Day 13 - Tsunami & Ponniyin Selvan

The second time I came across a reference to Tsunami happening in India, before it had occurred!!!

The first one was in the film Anbe Sivam where Kamal Haasan argues with Maddy that Tsunami can & will occur even in India. (Dialogues written By Madhan(Haai) of Ananda Vikatan).

I came across the second one when I was reading Ponniyin Selvan, a novel on the history of Cholas (during Raja Raja Cholan’s period). Ponniyin Selvan was written by Kalki in the early 1950s.

In the novel, Raja Raja Cholan’s father Sundara Cholan, in a completely different context tells his daughter,

 புயலினால் கடற்கரையில் தென்னை மர உயரம் அலைகள்
 எழும்பும். உள்நாட்டில் வெகுதூரம் கடல் பொங்கி வந்து மூழ்க
 அடிக்கும். காவேரிப்பட்டினத்தை அன்று ஒருநாள் கடல்
 கொண்டது போல் நாகப்பட்டினத்தையும் கொண்டு போனாலும்
 போய் விடும்.

The English translation would be something like,

“Storms will cause the waves on the shore rise to the height of a coconut tree. The sea will invade the land and submerge the whole place. Just like Kaveripattinam was destroyed by the sea, Nagapattinam might be destroyed one day.”

The novel also has a lot of references to such huge waves that hit the shores. The descriptions of huge waves, monstrous waves etc. are almost the same, except that they are not called Tsunami.

I just read it again and again to see whether it was really Nagapattinam that was mentioned!!! Having watched the damages caused by Tsunami right in front of my eyes in Kanyakumari, I was shocked.

Though references like these might be just coincidences, when you come across them after such tragic events, they shake you for a moment !!!