CHENNAI: Blood, deceit, revenge and a promise to a dying father — all outline the seventh-century battle that cemented the glory of South Indian rulers for centuries to come. Years after the Pallava king Mahendravarman I faced a humiliating loss to the Chalukyas, his son vowed to reclaim the capital city of Vathapi once he ascended the throne. Narasimhavarman I waged a fierce war against emperor Pulikeshi II, defeating the Chalukyas and establishing the Pallava might.
The Battle of Vathapi Trilogy, penned by Arun Krishnan is a fictional retelling of the same. During an introductory meeting of the books Nandi’s Charge, Varaha’s Vengeance, and Simha’s Roar was conducted by the Chennai International Centre. A discussion about the series was conducted in the presence of author, playwright, columnist, and poet, Shreekumar Varma, and historian Chithra Madhavan, who focusses on Indian temple history, architecture, sculpture and iconography.
The panel’s love for history was evident in the conversation that followed. “I write history in fiction, Arun writes history as fiction and Chithra’s work is history set in stone,” said Shreekumar. Arun is originally from Thanjavur, and as a young boy at the Brihadeeshwara temple, he let himself wonder if Raja Raja Chozhan had ever set foot in the very spot he was standing in.
His interest in the subject began with his class 7 history teacher, who taught her students the Brahmi script so that they could read an Ashokan inscription in their history textbooks. In 2011, Arun read Amish’s Immortals of Meluha and found himself inspired to do justice to stories from south India. He felt compelled to correct the myths regarding south India’s past and was particularly drawn to the life of Immadi Pulikeshi. Chithra further emphasised the importance of Arun’s work, saying, “Much of our written history comes from above the Vindhyas. South Indian history remains largely neglected.”
He started working on Nandi’s Charge in 2011 and abandoned it after 150 pages. He managed to finish it after picking it back up during the pandemic. The other two books were written in a span of three months each, despite him working a day job! His writing process was highly disciplined, and he did not face the artistic issue of writer’s block, but rather ‘plot blocks’. Interestingly, he overcame these by designing his characters after the people he encountered.
People-watching enabled him to write believable characters with distinct motivations, despite the genre. Arun also chose to write the story from the viewpoint of lowly army generals instead of the kings, who only issued orders. This makes for a different cultural experience of the past, keeping the language and events accessible to the reader. “One good thing about writing 7th-century historical fiction is that not much is known from that era. This allows me to take creative liberties as a writer,” Arun recounts.
He drew inspiration from a diverse range of writers including Kalki (especially Sivagamiyin Sapatham), Louis L’Amour, David Eddings, Jeffrey Archer, PG Wodehouse, Oliver Strange and Alistair MacLean. “To be a good writer, you have to read extensively,” Arun says. His intense research has made the trilogy historically accurate, receiving astonished accolades from Chithra.
“There was nothing amiss historically in either of the three books — it was unputdownable,” she said, praising his inclusion of Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang in the story based on south India. “Our history curriculum provides a very sanitised version of what actually happened. We need a thorough overhauling of this; we need to confront our history in all of its gory reality. My role as an author of historical fiction is to get a young reader to Google the characters in my books,” Arun explains.
‘The Battle of Vathapi’ trilogy is available in bookstores and online.