Kundavai was sitting all alone in the veranda of anthapuram.Night has descended upon Pazhayari , the residents of the city had retired after a day full of celebration. Only the darling Illavarasi of Chola Kingdom is awake with the serene moon as her companion. Moonlight shines brightly on Kundavai's sharp features and doe shaped eyes. The always alert and sophisticated Kundavai seems a bit lost in her own world as she humms a soft melody...
Aganaga aganaga muganagaiyae..ho
Muganaga muganaga murunagaiyae..ho
Murunaga murunaga tharunagaiyae..ho hoo
Tharunaga tharunaga varunanaiyae..
Yaaradhu yaaradhu
Punnagai korppadhu
Yaavilum yaavilum
En manam serppadhu
'Vandiyadevan '...
Illavarasi first heard this name three years back in a letter from her Anna. She remembered it vividly, as it was the first letter where there was no mention of Nandini.But rather it was filled with tales of a certain Vanar prince who had impressed her Anna with his quick wit and charm. Since then Vallavaryan had became a regular member in Anna's letters . Those tales of bravery and charm had obviously impressed Kundavai, and made her keen to meet this paragon of manhood. In some of his letters Anna had even joked about how the witty prince would be a perfect match to her scheming mind and how he would swept her of her feet. Kundavai , having been raised as a perfect princess never believed in those abstract concepts of love, she always knew that if she ever married it will be a political alliance , and what is marriage? but an arrangement between two people. Kundavai was too mature to believe in any romantic nonsense, but today after meeting the Veer from Vanar Kulam , her heart wants to believe in this madness.
"Uyir Ungaludaiyadhu devi ..."
He had told her, but did he really meant it or was it an empty promise? For the first time in her life Kundavai doesn't have any answer to a question, an uncertain fear of losing something she never had has grappled her heart, for the first time in her life Kundavai felt restless and lost, she felt as if something has shifted, something has changed. Till now everything in her life has revolved around her family and her beloved Chola Desam but now something has changed. Someone else has entered her heart without her knowledge...when did this happen? She felt as if this was the moment she was waiting for since the day she was born. She was an young girl till yesterday but now she has transformed into a woman . An woman eager to meet her beloved, to embrace him , to tell him how much he means to her .Is this what the poets talks about? Is this how one feels when in love? Is it what her Anna had felt when he had met Nandini? Or is it what her dear Vanathi had felt when she first saw her brother? Kundavai murmured to herself as she played with her long wavy hair -
Vandiyadevan what black magic have done ? What games are you playing with this innocent maiden's heart? Why are you tormenting me like this? Why did you make those promises to me? Why? Why?
I was perfectly fine , living in my small happy bubble untill you arrived like a West wind in my life ... You have transformed this practical, hard hearted illavarasi into a swooning maiden . You have stolen my heart and carried it away with you to Eezham ... Leaving me here all alone yearning for a touch or a glance . How can I sleep peacefully in night when my heart is out there , away from me in a boat towards Eezham... Oh how I wish to leave all this scheming and plotting behind and run away with you to the sunset!! - Kundavai sighed
" I know that I could never be yours as you are comman man and i am a princess bound by her duty to the crown but today with the ever-present moon as my witness I promise to you that you will be the only one i will ever love!
Unknown to Kundavai another soul faraway from her in a boat towards Eezham was promising her the same
--------------------------------
Haa..aaa..aaa..aaa…aaa..
Alaikadal aazham nilavu ariyaadhoo
Yeloo yel yeloo
Adi mana dhaagam vizhil theriyaadhoo
Yeloo yel yeloo
"Dhaat!"- Vandiyathevan muttered sleepily.
Poonzaghuli is going on for hours now but there is no use of telling her that as she will once again threaten to stab him with her knife . Vandiyathevan tries to sleep ,but alas! Poonzaghuli's haunting melody was not going to make it easy for him.
"Poonzaghuli , what a beautiful name !"- Vandiyathevan thought.
Senthan Amudan was not wrong she is a beautiful girl but not as beautiful as Kundavai.
Kundavai?
Where did this came from? When did Vandiyathevan started comparing every other girl he met with the Illiya Piratti?
Vandiyadevan like every other comman folk of the Chola Desam has heard several glorious tales about Kundavai since he was a teenager. He had heard about her unusual beauty which had made the greatest of the kings mad, he had heard about her intelligence which can rival the learned sages. But every single praises dims in comparison to the real women . She was much more than that , she is a goddess in disguise , her twinkling eyes are much more addictive than the opium , one wishes to get lost in them. She really is the most precious jewel of the Chola kulam. Vandiyathevan remembered how fondly Aditha karikalan and his grandfather used to recount Kundavai's several anecdotes to them , and how each one them used to wait eagerly for this tales , especially him and Parthibendan.
Parthibendan!
Drat! How could he forget about Parthibendan?
Isn't Illavarasi already promised to Parthibendan? Yes! Parthibendan told him that he and Kundavai are going to get married.
Haye! What was he thinking? How can he forget this important detail? And how can he The Vallavaryan Vandiyathevan lost his heart to an already engaged women!
"Lost his heart? When did this happened?" - Vandiyathevan wondered aloud
Women has always enchanted Vandiyathevan. They are so pretty, yet so dangerous. His elders had always warned him about the evils of the women. Thus Vandiyathevan had always managed to guard his heart. But this time he was not so lucky , the cupid's arrow had finally pierced him. Love has came in his life in form of the Illiya Piratti. But what is so special about this particular woman? She definitely isn't the most beautiful one... Vandiyathevan had met women far more beautiful than her. For god's sake he had met the Pazhavoor Ilayarani , whose beauty rivals the heavenly Apsaras. But here he is lamenting over the unattainable Kundavai .Did he really had to fall for the only woman he can't have in the whole Chola Desam ? How stupid of him. Also what was he thinking ? Promising the Illavarasi that his heart belongs to her...she must have thought that he is an uncultured warrior who flirts with everything that resembles a woman. He does but still!!
"What was he thinking??"
Vandiyathevan ran a hand through his already messy locks , Poonzaghuli has finally stopped her repetitive song. But Vandiyathevan is no more in mood to sleep , his heart has been set ablaze by the new found realisation .
"Kundavai " sighed Vandiyathevan
"I know that you are unattainable and engaged to someone else but I have given you my heart and from today onwards it will always belong to you. I promise to you with the ever present moon as my witness that you are the only one I will ever love."
Glossary
Anna - big brother
Illavarasi - princess
Uyir Ungaludaiyadhu devi - my heart belongs to you
This is a small effort to write something on Vandiyathevan and Kundavai, so please give me your honest opinions...
