Chapter 25 - The City of Mathotta

It has been a long time since we left our hero Vandhiyathevan. We stayed in Thanjai for a long time. It's only a few days, but it's been a long time. Within a few days, Vandhiyathevan had walked along the coast of Eelam and reached the city of Mathotta on the banks of the Palavi River. The city on the coast of Eelam on the other side of the Rameswaram sea, as it had been in the days of Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundaramurthy, was now surrounded by groves of lush green trees. Mango, jackfruit, coconut, arecanut, kadali and sugarcane flourished around the bank. The monkeys were swinging in the trees. The zebras chirped; The birds were babbling.

The waves of the sea crashed against the fortress walls of the city. From big ships to small boats lined up at the harbor of Mathota town. Mountains upon mountains of goods unloaded from them were piled up. Though all these things were similar to those of Sambandar and Sundarar, there were other changes. The streets of Mathotta were now not crowded with devotees going to the Ketheeswara temple. Wherever the devotees had sung and rejoiced, warriors were now to be seen. Soldiers with swords and shields, swords and spears, wandered hither and thither.

For more than a hundred years, the city had been a battlefield. Most of the troops that came from Tamil Nadu to the Eelam war landed there. The returning troops also sailed there. The city had changed hands several times. Sometimes it was with the kings of Sri Lanka and sometimes with the Pandya kings. It was under the rule of the Cholas from the time of emperor Paranthaka.

One day Vandhiyathevan came and stood at the entrance of the fort wall of such a war center. We must go into the city. I want to see the Chola colonel." The guards refused to let him in. Accordingly, he adopted the same strategy that he had used earlier in Kadampoor. He pushed the guards forcefully and tried to get in. The guards took him prisoner and took him to the commander of the fortress. Vandhiyathevan told the commander of the fort that he had brought an important letter for Prince Arulmozhivarmar and that he could only inform the Chola colonel about it. They examined him. They found that he had a leaf for 'Ponniyin Selvan' and a Pazhuvur palm leaf.

Kodumbalur Periya Velar Poothi Vikrama Kesari was the Colonel of the Sri Lankan army at that time. They went to him and told him. Poothi Vikrama Kesari was talking to Chief Minister Anirutha Brahmarayar at that time. He was ready to accompany him to Rameswaram. So he said that he would come back and make inquiries, and that he should be kept in custody until then.

Then they took Vandhiyathevan and locked him in a room in a dilapidated mansion. They put up a guard at the entrance. Vandhiyathevan was tired from the long journey, so he was happy that he had been imprisoned. Can you retire for a day or two?

The first day he had such a rest. But on the second day there was a disturbance.

Strange noises began to be heard in the room next to him. Someone shouted at the other and threatened him. His heroic speeches were splendid. "Here!" "Cheechee!", "Go, go!", "Don't come close!" "If you come close, I'll kill you!" "Beware!" "Your life is not yours!" "I will send you to Yamalokam!" and "Your life will be lost in one kick!" I don't know to whom he is arguing. Only one voice was heard, but there was no counter-voice. I wondered if it was a mad soldier. Does that mean he keeps you awake all night? If you can sleep a little more peacefully, that too has been interrupted...!

"Won't you listen to me? Wont you just go? All right, all right! Look what I'm doing to you!" After these words something fell into his room. Vandhiyathevan, who was lying down, woke up. He stared at what had fallen. He laughed involuntarily. He burst out laughing, for it turned out to be a cat that had come out of the next room.

"Oho! Do you know anything else to laugh at? Laugh! Laugh! Don't come here again!" said the voice.

There was no doubt that someone was mad. Or would he argue so much with the cat? Or does he think the cat laughs like a human? But what was even more surprising was that he suspected that the voice he knew was the one he knew. It sounded like a voice I had heard somewhere, sometime. But whose voice? Where did you hear the voice? – I can't remember it!

Anyway, let there be someone, thought Vandhiyathevan and lay down. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but could not sleep. After a while something slipped on the soles of his feet. When I opened my eyes, I saw the cat lying there. Oh God! How do you sleep with it on your knees? He kicked and pushed. The cat moved on. He closed his eyes; Again he felt something softly in his hand. When he opened his eyes, he saw the cat lying beside him.

He grabbed her again with her hand. The cat went away. He closed his eyes again. The cat lay down on his head and began to stroke his forehead with its tail.

The soldier, who fearlessly withstood the sword and the work, could not bear the experience of the cat rubbing it with its tail. He got up and picked up the cat by the neck. The top of the wall between his room and the next room had collapsed a little. He tossed the cat through it.

There was a stir in the next room for a while. The cries of the human voice were joined by the grunting of the cat. After a while, he said, "Go! Away!" came a voice. The cat's meow meow was a short distance away. Then there was silence.

Vandhiyathevan was in tears. Half asleep, he had a dream. A very pleasant dream. The junior stateswoman Kundavai came and sat beside him and stroked his forehead. Aha! What a difference between a cat's tail and a princess's finger!

Suddenly I woke up again. I was sorry that the dream had been shattered.

Someone knocked on the wall from the next room, he must be mad.

"Who's there? Who threw the cat?"

Vandhiyathevan did not respond. He was silent. Aa! What is this, the sound of a cat scratching again? No no! Someone is trying to climb the wall on the other side!

Vandhiyathevan did not get up. He lay down and listened attentively. But as a precaution, the hand was still in the grip of the knife.

From the top of the wall, two hands were first visible. Then a mundas appeared. A face came up under the hood and looked down.

Aa! Isn't he an Azhvarkadiyan? He has changed his appearance a little because he is wearing a turban! But there is no doubt that he is Azhvarkadiyan.

Why and how did he get here? We should have known we existed! Has he come to help? Or has he come to disrupt?

Vandhiyathevan sat up and said, "O Veera Vaishnava! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to Thiruketheeswaram, the holy place of Shiva! Welcome!" he said.

"Brother! Is that you? I thought! Who else could have sat there without showing such a loud voice?" said Azhvarkadiyan and jumped into the room.