Sumeetha Manikandan's Blog, page 8

Chapter 42: Poonguzhali’s Dagger

PoonguzhaliVandiya Devan found Poonguzhali standing under a tree in the woods sobbing silently with grief. Softening his voice deliberately, Vandiya Devan called out, “Poonguzhali!”
Startled by his voice, Poonguzhali immediately looked up and found him standing near her.
“Oh! It’s you,” she said and turned her back on him.
“Yes. It is me. But why are you angry with me?”
“I am not angry with you,”
“Then why do you look so displeased?”
“I am displeased with men at large,”
“Even the Prince?” asked Van...

Chapter 41: Look There!

When the Prince heard the Dalapathy’s the Prince’s face wore a smile. “At last, there seems to be a solution for my inner struggle!” he said to himself.
But Parthibendran incensed by what he heard, drew his sword in anger saying, “Senathipathi! What are you saying? Is this true? Why didn’t you tell me about this? Now I understand why you dragged that demented girl along with you here. Let me ask you again. Do you really believe that the Pazhuvur Lords would send ships to arrest the Prince?”
“Y...

Ponni's Beloved Volume 2 - The Storm - Story so far

The story so far...

During 10th Century BC, Southern India was ruled by the mighty Cholas who had vanquished the Pandyas, Cheras and the Pallavas. The Chola Kingdom was then ruled by Chakravarthy Paranthakan II who was also known as Sundara Chola. The story is set at a time when the King was fatally ill and paralyzed. The Kingdom was in turmoil as the people resented the rising power of liege lords, Pazhuvetaryars who held the most important positions in the royal court.

A young soldier, named...

Chapter 40: A Council

  Swordfight between
Vandiya Devan and Prince Arul MozhiAs they moved towards the mandapam, Vandiya Devan neared Azhwarkadiyan and said, “Why is the Prince acting like this? The day we met, he started a fistfight and today a sword fight. Why is he attacking me like this, without any warning? His friendship seems to be very dangerous.”
The Prince who happened to walk near them heard this and said, “Yes. My friendship is indeed very dangerous. You would have realized this last night. You shou...

Chapter 39: ‘Here is your war’

When Vandiya Devan shouted his warning, ‘Ayya, draw your sword,’ the Prince heeded it by immediately. Vandiya Devan too drew his sword. They were not ordinary swords but were large and heavy with a sharp edge to it. The soldiers who had met them near the Maha Bodhi tree had given them the swords.
The Prince jumped down from his horse and shouted, “You! Get down now! I can’t bear your upstart behaviour anymore. I mean to put an end to it right away,”
Vandiya Devan shocked by the Prince’s words s...

Chapter 38: When the Pictures tell a Story

Prince Arul Mozhi, Vandiya Devan
and Azhwarkadiyan
The Prince abruptly stopped his story to ask, “Did you hear the sound of footsteps?”
But Azhwarkadiyan and Vandiya Devan who were intently listening to the story said that they didn’t hear anything.
Azhwarkadiyan then said, “I feel as if this place is getting hotter every second,”
“I can faintly smell smoke,” said Vandiya Devan sniffing his nose.
Azhwarkadiyan asked worriedly, “Ayya! What if there is some danger waiting for us here?”
But the Prince...

Chapter 37: Kaveri Amman

Vandiya Devan and Azhwarkadiyan got up eagerly and sat on the ground near the Prince’s bedstead.
“When I was a small boy, I travelled along with my parents on the royal barge in river Cauvery. My elder brother and sister too had accompanied us on this pleasure trip but they were busy discussing something. I loved to watch the river while sitting on the barge and sometimes the river currents would try to drag down, Kadamba flowers to its depth and I used to lean down from the barge and try and...

Chapter 36: Is there any value for title or talent?

Vandiya Devan crossed the street hurriedly to reach the place where the Prince and Nandini stood. By the time he was across the street, he was not sure whether he had seen Nandini at all? How could it be Nandini? Though her face had resembled Nandini’s, she was attired simply like a sanyasi, with no jewels on her person and her wind-blown hair was moving in waves around her.
When Vandiya Devan had reached the Prince, the woman had disappeared among the shadows of the dilapidated mansion that...

Chapter 35: The Throne of Elangai

The Bikshu who had suddenly appeared looked around here as if he was searching for someone. When he found the Prince standing near the fountain, he climbed the stairs to join them. He looked at the Prince’s face for a while and said, “Devapriya! Welcome. Vaithulya Bikshu Sangam awaits your presence eagerly. Our leader, Maha Thero Guru has come for this meeting. I am happy that you were able to come here at the appointed time,” Prince at Maha Sangam
“Adigaley! I am but a mere boy with many fault...

Chapter 34: Anuradhapuram

They reached Anuradhapuram even as the sun was setting and the sight of the fortified city took his breath away. Many people had described this city to him and he had imagined it in his mind’s eye as well, but nothing could compare to the vision that was unfolding in front of him. The high walls of the fort were higher than any city walls that he had seen so far. Inside the walls, there were countless palaces, mansions, stupas and monasteries built to dwarf a man with their gargantuan size.
V...