I have read Ponniyin Selvan through weblinks and pdf. I have heard that Sir. Rajaji has written Foreword for Ponniyin Selvan. Is there foreword given by Amarar Kalki for PS? I would like to read the Munnurai for PS. If there is any weblink where I can read the foreword pages, let me know please. thanks in advance.
Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I have read the afterword written by Kalki. It states about the different characters and what they did after that the point where PS ends. I was just curious if Kalki has written any Introductory article for PS. Also, heard from few sites that Rajaji has written foreword for PS.
I think there was a foreword by Kalki when the novel was originally serialised in Kalki weekly duringthe fifties ! We used to have all the five volums [ with Maniyam's sketches! ] beautifully bound in ourhome. Some volumes borrowed were not returned. I think we still have three volumes lodgedsomewhere in our lumber room ! I will try to retrieve and inform as soon as possible !
Hi that brings us to an interesting question. whether PS ever was in the book form during kalki's lifetime? the time diference between the last episode and the famous afterword and kalkis' demise was around 8 months(?) the book must have come a decade later.
Thanks for your reply. My assumption for foreword is like while writing PS, Kalki might have wanted to give some historical background information about it. But, surprisingly I found in link that, Rajaji wrote foreword. That gave me more curiosity. I read PS from Chennailibrary and wikipedia, so I did not get chance to read foreword. Thanks so much for the information and appreciate your help a lot.
It is very clear in the Vanathi edition. Rajaji wrote the preface for the first edition of Ponniyin Selvan by Vanathi Pathippakam. The first edition came out in December 1984.
No, the novel did not come in book form when he was alive! Kalki died on 5th December 1954 ! The novel was serialised in Kalki weekly magazine between 1950 and 1954. Kalki died after 6 months after completing the novel.
Due to the popularity of the novel, again and again Ponniyin Selvan was serialised for more than3 times in the Kalki weekly magazine in the later years since 1970 !
Below is the timeline for PS published by Vanathi publishers. Ponniyin Selvan was serialized between 1950-1954 in Kalki Weekly. Kalki passed away on December 5, 1954. Vanathi Publishers was started on 1955. [Source:http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article2615053.ece] Ponniyin Selvan was published by Vanathi Publishers in 1984. But, Rajaji died on 25 December 1972. So, Rajaji wrote the foreword before the book got published.
If any one has Vanathi Publisher's PS Print, is it possible to scan and post the pics of those pages. We can read Rajaji's foreword for PS and also know when it was written.