The Grand Anicut

Veena Muthuraman

Southern India, first century CE.

With the Pandyas conquered, the Cheras all but vanquished and the attention of the king of the north fixed on other lands, Tamilakam is flourishing under Chola rule.

Trade in the Chola capital, Puhar, is booming, and King Karikalan's most ambitious infrastructure project is finally becoming a reality: a dam, the Grand Anicut, is being constructed to divert the waters of the Kaveri, to the elation of farmers across the land – and the discontent of the trader class. Amid all this, the arrival of a Roman ship carrying the merchant prince Marcellus sets off a series of events that will alter the fate of Tamilakam.

Marcellus is here for more than the spices, gems and circus animals; he is here on a mission from his father, one that will lead him right into the underbelly of this prosperous realm. He encounters spies and robbers, monks and dacoits, innkeepers and street vendors, each with hidden motives – but the Roman has his own secrets, which threaten to set ablaze the simmering tensions that divide the kingdom.

Rich in historical detail, this action-packed, riveting tale layered with the eternal struggle between divergent ideas is a fascinating journey into one of the greatest periods in Indian history.