About the Book

PART SEVEN OF A SCINTILLATING NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CLASSIC TAMIL NOVEL.
Rival factions have gathered under one roof at the Kadambur Palace, where crucial decisions hang in the balance. Aditya Karikalan has answered Nandini's summons, journeying from Kanchi to stand once more before the woman who once ruled his heart. Can old love survive the weight of betrayal? Or has vengeance already sealed its fate?
At his side is Vandiyadevan, who senses that the forces converging at Kadambur are far more dangerous than any army in the battlefield. The conspiracy he has glimpsed only in fragments, now begins to assume a terrifying shape.
Within the palace walls, long-guarded secrets threaten to spill into the open. Marriage alliances are negotiated and sealed, binding powerful houses. As loyalties shift and buried histories get excavated, the question of moral right must be addressed.
But does the key to this tightening web lie elsewhere-with the mysterious Oomai Rani, now captured and brought to Thanjavur? Who is this silent woman whose presence unsettles princes and queens alike? Is she bound by blood to the royal house? And will she change the destiny of the Chozha empire, as she once did long ago?

About the Author

'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.

About the Translator

Nandini Kris