Ponniyin Selvan- The Story of Raja Raja Chola

Watched Ponniyin Selvan this morning. This was a story that had to be told and had to be seen by all tamilians and south Indians. Maybe this is a figment of my imagination but there was a pride in the actors eyes for it is an ancient tamil civilization story. I like the cast being all tamilian actors. Vikram, Karthi, Trisha and Jayam Ravi all are Tamilians. And the story has been directed by Manirathnam. The selection of these actors was so apt since only a Tamilian can feel the glory of the Cholas. Noone else can live in that character. The Story of Tamilnadu’s greatest King, rarely found in school textbooks. There was deep commitment reflected in the action in the movie. A Historical/RealLife inspired Movie always carries a lot of weight on the actor for they have to capture the emotions of a character that actually lived. 

Mythology/fiction is easier to experiment with. 

The characters in Ponniyin Selvan have been known to most since childhood. I myself do not know how many times I must have read the story of Kundavai, Arulmozhi since childhood. My first introduction to these characters was in my primary school when I read the comic, Raja Raja Chola. So none of the characters in the movie were new to me. The story of how Arulmozhi becomes the greatest chola king, Raja Raja Chola has always interested me since childhood. Before going to the movie the other day, I reread the comic and went. Very happy to see this story coming to life on the big screen.   Most of our generation’s history knowledge has come from Amar Chitra Kathas only. If there were no Amar Chitra Kathas, we would have never known these kings’  stories. Hence it was so nice to watch this story on the big screen.ILater I read Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan-all parts several times. In our CBSE school system, regional kings do not get much space which is occupied by the government’s fascination with Mughals & the British. No attempt is made to even understand the architecture,governance and contributions of these regional kingdoms. It is a history that has been suppressed for long through its lack of visibility. 

Strangely, no state too is bothered that the state’s children rarely read about their state history, the important kingdoms in their state, the kings, the contributions they made to architecture, literature and the traditions they institutionalised. Raja Raja Chola was the greatest South Indian king and every south Indian has to know about him, not just the tamilians. Most telugus consider Sri Krishnadevaraya as the greatest telugu king though he is a kannada king. The stories of Cholas and Pandyas have been intriguing since childhood. 

These kings have contributed a lot to our culture. The temples they have built like the Brihadeeswara temple are time tested marvels. Present generation is fascinated by Egyptian Pyramids but rarely visits Thanjavur to see the architectural marvel. Our generation was lucky, especially the employees' children who always got to see a new place thanks to the bank's LTC concession which makes employees happily take a vacation regularly and visit a new place, something they might not have done on their own.  

History teaches a lot. We are taught the governance systems of Mughals & the British but we are never taught how society was during our great kings times in our school textbooks. We are taught. Not just south indian history. None of the regional kingdoms' histories are ever taught in our school textbooks. We neither read about the Palas/Chalukyas/Cheras/ Satavahanas/ Hoysalas/Pratiharas/Gangas/Mauryas or Guptas. They are India’s greatest kingdoms. The culture that we see or follow today has been institutionalised by these kingdoms.