Kalyanaraman Durgadas

There is a sloka in the Kaivalya Upanishad that my father quoted often,’ said Panju, ‘Not by performing Vedic rituals,/ Not through one’s progeny,/ Nor through wealth;/ through sacrifice alone/ did they achieve immortality.’

The time: the transition years between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. The space: the fertile delta of the Cauvery. The backdrop: the early stirrings of a freedom struggle against British colonialism in South India.

Nothing can disturb the serenity of Tiruvaiyaru, South India, until Panju, a brilliant boy from an orthodox family, decides to join the revolutionary freedom movement. His actions affect not only him, but those he holds close—his sister Janaki who, breaking age-old tradition, aims to becomes first local woman with a college education; his father Sambu who finds himself getting waylaid from his spiritual quest; and the beauteous temple dancer Ranjitham who covets Panju.

Long, long ago or just a year ago – depending on when you read this – the Astu Devas wake up and grant the absurd wishes of two citizens of Orum, leaving the town isolated from the rest of civilization.
It is now up to Vikram, his reluctant fiancée Ponni, and his friends, Kalla, a thief, and Bana, an aspiring playwright, to steal a fabled blood jewel and save Orum. Oh, did we mention the jewel hangs around the neck of the demonic goddess, Rakta Katteri, guarded by her devotee, the terrifying Sorcerer of Mandala?

First, they have to to rescue a bunch of intrepid women from the clutches of the three-headed demon, Trisiras. Then they have to face the ordeals of the dreaded gates of Mandala, set by the sorcerer. Will Vikram and others be upto it? Will Orum be saved?