Former IAS Officer M. Rajendran’s historical novel Kala Pani (Black Water) has won the Sahitya Akademi award for 2022.
It depicts the defeat and exile of 72 persons, including Vengai Periya Udayanna Devar, ruler of Sivaganga, and Duraisamy, son of Chinna Marudu after the Kalayakoil war.
The battle between the British and Marudu Brothers took place in the forests of Kalayarkoil for six months in 1801.
After the defeat, the brothers were hanged at Tirupattur, south Tamil Nadu, on October 24, 1801.
The exile of the 72 persons in the ship began on February 11, 1802 and they reached Penang after 62 days.
Periya Udayanna Devar was separated from others and sent to Sumatra, where he lived for just four months.
In 1820, 11 persons including Duraisamy, returned to India.