A Dancing Sculpture Comes to Life
Chamundeswari’s eyes went to the tiger’s cage the moment she walked on stage. She hated it as much as Manu did when he had to be shut inside. Though the cage was large by any standards—four feet tall, twelve feet long and four feet wide—she still did not care for Manu to be trapped inside it. But then, with so many strangers thronging the temple, she did not want the people to scatter away due to fear in the presence of a fully grown tiger in their midst.
Her large eyes turned curious when they fell on the tall man who stood leaning against the cage, his hand on Manu’s head. Now, that was a surprise indeed! How come Manu was letting a stranger pet him so easily? While Manu had grown up in a palace and not in the jungle; who was also so well fed that he did not feel the urge to bite people, he was not exactly what one would call friendly, at least not during a first meeting. And there generally was no second meeting as people rarely got close enough to him to find out if he was friendly or not.
Who was this man? She could not help noticing that he was not only tall, but well-muscled, as if he was used to warfare. I must ask Vishnurayan, she promised to herself as she waited for the temple trustee to finish his speech as he introduced her to the public. Her face darkened when she realised that she will not have the opportunity as the loyal servant would not show himself at the temple today, not with the soldiers from her kingdom lurking around. Damn!
She turned her head once again to stare in the direction of Manu and the stranger, her eyes rounding in shock when the man stepped forward, the evening rays of the sun lighting up his face, making him appear luminescent. It was the same man who had stood next to her inside the temple. Chamundeswari gritted her teeth as her temper rose up once again. What was he doing with her tiger? Her cheeks grew hot when he looked her way, staring directly into her face.
It was with great difficulty that the princess forced her attention back to the trustee who was winding down his speech.
Once he was done, Chamundeswari forgot all about the stranger as she got in position to begin her performance as Anagha played the tambura, singing from Nayanar Tirunavukkarasar’s Thevaram—hymns on Siva Peruman, the lord the temple was dedicated to. Though she did not fail to note that it was not Vishnurayan, but a stranger playing the mridangam. Soon, Chamundeswari forgot her surroundings as she got caught up in the brilliance of the song, swinging her body fluidly, completely unconscious of the crowd in front of her.
The mandapam where the dance performance took place was well lit. With the sun on the verge of setting, brightly lit torches fixed into the metal brackets on each pillar made the area so bright that it could have passed off for day instead of twilight.
Vijayendra Chozhan’s eyes went wide as he stared at the princess, completely forgetting his surroundings. He was totally enamoured with not just her beauty, but her skill. She reminded him of his mother Kalaiarasi, who was no more. Kalaiarasi had also been a dancer at the Adi Kumbeswarar Koil in Kumbakonam. She had refused to wear her anklets once his father passed away; and had died at a young age of a broken heart, when Vijayendran had been barely eleven years old, leaving him an orphan.
Princess Chamundeswari—yes, now he knew that was who she was, not only thanks to Vishnurayan, but also to the temple trustee’s introduction of the princess of Kongunadu—was a brilliant dancer, even better than his mother, it seemed.
He knew that she was about seventeen summers old and had no parents, just like him. And yes, he had heard that she was beautiful, but he could see that it was too simple a word to describe the princess of Kongunadu.
Manu, who had noticed his mistress, let out a roar, scraping his paw against the metal bars that would not allow him to go to her.
Velan stared at the tiger, a wary look in his face, before he gazed at the iron bolt that held the cage door in place. What if Manu escaped from his cage? He got worried.
Vijayendran, who had gone ahead a few steps, returned to the cage to rub a finger on the tiger’s forehead gently, repeating his gesture. “Calm down, my friend. It will not be long before the lady rescues you from your cage.” He smiled when he felt the soft purr against his hand when the tiger quietened down at his touch.
Velan gave the other man a relieved look. “Aditya, it is a good thing you are here to calm down Manu,” he said, raising his voice to be heard.
Vijayendran frowned at the sentry, shaking his head even as he placed a forefinger on his lips, indicating that the other man should remain silent. He then quickly swung his gaze to the strange man he was keeping a watch on and was relieved to see him standing right across, leaning on the pillar opposite. Good!
As for Chamundeswari, she forgot where she was, the people in the audience, the musicians, the man near her tiger and the tiger itself as she focussed on the song and the jathi, her mind on the lord of the temple as she danced, moving from one end of the stage to the other.
The next three naazhigais seemed to fly on wings as the silent audience watched the dancer in awe as she drifted from one song to the next seamlessly. As the performance reached the end, the crowd went wild with appreciation as they all came to their feet, clapping hard even as everyone began to speak all at once.
As a prince and warrior, he had had many women throwing themselves at him. But this was the first time Vijayendran found himself so deeply attracted to someone. Not just beautiful, Princess Chamundeswari was fiery as well, her golden eyes flashing expressively. He smiled to himself, not being able to help but admire her feisty nature.
Manu let out a roar again when the cheers from the crowd turned louder. Vijayendran turned to the tiger and grinned, reaching out to scratch his throat. “What happened Manu? Are you applauding your mistress too?” he asked softly.
Manu calmed down, purring deeply in his throat as he turned his head to accommodate Vijayendran’s touch. Just then, the prince noticed the strange man move. Removing his hand from the tiger, he walked across the front of the stage, moving closer to the man. His eyes went wide when he caught sight of something silver flash in the man’s hand under the torch light. Instinctively, Vijayendran stepped forward and just managed to catch the knife that flew out of the man’s hand in the direction of Princess Chamundeswari, where she was standing with both her hands together as she acknowledged the crowd’s admiration. It was obvious that she was completely unaware of the danger she was in.
The stranger’s eyes went wide in shock when they caught Vijayendran’s sharp gaze. He was even more shaken when he noticed his knife in the other man’s hand. How was it even possible? Sokkan was Pandiyan’s man and had travelled along with the princess. He was a wizard at throwing knives and had never missed his target, not until today. But… but how had the other man caught the swiftly flying knife? Damn! But for the idiot, the knife would have definitely pierced the princess’s heart by now and she would have fallen down in a pool of her own blood; probably dying within a few seconds.
When Vijayendran moved, Sokkan realised that he was probably in trouble and ran to the eastern entrance of the temple; or tried to. It was just that more than half the crowd seemed to be having the same intention, making it difficult for him to move fast; especially because he was huge. The worst part was that he was conspicuous, making him an easy target. Damn!
Sokkan turned around to see how far the man chasing him was. Before he could perceive anything, he felt a heavy hand at the back of his neck. “Move to the left,” growled a male voice in his ear. Not having a choice, Sokkan turned and walked in the left direction. They walked behind the huge stone sculpture of Nandi and further on. Soon, it became obvious that the man who held him in a stranglehold was taking him to that part of the temple where there were no torches. Except for a couple of oil lamps, the area was dark. Maybe he could make good his escape! Sokkan felt a rush of confidence.
Vijayendran let go of the stranger’s neck before quickly tying his hands from behind with a thick rope. Moving to the front, he asked, “Who are you?”
Sokkan spat on the ground, glaring at the other man defiantly. While he was built like a small mountain, the other man was taller, even if he was leaner. Now with his hands tied, it might be difficult to fight him, but not impossible to run away. “Why should I tell you?” he asked, his voice an angry roar.
“Maybe because you are intruding on my territory? Trying to harm my people? Are you even aware that the knife you threw today might have killed someone?” Vijayendran’s voice was cool, but authoritative as he interrogated the man.
Sokkan laughed, the sound guttural and eerie in the otherwise silent area of the temple compound. “The knife was meant to kill someone, you fool! But it did not do its work all because of you.” He spat again, only to yell when he felt a hard slap on his face.
“We are inside a sacred temple and that is the second time you spat on the ground. Are you an animal or what?” Vijayendran slapped the man on the other cheek with the back of his hand. “What is your name?” he snarled now.
His face burning with pain and mortification, Sokkan glared at the man in front of him, his gaze spewing venom. “I am Sokkan, the second-in-command of the Kongunadu’s army’s Senapati. You have dared to hit me. I swear on Lord Brihadeeshwaran that you will not survive the night, you bastard! You dare to behave as you do because my hands are tied. Free them and fight me like a man.”
Vijayendran frowned. He had no plan to untie the murderer, no way. So! It was the commander-in-chief who had ordered the princess’s murder. Or was it the man above him, the chief minister? After all, Vishnurayan had suspected the queen and chief minister to be keen on bringing an end to Princess Chamundeswari’s life. Till that morning, it had been a duty for Vijayendran, to keep the princess safe. But now, after meeting the fiery beauty, he had decided to make it his life’s mission.
After all, he was already half in love with the beautiful princess and he was never going to let anyone harm her, ever!
Reaching out to gather the front of Sokkan’s tunic in his fist, Vijayendran thrust his face close to the other man’s and said, “I do not give a damn if you think I am man enough or not. It is the prison for you, my man. I am sure the rats of Thanjavur’s dungeons will love to have you for company.” Lifting his head, the Chozha prince put two fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle.
A few minutes later, they could hear running feet. Four soldiers from the Chozha army surrounded them. “Sokkan is our guest from now on and is not to be released until I personally order it. Do you understand?” asked Vijayendran, looking at one of the soldiers.
“Yes, My Lord!”
My Lord! Who the hell was this man? Sokkan frowned as his gaze swung from the bowed head of the soldier to the man who had caught him in the act of throwing a knife.
“Who are you?” he asked even as the soldiers handcuffed him.
“Adityan!” Vijayendran said loudly and clearly, smiling when the soldiers nodded their understanding. It was best that Pandiyan’s men did not know his real identity.
His smile turned to a grin, his teeth flashing white in the darkness, when he heard Sokkan muttering and grumbling as the soldiers dragged him out of the temple. Good! Now to go and make his acquaintance with the princess.
