The story happens in the context of the period preceding Independence. It describes the mindset of people during that era. The author has visited the Hindu refugee camps in Delhi to depict the emotions of people driven out of their land that is currently known as Pakistan. The largest exodus in human history took place during the partition of our Bharat. Unlike the abundant literature that describes the Jewish Exodus, there is very limited literature that describes the tragic partition of our motherland. This is the first major work in Tamil that I have come across that gives adequate coverage partition. When our Hindu brothers in exile were shivering in the refugee tents and experiencing the Delhi's severe winter, Gandhiji was more interested in the protection of Muslims in West Bengal. He was stationed in Kavkali in West Bengal for this cause. The successive Congress governments also downplayed the suffering of millions of Hindus for the purpose of Muslim appeasement. I am particularly amazed to see a Gandhian like Kalki giving a detailed description of Hindu sufferings during partition. Courtesy: Arul Krishnamoorthy
About the Author: Ramaswamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy (9 September 1899 - 5 December 1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was a Tamil writer, journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist. He was named after "Kalki Avatar," the tenth and last avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu. His writings include over 120 short stories, 10 novellas, 5 novels, 3 historical romances, editorial and political writings and hundreds of film and music reviews. In 1923 he joined as a sub-editor at Navasakthi, a Tamil periodical edited by Tamil scholar and freedom fighter Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram, popularly known as "Thiru Vi. Ka." Krishnamurthy's first book was published in 1927. Leaving Navasakthi in 1928, Krishnamurthy stayed with C. Rajagopalachari at the Gandhi Ashram in Tiruchengode in Salem district and helped him edit Vimochanam, a Tamil journal devoted to propagating prohibition. In 1931, he was again imprisoned for six months. Next year Krishnamurthy joined Ananda Vikatan, a humor weekly edited and published by S. S. Vasan. Krishnamurthy's witty, incisive comments on politics, literature, music and other forms of art were looked forward to with unceasing interest by readers. He wrote under the pen names of "Kalki," "Ra. Ki," "Tamil Theni," "Karnatakam" and so on. Vikatan published many of his short stories and novels (as serials). In 1941, he left Ananda Vikatan, and rejoined the freedom struggle and courted arrest. Upon his release, after three months he and Sadasivam started the magazine Kalki. He was its editor until his death on 5 December 1954. The success that Krishnamurthy attained in the realm of historical fiction is phenomenal. At a time when the literacy level was low and when the English-educated Tamils looked down on writings in Tamil, Kalki's circulation touched 71,000 copies - the largest for any weekly in the county then - when it serialized his historical novels. Semmalar, the monthly organ of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association, brought out a special number to commemorate Kalki's birth centenary. Kalki wrote the script and some lyrics for Meera, an M.S. Subbulakshmi starrer. Kalki's contribution to the cause of Tamil music is also noteworthy. He spearheaded a movement that wanted Carnatic musicians to include more Tamil songs in their concerts and composed a number of songs. His Tamil translation of Gandhi's autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, was published as Satya Sothanai.