புனலும் மணலும் (Punalum Manalum) - மாதவன் (Madhavan)

The backdrop of this novel is sand diggers along the famous river which fertilize the whole area. The one aspect i liked about this story was the minute details of description of day to day activities of the characters. The author portrays ordinary man's life and events very beautifully. Most of the characters in this story we can find in our day's work but the author makes a character out of them. The darker side of the human life was evenly told by the author.

This is the story of Angusamy who was like a middleman between contractor and laborers. He was widowed and survived by one step-daughter, Panki. The relationship between Angusamy and Panki was one sided, Panki loved and did everything for him but Angusamy never reciprocated her love. He hated her so much , in fact he never treated her as a human being. Im wondering is Panki , the ugliest female character created in Tamil literature? The author always points to physical beauty first whenever Panki comes into the picture. Yes , the author is correct in pointing like that because we , people, tend to judge others by their appearance.

Another main character is Damodaran, who lives near Angusamy's house. Angusamy was the one who took care of Damodaran when he came in search of job, ever since Damodaran lives with them.That character was very unique, he was the only one who loved and treated Panki nicely. Panki loved him but for Damodaran she was like a 'sister'. No one interested in marry her.But Damodaran tried his best to arrange her marriage. These complex relationships was built beautifully by the author .  Here's how the author describes Angusany's life :

நதி - எந்த  சூன்யத்திலிருந்து துவங்கினால்தான் என்ன ? அது ஒழுகி வளமாக்கும் இடத்தின் சிறப்பிலேயே அதன் பெருமையும் அமைந்து போகிறது . தன் காரியங்கூட அப்படித்தானோ ? எங்கோ என்ற நினைவே அற்றுப்போன தமிழ் மண்ணின் ஒரு மூலையில் பிறந்து , கசடு களைய , நாட்டை விட்டு  வந்து , வளர்ந்து , தொழில் செய்து  ஒழுங்காக வாழ்ந்து , இங்கே  தனக்கு பேரும் பெருமையும்  மதிப்பும் வந்திருக்கிறது ... 

The author's vivid descriptions of Maadan temple festival took me to  the place itself , very nice.  The most of the problems mentioned in the book are relevant even today. The typical Indian family setup and the emotions were told just as its happening today.  The book also tells the decline in natural resources due to human exploitation.

Over all a great book which is relevant even today.