“Oho, you think we should wash our mouths for having mentioned the name of Rama? You need not worry about that. When Rama worshipped Lord Shiva here, that dosham was washed away. Hence the name of this city – Rameswaram.”
“After you meet the Prince, and you deliver this scroll, when the Prince is in a relaxed mood, can you please ask him, if he remembers Samudra-Kumari? If he does say that he remembers, tell him that she was the one who brought you here to Lanka in her boat.”
“You can untie yourself if you want. The knot is very loose. But, you do not need to help me. Just keeping out of my way would be helpful.”
She knew about the perils of rescuing people who were hysterical and on the cusp of drowning. She had heard about how they would clasp the rescuer so tightly that it would make it very hard for the rescuer to swim. She thought quickly. There was only one way. She went close to him and landed a powerful blow between his nose and temple.
“A cheetah used to live here. I killed it and made this mandapam my home. Whenever I want to spend some time alone, I come here.”
Sleep evaded him. After a long while, he fell asleep. He dreamt of being in a boat with Poonkuzhali. The dark ocean surrounded them. He dreamt of asking her to sing again.
The best sailor in this region is Poonkuzhali, but it is also the most difficult task to convince her to take you. I would advise you to not ask her right now. Wait for an opportune moment and ask. If she refuses now, it would be difficult to convince her later.
“I can see that you are lying. Just two days ago, two men came here. They also were telling similar lies like the one that you are telling. They said that a magician had sent them, and that they had to get tiger nails and elephant tail hair, for some occult ritual that they were going to perform. They wanted to go to Lanka to get these items. My brother has taken them in his boat.”
Poonkuzhali stopped in mid-step and turned around. She saw that he was stuck in the quicksand. She looked around and saw an abandoned craft. To his amazement, she jumped on to it, and paddled deftly through the wet sand and crossed the quicksand pit. She jumped on to firm land on the other side. She got down on all fours, firmly gripped Vandhiyathevan’s hand, and slowly pulled him out.
The small craft had a young lady manning it. She does remind us of the beautiful description that Sendhan Amudhan had given of his cousin, Poonkuzhali. Yes, it was indeed her. Her dark long tresses of hair dropped down to her shoulders. She was leaning back comfortably on her craft and singing a melancholy song.
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