The Tamil Epic Silappadhikaram is a very important literary work as it provides an overview of the ancient Tamil society under the three major kingdoms, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. It does so by brilliantly interweaving the story of a merchant couple, Kovalan and Kannagi in the form of a dance drama. For the uninitiated, a brief outline of the story is given below & others can skip a para :) The story starts with the marriage of Kovalan, son of a wealthy businessman in the Chola country, with Kannagi who hails from another wealthy merchant family. They start their life in the port city of Poompuhar. However, their marriage runs into trouble as Kovalan was attracted by a dancer named Madhavi. Even that relationship didn’t last longer. Kovalan and Madhavi separate after a brief period of 'living together'. Kovalan comes back and starts living with Kannagi again. Subsequently, both of them travel to Madurai in Pandya country to start a new life. Unfo