Book Review - Poi Maan Karadu, Kalki R. Krishnamurthy

A banyan tree inspires awe - be it in its own majestic size or in the pruned bonsai form. Authors like Kalki R. Krishnamurthy are like banyan trees in the Indian literary scene. I was quite surprised that a genius mind that churned out grand classics like 'Ponniyin Selvan' (The Son of Ponni) and 'Sivakamiyin Sabatham' (The Vow of Sivakami), spanning a thousand pages or even more, could write such a crisp and pocket-sized novel, in no way second to those grand works in terms of quality or fun.

This novella is a comic thriller that tells the story of Sengoda Koundar, who has earned some money through hard work and is so obsessed about it. Sempavalavalli is his lady love. Just as they express their love for one another and plan to get married, there arrives Kumari Pankaja, charming and suave, making Sengodan's mind waver a bit. But accompanying Pankaja are two of his relatives, who seem to be having nefarious intentions. What were their intentions? Did Sengoda Koundar fall prey to their wiles? Did he marry his lady love? What happened to his money? This book answers all these questions in typical Kalki style - fluid, quick-paced, interesting and entertaining.

A nice little appetizer ahead of all the serious reads planned for this year!