Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Whirlwind  By  cover art

The Whirlwind

By: Varalotti Rengasamy
Narrated by: Saki
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $3.53

Buy for $3.53

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

When I started translating Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan in 2010, blissfully unaware of the depth and the magnitude of the work, several people tried to dissuade me. One potential publisher even lured me with an offer to translate another work of Kalki. Reason: there were already many translations around. Yes, there were. But most of them, though done with utmost sincerity, failed to create the emotional bond with the readers that the original author had effortlessly done in the Fifties when Ponniyin Selvan was serialized in a popular magazine.

I did not rush up. I did not have a target or deadline. I let the translation work progress at its own pace. That explains the six long years I spent on this project. I read and re-read the first draft a dozen times before handing it over to my editors. There were many points of contention. There were issues where we could not reach a consensus easily. Finally, the hard copy was ready for publication in 2016. The publisher had jitters and so did I.

We got ready rough copies of two volumes. I gave it to two of my friends, who had read the original more than sixty times, with a mandate to read them in one go. They did and said, “This is the best you can do in English.”

The work culminated not when the book was released by a former Central Minister in 2016, not even when it went for three editions but when an ardent fan of Kalki sent a mail to me in 2019.

“It was as if Kalki himself rendered his great work in English.”

©1995 Varalotti Rengasamy (P)2011 Pustaka Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about The Whirlwind

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.