By Krishnaraj Sambath <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As a Watcher<\/strong><\/p>\n FDFS (my first ever!) on 30-Sep-2022, 6PM present in Houston, TX. There had been 5 of us in whole within the theatre, together with my spouse and 4-yr previous son. (Not the ear-deafening paper-showering cinematic FDFS expertise I hoped for)<\/p>\n As a Reader<\/strong><\/p>\n Why did I decide up this e book?<\/strong><\/p>\n While the face reveal of Oomai Rani was a cliffhanger and left me desirous to know what subsequent, it was solely a part of the explanation. I recalled from one of many PS-I promo interviews Maniratnam saying that if the film conjures up the viewers to learn the e book, he considers this movie successful (or one thing to that impact). That was sufficient of a push for me to purchase the e book. So I did, that very same day.<\/p>\n How did I’m going about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Reading something (not to mention a novel, essentially the most epic one at that) in Tamil after 20 years was a battle, to be trustworthy. It took some time for the muscle reminiscence to kick in. But when it did, it simply flowed like a .. Ponni nadhi. (What nostalgia!) Where I cheated \u2013 skipped all songs, skimmed by \u201crecaps\u201d of psychological states (which can have been wanted for an extended novel, informed over 4 years, however not when \u201cbinge-reading\u201d) I used to be anticipating written Tamil 70 years in the past to be totally different from what it’s immediately. But that wasn\u2019t the case. There was hardly a necessity for the dictionary. Few phrases the place I wanted assist, I might simply guess (like Dhoomakedhu \u2013 Shooting star; Pirayam \u2013 Age)<\/p>\n I knew it was simpler to begin than it was to truly undergo with it (Thanks to many failed New Year resolutions). So, I wanted a crutch \/ coach. Come it did, within the type of google spreadsheets, which I used to trace my studying progress (I\u2019m positive there\u2019s an app for this, I used to be simply old-fashioned). I additionally recall BR\u2019s recommendation to Anupama Chopra \u2013 learn 10 pages day-after-day \u00a0or one thing like that). So, I took that too, kind of.<\/p>\n The chart beneath exhibits the variety of chapters learn because the inception of my journey. The blue line exhibits what number of chapters I had accomplished on a given date. The black strains had been aim posts of every half. The dashed grey line is the road of better of match \u2013 to present me an concept of after I would possibly end. Thanks to Kalki\u2019s riveting writing (and vacation season), I used to be capable of full it in ~10 weeks (a superb 3 weeks forward of projection).<\/p>\n How a lot of the e book has been coated within the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n Inner pie exhibits the variety of chapters and components within the PS, the e book. The outer donut exhibits how a lot of the story has been coated within the PS, the film Roughly talking, PS-I first half adopted occasions in Baagam-I (together with the interval block of Aadhitha Karikalan \u2013 Nandhini backstory) and PS-I second half adopted occasions in Baagam-II Similar to the e book, the film ends with a cyclone within the ocean and \u201cperceived death\u201d of Arunmozhi Varman within the Palk Strait (Don\u2019t suppose it\u2019s a spoiler to say that Arunmozhi doesn\u2019t really die)<\/p>\n However, the reveal of Oomai Rani\u2019s character is an \u201cinduced\u201d excessive within the film. Her character is launched and established earlier. (Arunmozhi Varman, Poonguzhali & Oomai Rani can have a pleasant supper in Ilangai the night time earlier than they head again to Thanjavur solely to get caught within the cyclone.)<\/p>\n This metric of no. of chapters coated (admittedly a flawed one) exhibits PS-I covers the primary third of the novel, presumably leaving a good bit to cowl in PS-II. While there could also be some trimming on backstories and recaps, I anticipate PS-II will hit many of the excessive\/key-points from components 3-5 of the novel. (I additionally recall one of many artists mentioning MR doesn\u2019t need to do PS-III)<\/p>\n Who was Kalki\u2019s favourite character in Ponniyin Selvan?<\/strong><\/p>\n Below I have a look at the variety of mentions of a personality within the novel by Mr. Kalki. I would be the first to confess \u201cquantity\u201d just isn’t equal to \u201cquality\u201d or \u201cimportance\u201d. I used to be tangentially impressed by \u201cspeech analysis of presidents\u201d. though that is rather more rudimentary (and pedestrian). Few notes earlier than we have a look at the outcomes:<\/p>\n \u25cf I did a easy Ctrl+F on character names and famous down the depend of appearances Kindle reported (I used to be shocked and impressed that this function labored in Tamil font)<\/p>\n \u25cf When search outcomes yielded 1000+ outcomes, Kindle didn\u2019t present a precise quantity (however merely mentioned 1000+). Thankfully, there have been solely two characters with this \u201cmillenia of mentions\u201d star standing<\/p>\n \u25cf Some (many?) characters are referred to with a number of names. For e.g., Poonguzhali as Samudhrakumari, Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar as Kalandhagar. In these instances, for \u201cease of analysis\u201d, I simply caught to their main names. Also, the secondary names typically weren\u2019t used as typically as their main names.<\/p>\n \u25cf Arulmozhi Varman was an exception. Ponniyin Selvan (for comprehensible causes) happens simply as typically as Arulmozhi Varman. So, I added the variety of mentions of \u201cPonniyin Selvan\u201d to \u201cArulmozhi Varman\u201d<\/p>\n \u25cf __________Pazhuvettaraiyars required one other kind of changes \u2013 as a result of there are \u00a0two of<\/p>\n them (Chinna and Periya). Once a scene \/ chapter is established that it’s for \u201cPeriya Pazhuvettaraiyar\u201d, Mr. Kalki drops \u201cPeriya\u201d and simply makes use of \u201cPazhuvettaraiyar\u201d. And simply the phrase \u201cPazhuvettaraiyar\u201d happens 1000+ occasions. To hold issues easy, \u201cChinna Pazhuvettaraiyar\u201d happens 314 occasions. I related the remainder (~700) to \u201cPeriya Pazhuvettaraiyar\u201d (who does have extra presence between the 2).<\/p>\n Now onto some observations:<\/p>\n \u25cf It might be not a shock that Vanthiyathevan tops the chart<\/p>\n \u25cf I wasn\u2019t anticipating Poonguzhali to come back second, though I can\u2019t say I\u2019m absolutely shocked (whose position maintains significance all through the novel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baradwajrangan.files.wordpress.com\/2023\/01\/ponniyin-selvan-1.png\")
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