Indian Chronicles- THE KAILASHANATH DIAMOND
A TRIBUTE TO PERCY JACKSON SERIES BY RICK RIORDAN.
By Ashwin T Shekhar
Gaurav
It is not every day that you confront a great five feet long snake in the principal's office. But, there we go, all that would definitely happen to Gaurav. It all started with the school organising a field trip to the Marina Beach for swimming practice. Gaurav was sick of listening to the same words from the principal, , stating the terrible state of the school in sports and athletics. He was really desperate; to send off a whole terrible lot to the Marina is no small feat, of course.
Once they reached the Beach Road, the students at the back seat howled and hooted with glee. Gaurav got down with his best friend, Kamal and then came another bus. This bus had 'The PSBBMS' on the side. Down came two girls, chatting away their time and laughing. Behind came another two girls, who looked like they were amidst a deep discussion. Then a set of boys poured out, with one of them reading a paperback novel.
'Hey, Ashwin, can't you ever leave your novel alone?' asked a boy in front.
He did not reply, much too engrossed to talk.
'Um, Gaurav, would you please follow the line, or risk staying back, dear?' asked Mrs. Mehta, their Geography teacher. She did not leave any opportunity to show the class how the beach was formed and explain about the waves and tides and the breeze and whatnot.
Kamal dragged him along so that they'd not leave their class. Gaurav hated the sea. How much ever the teachers forced him, he could not help being hydrophobic. So, the swimming teacher told us to change, and once we came back, we headed out to a safe part of the coast.
'Students, we have to understand the proper techniques of swimming. It is essential that you hold yourself properly and make sure that you don't forget the posture. So let us practice the most essential...' said the swimming teacher, but Gaurav's mind had already drifted off. He saw the PSBBMS group heading towards the lighthouse. He had no control over himself. He slipped away.
He saw that the boy, Ashwin, had finally stuffed his novel away. He now had a notepad and a pencil in his hands and intently, he was making notes. The other girls, the chatting ones had stopped chatting but they were discussing something and giggling. He heard a few words, 'Nandita!'; 'Hey, it's not my fault, Swati!'
The shorter one was gazing at the southern horizon, and she looked at the sea lovingly like it was her life force. The taller one poked her.
'What, Nandita?' asked the shorter one.
'To remind you that we are here for half an hour not a lifetime.' said Nandita.
'Swati and Nandita, will you ever stop chatting?' asked Ashwin from behind. 'And don't you guess that you're being watched?' he said, gazing exactly where Gaurav stood.
'What?' asked Swati. She looked behind to find Gaurav looking at them. He felt himself pressing the urge to run away. Ashwin seemed to have spotted that.
'Hey, don't worry. I do hate spies, but you don't look like one. I just thought you were purposefully observing these two.' He said.
Gaurav must have been taken aback, but he said nothing.
'My name is Gaurav, and I am from Class 7,'he said.
'O' course you are!' said a voice behind them. Gaurav turned back to see Kamal in his favourite pink shirt and gentle smile.
'So now you are another character from the Redwood School?' asked Ashwin.
Yet again, this reasoning ability shocked Gaurav and Kamal.
'How did you find out? I mean, are we wearing our uniform?' asked Kamal.
'Big surprise. I saw another school bus standing next to ours. I noticed the name, that's all,' said Ashwin.
'Think we have to go,' said Kamal.
Both Gaurav and Kamal rushed off to see their school leaving. They got onto their bus at the last second.
After the trip, there were a few more lessons to endure. There was Mathematics, which did not go well. Especially when Gaurav messed up the value of pi and somehow got the answer in Greek letters, like around alpha and scribbled stuff all over the notebook.
End of the day was Value Education, and Gaurav forgot his textbook.
'That is the tenth time you have not brought your book, Gaurav! Go to the principal's office, now!' roared .
One thing about Nagraj's office was that it always smelled wet and evil, the kind of principal personality you don't wish for.
So, as Gaurav entered the room he confronted his principal storming over a rat.
Yes, it was a dead rat.
'Hello, Gaurav. I have been waiting for your entransss. I hope you parentsss will believe me that you are dead indeed. Sorry for being your teacher, child! I have been waiting for too LONG!' With the last word, he turned into a huge five feet long snake in a sickly shade of mauve with a huge rasping voice.
He lunged.
Gaurav just had one thing. He wanted to call out for help, but his moment of shook overpowered him. Suddenly, Nagraj turned into a huge wisp of purple smoke. 'Tum hisaab chukaoge, Gaurav!' said the same voice before disappearing.
Ashwin
Usually, Ashwin would have wanted to stay right there at the lighthouse for a while to observe the excellent use of logic on the top, but well, maybe he could use the time to read his novel. This novel was no ordinary novel, a great story, and an absorbing one too. It didn't matter to him all the name-callings and matter which could just be ignored.
Just then, Swati and Nandita came towards him. Probably they had an argument, he thought.
'Swati is immersed in the world of books. But I am not. Tell me, how to exactly select the trial method among the principle of Pythagoras?' asked Nandita.
'No, I am not. I have to get marks, don't I? Tell me too.'
'You can do it this way. Select the smallest square to the next set of numbers and L-divide it, simple. Anyway, I know you came here to talk about that spy boy, right?' he asked.
'Bingo!' said Jasnoor from behind. She was sitting with Madhumita. They were talking about something. Parvati approached Ashwin, too, but with a different question.
'I want to know whether you go for any extra tuition,' she declared.
'No, I don't.' Ashwin replied.
'Then tell me how do you get good marks?' enquired Madhumita.
'All will be learnt in due course,' said an unknown person, a parent.
They got down from the bus and approached their school. Ashwin liked this building. He, of course, like Swati, loved books, but he had a different feeling about this place, almost like home. Students were running about here and there. There was perfect commotion around. Yet, he loved this place.
'I want six of you- Nandita, Swati, you, Parvati, Jasnoor and Madhumita to come with me.' Said the parent.
Weird, Ashwin thought. A parent asks them to come for a ride with him? Suspicious and question arising. That reminded him. Questions-asking session.
'Sir, who are you, exactly? What do you want?'
'My dear, just call all of them. Special orders cannot be ignored.' He replied.
So he called all of them. The car of the parent set out towards north.
'Hey, we don't have to go north, do we? That's out of city,' said the driver.
The parent muttered something about meanwhile and then continued giving directions. They reached a huge campus of school outside town. Redwood School had arrived. Two people were waiting outside. Ashwin did a double-take. It was Kamal and Gaurav.
'Sorry we're late. Get in and keep quiet.' said the parent.
The car veered off towards east till they raced through the outskirts of Chennai. They arrived at a small port village.
'North of here is Ishwar Academy. Please keep quiet when you reach there. And of course, by the looks of it, , you're in altar four. And perhaps Madhumita is in altar three. I don't know. The Ishwar will only claim your adoption.' He said.
'Adoption? Excuse me, sir, we have parents. So if this orphanage is to take us, say no.' boomed Ashwin.
'Dear me,' mumbled the parent. 'My dear child, I am Narada, the messenger of the lords. Do not say something like that.'
The car trembled. They were now in a huge temple complex around a huge lake; something that cannot be found on Google Maps. With that, they saw, that the whole temple spread out over altars. Not normal ones, but huge altars with marvellous colouring.
As they passed the gates, Ashwin's face began to illuminate, and a Veena appeared over his head and a book fell on his hand from nowhere.
'Behold, Ashwin, the son of almighty Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, knowledge and arts. Please accept Ma's offering. Saraswati Namasthubyam.'
Ashwin took the book. It was named 'Hamare Sanskaar va Icchaen'
That was in Hindi. Understandable it was.
And then, the sky rumbled, and Nandita's head glowed a reddish hue. Then, a silver trident appeared above her head.
'Behold, my godliness, Nandita, the almighty daughter of Shiva, the great destroyer of evil and the perfection expert. Om Nama Shivaya.'
They entered the city complex and the parent, actually Narada, led them towards a huge complex. The Sabha, it was called. It was full of mats on the floor and people talking. They entered.
'Nandita, and Ashwin, please go to your respective altars. Ashwin, as I said before, go to that white altar up there, near the Pustakalaya. And Nandita, you must go to altar one, the huge altar with three stripes and a red eye, go.'
The others were left. They felt really nervous.
Ashwin followed Narada to the main complex, and through a confusing set of signs in Sanskrit, one sign said: Vidya Ma Viman. That one felt right, so he followed that path. It was marvellous. The altar was huge: in white and with enormous bookcases inside, and lots of worktables and beds where you could read. It was just Ashwin's kind of place to live in.
'Svagatam. Dear me, welcome to the Vidya Ma Viman that is the Saraswati Altar, that's what we call it anyway. You will excel if Ma wishes you luck. You have a great future ahead. Good bye, dear boy. Krupya agya davam.' He said so and rushed off towards a huge temple.
Nandita
Nandita was faint with surprise. God! (Correction: gods!) Lord Shiva had accepted her in! Just like that! A trident appeared over her head, and voila! Nandita, the daughter of Shiva is referred to as 'Her Godliness'. But her friends, they were blank, left out, knowing nothing about their godly parent.
Why had Lord Shiva claimed her, anyway? Why was she supposed to be his daughter? All these questions confused her, but she had no room for more, as she approached the grand Altar One, a huge dome protruding from a small sanctorum, with a Shivalinga, and of course, the whole outer colour was deep blue and three stripes of white were there above.
There also was a red eye, glaring at them, as though it had been forced there. And it was really scary to look at. Chants of 'Om Nama Shivaya' were coming from the sanctorum, though Nandita never saw any living soul inside.
'Svagatam. Welcome to Lord Shiva's abode for ardha-ishwaras. Half- gods in your language, I suppose. You and I, sadly, are the only ones part of this huge cabin, and sadly enough, my sister, Jyoti, is missing, or perhaps dead from the deadly quest our dear Narada had given her. Who can survive Naraka?' asked a boy, fourteen years or so, with such bitterness, that Nandita almost felt pity.
'Sorry, but I don't know who you are, and what you do. Please, tell me who this Naraka is, and perhaps I could help you.' Nandita said.
The boy looked stunned, as though he had not even realized that Nandita was there, and suddenly became aware of that fact. He shrugged and then started telling, 'So, welcome to our heavenly abode for Lord Shiva's favourite children. I am one of those, so are you. Let me show you around,' he pointed at a huge Shivalinga in front, 'this, the most prized treasure of our institute, is the Mahalinga. You must see that this radiates such immense power that the bhoot, prêt, pisach and danav don't enter our premises. But, only our people can control it. We are the only ones who can make the Shivalinga work for the camp. So, I hope you do help me.'
They followed a thin staircase lined with flaming fire brackets and entered a huge room with the walls full of candles. Glowing chandeliers and beautiful golden spheres filled the room. There were sofas and couches spiked on the east side, with a merry fire burning on the west. It was written, 'Danavo Bhagatam Shivam.' Loosely translated, it must have meant, all demons must fear Shiva.
There were two doors, one for 'Mahila' and the other for the 'Purush'.
'From here, I cannot guide you. So, please go front, and explore our great altar. Oh and just come back by five o'clock, just to come to the Bhojanalaya on time,' he said and rushed off.
And so the time came. Nandita rushed off to the main hall, that is, The Sabha, to see a huge set of people gathered around a yagna, or a fire, and she recognized four of them- Madhumita, Parvati, Swati and Jasnoor.
'Sa Vachan, give me your wish, Lords of Kailash and Sagar. Give me the ability, Narayana, to determine the fates of these people. What should I do?' Narada was saying this in pure Sanskrit, but Nandita somehow understood.
'What is he doing?' asked Nandita. 'And where is Gaurav?'
'There is always a sacrifice ceremony. If one of these four are not suitable for the god's choices, and they have found out about this, the memory will be erased and cleaned forever,' said the boy.
'WHAT?!' exclaimed Nandita.
Narada had started using his rites and rituals. He stood up straight and muttered mantras, waiting for the Lords to inform them about the decision.
The breeze grew stronger. The water in the pond rose higher. The fire danced and roared upwards. The sky rumbled, and the Veena started playing itself.
Then, from nowhere, appeared six figures- the forms of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Gauri, Saraswati, and Lakshmi. These were just images, but it sure looked like the gods had changed a lot over the ages. Vishnu wore a delicately woven kurta in blue colour with actual fishes swimming in it.
Brahma wore a nice velvet violet suit and had well-groomed silver hair. But worst of all for Nandita was to see Lord Shiva, her newly acclaimed father. He wore a nice full-sleeve red shirt, and the symbol of a tiger was present in his pleated pants. He looked like a normal person who, like Shiva, enjoyed controlled lives. Saraswati wore a white skirt and top and had a novel- 'Great Expectations' in her hand along with her aeon old Veena.
Lakshmi was more modern. She wore a green top and a pink dupatta, and also a beautiful sea-blue pyjama. Gauri aka Durga wore a nice sari in red with gold border. This was how the gods looked now.
'My gods, how do you think of these children? Are they any help to you?' asked Narada.
'Narada, I strongly objected to this method of memory erasing in the council years ago. You refuse. But if you have read our laws carefully enough, there is a statement that if we gods claim our adoptions after a particular championship or contest, you cannot kill the children,' said Saraswati.
'Right. So this godly contest must be held on...?'
'...on Chaitra's first day. And that is tomorrow,' said Brahma.
'Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam!' all the students exclaimed.
SWATI
Swati had never experienced a colder night than this, of course. She was abandoned for doing nothing, a child of nobody, and her friend Nandita had flown away to Shiva's Altar. This competition, of course, was not her game. She knew nothing of what the temple complex offered in the library; about Chakra Aiming and whatnot.
Swati was hopeless at Talwaar Vaar and no better at other things. And she was jealous of Nandita for her excellence in YogMukta, their complex's toughest endurance test.
And there was Ashwin, of course, getting time to be in the library and to have Vedanta and Ayurveda and Sanskrit classes to excel in.
She felt equal to Jasnoor and Madhumita, and of course, not Parvati. Parvati's mother must be Gauri. She thought and thought, and felt sore not able to comprehend why Parvati had not been claimed. And she did not want to think. She often would say in desperation to Jasnoor, 'Nandita means Saraswati in Sanskrit, then why in world would she be the daughter of Shiva?'
As the competition evening approached, she grew more and more nervous. The events were put up on the notice board.
First was a set of rounds of Talwaar Vaar, which she knew none of them was good at. Then they had YogMukta, and that wasn't her field of expertise also.
But then they also had Chakra Phekan, and Baan Teer.
She didn't know what they were but they felt comforting.
She saw a cute little squirrel approaching her. She saw it and squeaked, 'Hi there, squeaky. How are you?'
And believe it or not, the squirrel spoke to her.
'Hi madam. My name is Pip, and I am the chieftain of all squirrels in north branch sector. I came to ask you about a major crisis in Road A-5, Nutshell Avenue. Tell me where to get an ah-corn?' it said.
Swati got one from the kitchens and gave the animal, and it happily hopped away.
SO, that was all she had: the power of talking to animals. Nothing else, only that was her power.
The horns and shankh blared and she scuttled away to the podium. She had to do something.
Then she saw the Chakra and understood. She was born to use that thing. It was round and shaped like a metal ball. They were divided, with Madhumita getting magic talent show as a challenge, Jasnoor getting cooking, sewing and treasure hunting in one hour, and Swati getting Chakra throwing. Parvati was about to get her task, but the head of Mahishasura severed appeared above her head.
'Behold, Almighty Durga has claimed you, my child!' shouted Narada.
So, that was end of one contestant. Selected before even getting her task. Now Swati has three more to defeat.
In one hour, Swati had to throw fifty chakras in the water with a small stretch of land. The land must be targeted every single time. If not successful, she would be thrown out.
Narada counted down to ten and blew the conch horn. The task had started.
Jasnoor
Jasnoor felt awkward for being have set this task. It was too tough for her, mostly because she wasn't a great cook. Even if she managed to cook something good at all, it would take supposedly a few days for her to master that technique. She was not good at sewing, too, and not to mention her clumsiness in knitting two strings of yarn in an hour.
She could simply not finish searching for a treasure; that too underground. She felt her memory ebbing away from her already. What was she supposed to do?
She could just do what she was supposed to. She checked her ingredients on the table: a few loaves of bread, some butter, cheese slices and a small tava. This was all she could muster of making: a simple sandwich. This sandwich would have to be simple. Really hard it would be. She fumbled with the knives for a moment, and finally she was able to cut a few pieces of cheese.
She had to do ten more in around ten more minutes. How much time could she waste? Suddenly, her friend, Madhumita appeared behind her, apparently dropping from a trapdoor above them on the ceiling. She whispered, 'Jasnoor, I can make things appear out of thin air, you know! What do you want? Tell me, fast! I have to reappear onstage after two minutes!'
Jasnoor thought rapidly. What would she need to make her task easier? A knife which could cut automatically? No, that would be impossible. Perhaps a bottle opener? That would be waste of her time. She kept on eliminating choices till she got it: a bread toaster!
'Quick, give me a toaster. Fast!'
Madhumita looked like she was concentrating really hard (like once she had during a history test), and suddenly a toaster appeared out of thin air in front of Jasnoor.
'I caught it!' she exclaimed.
'Good luck!' Madhumita said and disappeared.
Jasnoor had no time left, she had to do it. She assembled the contents in place and made a passable toast.
She rushed on to the knitting loom. Two pink sets of yarn lay waiting for her. She picked them up and started sewing them. She found these very soft and smooth. Not silk, but something as valuable as that.
She continued knitting, till she got a nymph sized sweater. She had somehow done this in a short while. Five past eight: twenty five minutes to go!
She rushed along the corridor to the outside ground, where there was a hole. As she came nearer, this divided into two more holes. Then, she found out that one of these holes had to be correct. The others were fake.
She somehow sensed that the third path, the one to her left, had some kind of unearthly metal inside. She knew that would be precious. She went in.
The tunnel seemed long, dark and endless. She whispered, and it echoed down the low ceilinged tunnel.
She kept on walking till she found a small block of pure pink metal, lustrous and beautiful, yet it did not feel like part of the Earth. It felt almost heavenly.
She saw the sign next to it, Lakshmi Kamal Stone the most precious stone of the heavens, only next in value to the Kailashanath Diamond.
She had no real idea what Kailashanath Diamond was, but she found a staircase. She ran up the staircase.
It emerged right in the heart of the Sabha, and she heard loud cheering coming from her left. It was Swati: she looked really calmer now, and much, much less talkative. She radiated a sense of power Nandita and Ashwin did last night.
It meant only one thing: Swati was claimed; she had a beautiful serpent hovering over her head. She was the daughter of Vishnu: the maintainer, the operator. She was in Altar Five.
Behind, Madhumita was searching for Jasnoor. She spotted her, and she ran forwards.
'Jasnoor! You made it! I thought you wouldn't be able to finish within the time limit! You were simply excellent!' she said.
Jasnoor didn't know how Madhumita came to know of this but that was explained. There was a TV screen in the front.
'My dear friends, Jasnoor, also, will not be insulted mentally, and behold...' Jasnoor's face illuminated with pink light. A lotus appeared over her head. '...Jasnoor, the Almighty Daughter of Lakshmi, the bringer of wealth, valour, and gentleness! Jasnoor may join Altar Six, if you please,' boomed Narada.
'Madhumita, I realized in the cookery area, you create things, right? So, you are the daughter of Brahma!' said Ashwin.
'Of course, so I am in Altar Three! Lucky me... anyway, I have to learn this art. It is not so easy, you know.' Madhumita said so and marched away to congratulate Swati.
Of course, Gaurav was still missing, but no one noticed that.
Gaurav
Gaurav felt terrible. The ones at Ishwar Academy had abandoned him, and they left him in this musty place in the middle of nowhere.
He had last seen Nandita being claimed and felt something sharp hit his head, and he had fainted.
And now that he had woken up, he found himself somewhere in a deep and musty cave, and by the looks of it, it was not in India. It was surely somewhere colder, and this cave's freezing temperature explained that. He then remembered.
'Kamal?' he called out.
Nobody answered him. He could see the faint silhouette of something in a diamond shape, and something which glittered really well. Next to it, gagged and tied was...
'Kamal!' he exclaimed.
How he had got there, he didn't know.
Except, he could see and hear two very deep voices arguing over something.
'Maharajadhiraj, this Gaurav has not been any use to us. Blacked out for a day, and he doesn't look like Lord's child either. And Nagraj bhai would have not been wrong by the looks of him,' said a first voice.
Nagraj struck a bell somewhere in Gaurav's memory.
Then he remembered. How had Mr. Nagraj disappeared? Gaurav had done nothing, just he had got nervous and had fumbled, but nothing else.
What did these voices mean by Lord? Who was their master?
'This boy will be of no use to us, indeed. But, as Lord Yama tells us to keep him in, I think he feels really tentative. I checked deep into his memory, but as far as I could see, he has no memory of his parentage,' said another voice.
'Maharajadhiraj pe kasam, I know that this boy was being claimed by some lord before we kidnapped him and left a holographic image. Imagine our Lord's plight. He has had no adept children in two centuries, why not adopt him?'
Chilly though the cave was, but at the mention of Yama, the cave got colder. And Gaurav got scared. How had he got kidnapped?
'Nagraj bhai did a great thing by vaporising. If he hadn't, he would have felt the wrath of Lord.'
Gaurav felt scared. He quietly was doing something that he didn't realise. He was biting his ropes. He had become free.
He quietly slipped away, as slippery as an eel.
The tunnel was colder than Gaurav had expected it to be. After around ten minutes of trudging down the icy cavern with pointed stalactites and stalagmites, and cruel looking shadows following Gaurav and strange noises, Gaurav felt eerie. The school could not be nearby, and Chennai never housed such mean temperature.
The noises of something grinding were coming from behind. Gaurav did not understand where they came from.
'Karunyaye, yaminiye! Om Bhagwane Priyaye! Om... nashtandriye! Karuppadivye! Yaminiye Vibramhate!' some voices echoed down the cavern, as though chants were being made. The cave bended into a curve and the path started moving uphill. Gaurav panted and wheezed, but this path was not an easy route.
The voices disappeared now, and the path opened up into a round pipeline. This pipeline had skeletons of dead mice, rats and other insects like cockroaches. There was a steep rise in temperature. There were homely voices echoing above, 'Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam! Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam! Vishwa janani Durgaye, bananyare Brahmane! Jodhir nashta vipudaye, purvaya nama Shive! Prasiddo samsaaro Vishnave, Padhanti saadhana prakritiye, Saraswati Namostute! Dhanupadiye, ramave Lakshmi namostute! Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam, aham Ishwar Gurukulamtam, Vardurtaya Chaturbhujam!'
'Come on, children, repeat after me. This sloka is our academy's anthem. This means that we pay our homage to all the main gods, and of course, also to our academy. We pay homage to our gurus, and experts, and pledge our loyalty. Now, I want each one of you to make a note that in today's Sanskrit class, whatever learnt, will owe you! So, Dhanyavaad Tvamev Chatron!'
'Dhanyavaad Guruvam Priyam!'
These voices... Gaurav knew. They came from Ishwar Academy, he supposed, because the total amount of energy of the song was unthinkable.
He kept on walking, and found out that the path was no longer rocky, but it was becoming sandier, and he was getting nauseous. He kept on walking till he realised that he was drifting, drifting in the middle of the open ocean. He felt a plunging feeling in his stomach, and he fainted.
Ashwin
Ashwin saw the point in attending Ishwar Academy. The nice Sanskrit classes, the well-equipped Pustakalaya, the exciting Altars, the Bhojanalaya (the food hall) and the Shrishti Lake were simply great.
Number one, he found out about the various Altars within the campus. He got to know that there were totally nine altars, Nava Sthanaha, or the Nine Sacred Altars. They belonged respectively to- Shiva in altar one, Durga in altar two, Brahma in altar three, Saraswati in altar four, Vishnu in altar five, Lakshmi in altar six, Ganesha in altar seven, Hanuman in altar eight, and Kartikeya in altar nine.
These children, of course, had respective qualities. As Jasnoor and Swati were in Bhagwan Chatvasthav, or simply the Big Six, along with Nandita, Madhumita, Parvati, and Ashwin, they felt special. Nandita acted lonely, as though the Shiva Altar was boring. Swati excellently described the altar five.
'You know what? The Vishnu Altar is shaped like a serpent, and inside, we have a collection of seashells, conch horns, and we have a private aquarium! The long Ananthashayana posture of Pitashri is often seen at night! And, well, I am good at archery and Chakra throwing suddenly...'
The Ishwar Academy's students would never address their fathers and mothers by their name. They would often use Pitashri or Mata or Ambe. The students had to wake up at 6 in the morning, and, must have a compulsory set of activities in the morning, depending on their altar number.
Swati did discus throwing, Nandita did meditation and penance, Madhumita did magic practice (Brahma's children had compulsory creation classes where they would be taught to make objects appear out of thin air, like magic), Ashwin went for Sanskrit classes, Jasnoor went for arts and crafts, and Parvati went for challenges in the ocean.
Ashwin had made one friend at the academy. A boy from altar seven was really friendly. His name was Vignesh. He always had vibhoodi smeared over his head, and he spoke faster than anyone could catch.
'Hi! Ashwin, did you get the eighteenth translation for Sanskrit? I got it as "my mother is everything, though thy not know thou". What did you get?' he asked at top speed, and Ashwin took a second to interpret his words.
'Of course, the Sanskrit translation master had told us not to use old English words like thy and thou and shalt, but it's your wish, to understand about the, you know concept.'
The activities around were occupying, and took most of the students' energy. The altars five and four were collaboratively preparing a ceremony, called the Annual RathSamorav Inauguration. They had planned a set of rules for the Raths, or the chariots, that there would be a five kilometre long track along Ishwaralayam Parvat, the nearby mountain, and the altar to come first will get a prize, a direct conversation with their human parents.
The race inauguration was to be held on the Amavasya on the fifth day of Chaitra. The members would sign their names. The ceremony would have gone perfectly, except for the materialisation of a boy. A boy who was thin and spindly in a red uniform with the logo of Redwood School. This boy appeared in the YogMukta period.
This boy was named as Gaurav, though Ashwin remembered him, he did not remember seeing him. A vague and old and tarnished memory is what he was...
'Hi everybody...um, I'm Gaurav, er, if you know that I was picked up by Narada in front of the school and...' he mumbled.
'Of course, dear child! You are indeed Gaurav, the son of mighty Lord Kartikeya...' Narada said, as a symbol of a Peacock appeared over Gaurav.
Gaurav was looking unhealthy. He had, as far as Ashwin could tell, not eaten for days.
'Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam!' said Narada.
'Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam!' exclaimed all.
Madhumita
Madhumita knew that magic would not be easy for her. She had to focus really hard, and most of the times there was always a risk of failure. Often the magicians would turn out to be children of Brahma or else huge liars and cheats.
'The irony of magic is, even though it can do anything, it always ends up in a complete opposite intention,' said Narada, once, at Creations class.
Madhumita had a lot of things to do. The days were often busy, and people had no time to sit in their respective altars and relax. Morning was usually really busy. Then, after lunch at the Bhojanalaya, they had to go for skill-moulding, that is, as Narada put it, different types of arts being learnt rather than one.
The day almost always ended cheerfully, and then after dinner, at the Bhojanalaya, where they would sit according to their altars at their respective tables (not just tables, often Rajgaddis, or royal throne like chairs).
Then the whole academy feared the dreaded lecture by the Sanskrit advisor, , who spoke in pure Sanskrit and spoke about values and karma.
'Students, my dears, I do not think you would do such a thing! I have come to know that during the YogMukta classes, you scream and shout rather than meditate in peace! Do you know that you are only insulting Lord Shiva, by not following proper methods?' he said one day, to tumultuous regard by Shiva.
Shiva answered in a weird way. The fire near the diya rose in such vigour, that the nearest table caught fire, and the ones there were incidentally, Varun and his friends, the main troublemakers during YogMukta, the sons of Hanuman.
The fire turned a deep red and everyone gasped as the form became redder and redder.
'My Gods! You have brought up the wrath of the lord! Children, you are not fit to be taught anything! The Lord approaches with the almighty trident and the powerful eye!' said .
Unfortunately, Madhumita thought, was wrong. A deep rasping voice filled the room. The lights went off. Someone in the back row screamed, for a skeleton had appeared in their midst and it said in a horrible, rasping voice:
'Behold all you people, who do not differentiate the unthinkable powers of Maharajadhiraj! You who think to betray him, and you who make us downtrodden! May the Curse of Yamraj hit every one of you!'
'Ah! Thank you... my dearest people in the whole of upper world! How grateful am I to have heard your voices! You have underestimated our forces for years! You, the puny living souls, have made death a disgrace rather than something welcome. You at the very peak of your mischief have stolen my most prized Yama Bhoomi Diamond!'
'I, after all these years of complete riddance from the Bharatiya Samaj, have in turn had good riddance from you! But all your pestering little kinds have destroyed my most prized possession, which I have painstakingly made as an exact replica of the Kailashanath Diamond, and you, of all things hateable, have utterly sentenced it to doom! Your kind is the worst that ever happened to this world!'
'Lord Yama curses every single soul in this room. The curse will bring every living soul in this room to our realm, in a very forcible way. Do not worry how grateful you must be to Maharajadhiraj, for he gives you a deadline! You must restore his diamond, as quickly as possible, before the start of Spring, to a planned location on Mount Aphrahan. Remember, you must get to the realm wherever it is, and bring it back. If you do not... you know the consequences!' continued the horrible rasping voice.
The lights came back on. The heat came back. The room was filled with joy and laughter again, but the people in every table were discussing about the same thing: Lord Yama addresses us personally? And there is a deadline to this and the students at the academy will perish in just a fortnight.
Suddenly, Narada came in to the lecture hall and announced graver news still.
'My dear students, we have grave news. Lord Shiva's power, The Kailashanath Diamond, the power of Bharatiya Samaj, is lost! Or perhaps, as a second thought, it is stolen!
'We have a tradition, and I hope the older students will inform the newest ones about this challenge they have to face. One guide will be an old student, and the others' names are as follows: Parvati, Ashwin, Nandita, Jasnoor, Madhumita and Swati. Who will volunteer for the guidance that is the choice of the Drishta!'
With this, he walked away, and after around five minutes, he returned with an orb. This orb was very big, about the size of a football, and it was in the colour of sapphire. Much more, it radiated an immense kind of power.
'This is the Drishta, the seer of Lord Vishnu. This will tell you what to do. It will tell you the guide's identity, and it will tell you of your adventure: will it pass or fail?'
The newcomers ordered up according to altar number. When Nandita came front, it glowed bluer, and words started coming out of it. A clear female voice spoke:
'Ardha-Ishwaras will go to the Samudra Devta's place,
Led by a boy, the son of the mammoth's race.
They will join hands with the tide and moon,
Their powers will lie in Saraswati's throne.
A son of wisdom will lay down a path,
And the powers of one lord will be broken apart'
'AHA! Anyone from the Ganesha altar who would like to try?' asked Narada.
Vignesh tentatively raised his hand, but the sign of Ganesha appeared over his head- red sandstone, meaning yes, you must go.
'Settled indeed. Now we must move on to the next lines which are important. Let's see. You have to go to a Samudra Devta's palace, right in the bay of Bengal, and you must seek some clue. After that, I think, one power, either of the diamonds will be utterly destroyed. Feels really sad. Please, Nandita, you must penance to your father. Appeal him. Try to make him believe the state of the camp and try to undo the curse. That is all we can hope for!'
With that, he strode away, leaving all the newcomers and Vignesh in deep confusion.
'I know of one place, the nearest palace of the Samudra Devta: his realm is the area around the Marina Beach. Maybe we should try that,' said Swati.
'You can do that? Right then. Everyone, tomorrow morning, we must pray to our parents, then the godly parents. Try to take their blessings, and once we do that, let's set out for the beach in the morning,' said Ashwin.
As the dawn came, all the seven of them went out to the waiting car- the same white car of the parent. They got in, their hearts beating fast.
Vignesh
Vignesh had never thought that he would lead the journey essential for the Bharatiya Samaj. What could he do? The prophecy had clearly stated that a child of the mammoth's race would lead the quest: and Ganesha was (sorry my lord) after all an elephant headed god.
Vignesh had been giving deep thought about their quest on their ride towards the Marina. As the city got nearer, the ride became smoother; with fewer bumps. Ashwin discussed the possibilities of the diamond's location with Vignesh.
'I think this diamond would be up in the Himalayas, and not in Mount Aphrahan. It is supposed to be the guardian of our time, isn't it?' asked Ashwin.
'Yes, and a daughter of Shiva, Jyoti, had disappeared after a task given to her about a month back. She hasn't returned yet, and sources tell she had been to Naraka.'
'Naraka? You mean the underworld? How could anyone go to a place meant for the dead?' replied Ashwin, amazed.
'Actually, the underworld is meant for the dead. Maybe Jyoti is dead. We can't do anything about it. Let us check it with the Samudra Devta of the Marina, first. Then we will think about that.'
So they decided to stay calm and the journey was very quiet, for Swati was too nervous to talk, and Nandita was in a trance, trying to appease Lord Shiva.
About thirty minutes later, their car pulled up at the Beach Road, full of determined people running and walking to lose weight. A few people were running towards the ocean, and they were standing in front of the waves, staring and grinning, as though they wanted the waves to be fiercer.
Swati's face contorted with rage.
'How dare you! You think the waves will obey your command?'
Swati was angry enough to go and hit the man doing the baiting trick, but Jasnoor and Madhumita restrained her from going.
'How dare you! I mean, the waves will not obey them, and they will pollute it for a good cause! They never learn, do they? The tsunami our Pitashri triggered was not enough to make these people learn a lesson!' roared Swati.
'Calm down, Swati! We have a quest to finish, remember?'
Swati came to her senses at that.
'I thought someone said Vishnu's children are submissive?' asked Jasnoor.
'Oh please, here's a proving exception!' said Ashwin.
'Enough is enough! We are wasting our time. We have to contact the Samudra Devta. Swati, where exactly is he?' asked Vignesh.
'Over there.'
Swati pointed at the waves, and it was funny enough to see Swati pointing at nothing. Seconds later, their mouths fell open, as a beautiful crystalline palace glittered over the horizon.
'How come the other people don't see it?' asked Jasnoor.
'The Dhund takes care of that. This layer masks everything we see, and we don't see anything until we are adopted by the lords,' said Vignesh.
'But how do we get over?' asked Ashwin.
'That's easy. See over there?'
Swati pointed at an old broken down fisherman's boat, The Madrasakappal.
'That is, as far as I can see, an illusion. It is not just a simple boat. The nearer we get, the more it covers up its massiveness,' said Swati.
They approached the broken down boat, and it slowly changed before their eyes. And before they knew it, they were standing beneath a huge ship, with its sails in pale blue colour, and a marvellous deck with a great view.
The ship's real name was Bharatiya Nauka. This was a ship used by the Vishnu's children during the Great Wrath (the 2004 tsunami in Chennai was called so). They glided this ship in the waters to rescue fishermen who had almost drowned.
'Let's get in!' cheered Madhumita.
So they went in. They found out that the whole ship consisted of eight rooms, each room complete with its own TV and computer. There was also a commons area, a dining room, and an empty fridge.
Ashwin went near the fridge, and saw a familiar silver mark he had been told about by his half-brothers, and this was Saraswati Kalyan, or the Mark of Saraswati.
'I know what to do. Anything you all want to eat?' he asked.
All of them nodded in exasperation. They had skipped their breakfast because they were nervous, and they did not have time. Ashwin spoke in pure Sanskrit:
'Right then... Saraswati Maye tum ham varadam swaha! Ma jayate! Oh Goddess Saraswati, Mata, we are in deep hunger, and we want something to eat. Please fulfil our wishes of food, deep down!' exclaimed Ashwin.
And they opened the fridge.
'Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!' shouted Madhumita.
The fridge was filled with goodies unimaginable; bottles of orange juice, water bottles, packets of bread, butter and jam, marmalade paste, jellies and stuff Vignesh really hated: pizzas, onion rings and tomatoes.
They ate to their heart's content. And the ship's sail was flared up.
Swati prayed to her father.
'Shantakaram bhujangashayanam, Padmanabham suresham, Vishwadharam gaganasudusham, Meghavarnam shubhangam! Lakshmikantam kamalanayanam, Yogihridyanagamyam, Vande vishnum bhavabayaharam, SARVALOKAIKANATAM!'
At the last word, the ship started moving. Everyone settled comfortably on the main deck, surrounded by the blue sea on all sides. The ship set sail towards east. After five minutes, Ashwin muttered,
'My goodness! I have something important to tell you! The Great Wrath had ended with Vishnu's children not able to convince their father, and they took the help of Chandra! Perhaps we could pray to him at night!'
'Good idea! Ashwin, you must do the praying, because it is Saraswati who understands Chandra. Chandra hates Ganesha's sons, and you know why,' said Vignesh.
'Why?' asked Parvati.
'I think you know my Pitashri cursed the moon what we call today the phases of the moon?'
'Oh, right,' said Madhumita.
After around an hour or so, the palace loomed into sharper focus: the sun was directly above it, but the walls glinted like they had been plastered with diamonds. Wait, Vignesh thought diamonds!
'Hey, do you think that this place might be an underwater mine's location?' he said.
Swati shook her head. She went to the front of the ship.
'Hey, anyone of you could just cut out that piece of rope over there? We might use it as an anchor.'
Nandita obliged. She went to the front of the ship, caught the rope, and cut it with a single strike of her knife: Trinayan.
The rope was tied to a very huge rock near the palace.
Swati jumped out of the ship and onto the rock. This rock was connected by a bridge to the palace across the water.
Swati got down, followed by the rest.
Nandita suddenly sighed very deeply.
'My father seems too busy to hear my penance, and he is not answering. Perhaps he is testing my patience,' she said.
They walked down the long bridge till Ashwin yelled.
'Ouch!'
'What?'
'Nothing, just hit my leg with a rock. A very hard rock. Hey, wait. That is harder than any metal! My gods, it is a diamond!' he shouted.
Parvati picked up the diamond and examined it.
'Looks like an alloy- it is oyster diamond. Ever heard of it?' she said.
Everybody shook their heads.
'The property is like that. It cannot be a pure diamond at any cost.'
They ignored it, but Ashwin pocketed it anyway: Vignesh saw it from the corner of his eye.
They marched towards the palace, and the gates flung open by themselves.
A conch horn blew.
'Behold! My dear friends, allies of the lords!' said a deep merry voice.
A tall man ran forward, with black- blue hair (was there such a colour?) and smiles so broad, that it could have been the mouth led to Naraka.
He was wearing robes of pure silk, and the colour was the colour of the waves, if there was any. He had a crown on the top of his head, which was wavy, and shaped like an oyster.
'How may I help you, Swamini Swati?'
He held out his hand and looked really nice.
'Actually, we are here to ask your advice.'
'Seek, child, seek.'
'So, yeah, we are here on the purpose of finding Mount Aphrahan, and also Kailash. The diamonds are missing from both the places. Could you help us out?'
The sea god grinned.
'Sure, my dear. You are the guests of my palace now, do come in and make yourselves comfortable.' He replied.
Swati explained about their ship, and the sea king looked very sad.
'Oh we cannot have you then? Anyway, all you have to do is to find the Samudra Hira and it will give you all the advice. Know the mantras and you will find your path! I am really busy today. So please don't pester me now.'
Vignesh was shocked. All the hospitality ended in just one dialogue. He knew why, because of his experience in sea gods. He did not tell anything.
(Actually, the sea gods usually would lure sailors into their palaces, and after doing a favour to those unwary sailors, they would put them to death and imprison them as bait to sea monsters)
'Don't listen! Run back to the ship!' he shouted.
They ran as fast as they could, with Ashwin puffing behind, and finally fed up, Ashwin vanished.
'My gods! Where did he go?'
After the six of them reached the ship, they found Ashwin waving at them.
'How did you get there so fast?' enquired Swati.
'Sunlight travel... it is the method of using heat molecules to transfer your substance into another place.'
'Huh?' asked Swati.
'Oh nothing.'
Ashwin opened his palm. He still had the Samudra Hira. He whispered to the others, 'This is the Hira. I have it, and keep quiet. I am going to consult it.'
With that, he opened up his palm, placed the Hira on a sacred stool, the Palag and chanted words in Sanskrit, which Vignesh could translate as
'Thy almighty Hira! You are the one we seek, thou almighty. You shall tell us the way we could find Aphrahan, and thou shalt tell us true!'
The Hira glowed blue: Vishnu was always related to Prophecies on Sea.
'The four Ardha Ishwaras shall make a call,
The power of Luna, greatest of all.
They will traverse the seas of yore,
To the land far ashore.
They will think of the old Samaj,
The olden forests of Koulen-Kambaj.'
'Another prophecy?' Madhumita complained.
'Well, we have to figure it out, don't we?' said Ashwin.
Swati
Being the daughter of Vishnu and all, Swati knew how to control the Bharatiya Nauka. She also knew the perfect bearings of the sea; that they were at 11.55 degree north of the equator and 91.24 degree east of the prime meridian. She also knew that they were passing an island to the west of Little Andaman, named as South Sentinel Island.
She knew that this area was deserted and prone to earthquakes, and she also knew that they were quite near to Barren Island, and as anybody knows, that is where the only active volcano in India is.
She tried to stir the ship away from that particular island, just in case anything erupted. She was gazing at the afternoon sky, and the serene ocean below. Behind her, at the deck of the ship, the others were discussing the possibilities of the location of the old Bharatiya Samaj.
'Old Bharatiya Samaj, at some Kamaj? What does that mean?'
'The Bharatiya Samaj declared one place throughout the Indian Territory as their main seat of power. And this place, as far as we should know, must be in the west, as the prophecy tells us to traverse the seas of yore,' said Vignesh.
'That means we must look for a country conquered by India in the east, is it not?' asked Nandita, twirling Trinayan between her fingers.
Ashwin looked as though in deep thought. He was frowning as though looking for something in a book with a thousand words per page. His eyes were moving too, like some kind of virtual book was in front of him.
'Hey! I have got it! We have to set sail to Cambodia! Now, or else we would be too late for it!' he exploded, leaving Jasnoor whimpering in pain as she closed her ears.
His eyes gleamed strangely, like as though something had covered them for a while. He glanced about, looking for a reply.
'Exactly...' said Vignesh.
Swati turned around, and spoke.
'I thought this voyage would be nice and comfortable. All we find is ...' she muttered something that nobody could hear, and she turned pale.
This was because she had seen her father's most powerful enemy, Kalia, or the mighty five headed serpent. He had such poison that could turn things to ashes, and he could kill goats with a stare. He was just like a basilisk.
'I have seen Kalia lurking beneath our ship,' she announced, looking grim.
'C'est impossible! Kalia a été killed par seigneur Vishnu ya très longtemps!' shouted Ashwin, and he covered his mouth.
'I don't know French!' he said glumly.
No one had time to ponder over that French outbreak, for a loud hiss filled the deck of the ship.
'Sssurrender, Ardha Ishwarasss, for I am the king of the evil snakesss of the world. I know that thy friend, Ssswati, knows of me, and my almighty father. He was ssslayed by thy father in the form of a puny boy.' The snake said all this in a cold whisper, and it dragged out the's' like a snake should.
Swati was the only one who could control that snake. She knew that the snake, Kalia could only be killed underwater, which her father had done. She did not know swimming that well, but she supposed Vishnu could help her in such a sticky situation.
She prayed for emergency and jumped into the water.
She saw why the Bay of Bengal was considered a cluster of the cleanest water. The least number of ports in the eastern coast made it clear that this sea was less polluted, and more vibrant than the one on the other end.
All around her were corals that gleamed in silver, lavender, hazel, blue and red. Small and cute goldfish scuttled past, and they stopped in front of her, and bent their little bodies like they were bowing to her.
She went in front, and saw a black tail gleaming in front. Then she realised that she had forgotten her Chakra back at the ship.
She saw something glittering in front of her.
It was a pearl Chakra. This looked sharp enough, so she threw it with all her might. The Chakra moved amazingly fast, and hit the snake at its tail. It howled in agony, but did not look quite diminished.
How had her father killed the snake? Then she got it. He had not killed the snake, but he had removed the power out of it by dancing on its head.
So it was. Swati knew the acidic properties of the snake's venom. She also had done chemistry in class. She somehow knew that something with a base would be perfect to give to the snake for eating. She got it. There were many bars of soap in the common bathroom in the ship. She would summon some of those into the snake's stomach.
'Hey, Snaky! Come here if you are truly a venomous python!' she taunted.
It turned around, hissed and came forward.
'I have a deal with you. In our ship, we have some excellent Cake of Amrit which you would like to have. You will not go to the underworld, you see. You will become immortal, and you will be the ever god of snakes!' she told it.
It hissed in delight.
'Surely I will not refuse such an excellent deal. The children of Vishnu are getting better, perhaps?' it muttered to itself and pushed Swati ashore with the back of its fin.
Swati broke the surface of the ocean, and tumbled back on to the ship.
Ashwin interjected her, 'Hey, is Mr. Snaky dead?' he asked.
'No, Ashwin, and I don't have time for all your questions. Nandita, please quickly fetch me five bars of soap from the restroom.' She shouted.
Nandita obliged and ran into towards the commons.
'Look here, we don't have time at all. That snake is thinking if devouring all of us, and it is vicious enough to survive the Great Wrath. So, I have thought about weakening it by adding basic properties to acidic properties of its venom. That explains the soap,' she explained to the others.
'Good thinking. Sorry about my French. That was Mata's blessing, I suppose.'
Nandita came back in, with her arms laden with Fiama di Wills and Cinthol soap bars, and a few sachets of hand wash.
Swati ran towards the railing and jumped in.
The serpent did not wait for her, and it just snatched everything. It ate all the bars in one gulp, and drunk the handwash liquid in one go.
'Bitter and I thought Amrit was sweet,' it muttered.
Suddenly it jumped fiercely. It opened its mouth, as wide as it could. It spat a bit of its venom on a seaweed, which remained stable, and if possible, became brighter.
'You wretched Ardha Ishwaras! You never keep thy promises. You shall suffer, only in later times. Let the wrath of the serpent be with you!'
The serpent had nothing other than its venom as its power, and as Swati had predicted, it swam away like it could disappear.
Swati and the others went back into their cabins in their ship, and each cabin magically suited itself for its owner.
Ashwin's and Swati's changed themselves into Marine Libraries, Nandita's became a meditation hall (almost), Vignesh's became a study hall, lined with blackboard and whatnot, Madhumita's room was full of statues and had its own TV, Jasnoor's room was complete with a table, chair and an extra fitting- an induction stove. Parvati's room was like a mini- science lab.
The second Swati sat on her bed, with a novel in her hand, she felt her eyes close, and the novel drop behind her.
Swati did not have a peaceful night. She dreamt that there were huge bugs feasting on something disgusting. She saw the silhouette of something in a dome like shape- a temple, perhaps, and trees all around her.
Sounds were coming from the temple.
'Do you not know, wicked soul, that you and your worse colleagues cannot even try to find the legendary diamonds? And I am sure you wicked ones do not have the power to control this forest, as it is the life source, and a living thing. I am sure your kind has no power over my territory,' said a high pitched voice, something more primitive rather than a human voice.
'No, Lord of The Wild, Shri Hanuman, it is not that which I am talking of,' said another voice, which sounded panicky.
'Oh nonsense. I know of my co operators of the world. I know what Yama is up to. I know of his plans to seize the Kailashanath which is identical to the Yama Bhoomi. I just know of your work. Why will you set fire to my territories around the world, otherwise?' said Hanuman.
'My Lord, it is only we want to protect your pestering children, that's all.'
Behind Swati's dreamy self, huge figures were moving. Crying and shouting filled the area.
'Why did you set fire to Angkor Wat? I must regret this,' said Hanuman.
The second voice shouted in pain as the owner of the voice crumpled beneath, the ground dissolving around him.
Nandita was not able to sleep at all even when the ship was silent and it rocked its way through the bay. The adjacent cabin, Ashwin's had its light on, but there was no audible sound. All the other cabins' occupants were soundly asleep.
Nandita felt a bit uneasy, and she always was a bit scared of the sea sometimes, but she had never felt so uncomfortable. So, she switched on her light, and walked over, went outside, and leaned over the railing, and viewed the horizon.
She peeked inside Ashwin's cabin through the window, and saw him reading a book in full attention. She suspected if he was deserted of his extra powerful senses when he was reading.
She moved a bit closer, only to find that he was reading is mother's gift: Hamare Sanskaar va Icchaen. He was too engulfed in its world to observe his surroundings. She wondered of his sudden French outbreak during Swati's return, and how sudden it had been...
She felt it did not matter much, but she knew that Swati had changed a lot after her claiming and adoption. The chatterbox had somehow turned a bit more subtle, if possible. Swati was a bit more patient and less impulsive. She had inherited her Pitashri's traits: Vishnu was submissive and gentle, but his anger was really immense: especially the Great Wrath...
She knew that the 2004 tsunami at Chennai had caused the most disaster in Indian history, and she also knew of Vishnu's children and how they had eradicated their father's Wrath. Nandita was thinking too much, a bit just more and more...
She was too occupied to notice a strange red light near her shoulder, where she usually kept Trinayan and she was thinking of too many things.
If she had been any observant, she would have noticed that this particular glow spread through her dress like anything, and she was glowing like a lustrous diamond. Until a voice spoke to her, she never knew what was happening to her...
'Dear child, you have my blessing. I have removed the curse from your academy, and of course, I have entrusted the search of my own diamond to you. You see, child, my diamond is made out of the very things Yama Bhoomi feeds upon: happiness, hope and cheer. If you need to get my diamond, sense these feelings in an extreme around you, and you will find the Kailashanath. If not, I do shudder to think of my despair, and of this country's, too. You are my only hope, child...'
With that, the calm yet overpowering voice faded, and so did her glow. She was sure that that message was from her very own father. She knew it.
Whereas, Ashwin was inside his room, and Nandita peeped inside, beside herself in anxiety.
'Ma, how in the world can I pinpoint this location? Firstly, I must go out now and pray to Chandra. Then I must also accomplish your task... How do you expect me to do this?' he whispered, to a white glow on his book.
Nandita saw it and gasped. It was Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge and studies. She looked a bit angry and sad at the same time.
'Son, you are the only one I feel worthy of this quest. You will have to do it. The throne is very weak without that particular mantra, and the mantra is the holder of all universal truths, out of which only two have been revealed.'
'But Ma, I have to accompany these people on their quest too. I must not parry with a double burden, it might lead to my failure.' He said it with such modulation that it felt almost desperate not to leave this quest.
'I know you are one of the only children of mine who has read this book in my prescribed time: a week after I gave this book. You have done it and proved yourself worthy. You will at all costs, join me and my other children on this quest. You will be the one to seek the power of Gyana, or knowledge! You must alert all your friends of it. You should make sure that you remain faithful in both your quests. Varadam ichhavam Padhanti!'
She said so and vanished.
Ashwin seemed to have got back his extra senses.
'Nandita! What in the world are you doing here?' he asked.
'Thinking of coincidences.'
'What kind of coincidences?' he asked.
'I got a message form Pitashri, and you get one form Ma. How very deliberate it seems...'
'Oh, so you witnessed it all. Wish I'd closed the window shutters. Anyway, I have to go on another flipping quest to save the Brahmane Shweta Padma. How so unlucky... These gods have made us their very powerful aids,' he said.
'Oh, and I have to find Jyoti,' said Nandita exasperatedly.
'So both of us have the woes of our parent gods... And the others? It is already nearing dawn, and Swati must wake up to accelerate the ship!' said Ashwin.
So it was. After around fifteen minutes of brushing teeth, washing up and having breakfast, Swati signalled everyone at the table and swallowed her toast forcefully.
'Friends,' Gulp. 'I have something to tell you. I dreamt last night of something really weird. I saw Lord Hanuman blast an underworld creature to pieces, near a forest, near a huge temple called Angko What.'
'Surely you mean Angkor Wat?' asked Ashwin.
'Yeah, yeah. So I am setting sail for Kambaj right away.'
It was as arranged. They passed a huge island with sprawling acres of forests and a nasty mountain up at the top.
According to Nandita, that looked like someone's turned up nose. Swati informed it was Barren Island, and she could think of no other way to Cambodia.
'What about our quests? I mean, Nandita's quest is too too connected. She gets to find Jyoti, while I have to search for a white lotus made of pure knowledge, and every grain of pollen made from a Vedic hymn.'
Ashwin moaned a lot, but he remained occupied with his gift.
'What is so interesting in there?' asked Swati.
'Oh just facts about gods, us and demons, and we also have a glossary on the main places related to the Bharatiya Samaj.
'So Cambodia is there in the list?'
'Of course. The ruler Jayavarman II, the son of Lord Vishnu, built a temple in the honour of the Big Six at Angkor, where he stored his Ardha Ishwara faculties. His empire was lost after his death, and it was covered in the Kanyo and Koulen forests till an excavation happened.'
'Oh!'
Ashwin thought of his quest, and how it would help his mother. The pure strands of knowledge would be hidden throughout the year.