Kalki’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’: Rival factions gather at Kadambur Palace, awaiting crucial decisions

Aditya Karikalan was pointing at one of the mandapams by the seaside. The stone structure must have been constructed by an altruist who wanted to provide travellers with some shelter from the sun and the rain. Having borne the brunt of the weather’s vagaries, the stone was rather worse for the wear, but one could still see the sculptures that had been carved into it. Malayaman’s fading eyesight, however, did not allow him to see their features clearly.

“Do you see, thatha?” Aditya Karikalan asked.

“Kuzhandaai! You’re referring to that mandapam, aren’t you? I don’t see anything else. The mandapam is empty too. I don’t see anyone inside,” he said.

“Thatha! It is only now that it strikes me that you’ve got old. Your eyesight is not what it used to be. Look there! Do you see that huge Rajali eagle? What an enormous bird it is! Look at its wingspan! Terrible, terrible! How cruel it is! It has a tiny dove in its claws, do you see? Its sharp talons have dug into the flesh of that dove, don’t you see? Kadavule, what is this! What a wonder! Another little dove has come there, thatha! It is circling around that gigantic Rajali!...

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