Autorentext

'Kalki' is the pen name of Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (1899-1954), whose career in writing and journalism began as activism during the struggle for Indian independence. He served as editor of the popular Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan before launching Kalki. The magazine--and eventually its founder--was named for the mythological tenth avatar of Vishnu to symbolise a vision to 'destroy regressive regimes, express radical thoughts, take readers into new directions, and create a new era'. Kalki wrote several novels, including Parthiban Kanavu and Sivakamiyin Sabadam, as well as political essays, film reviews, dance and music critiques and scholarly work.

Klappentext

A SCINTILLATING NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CLASSIC TAMIL NOVEL. Vallavarayan Vandiyadevan, a scion of the Vaanar clan, sets out across the Chozha land to deliver a secret message from Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan. Does he manage to safely deliver this message? Or does he get trapped in the sinister royal conspiracy that he unwittingly uncovers on his journey? When Ponniyin Selvan was first serialised in Kalki, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on the circulation of the magazine. Nor that, years later, this Tamil magnum opus, which blends travelogue with history and Chozha myth-making, would lend itself to the big screen, its cinematic form shaped by one of the finest directors of our time. The novel invented a distinct style, in which slang alternates with erudition, wordplay with euphoric prose and vivid imagery-a style that critics came to call 'Kalki Tamil'. Today, this pioneering work is considered one of the great classics of Tamil literature. This unabridged and first-rate translation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's masterwork by Nandini Krishnan is at once faithful to the original and accessible to the readers of this day. Carefully crafted in lyrical prose, First Flood-Book One in the Ponniyin Selvan series-is the quintessential page-turner: full of adventure, intrigue, conspiracy and romance.