Sivakami's Vow (Book-1: Paranjyothi's Journey)

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About the Book A young man trudges from a tiny Chola village to Kanchi, the great city of art and learning, hoping to discover his destiny. A bikshu wanders around the Pallava empire, befriending lonely souls. Spies lurk in the shadows, and even statues of the Lord Buddha conceal secrets. Emperor Mahendra Pallava, connoisseur beyond compare, rules with compassion and justice, while his son, Kumara Chakravarthy Narasimhar, falls deeply in love with the greatest dancer of the empire, Sivakami.

Somewhere in the distance can be heard the drums of war. The fearsome Chalukyas are planning an invasion: their war elephants, horses and infantry sweep towards the Pallava empire. Emperor Pulikesi eyes Kanchi as the crowning glory to his martial achievements.

Paranjyothi's Journey, the first in the four-volume Sivakami's Vow series, is a riveting tale of war, betrayal, secret passages, guarded forts, passions and a Pallava emperor who will do anything to save his kingdom. It was written by Kalki, a master storyteller who raised Tamil literature and history to new heights almost single-handedly.

About the Authors Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (1899-1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was an editor, writer, journalist, poet, critic and activist for Indian independence. Kalki's expansive body of work includes editorials, short stories, film and music reviews, and historical and social novels. His stories have been made into films, such as Thyaga Bhoomi (Land of Sacrifice, 1939), the M.S. Subbulakshmi-starrer Meera (1945), Kalvanin Kadhali (The Thief's Lover, 1955), Parthiban Kanavu (Parthiban's Dream, 1960) and, most recently, the Mani Ratnam-directed Ponniyin Selvan (Ponni's Beloved, 2022). One of the most renowned names in Tamil literature, Kalki was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Alai Osai (The Sound of the Waves).

Born and raised in Chennai, Nandini Vijayaraghavan is a director and head of research at the Singapore office of Korea Development Bank. Her translation of Kalki's Parthiban's Dream (2021) was shortlisted for a Valley of Words award in 2022. Nandini's columns on finance and economy have appeared in Business Line, The Hindu, Economic and Political Weekly and Financial Express. Unfinished Business (Penguin Random House India, 2023) is her first India- centric business book. Nandini co-authored a non-fiction book, The Singapore Blue Chips (2017), with Umesh Desai. Nandini blogs at www.litintrans.com.

Foreword Of the three historical novels that Kalki R. Krishnamurthy wrote, Sivakamiyin Sabadham remains my favourite. I am aware that die-hard fans of Ponniyin Selvan (should I refer to it now as PS?) will raise their eyebrows, but then there it is. It probably is my favourite because it was the first Kalki novel that I read-I must have been seven or so, and had just then acquired fluency in reading Tamil. My grandmother, who had taught me the language, was happy with my choice. She was a sort of censor for the household when it came to reading matter in Tamil, and the magazine Kalki was one of the few periodicals that was permitted. Even in the 1970s, it was ultra-respectable; I know, for instance, that it refused cigarette advertisements, tempting though they might have been for a magazine that did not have deep pockets.