As a young man working in a Penang kittanggi, Chellaia fancies his boss’s daughter. When his life as a moneylender is disrupted by the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, he, like many of his peers, joins the Indian National Army (INA). After the army disbands, Lieutenant Chellaia makes his way back to Penang and waits to see what the return of the British will bring. He and his fellow soldiers remain close friends, looking out for each other. Chellaia is eager to rebuild his life but as the war has changed him, he finds it difficult to adjust to his old job. Worse still, he is no longer deemed a suitable match for the woman he had hoped to marry. “You have before you the one great Tamil novel of Penang.”
– Sunil S. Amirth, Chair, Department of South Asian Studies, Harvard University