We're thrilled to announce the availability of Kalki's Parthiban Kanavu (Parthiban's dream) in English in Amazon Kindle format. The Kindle edition features improved artwork and editorial enhancements over the original blog it was published in.
The project was meant to be a distraction in 2020, during the dreary Covid lockdown months. I worked from home and stayed home all day. There was nowhere to go. Depressing statistics, speculation and fake news kept pouring in. I needed a distraction, and this seemed like a good thing to pursue. It indeed turned out to be so!
This is an iconic novel from a time when historical fiction was still an unknown art form in Tamil. It predates Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' by over a decade. It was written as series in a magazine during what turned out to be the final push for Indian independence. Kalki Krishnamurthy, the author was a freedom fighter, and a follower of C. Rajagopalachari. He may have started writing this story in prison, when he was jailed for civil disobedience! His political beliefs seem to have seeped into the story as allegories. The prose was refreshingly modern for the time. All these made it more exciting to me than a mundane translation exercise.
I believe the translated version strikes a balance between capturing Kalki’s style and reading as if it was originally written in English.
The story is set in the 8th century CE in South India. The story centers on a minor prince, but features Narasimha Varma, the Pallava Emperor. It has a good mixture of history, romance, bravery, religion, spies and suspense!
Please read, review and share if you like it. Thank you! We're asking for your help in sharing it in the appropriate forums. Also, please leave a review in Amazon after you read it.
Cover design: Sujatha Chakravarthi
Art: Sujatha Chakravarthi and Shriya Mukund.
You can get access the Amazon version here:
Kalki's Parthiban Kanavu: English Translation - Parthiban's Dream
