Ponniyin Selva!!

It's been long time since I scribbled something over here.. And, right now with the song 'Desert Rain' from the band Indian Ocean as background score, I am exactly in the mood to scribble something..

10 days back I had been to visit Tanjore Big temple - The Brihadeeswara Temple.. Normally, I am not a person who visits a place for a temple but this one was no ordinary temple.. Was it?? Well, Author Kalki certainly didn't teach me like that.. Yeah, I might be the latest to be bit by the Ponniyin Selvan bug.. For the uninitiated - Ponniyin Selvan is Tamil's greatest historical fiction tracing the lineage of the Chola dynasty.. Tons have been written about it, tons will be written about it in future.. Readers of that book would never enough of the book.. Even today, this book is among the best sellers list.. And to add more testimony to it - People on an average read this book 10-12 times in their lifetime.. Such is its merit..

I have not yet decided how many times I would be reading that book but I have got deep respect for the Cholas and for their management skills.. No one other than the Cholas could have built the World's first granite temple in 7 years.. Frankly speaking, Kalki's imagination is so vivid that you would not even think something else might have happened.. He has knitted loosely based historical facts, visited monuments built by Cholas, read stone inscriptions before penning this masterpiece.. So, it's almost flawless.. 

I have written my book review on this for one of subjects in MBA, took a PPT on it, bragged about it a lot with my friends but still I cannot get enough of it..

One thought kept coming back.. When I told my friend that I was going to visit this temple, the response was 'Why would you want to got there? It's not an auspicious temple'.. It did startle me but didn't deter me from going on that trip.. The myth is that people who have quest for power will fall if they do not hold themselves in good stead.. And, many said that the 20ft idol of Lord Shiva doesn't have power.. Well what does omnipresent mean then?? I laughed..

Overall, it was yet another fascinating trip of Tamil Nadu.. Even ventured to visit other 2 temples built by the Cholas, but time was running short.. 

So, until next time.. I leave you with these beautiful lines from Ponni,

 "அலைகடல் கொந் தளிக்கையிலே  அகக்கடல்தான் களிப்பதுமேன்?
நிலமகளும் துடிக்கையிலே  நெஞ்சகந்தான் துள்ளுவதேன்?
இடி இடித்து எண்திசையும்  வெடிபடும் அவ்வேளையிலே
நடனக் கலைவல்லவர்போல்  நாட்டியந்தான் ஆடுவதேன்?"