About the Book

PART EIGHT OF A SCINTILLATING NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CLASSIC TAMIL NOVEL.
The conspirators' evil plans are nearing their final hour. Gathering at Thanjavur, they move ever closer to their goal of destroying the Chozhar dynasty-but their intentions are no secret to the mysterious Oomai Rani. No longer the ghostly figure who has haunted Sundara Chozhar's thoughts for years, she now stands before the emperor in person, determined to prevent disaster. Yet her presence awakens not relief but anger and deep unease within the emperor. What memories does she stir?
And what truth binds this silent woman so closely to the fate of the Chozha empire? Meanwhile, Aditya Karikalan and Nandini finally confront one another, but theirs is no simple reunion. Between them lie years of grief, rage and unanswered questions. Karikalan's revelations shatter old certainties, while buried secrets and bitter memories rise relentlessly to the surface, blurring the line between love, guilt and vengeance. Hidden motives slowly come to light, forcing even the mighty Pazhuvettaraiyar to confront truths about Nandini that shake him to his core.
With the kingdom about to contend its darkest hour, only one question remains: what shape will the Chozha empire take once all its secrets are finally laid bare?
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 Krishnan is the author of Hitched: The Modern Woman and Arranged Marriage and Invisible Men: Inside India's Transmasculine Networks. She has translated two of Perumal Murugan's works into English: Estuary and Four Strokes of Luck. She was shortlisted for the PEN Presents translation prize 2022 and the Ali Jawad Zaidi Memorial Prize for translation from Urdu 2022. She is an alumna of the Writer's Bloc playwrights' workshop by the Royal Court Theatre, London. Her novel-in- manuscript was a winner of the Caravan Writers of India Festival contest and showcased at the Writers of the World Festival, Paris, 2014.