Original subtitles

2 Chinnapaiyyan, my lad...

Yes, pedagogue.

Apple of my eyes...precious youngling...

Maven...keeper of my life and destiny... Ayyanar aashan.

Are you asleep, my child? Or awakened by the day?

My maven...the preceptor who taught me vigil even in slumber...Ayyanar aashan...

Then enlighten me, my lad... who lies asleep in this bullock cart, eyes shut, mind still?

A tiger? Leopard? Lion, or mighty elephant?

My pedagogue...

Speak, my lad.

He who rests in this bullock cart...

Who is he?

He who has won over tigers, leopards, lions, and elephants...

Hmm...

The one whose name echoes across lands far and wide.

Ohh...

The uncontested among all beings on land, sea, and forests.

Go on...

The one whose footsteps dent the Earth.

Hmm...

He who ushers rains, stops towering trees from shedding leaves.

He, for whom seas quieten, winds retreat.

Oh!

Oh! A warrior for all seasons?

Yes, my maven.

Reveal him to us.

The one who has trounced all warriors East, West, North, and South.

Oh!

The one bequeathed with gold, silk, and treasures in prize.

The one who holds the key to every maiden’s desirous heart.

- Aaha! - Braver than the bravest.

- Yes! - My most revered elder kin.

Yes!

Malaikottai Valiban ( Behemoth of the mountain fortress)

All hail!

He who vanquished Malaikottai Mamallan the Great, beat him over in might,

and brought him to his knees.

He who earned reverence, wealth,and the epithet – Malaikottai Valiban.

Master... Kelu master...

What befell the master now? Why are you yelling?!

Two scoundrels have challenged you before the villagers.

And?

They called you an emasculated noob.

Are you bluffing, boy?

It’s been ages since we witnessed a tight face-off.

Kelu Mallan is lost in oiling himself and downing eggs.

It's time we saw him in combat.

Let me off, lady!

Kelu master...

Kelu Mallan and Malaikottai Valiban

Kelu master... I’m coming along too!

Where is the crackerjack who challenged me? Reveal yourself.

Elder one... wake up, please.

A mountain of a man is here for you!

Master...

Chew on this and beat him to pulp!

Elder, this man is munching on hot chilies! Wake up and give him his due.

The unbeaten Kelu Mallan of the downhill village,

He who reigns over all eighteen combat rings and their respective champions...

- I’m assuming all eighteen rings are in this tiny village eh?

The Mallan has a history worth engraving, it seems.

He who sprang up sixteen feet on his toe,

cracked open the skull of a tusker,

and mashed its brain to pulp.

Kelu Mallan...strong as a tusker and unyielding as a boulder.

They say he pulped the brain of a tusker!

A tusker’s pulp?! Elder... wake up, for once!

Not even man enough to look me in the eye. Valiban, you lowly coward!

Sight is the only truth. All unseen is a lie.

Master, everything you have known yet is bluff.

Truth is that which shall unfold hereafter.

My mace will teach you truth and falsity soon!

Get up!

If you seek a face-off, you will have to come to me.

I won’t move from here.

Kelu, I want to watch your mace shatter his skull.

Henceforth, Malaikottai Valiban is protector of this downhill village.

Hundred and one gold sovereigns, all of Kelu’s land, wealth, and women

are now Valiban's to keep.

I decree for Kelu to be shaved bald, tattooed, and banished downhill on a donkey.

Erect a new milestone at this crossroad and inscribe it with tales of Malaikotai Valiban’s glorious conquests.

MANKOMBODINJOORU

He's grown into a fine lad now.

How enchanting it is to listen to the tune of his flute.

Not just music,

he works his charm with quick moves and tricks!

After all, he is my precious son, Mothership!

And Valiban?

The magnificent one destined to conquer mountains,

wrestle against storms,

and lead my ambitions to fruition.

The maker of miracles.

Mathangi...

Will you narrate a fable to me?

The one in which the combatant loses his horse...

Once,

A gifted combatant lost his strongest horse.

He wandered days and nights looking for his horse, but in vain.

Finally, his search brought him to a palace in a faraway land.

The king welcomed him as their guest.

The young, beautiful princess,

Fell irrevocably in love with him.

Mathangi...

I have been pining to see you.

Aren’t there many other maidens you long for, elsewhere?

Mathangi...

A million women in a million places,

But none like you in all the vastness of this world.

Mathangi...

Many sundowns later,

The combatant found his horse in a battlefield.

He returned to the palace,

and told the princess

that he was leaving for good.

That is destiny. No mortal can alter it.

Not even me?

Not even you.

As he took off into his conquests, mounted on his horse,

leaving her only a cloud of dust,

the princess watched, knowing she had to let him go.

NOORANATHALAYOORU

Who is it inside?

The goddess herself!

Who is on the other side?

If the one within is the goddess, the one without is the servant.

And what is this servant’s name?

Valiban... Malaikotai Valiban...

What pursuit brings you here, Valiban?

Pleasure or gambling?

I heard that knives can be sharpened here...

May I know the goddess’s good name?

Rangapattinam Rangarani.

Oh my!

What brings you here?

My beloved peacock has gone missing...

I am here to find him.

What do you want? Here to see the peacock?

The lord peacock of the mountain fortress…

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress,

A thousand feathers unfold as he sways…

Where did he vanish without a word?

Have you seen my beloved trickster?

I wandered Madhura, Mithila, Alaka, Yamara, Indira, and Chandra in search,

My feet falter in fatigue,

My eyes droop in disappointment…

Have you seen him, my lord peacock?

Have you seen him, my lord peacock?

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress

Lured by the charm of his oceanic dance,

Lured by the charm of his oceanic dance,

I pledged my heart in pawn

Invoking the earth, fire, winds, and water, I wrote him songs with the tip of my feet,

For he pierced my heart, my trickster.

Have you seen him, my lord peacock?

The one who reins the mountain fortress…

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress

A thousand feathers unfold as he sways...

He embodies the seven seas, His body, a throbbing ocean,

He embodies the seven seas, His body, a throbbing ocean,

He waltzes in my heart with joyous feet, He dances in me, a sweet dance of love.

In windy forests and sutlry beaches, I come looking for my soulmate, my lover.

I’m torn apart, worn out in his love….

Have any of you seen him, my lover?

The one who reins the mountain fortress…

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress,

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress,

I am the lord, the revered lord peacock of the mountain fortress...

Dance now.

When the lord commands, the Rani dances.

I am your lord peacock.

Lord peacock

Everyone, clap.

Thenamma... what should we do now?

Who are you, good sir?

He who in his youth took down the famous Ambathoor Malaikotai Mamannan,

And earned gold, silk, fame, and reverence..

My elder kin... Malaikotai Valiban.

All hail! Clap your hands for him!

My beloved mother and father who left me young,

Each of you kindred spirits who have come to watch me perform, here...

The magnificent one I have been in search of,

My lord peacock.

Here, my trickster has finally arrived as you bear witness.

He who saved me from that lustful bloodhound.

It is him, Malaikotai Valiban,

I accept as my better half before all of you!

Good lord!

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress,

A thousand feathers unfold as he sways…

Where did he vanish without a word?

Have you seen my beloved trickster?

My lover is lord peacock of the mountain fortress,

Apple of my eyes, Chinnapaiyyan... my precious lad.

Ayyanar Ashan...keeper of my life and destiny.

My lad.

- Yes. - Can you play, my boy?

You mean a hand of cards? Or play with hearts?

Neither... play yourself as a peacock!

My maven...

Yes my boy.

Have you heard of Rangapattinam, my maven?

No. But I know of the charming Rangarani.

Good heavens! My beautiful peacock has gone missing! Have any of you seen him?

(begins to sing a song)

A cart seems to be blocking our way ahead. Who is that?

Who are you?

The Lord peacock of the mountain fortress! I am him!

You may titillate loose women on the streets

with your cheap, lowly tricks.

But have you met the combatants of Mangodu? The Earth wobbles as they pace.

I’m here to fix up a face-off.

I challenge you to set foot in Mangodu

and step into the ring with the mighty Mangodu Mallan.

If your feet don’t shake in fear,

come show us what you’re made of.

You've only known prizefighters who have eyes for gold.

To walk after I am done with him

ask your Mallan to get a wooden crutch handy.

Now catch the wind and scoot with your bulls.

I'll be there for the face-off.

Hey there... Please stop.

Hey lass, isn’t this the way to Mangodu village?

Yes. I’m also headed that way.

My feet have given up,

will you please allow me to hitch a ride?

Liar! I saw you walk, don’t you try to fool me!

Let her come along. She seems unwell, help her.

Unwell? Who, she? She is absolutely fine!

I swear!

I have a limp since birth.

I am not lying.

Chinna, take her basket and give her a hand.

- Come child, hop on. - Thank you, good sir.

Child?!

Don’t you see… She can't walk steadily.

Girl, give me your hand.

Thanks.

I can help myself.

Give her a hand.

She can climb by herself, right? Let her.

You lad…can’t you just help?

Hmm… ask me properly and I will.

Push away from me.

Don’t think you can act funny with me because you’re giving me a ride.

Oh! I’m the one who is acting funny, you think?

Then?

Bovine, behave yourself!

Maven, I told you she’s a shrew!

Look how her attitude has changed once she got in!

Yeah, damn right!

Sush now, and ride the cart.

Child, what’s in your basket?

Have you not heard of the heavenly Mangodu jaggery?

Uncle, do you know of the mighty Mangodu Mallan?

This jaggery is like silk. You pop and it melts in your mouth.

Just like the fate of anyone who dare shake hands with the Mallan.

Bow down, nice and low, now lift yourself up.

Yes, good!

He who earned reverence, wealth, women, and the epithet – Malaikottai Valiban.

He who took down Kelu Mallan of the downhill village. My most revered elder, Malakotai Valiban.

A fool’s overconfidence!

Mangodan...

- Aah! - They’re here...

Mangodu Mallan... son of the brave Ponnurumi Veeramma.

And you are the famed Malaikotai Valiban.

Yes.

I have arranged for palm leaves to carry you in after my son is done with you.

I have heard that Mangodu doesn’t have cane trees to make crutches.

I will let you have your son’s spine as a walking aid when you leave the ring.

Dawn, Mangodu combat ring. Be there.

Mangodan, tomorrow I want to see his bones crack.

You will see.

You will see.

Is someone in there?

I’m coming...wait.

It’s getting late. Come and serve us our food, lady!

I was waiting all this while. Now let me finish.

I have prepared rice with mutton and roasted black chicken.

Sit please, I will be there soon.

Ohh! Rice, mutton, and roasted black chicken.

- What? - Nothing!

Make it fast. My elder is probably losing his mind with hunger.

Why? Will your pugilist not be able to look Mangodan in the eye if he skips a meal?

Ya right! Without your mercy, my elder will famish to infirmity!

Buzz off.

Then why are you here for the food I’ve cooked?

Stop yapping and give me the food, lady.

It was you? Insolent ragtag!

You liar, you??!

Your legs are perfect!

At dusk, they straighten up. Any qualms?

Hmm...

Your black panther can beat Mangodan, you think?

Not black panther. My most revered elder, Malaikotai Valiban.

He will blow your Mangodan’s bones like a trumpet. Wait and watch.

Now help with the food, lady.

The last man who claimed this had to be given medicine and massage for three months before he could walk

I’ve arranged for the ingredients, don’t worry.

You will have to gulp it yourself.

I bet you.

Let’s see.

So what is the prize for the bet?

If Mangodan wins...

If he wins?

What do I get?

The talisman around your neck.

Okay, deal.

And if Valiban wins?

What if he wins?

Will you give me one of your sweet jaggery kisses?

You! Frisky ragtag!

Fine. A kiss it is.

That face-off was like a showdown between two mighty tuskers.

He could put me in a rib lock if he bent down and flexed to his left while defending himself.

I only needed one lapse of judgement to have him in my control.

In a fleeting moment, I caught him unaware.

There is no ecstasy like that of victory.

I was lost in mirth, unware of the treachery hidden in that moment.

When you get carried away, you become oblivious to treachery.

Back then, Veeramma, the keeper of the Mangodu ring, was mine.

After the face-off, after everyone dispersed, she served me something to drink.

When I woke up the next morning, my hands felt heavy like boulders.

My limbs, my aides in crushing down opponents who charged atme like rogue elephants, felt lifeless.

My spine felt tied down to the Earth’s core, in an irreversible knot.

I haven’t walked since.

Thereafter, I was ousted from the ring.

Mother and son allowed my motionless body a cot, 100 feet away from the combat ring.

Today, the Mangodu ring weilds deceit not sportsmanship.

The structure you see is a lie founded on treachery.

"Mangottu Ring"

Hey! What do you think you’re doing?

Maven... that's a foul.

He who ambushes from behind and he who flees the combat are alike.

What foul play is this?

Maven...

Sush, boy!

Cool it.

The opponent can be brought to a fall by hook or crook.

That’s my rule.

Must have picked your ethics from your mother, I assume?

Mangodu’s only rule is to bring down the rival.

Sight is the only truth. All unseen is a lie.

Matriarch, everything you have known yet is bluff.

Truth is that which shall unfold hereafter.

Hey, Mangodan!

That vile smirk of his must stop.

Do it.

Take him down.

Touch the knee,

back side,

left foot forward,

right foot stretched to the side...

perched on the left..

Yes!!

Spring up on the right foot,

Summersault and strike,

bend farther down...

Veeramma, ask him to strike!

Perch down

spring up,

come on.

Mangodan, hey!

There goes the pride of the famed Mangodu ring.

Is this the mettle of the warrior you moulded all these years?!

Are there no ploys left other than back maneuvers in this ring of deceit?

Veeramma of Ponnurunni, are you backtracking?

A principled person must accept defeat when the combatant falls.

Come on!

The notorious double-dealing of the Mangodu ring!

The one who brought down the sly, treacherous Mangodu Mallan.

Here comes Malaikotai Valiban.

You liar, you!

Buzz off, ragtag!

Them bones have cracked to bits.

Get up, you must get shaved.

He who trades justice for victory

Must be annihilated lock, stock, and barrel.

That's my rule.

Valiban...

All hail your very own Malaikotai Valiban! The one who has uprooted the insidious Mangodu ring.

Valiban...

For every strand of my hair that has bitten the dust,

I will make you pay .

I shall wait patiently for all your lost hair to grow back.

Everything that I painstakingly built is gone in a day.

All because of you.

Went off to some godforsaken land and brought a mighty rival.

I don’t care about the land or the gold.

My reputation, my very name that evoked fearful respect in people.

They will mock and pelt stones at me now.

Die, now.

Who lost the challenge?

Who stood stripped of his dignity?

Who shaved his head bald?

Who has been banished, mounted on a mule?

And who lays lifeless, now?

Deep into the garden of eternal blossoms,

Come, lets go, let me take you once.

What should I offer to take me along?

You wayward, ragtag, lovely boy?

Take you I will,

Wrapped in silk and gold.

Give me the kiss you owe,

And take you I will, my beloved.

Fetch the kiss from inside my heart,

Like precious pearls buried under the sea.

Down the valley where little sheep graze,

Ever since I heard your deep, candied voice

Sweet lotus buds bloom in my heart,

Lost to the tunes of your joyous song.

Give me the kiss, the one you owe,

And the blooms in my heart are forever yours.

Wayward, trickster shepherd boy, With eyes that plot to sweep me off,

I’m not one to fall for your song,

I’ve no time for your sweet l'il ploys.

Draw the kiss from inside my heart, Like precious pearls from under the sea.

Deep into the garden of eternal blossoms Come, lets go, let me take you once.

What should I offer to take me along? You wayward, ragtag, lovely boy?

Chinnapaiyyan, my lad.

The cartwheels have started rolling, my boy.

Chinnapaiyya...

The bulls are striding on. Come on, let’s go.

Dawn has already broken. We must start now.

Chinnapaiyya...

I’m coming right away, maven.

The bullock cart is leaving, come on in.

Maven, I’m coming...please wait...

I’m almost there...

Clown!

Loiters around almost anywhere he finds himself!

Did you give the bulls some water to drink? -No.

Why am I even asking? I know he must have forgotten.

My boy... did you leave something behind there?

Is it your tote?

Or your dear flute?

Is it someone's gift?

Its my precious little heart...

Did you hear that, maven?

Our boy has left his heart behind at Mangodu, it seems!

You stupid fool, go get it back if it is your precious heart.

You must go alone for this. Why should I come?

Besides, if I come, I may pluck your heart out, right maven?

Go, run.

Silly boy.

I thought you wanted a kiss for winning the bet...

I do...

Let the lad sort matters of his heart and come, right?

Hmm...

Our journey ahead will be complex.

When a woman is around, we would need to tether ourselves.

The destiny of us mercenaries doesn’t allow that.

Look who is here.

Your lord peacock.

Who?

Oh, my beating heart!

Malaikotai Valiban, my whole wide world.

What a pleasant surprise!

The ethereal Rangapattinam Rangarani...

What brings you here?

Don't you know of my missing lord peacock?

I’m here to look for him.

Darling Thenamma...

Tell your queen that this is not the road to a peacock garden.

It is the way to the dreaded Ambathur Malaikotai.

Why are you headed that way, may I ask?

It is the birth anniversary of Queen Lady Maccaulay.

The King insists that I perform for the festivities.

I am going to dance.

What about you?

Her Highness Lady Maccaulay is my dear valentine.

I’m going to present her with a gift of love.

Ambathoor Malaikotai

Stop playing meek witness to the game.

This fort is founded on slave blood.

It is your blood that must anoint the soil here, not that of my kin.

Come on.

Step into the gallery.

Come.

Step into the gallery.

You’ve spent enough time watching the game from the gallery.

Every block of this fort was built on the blood of slaves.

Enough is enough.

It is your blood that must spill here now.

Come on, step into the ring.

One among the two must die. That is the rule of the fort.

It doesn’t matter whether that is the victorious or the defeated.

Auspicious beginnings must always involve blood spills.

There will be tears and blood.

That is how a sea is born.

And from the depths of that sea, a radiant sun shall rise.

The luminance shall burn this fort to ashes.

Maharaja Maccaulay

He who vanquished Ambathur Malaikottai Mamallan the Great.

He who beat him in might, and brought him to his knees.

He who earned reverence and rewards.

The all-seeing protector of the Ambathur fort, Malaikottai Valiban.

I come to offer birthday wishes for Queen Lady Maccaulay.

On the Queen’s auspicious birthday combat,

It is rumoured that he who beats the opponent may ask for any reward in the world.

The Maharaja says the reward is too heavy for a local squaddie and his bulls to lift.

You should perhaps draw a date for the face-off first.

And then gloat over the weight of the prize.

If you are defeated, your head shall be hung in the portico for auction, says the Maharaja.

Maharaja Maccaulay, this is my home turf.

I started off from the combat arena of this Ambathur Malaikotai.

But you torched the rightful heir of this fortress to death.

You sold off my sisters like chattel.

You brainwashed my kin and watched as they drank each other’s blood.

If I win this combat, I shall put an end to your slave trade, once and for all.

This colonist scoundrel will run for his life.

I will burn all remnants of his presence in this land to ashes.

At dusk, when oli lamps light the fortress, be present at the combat ring.

I will wait for you.

That is not all.

Your bulls will be slaughtered and their heads hung at the fortress flag pole.

The women with you will entertain us, and dance on spikes.

We will sell them all at the slave market.

Sight is the only truth.

All unseen is a lie.

You outlander, everything you have known yet is a lie.

Truth is that which will unfold hereafter.

Chinna... my boy...

Yes, maven.

Don’t loiter, get back soon.

Yes, my maven.

I am a face reader, you know.

And I have studied your face in detail.

May I give my impression?

Like a scorpion hoarding venom in its stinger,

You bear a secret in the annals of your being.

It's time for your true colours to be found, Ayyanar.

I know nothing about reading faces.

But I can tell you what's written in your destiny.

The last face you see before your eyes shut forever will be mine.

Adios.

Ayyanar...

Hey there...

Ayyanar...

I met Chamathakan amidst the bustle today.

One must be more suspecting of the shrew who schemes from behind,

Than an opponent who charges forward in plain sight.

He has poison in his veins.

We must be vigilant.

In shadows or plain sight, has deceit ever seen lasting triumph?

The one who has trounced all warriors East, West, North, and South.

Braver than the bravest, Malakotai Valiban.

The one who ambushed a charging army of thousands

And tossed the chief’s heads into a pyre...

All hail Maharaja Maccaulay.

Isn’t the face-off between you and me, Maharaja?

We’re not separate,

We’re one.

Move along.

He who came to be without a mother or father,

He who dons earrings like burning embers of the sun.

To the rhythm of throbbing golden drums,

Ayyanar sings songs of his eternal valour.

He who came to be without a mother or father,

He who dons earrings like burning embers of the sun.

There is someone who can save us.

He who is destined to conquer mountains,

He who must wrestle winds,

He who must lead my ambitions to fruition.

The maker of miracles.

Holding the bid for ten thousand gold sovereigns,

Ten thousand gold sovereigns, any bids?

Ten thousand gold sovereigns, final call.

In exchange for ten thousand gold sovereigns and a hundred bulls,

Malaikotai Valiban will remain an eternal slave to Mangodu town chief Chamathakan.

Cheers to that!

Let the celebrations begin.

I will have him wag after me on a leash

And stay guard day and night without rest, like a watchdog.

Cheers.

I will watch him wag.

Come on, dance.

Murder those bastards.

Seven heavens...

Soldados...

i want him alive

Make sure nobody escapes.

Move along...

My Valiban...

You were right.

it's Chamathakan

Valiban...

Game over.

Maybe you should turn around.

You die...

God decides the time of one’s death

on the very day of his birth.

Nobody can change that.

It is the lord of death that a mortal sees

before life leaves his body.

Like the man your’e looking at.

Eventually, those who take lives must also die.

All hail the one true warrior who reclaimed...

the Ambathur fortress from Maharaja Maccaulay and his Lady Queen. The freer of slaves, breaker of chains.

Comrade of the enslaved. One in a thousand.

Malaikotai Valiban.

Valiban...

Yes, Rangarani... go on.

The one who knows every trick in the book

But draws a blank before a damsel’s beating heart.

You’re the magnificent peacock I’ve been seeking all along.

Rangarani, your destined partner awaits you in a faraway land.

Can I not have a small corner of your heart to myself?

Pardon me, my queen.

My destiny does not allow me to love.

Once, at the cusp of dawn,

as everyone lay asleep,

a gang of dacoits made their way into a village.

They torched down everything in their way.

Everyone who resisted, perished.

Charred bodies lay scattered, and amidst them,

a lifeless woman held on to a wailing infant.

She was perhaps your mother.

One of the many dismembered corpses could have been your father's.

I struggled to pluck you away from the tighthold of those arms,

protective even after death.

I fed you everything except breastmilk.

Taught you everything I know to face this world.

Trained you to win.

The one who has nowhere to call home.

The one nobody awaits.

Isn’t my destiny as hollow as the songs they sing?

Am I not an orphan without a place in this world?

My Valiban...

your life itself is a gift from the gods.

You are never alone.

The whole world cheers for he who is victorious.

The exhilaration of victories has come to an end.

What remains now for me to win?

Every great warrior is eventually worn down

by a loss of purpose.

But, there always emerges a stronger opponent,

a bigger purpose.

Valiban... you’re destined to reclaim the mountains,

To conquer the unconquarable.

I hear rainclouds grate when you tighten your combat outfit.

I hear rivals stomp their maces to the ground

as they call for a face-off with you.

Valiban, conquest must be your only euphoria.

I’m still the lone infant you found from the carcass.

Orphaned.

Only roadside taverns await me to rest after my wins.

If I was someone else, someone less orphaned,

perhaps I too would have a home to go back to.

Maven... If death was a fable,

I could have known my parents, right?

My child...

Chinnan and I, are we not yours?

Each time I call you my maven,

A voice in me murmurs, “Birthgiver, not maven.”

In the previous life, you may have been my beloved father.

Squeezed raw into the pitch black

Of the toddy tapper’s peppery pot,

Spiced fresh with menacing heat,

From the pretty parprika’s crimson skin,

Sieved and boiled to perfect taste With jaggery from a lover’s heart,

Fragrance wrapped in sweet fragrance,

Arrack that shoots joy up your veins…

Arrack .

A for arrack...

Say A for arrack.

Arrack...

Arrack that bubbles like a newborn stream,

Arrack that tastes like the promise of love.

Arrack that leaves a zesty aftertaste,

Arrack that simmers on smouldering coal.

Arrack to be had with a side of mountain meat

Arrack rife with flesh and ripe with love.

Arrack...

Say A for arrack.

Sing along the song of this beat,

A song brimming with arrack.

Bend to the right, Feet firm to the ground,

Sway, swirl, Find your balance,

And gulp a pot of arrack!

Dear god, prepare the mind. Our transit begins.

Prepare, our transit begins.

Prepare, our transit begins.

Prepare, our transit begins.

Many wars, many truths.

Fights that cannot be won with might.

I plucked my heart and offered him on a platter.

Yet, why is Valiban unmoved, Thenamma?

Many years ago, a man got himself a bride from a farway land.

He had a charming elder brother.

His bride was fascinated by the elder.

And they fell deep in affection while the man was away for trade.

And?

The obvious.

Both brothers fought each other to death for the bride.

Do you get the anecdote?

Valiban is unmoved by you because his heart is set on someone else.

See for yourself.

Come on...come.

Rani, don’t worry.

We’re headed for the holy Horselord’s temple fest.

The lord shall show us a way out.

If not, Thenamma will.

THIRUCHENTHOORU FESTIVAL

Come along, elder...

Now tell me.

Come here.

Say it.

Elder, who do you love the most?

Young lady, are you fooling with me?

Tell me!

All right! Chinnapaiyyan. Is this your grand question?

In that case, may I tell you something joyous?

You’re weeping ahead of delivering good news?

Tell me dear, trust your elder.

Chinnan is to become a father.

And I am to become a mother.

The gods have been kind! Haven’t you told him yet?

I wanted to take your blessings first.

I will tell him once the Horselord’s holy banners are hoisted.

Elder...

I was a lone girl with no father or mother.

Now, I have a family.

Please bless our child and be his godfather.

If this is a little boy, I will train him to win the world.

When he comes of age, I will gift him with this sacred earpiece.

May I ask you something?

Shoot.

Who is it that you love the most?

What’s your problem now?

I ask for a reason. Tell me.

My most revered elder... Malaikotai Valiban.

May I unveil a secret then?

Your sweetheart Jamanthi also feels the same way.

They’re together when you’re not around.

You’re a deceitful brute, here to uproot peace.

Your tongue must never spew hate again.

You’re a dimwit buffoon!

Shouldn’t the father be the first to know when a woman is with child?

By that logic, the father of her child is your precious elder... Malaikotai Valiban.

I did not cook this up. My Rani saw them together.

And my Rani never lies.

Chinna...

Chinna...

Listen to me please... Chinna...

Rani, my life is dedicated to your service.

I will do anything for my Rani’s well being.

Thenamma...

Thenamma...

Revered Horselord, I beg for the safety of our unborn child.

Valiban...

I will make you pay for each strand of my hair that bit the dust.

Elder...

Jamanthi...

Elder....

Jamanthi...

My child.

Jamanthi...

It is him...

Chamathakan, you cheat.

Valiban...

You have forsaken the sanctity of a sworn warrior.

You have betrayed your maven who showed you to glory.

You butchered your younger for the sake of a woman.

You took my precious youngling away from me.

My maven...

You have lost your right to call me that.

Our kinship ends here, in this pyre.

What remains is blood revenge between two rivals.

Let them find their ways to settle their scores.

Please believe me.

Do not curse me into darkness, I beg you.

There shall be no truce now.

I’m leaving.

You will no longer walk this Earth with the pride of a winner.

I swear on this burning pyre

that I will bring you an opponent who shall lay you to eternal rest.

And I will write the epilogue

To the sprawling legend of Malaikotai Valiban.

I am ready to face my fate.

Back when an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was how the world ran,

When mighty men had the Earth on a leash.

I used to be the sworn protector of a downhill village.

Everyone’s favourite.

Then one fine day,

A mysterious warrior descended the mountains down to our village.

Soon, rumours spread about him.

Many believed that he was a sorcerer.

One who could tower like a mountain and shrink like a mouse.

But he took me down in a face-off.

As I gasped for life in the tight hold of his legs,

I realised I wasn’t fighting an ordinary mortal.

The whole village watched as he dragged me bare through the ground.

The by-laws of combat specify

that the vanquished’s wealth and woman are for the champion to claim.

He bedded my beloved, the woman who was to be mine forever.

I slogged for them, put myself to sleep amidst the rhapsody of their coitus, separated by a mud wall.

I cooked and cleaned for them, shaved his beard,

washed his clothes wet with jizz.

Then one fine day,he set out to conquer the world.

He gifted her his precious earpiece.

And promised to return to her someday.

The roar of the monsoon began and she was with a child.

Another man’s offspring grew in my wife’s womb.

Even in seething revenge,

I took good care of her.

Months went by,

and she gave birth to a baby boy.

After cutting off his umbilical cord,

I steeped my dagger deep into her.

I named the child Valiban.

And raised him as a warrior.

I sharpened him into my most dreadful weapon.

Ayyanar...

I planted the identity of a bereft orphan in him.

I waited patiently for the day when two warriors bound by each other’s blood

would destroy one another.

I knew the time had arrived when Valiban murdered my son amidst the crowd.

The final face-off is between two immortals.

A father and his son.

Ayyanar...

Whoever dies, it is I who will win this game.

Why are you laughing?

Wondering who among us is more vengeful

My revenge is mine alone.

I shall be the sole witness to the final showdown.

Your eyes have nothing more to see.

The scorpion’s venom rests in its stinger...

Ayyanar...

The snake’s venom rests in its teeth...

Ayyanar...

Ayyanar’s venom rests in every hairstrand.

I have a lifetime’s wrath piled in me and everyone is going to burn in it.

Don’t you want to know who your opponent is, Valiban?

He who will put an end to all your face-offs?

Don’t you want to know who fate has reserved for this final showdown?

You will unveil your gospel truth.

What truth remains for me to uncover?

What truth could be more desolating than the realisation

that it was my own blood brother I killed?

What truth could be more burdensome

than being disbelieved despite begging for forgiveness?

What truth could be more calamitous than my maven,

the one I revered as my father, turning into my biggest foe?

What truth could be more alienating

the fact that a warrior doesn’t belong anywhere, with anyone?

I promise you what I promise before every face-off, my maven.

The battle will go on until one of the two rivals falls.

And, that will not be me.

Sight is all bluff.

All unseen is the truth.

Everything you have known yet is bluff.

That which shall unfold now.

Is the truth

MALAIKOTTAI VAALIBAN PART II