Tamil To English

Ponniyin Selvan is Kalki R Krishnamurthy’s magnum opus, set in 10th century Tamil Nadu, exploring the early life of Emperor Rajaraja the 1st. It might have been written more than 60 years ago, but this saga is timeless, reeling in readers with a gripping plot interwoven with intrigue, conspiracies, mystery, romance and adventure. Fresh Floods is Book 1 of a total of five volumes.

Who is the rightful heir to the ancient Chozha throne? Will Madhuranthakar—son of the eldest son—or Aditha Karikalan—the grandson of the younger—wear the crown? And will justice prevail in this struggle for power?

Follow our young, enthusiastic hero Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan on his fascinating journey, as this historical fiction based on real characters and incidents unfolds at a spell-binding pace, delving deep into human tendencies, desires, personal motives, political ambitions and the fight to gain power at all costs.
Author:  Kalki
Genre: History
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 454
Language: English

It’s the calm before the storm.

Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan is riding hell-for-leather towards Kadambur to honour Ilaiya Rani Nandhini’s kind invitation—while Vandhiyathevan is hurrying in the same direction, hell-bent on thwarting their meeting. Mandhakini Devi is abducted by ruffianly unknowns towards Thanjavur—while Poonguzhali, her niece, is hastening thither, to rescue her aunt. Peril threatens Sundara Chozhar, confined to his sickbed and at the mercy of Pandiya assassins—while Ilaiya Piratti strains every nerve to protect her father.

Will all three succeed in their quests? Will Arulmozhi Varmar recover from his ague? Will Aniruddhar’s schemes and stratagems save the royal family? Will Azhwarkkadiyaan’s efforts bear fruit? And lastly … will Chozha Nadu be free of the tangled web of conspiracies?

Whirlwinds, the exciting second part of Kalki R Krishnamurthy’s historic magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan, our hero Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan’s adventures continue as he rides into marshy quagmires, befriends a mysterious girl, becomes the object of intense suspicion by the wily Pazhuvettarayars – and meets the hero of his dreams.
Meanwhile, Kundhavai Piratti, princess of the Chozha empire is thrown into confusion and outrage, while the beautiful but poisonous Nandhini Devi weaves more deceitful webs to ensnare her enemies. She will stop at nothing to bring about the downfall of the Chozhas … but will the scions of that royal clan escape in time?
Read on to find out as the epic continues.

Author:  Kalki
Genre: History
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 482
Language: English

Sword of Slaughter finds us at an exciting cliffhanger following the end of Book 2 – have Vandhiyathevan and Arulmozhi Varmar truly been saved? What of their fate in the land of their birth, Chozha Nadu? Are the Pazhuvettarayars truly stirring the country in a revolt against their favourite prince? Why does the alluring Nandhini Devi insist on meeting allies within crumbling palaces? Why does Madhuranthaka Thevar ride his stumbling horse through fields, on a rainy night? And why does Vanathi, that shrinking, timid violet, leave her charming mentor to go on a solitary journey?
Then, there are our old and trusted friends, whose fates are also unclear: is Sundara Chozhar still bedridden? What of the canny Anbil Aniruddhar and his cunning disciple, Azhwarkkadiyaan? And what of the light of the Chozhas, Princess Kundhavai herself? Read on, to find out.

Author:  Kalki
Genre: History
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 424
Language: English

Udhaya is a virile hedonist, an angsty writer, a discriminating connoisseur, a reverent Francophile and an abrasive critic.

Time-tested, seasoned and experienced, he transports the reader to the rustic streets of Thanjavur, the buzzing locality of Mylapore, the boondocks of Delhi, the most engaging historical whereabouts of France, Thailand and Morocco, and (quite often) his beloved’s bedroom with uncensored personal anecdotes.

Unabashedly ray, undeniably true to life and pluckily critical, Marginal Man anatomize the personalities and the sexual nature of its vast and curious cast and the videos of multiple societies with a fine scalpel.

Author: Charu Nivedita
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 708
Language: English

The beauty of Lakshmi Saravanakumar’s novel, Huntsman, lies in how masterfully Saravanakumar weaves issues of ecology and wildlife, rights of forest dwellers, and the clash between the traditional and the modern in a plot that is as gripping as the moments one might spend sitting on a machan on a tall tree in a dense forest on a full moon night, anticipating the arrival of a tiger.

What I specifically loved in Huntsmanwere the details that built up the novel when the bigger issues were not being narrated. For example, the naturalness with which polygamy and polyamory has been depicted. I am afraid I might give out spoilers, but I can not mention the relationship that Thangappan – the leading man, the eponymous “huntsman” of the novel – has with his three wives – Mari, Sagayarani, and Chellayi – and the feelings about other men that the wives might have. Then there is Thangappan’s masculinity which is fragile enough to be hurt by the disapproval of a child. I would just say that these details – apart from the important bigger parts which are already there – are what make Saravanakumar’s Huntsmansuch an engrossing and – I believe it is – important read.

-Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

Author: Lakshmi Saravanakumar
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 256
Language: English

Beginning with Timur, Sultan Ghazni who invaded India seventeen times at the head of a large army, plundering the country of its great wealth, to the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah, banished from the country by the British – details and descriptions of every incident and each king astonish and exhilarate us.

The approach is direct, simple and unambiguous. From Timur to Bahadur Shah it is one engaging account. The book should find a place in every household, as an authentic account of ourselves. A flawless portrait.

–THE HINDU

Madhan while explaining historical events uses modern similes…

In spite of being a cartoonist in his previous avatar, Madhan did not caricature the Moghul Emperors and their subjects. I am so pleased he did not sit on judgement as a south Indian non-Muslim writer.

–KAMAL HAASAN

Author: Madhan
Genre: History, Non-Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 396
Language: English

One of ZDP’s aim is to introduce to the world some of the finest specimens of our literature. We take great pride in introducing our series ‘Boundless and Bare’, of which the first would be Thanjai Prakash, who is known for his bold, feminocentric stories.

Author: Thanjai Prakash
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 172
Language: English

Azhagiyasingar's tales consist of both mental trauma and stunning twists. And all of them speak of the writer's own individual creativity. It is indeed remarkable that the author's creativity comprises so many dimensions. Some of the stories are very short. 

It is clear that Azhagiyasingar is very much bothered about both the present and the future. A streak of pain seems to run through his gentle teasing humour. 

                                 -Ashokamitran

Set during the Chola period in Southern India, Bhuvanapathi, a young Brahmin in Kanchi, nurtures an unquenchable desire to take on a perilous journey to Kasi, in order to earn fame and wealth. Having mastered all the survival skills, he sets on this journey to Kasi after his marriage. His greed makes him commit all forbidden sins during his stay in Kasi and top to it all, he lusts for another woman, Navagnani and lures her to marry him, lying that his first wife was dead.

Time goes by and Bhuvanapathi, now wanting to reap the benefits of his Kasi trip, plans to head back to Kanchi. His only problem – his second wife and her younger brother Sivagnani, who wants to go with him. Unable to stop them, he takes them along, all the while trying to make an evil plan to get rid of them. Bhuvanapathi’s male supremacy stoops low and does the unthinkable when they reach Thiruvenlangadu. Little did he know that a woman’s curse can span across births. What happens next and how the legend of Pazhayanur Neeli came to be, is a riveting read.

Author: Balakumaran
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 348
Language: English

From the entrance of the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, Kerala one could clearly see the market spread across like a mini Trivandrum extending as far as one could see like a thick carpet. Each of the shops and the people in the market carried a story within them. The author has lived,and breathed,the bazaar as the back of his hand. It is only fitting that the author has conceived this bookkeeping the bazaar as the heart with each character and story unique. His imagination brings out the interesting characteristics of each of the players depicted in the stories. With intricate descriptions woven into the story, the author lets the imagination of the reader flow freely like a river. These stories talk about the bitterness, the wants, the dreams, ego, lust and everything else that the bazaar flows with, These stories bring out the volatility that depicts the very human nature in its most naked form.

Author: A.Madhavan 
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 116
Language: English

A transporting tale set around the shifting power dynamics of viciously aggressive investors who enter a nation to maraud it's resources and will stop at nothing to make money. A stunning meditation on human nature and survival instincts, this novel poses intense moral questions. Discover a world of love and deception as it weaves through the extraordinary world of magical realism.

Author:  Saravanan Chandran
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 188
Language: English

With new possibilities in storytelling, The Final Solitude exposes the injustice that prevailed during Emperor Aurangzeb’s rule in a fictional small kingdom in Eastern India, called Satgarh.
Interspersed with fantastical tales, this allegorical novel brings to light the torment and the trouble people faced during the lunatic king Pishada’s fascist regime.

Author: S. Ramakrishnan
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 292
Language: English

A tragic tale of the life of a failed Hindustani vocalist who performed but once on stage. The book poignantly traces what drove Dhananjay across that slippery line that the world draws between sanity and madness, and the pain that wrings and mangles the hearts of those who feel life and art a little too deeply. At the same time, the novel figures as a revelry of Hindustani music with its profound knowledge and appreciation of the classical art form.

Selected as the best novel for the Zero Degree Publishing-Tamizharasi Trust Literary Award 2021.

The narration that travels backwards and forwards from the present is an infinite creation that touches upon facets such as the lifestyle of the traditional desert Bedouin tribes, migrant Indians’ plight, poetry, human desires, modern philosophy, primal lust, the vastness of the desert, invisible Jinns and awe-inspiring nature. There is no doubt that “Al Khozama”, which brings a fresh dimension not only to Tamil literature but to Indian literature, in general, will help create a limitless expanse in the eyes of the readers. 

Nirmal Kumar is a movie star whose perfect image and seemingly perfect life a dangerous predator is hell-bent on ruining. While on a cosy vacation, his life is turned upside-down when he becomes the sole suspect in a gruesome murder. With everything at stake, can Nirmal Kumar prove his innocence and recover from his fall from grace?

Author: Pattukkottai Prabakar
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Mystery
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages:186
Language: English

Shyamala returns to Kannamangalam with her friend Raghav in the hope of finding tranquillity and musical inspiration. However, she finds herself in an embroilment with an enigmatic Bairagi who is haunting the village and derailing the lives of its inhabitants. The reason? He is desperately trying to acquire the flute of Krishna through her. The village becomes a hotbed of religious debate when death and disappearance crop up unexplained along with a claim that Shyamala is a reincarnation of Draupadi. Can peace and normalcy be restored in the celebrated haven of intrigue? And how? Through faith in the unseen or through rational thought and action?

Author: Indra Soundar Rajan
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 381
Language: English

A terrorist group is out to eliminate a pilot, a brigadier and a deserter who turned the tables on them during a hijacking a few years ago. Connections, histories, and secrets surface when a filmmaking duo looking to make their commercial debut start probing into the hijacking story. At the same time, a copilot gets embroiled in trouble with a gangland and the Malaysian police after incurring the wrath of his lover’s father.

Can this whole cast outwit the people who are after their blood?

Author: Pattukkottai Prabakar
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Mystery
Publishing House: Zero Degree Publishing
No. Of Pages: 266
Language: English