Gowri Ramnarayan’s first encounter with her grandfather Kalki’s historical fiction novel, *Ponniyin Selvan*, was a memorable one. As a toddler, she found herself fascinated by the handwritten pages on his desk, the brand new chapters of the story, and, in her innocent curiosity, tore them to shreds. Her uncle found her playing with the scraps, and when her grandfather entered the room, he simply scooped her up in his arms, smiling. This anecdote, mentioned at the beginning of Ramnarayan’s translator’s note in Penguin’s newly published English adaptation of the Tamil classic, paints a picture of a young girl’s bond with a literary giant.
While Ramnarayan admits to having only faint memories of her grandfather, who passed away when she was just four, she fondly remembers the stories he would tell her and the lullabies he would sing, often drawn from Tamil poetry. Despite the passage of time, her connection to him remains strong, nurtured by her grandmother’s unwavering dedication to keeping his memory alive. Every morning, after her bath, she would gather flowers from the garden and arrange them around a photograph of her husband, ensuring that he was never truly absent from their lives.
This legacy of storytelling, coupled with Ramnarayan’s own early immersion in Kalki’s work, has shaped her path. Growing up, she devoured not only his fiction, but also his essays, jokes, reviews, and even his political polemics, published in his weekly magazine *Kalki*. His writing, she recalls, had a captivating flow, a sense of humour, and a unique ability to draw the reader in, making him feel like a friend.
When Penguin approached Ramnarayan to translate *Ponniyin Selvan* in 2023, she was hesitant. Although a seasoned translator, she questioned the value of translating a work that had already been translated multiple times. Ultimately, spurred by her family’s encouragement and a sense of duty to her grandfather’s legacy, she embarked on the daunting task.
Despite the sheer volume of the work – two volumes, totaling nearly eight hundred pages – Ramnarayan completed the translation in just over a year. Her familiarity with the story, cultivated since childhood, proved invaluable. The true challenge, she explains, lay not in understanding the content, but in finding a way to convey Kalki’s voice, his humour, and his nuanced understanding of history, in another language.
Ramnarayan’s translation captures the essence of *Ponniyin Selvan*, a captivating tale set in the Chola dynasty ten centuries ago. While it speaks to themes of power, love, loyalty, and revenge, it also serves as a meditation on leadership and a reminder that true leadership comes not from a desire for power, but from a sense of service. Kalki’s characters, meticulously crafted, are each distinct and compelling, with the women in the story playing pivotal roles, challenging traditional notions of gender roles. Ramnarayan credits these characters for the book’s enduring popularity.
As a translator, Ramnarayan faced challenges in navigating inconsistencies and editing gaps that resulted from Kalki’s prolific writing style. He often wrote chapters between attending literary events, editing his magazine, and penning essays and reviews, leaving little time for revision. Yet, these imperfections do not diminish the power and the brilliance of *Ponniyin Selvan*, a timeless tale that continues to captivate readers generations after its initial publication.
