Wow, karpanai paNNippaarkkavE romba swaarasyamaa irukku. Among all the three couples either of one is soplaangee except the V'Thevan and Kunthavai couple. Vanathi is makku for a man of the stature of RRC and Senthan is a bigger makku for a woman like Punkuzhali. But Kunthavai and V'ThEvan are equally good and lively. So their married life would have been really interesting.
-Nadarajan sir vambenna saar irukku??? when coming out of a movie or after finishing a book i always wonder what happens to the charecters after the storyline is finished. ithu oru saraasari feeling. last line" they lived happily thereafter" in grimms fairy tales is okay. but we are talking about great charecters. tell me honestly. havent you thought of this even once? right now why dont you give me your assesment. what happened to them all.???? were they all happy after book 5 of ps and why did rrc marry 7 or 8 more times and why did vanthiyathevan marry once more? did uthama marry again?? we have to ask swetha.( shes an expert on the details of the chola harem) and let me tell you dhiwaker solrathu ellaam afrika kaattil pasi mayakkaththil oruththar ularukiraar endru thallavum mudiyaathu. there are some truths in what he says.
Now I understand, why there was no war during Uthama chola rule. He must have been busy controlling (or being controlled by) Poonguzhali and hence didnt find time to fight his enemies. correct thane...
Is it possible that kundavai refused to have a child because a son would be a potential challenge to RRC? Probably Vandhiya Thevan married again to experience parenthood. The son would have been a problem with Vandhiya Thevan having strong feelings about his past. Already RRC was waiting for uththama sozhan to make way. Would this act of Kundavai created a massive sense of gratitude in RRC that he gave her lot of importance?
Would RRC have married daughters of local chieftains/kings to win loyalties (and reserve his bravery for kingdoms far away from chozha nadu)?
where the second wife of the hero / chitti of the hero refuses to have a child because her child might throw a challenge to the first child of the hero / the hero ????
My idea of Vanathi is totally different (I am yet to think about the other pairs, but for now this is my comments on Vanathi-ARV).
Vanathi can never be 'naadaka mayil' (that is typical Kamban style and I like it).
She is too innocent and her love for ARV, I believe is truly selfless and probably one can say it blind. This impression of 'naadaka mayil' is probably because of too much of her falling unconscious as portrayed by kalki. For being naadaka ..., one should have to be very shrewd and calculative (and even cunning too in certain cases), which she never was. Is there any instance, where Vanathi was assertive or even argumentative, both important characteristics of 'naadaka mayil'?
Reg. her fainting frequently, I'ld attribute that to her constant fear of getting rejected by ARV (she is affter all a princess of a regional chieftian, whereas ARV is hugely popular throughout the kingdom) and/or (probably) about the possible opposition from others in the royal family except Kundhavai (Thinking more about that, Kundhavai probably supported Vanathi because she can rely on Vanathi's innocence, to have continuous influence on ARV. In other words, Kundhavai might also have felt possesive towards ARV and she was sure that Vanathi would not come bet. herself and ARV).
Also remember that she took a pledge (when alleged by Poonkuzhali that she wants to be maharani) that she will never become the 'pattamahishi', even if she got married to ARV. Sort of renunciation of her "automatic right", isn't it? Doesn't this prove her love to be selfless? I would compare Vanathi's love for ARV to that of Shahjahan's love for Mumtaz.
On the contrast, you can call Nandini as naadaka mayil. Just think of her influence over almost every male she met (except VD and chinna pazhuvettaraiyar probably). She satisfies ever criterion; assertive, argumentative, calculative, intelligent, acting and cunning too.
Now, about the marriage life between ARV and Vanathi, I would think ARV as more fortunate than herself. Her selfless love for him, would have given him a greatest sense of family security and this would have been a factor in his success in wars and in running the kingdom. But, Vanathi would not have provided him intellectual support (simply because she is dumb in that area), which was probably provided by Kundhavai.
It is said 'behind every successful man, is there a woman', but in ARV's case there are two in my opinion (need I elaborate who the two are?).
I just love the character of Vanathi and the way it has been portrayed by Kalki. So, there is no wonder that this is heavily tilted. But, I would like to hear counterpoints for this.