weeks. But I'll give a two-chapter episode this week to compensate for this.
    Wish you and yours a very happy new year.
    You will know more about the woman who is more dangerous than the leopard and the boar put together.
    regards
    sridhar
     
  9. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    9,047
    Likes Received:
    1,238
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks a lot, sis. Sorry I made you wait for one week more. Will make it up with an extra chapter this week.

    Is it a great escape tale or a great conspiracy tale, we'll know that today.
    Wish you and yours a very happy new year, sis.
    sridhar
     
  10. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    8,454
    Likes Received:
    5,103
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    Needless to add that this was a very exciting episode. Lots of escapades! I make it a point to comment here Sridhar, the least I can do for all the trouble you take to translate and present PS to us!

    L, Kamla
     

Share This Page