The First Aryan

by Paramu Kurumathur

  It was then that M.J. Aravind introduced me to Sharath Komarraju. Sharath ran a class that mentored new writers. I registered for his class and rewrote the novel, this time making it more ‘human’. Thanks, Aravind and Sharath.

  This was the version that I presented to my friend, S. Sivakumar (Shiv). He read the book thoroughly and said that ‘he could not put it down’. He also gave me useful feedback. It was his feedback that convinced me and my wife that the book was worth something. Thanks, Shiv.

  I then started looking for options for publishing the book. One option I considered was self-publishing, but I knew that without the weight of a big publisher behind it, the book would not sell much.

  Sharath introduced me to Kanishka Gupta of Writer’s Side. Kanishka and his team suggested many changes to the book to make it sellable to a publisher. After making these changes, Kanishka accepted the book. Penguin Random House India and HarperCollins made offers. We finally chose Penguin. Thanks, Kanishka and team.

  My old colleague, Subramaniam Vutha, whom we call Legal Mani, looked over the contract Penguin offered and suggested some changes. Thanks, Mani, for the advice.

  Vaishali Mathur was the commissioning editor at Penguin. She and her assistant, Udyotna Kumar, made an active effort at making the book more readable. They advised me to cut out a lot of long, dreary descriptions. They also caught and corrected many inconsistencies. However, they did not in any way tamper with, or delete, anything that was dear to my heart. I enjoyed working with both of them. Thanks, Vaishali and Udyotna.

  The copyeditor at Penguin, Aslesha Kadian, made a conscientious effort at making the book better and spotted inconsistencies too. Thanks, Aslesha.

  There are many others who took an interest in the book and gave me advice—S. Rajeev, R.R. Cherla, S. Sivaguru and other colleagues and friends. Thanks to all of them.

  My cousin, Dr K.V. Arun, also took great interest. He gave me tips and advice about the Vedic period. Since he is an author himself, his advice came in handy. Thanks, Arun.

  There were many other members of my extended family and friends who helped too. Thanks to all of them.

  Finally, thank you to my family—my wife, Preeta; my children, Arya and Jayanta; and my mother, Arya. All of them encouraged me and egged me on.

  I hope I have not missed out anyone who made a significant contribution. The long period over which this was written may have made me forget some of the contributors along the way. Please forgive me if you feel that you have not been acknowledged. If I am made known of this omission, I will correct it in the next edition.

  THE BEGINNING

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  Ebury Press is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

  This collection published 2019

  Copyright © Paramu Kurumathur 2019

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Jacket images © Meena Rajasekaran

  This digital edition published in 2019.

  e-ISBN: 978-9-353-05624-7

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.