Kalki Krishnamurthy bore Sivakamiyin Sabadham in his head and heart for nearly twelve years. Originally scripted as a film, it did not reach the screen but got broadcast as a radio play several years later. As destiny would have it, the short play grew into an expansive novel that was serialized in his own magazine, Kalki, from October 1944 for a period of two and a half years. The lengthy incubation and the ripening of the author's skills and thought process give the novel a special sheen. Kalki had, in these years, actively campaigned for the recognition of Bharatanatyam as a performing art and had been inspired by great artists like Balasaraswathi and Rukmini Devi. He also travelled to Ajantha and Badami to study the relics and absorb their spirit and wove an authentic tapestry that forms the background of his novel. History, heritage, poetry and the fine arts unique to the Tamil region come together in this work, not just as strands but as aerial roots that hold up the magnificent banyan. Art as a threatening weapon, the heights, depths, strengths and weaknesses of outstanding artists, the futility of war, the frailties and burdens that a monarch suffers all contribute to the whirlwind of emotions that the novel evokes. Not surprising that critics consider this to be the best among Kalki's novels, though popular opinion places Ponniyin Selvan first, and the author himself felt that if any, it would be Alai Osai that would stand the test of time'.
Sivakamiyin Sabadham had a direct impact on the Tamil populace. Many households engaged Bharatanatyam gurus to teach their daughters. Mamallapuram became a must-see heritage site. The beauty and depth of the tevarams and prabandams became manifest to thousands of readers who began journeying into them. Author and Tamil scholar Dr Prema Nandakumar has acknowledged that her interest was fired on reading Kalki's novels and the breath-taking placement of the verses amidst the story.
The challenge for the translator of such an elevated work of art is limitless. Will the reader of the English edition shed the same tear, feel the same fire, seek the same heritage as the Tamil reader? Nandini Vijayaraghavan, thankfully, has not let these questions disturb her attempt or her flow of language. This volume makes for compelling reading and has a smooth flow.
Having read the Tamil version multiple times, the story was not new to me. That the English version sustains the eager anticipation and evokes the same goosebumps is the translator's success.
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