Nandini

Chapter 30- Unexpected Guests

Nandini didn't know how many days passed since meeting him. Amma was worried about the change in her demeanor but she just told her that she isn't feeling well. That wasn't a lie.

Who opened this window? She remembered closing it. Perhaps she didn't. Similarly, did she even meet him? Couldn't it have been a dream? But it is true that he is in this area. Most of their neighbours went to their relatives' homes across the river. Futile attempts! As the riverbed is dry, any army can easily reach any village in this area.

Who is knocking on the door? Is it someone from the other bank? Has akka gone into labour? "Coming", she said loudly. But they knocked even harder. Amma or Periyappa never knocked like this. Who is this? Have some thieves come to plunder the almost deserted village? Is it the Chola army? But looters won't knock, right? Calm down! The door barged open and Nandini tried to scream but her voice refused to comply. How dare they break into a stranger's home at midnight when a young woman is alone?

Those men carried an older man who was bleeding profusely. They placed him on Appa's bed. She lighted a lamp but one of them dipped the wick deeply into oil so that there will be only minimal light. Though their condition wasn't equally bad, all of them were armed and injured. Soldiers.

"Get us something to drink. Boil some water too". This man looked familiar. Very familiar. She took the entire pot with her trembling arms and gave it to him. He gave some water to the old man and passed the pot to his companions who settled down in the hut, as if it is they own the place. One of them started to skin and grind the turmeric they brought with them.

"Amma, please boil some water", the man requested again, this time with softer voice. Nandini who was too shocked to ask anything ran to the kitchen and boiled some water. One of them opened her boxes one by one and tore up Amma's old sarees. Others added salt to the hot water and washed the wounds of the old man.

"We will need more water. Fetch some water from the well, girl".

"No, she might run away and inform someone"

Some men took the pots from the kitchen and sneaked out to fetch water. She went to the old man with the lamp and examined his wounds. His companions were preparing to apply turmeric paste on his wounds.

"Ayya, his injuries are deep. Turmeric alone won't be enough".

"Do you have something else?"

"There is a neem tree behind this house. I will pluck some leaves".

"Alright. Keep the lamp here. Parameshwara, go with her. Slit her throat if she tries to run away"

Why are these men so violent and paranoid? Do they think that someone like her will rat out or harm a dying old man? The man named Parameshwaran followed her like her shadow. It was already difficult to move around in this darkness. She grinded the neem leaves and mixed it with the turmeric paste. She took some of the paste in a different a bowl and gave it to a soldier.

"Ayya, all of you may clean your wounds and apply this. I will treat this person".

"We don't need any treatment. Make sure that he stays alive". He took his knife. Nandini thought he is going to stab her but he heated and pressed it on his wounds. Though it produced a sizzling noise, he didn't even hiss. These men are extraordinarily sturdy! The man who seemed like the leader of the gang took the herbal paste from her. Someone brought ghee from the kitchen.

They decided that half of them will sleep and half of them will stand watch for sometime, after which they will exchange shifts. Nandini offered to sleep in the the kitchen, but they stopped her.

"Go and sleep in that corner. You won't go out of this home alive if you dare to defy us".

She sat down in a corner and dozed off. When she woke up in the morning, those men were eating mashed and boiled jackfruit. Their leader asked Nandini if she is hungry. Then it striked her. This is . . . This is the dignitary she met in Madurai. Ravidasan Panchavan Brahmadhirajan, the leader of Thennavan Apattudavigal. She remembered annan's words about the fiercely loyal bodyguard regiment of the Pandya Kings. Nandini's eyes shot open. Does it mean that the old man lying on the cot is the Pandya King himself? Veera Pandyan, the mortal enemy of Aditha Karikalan.

°-------------°

Is this a joke?

She silently questioned all gods. Aditha Karikalan has abandoned her and Veera Pandyan is in her house. Should she kill him? Funny! Has she ever killed anything, even an ant?

Is it right to treat Karikalar's enemy? If this Thennavan is healed, won't he fight Karikalar again? Didn't he start fighting the Cholas even before she or Karikalar were even born? But were Cholas innocent? Didn't they reach their current status by fighting and killing? They even cross the sea to fight and kill.

What should she do? What can she do? These men watched her closely. They even refused to let her go to the pond to bathe. Bleeding gashes marred the body which once bore Devendran's crown and necklace *. It was Perumal himself who brought this old injured man to her humble hut. If this is his fate, this is her duty. 

"Aaaaaaaa", her reverie was broken by his screaming. He is awake. She should treat him.

Thennavan - Lord of the South, a title borne by Pandya Kings, like Sembiyan for Cholas and Vanavan for Cheras. 

* Legends say that the crown jewels of Pandyas come from Indra (King of Gods) who was defeated by Ugra Pandyan, the son of Madura Meenakshi.