by Kevin Missal
Vibhishana was surprised and delighted. “Oh my goodness! Do you know what this is? Wait . . . I should call the librarian to make sure. . . no wait . . .” he stood up excitedly. “Where did you get this?”
Manasa was confused. “Nanda gave it to me.”
“That cheery old man!” He laughed rubbing his paunch. “He has managed to get the diamond in the rough.”
“What is it?”
Before Vibhisana could explain, the guard entered the room with a box in his hand and a sealed packet on top of it.
“Your highness, there is a parcel for you.”
“Oh! A parcel?” Vibhisana took the parcel and set it down on the table. He rubbed his hands in anticipation, like a child about to open his present.
He decided to read the letter first. Manasa didn’t hesitate to come forward and read it with him.
To the dearest king of Bhanmati,
I write to inform you that I am ready to accept your partnership if you step down from your throne and let us rule instead. We shall not harm you. We are already in the process of conquering every empire in the vicinity and plan to unite the Dakshinis and make our countrymen stronger than those in Udaiyas. It is time that the Dakshinis rule Illavarti in its entirety.
We are sending you a gift as a token of expressing how seriously we should be taken. The entire royal line who supported you—Vasuki, Manasa, and her fiendishly offbeat husband have been taken care of.
Vibhisana looked at Manasa.
“I’m not a ghost,” said Manasa.
Vibhisana meekly nodded and continued reading.
We plan to use your city for betterment since it’s the centre of power. We are waiting for your positive response. If there is no response in twenty days, you shall be taken down for good.
Regards,
Jamun
Vibhisana started shivering. He glanced at the box, hesitating to open it. Though that didn’t stop Manasa. As soon as she opened it, a putrid smell spread in the room. She looked inside and instantly collapsed.
Nanda’s dead eyes stared at them.
Kalki knew he was in heaven. At least it looked like heaven. As he walked to the snowy platform, he saw the world in front of him covered in white—there were wooden huts surrounded by willows and other trees, flakes had engulfed the wet leaves, the smell of organic fruits permeated the air, and the silence was soothing.
Dandak Forest—the place where the Vanars used to live, was now deserted. They had moved to Dandak Hills, high up in the forest when the winds and the cold came. The Vanars were one of the oldest tribes in Illavarti. They preferred to live in seclusion. Some said they live like the Suparns, but the difference between them was that the Vanars were a peaceful tribe. The last time they had waged a war was the time they had assisted Lord Raghav.
Kalki walked past the Vanars. They bowed to him. And then, he realized it was the symbol on his chest that they were noticing. He crossed the huts and walked down the slope along with Padma who took him to the hut where Ratna and Smrit were staying.
“How are you feeling?” asked Smrit. They had worn fur around their body to cover themselves up.
“Great.”
“You don’t feel cold?”
Kalki shook his head. He felt nice instead of cold.
“Where do you plan to go?” Kalki asked.
“We plan to stay.” Ratna gave Smrit a mischievous smirk.
“Why?”
“We can talk about that later. For now, let’s just say that I like to know the people I surround myself with.” She looked at Kalki’s symbol. “Good luck,” she said and left with Smrit. Kalki realized she was carrying a double-edged sword.
“She’s weird,” said Padma. “You know she’s the one who brought us here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She’s going to aid in the war.”
“War?”
“There’s a war brewing in this kingdom.”
Weren’t Vanars supposed to be peace-loving?
“Half of the population is out there at the Frontier trying to defend what you see here.”
Kalki pursed his lips. “Where’s Kripa?”
“Everyone hates him around here so he decided to do the one thing that does not irritate anyone.”
“What?”
“Sleep.”
Kalki stifled a laugh. He walked away from the hut and moved towards the cherry blossom trees. There was a cluster of these trees at some distance from the huts. A light breeze blew towards him as the orange sun began to dip, the rays beaming at him and deflecting from his chest. Kalki and Padma looked at the symbol on his chest. It was glimmering in the sunlight.
“I am sorry for . . . everything. I misjudged you.” Padma’s voice was almost a whisper.
“I am sorry as well,” Kalki nodded, walking towards the cherry trees. “I blamed you for Arjan’s death. It was not your fault.”
“I believe he’s not dead.”
“I hope not.”
Padma sighed. “He told me you are the saviour; he believed in you. I didn’t. But I realized something. The world will believe in you if you believe in yourself. And that’s what you did.”
“I uh . . . you are right. We fought for so long, I felt it was pointless. I realized while I was dreaming and while I was close to my death that in life, you meet certain people and they might not be ideal for you, but they are there for you. And sometimes, being there is what matters than being perfect.”
“I have not really seen a lot of good people in this world, Kalki. It kind of made me realize there aren’t many.” Padma patted him on his back.
“My father used to say that there is goodness in the world, but there’s no ability to realize it within you and the few that do, they become quite prosperous.”
“Your father is a wise man.”
“I guess. Speaking of wise men, he is waiting.” She pointed to the edge of the plateau where close to the cherry trees someone was hanging from the branch, upside down, looking at the sun.
“Lord Bajrang?” Kalki had goosebumps.
Padma nodded.
Kalki, without any hesitation, began to walk towards the plateau as he saw Lord Bajrang. He was clad in a simple grey dhoti with a golden belt around his waist. His chest had been painted red. He had folded his hands and closed his eyes. Kalki also noticed that unlike what people said about them, Vanars didn’t have tails at the back. They were furry, and resembled monkeys, but they were hairy Manavs.
Kalki didn’t say anything to Lord Bajrang. For a few seconds he just stood there, awestruck.
The sun began to set, turning the sky orange. A cool breeze made the leaves of the trees dance. Kalki listened to the rustling of the leaves, thinking of what to say to the legend that stood in front of him.
“She’s cute and I know you are wondering if I have a tail or not.”
Having heard innumerable stories about the might of the great Lord Bajrang, Kalki hadn’t expected him to say that.
“I have so many questions.”
“Everyone does. But only few know the answer.” He had a heavy voice, tinged with honeycomb sweetness, but also seeped with the rigidity of a commander. “And I am one of the few.” And with a slight adjustment, he leapt from the branch, somersaulting in the air, letting himself fall on the ground. His arms held on to the snow and then he stood up on his feet.
“You are Endowed, aren’t you? You are going to live forever.”
Lord Bajrang turned to Kalki. His face was impassive—almond-coloured eyes, brown fur across his cheeks, and a warm face. “Indeed. By my very good friend, Lord Raghav, who thought it would be better if I live for a long time.”
“You are not what I expected.”
“You thought I was some wise sage? Or some king? I am not any of them. And all of them. You see, when you are Endowed, you must hide from the world, letting no one suspect that you will live forever since it would be considered magic and magic is something only few believe in. But word spread and
my myth increased. I am the person who saved Lady Sita, who assisted Lord Raghav. I am so many things. But slowly those myths died and I just became like any other ruler, ruling his tribe. I live in peace with my people now.”
He was muscular with thick thighs, a tight chest, and burly arms. Walking towards another tree, he jumped on the branch again, but this time to pull out a red fruit. He handed it to Kalki.
“You should have it.”
“What is it?”
“Something that makes us healthy and strong.”
“Like Soma?”
He laughed. “You don’t know anything about that plant.”
“I know enough.”
“That’s the thing. You and the others think it’s Soma that makes you go mad. But it’s not true. Lord Raghav consumed a copious amount of Soma and he never fell ill. Never.”
Kalki had believed Lord Raghav to be moral and righteous. It was impossible to corrupt someone who was so pious. “But he was Dharm, right?”
“Ah! The prophecy of Dharm and Adharm? You really believe it?”
Kalki nodded.
“Let me tell you something. There’s no Dharm and Adharm. The concepts are bogus. Lord Raghav and Dushasan took Somas as well, but they used it for what they thought was best. Somas are not evil or good. It’s the person. Somas just make you strong. It is up to you to choose your own path. And you know what paths define, right?”
Kalki shook his head. It was all new to him.
“Paths are defined by the choices you make as a person. Lord Raghav chose the right path while Dushasan chose the violent one. It was not because of Somas. Believe me.”
There’s no Dharm and Adharm? Then what am I supposed to be?
“We live in a world of contradictions. But don’t worry, you shall understand everything in time.” He patted his shoulder as Kalki ate the ripened fruit which turned out to be extremely sweet, filling his mouth with juiciness.
Then Lord Bajrang looked at his symbol. “You know what it is?”
“What?”
“A symbol of Lord Vishnu. He has given you the permission to be his warrior of Dharm. You are finally chosen by him.”
“Wait, I wasn’t chosen till now?” Kalki narrowed his eyes.
“No, you weren’t.”
“But . . . but . . .” Kalki’s world spiralled. All this time, he had thought he had been chosen to fight for the world. “But how is this possible? Kripa told me that I was Dharm and I was destined to go to Mahendragiri mountains to learn the ways of an Avatar, but now you are saying anyone could have been Dharm and I was not chosen?”
Lord Bajrang had a smile on his face. “Kripa was a liar. He made you think you were Dharm and that made you want to do things as Dharm. It was the power of belief which he used. The good part is, you are chosen now. Also, yes, Kripa is not someone one can trust. He betrayed his own brother-in-law to help the opposing faction causing his sister and his brother-in-law to die. You have no idea what he has done.”
Kalki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had had his suspicions about Kripa since he believed he had brought the Mlecchas who had killed Vishnuyath, Kalki’s father.
“But I’ve never had Soma in my life . . . it was my mother who drank it and that made me be the Dharm. I don’t understand. I thought I had been chosen. How am I so strong then?”
Lord Bajrang smiled. “Who told you about your mother?”
“Kripa.”
And then it dawned on him. It was all a lie.
“Is there someone who can teach me the ways of an Avatar or is that a lie as well?”
“There might be some. I don’t know about it much. But Kripa has been lying to you ever since you joined him in this cause. And it’s all right. It was a necessary lie since he believed that you had the potential to be Dharm. You really believed in the idea that Soma had been passed down to you from your mother? It doesn’t work like that. You need to take it directly. Perhaps Kripa slipped you some when you were young.”
But then, how come Father knew Kripa?
“You have a lot of questions to ask him. Honestly, I don’t trust him. But he brought you here, so he really believes in whatever is up there in the hills. So, you go for it.” Lord Bajrang began to walk away from Kalki. “And be quick, because we don’t have much time.”
“Why?”
“There’s a rebellion brewing in my tribe and tomorrow we go to war.” Lord Bajrang left Kalki with more questions and less answers.
The stars mingled in the nightfall as Kali looked up at the sky, wondering who he was now that he had lost his city. He got up and walked towards the ravine. It was mirroring the sky above. He let his hand feel the current of the bristling water. It was tickling and itching at the same time. He turned when he heard footsteps. Durukti came and stood beside him.
“How’s your leg?” she asked.
“Better.” Kali was still using the cane.
She was silent for a while as if she was thinking of what to say. “I . . . uh . . .”
“Do you think I am a good man?” Kali interrupted her.
“A good man?” She fidgeted. “Uh, no.”
Kali sighed. He wasn’t angry. In fact, he had not been feeling a lot of things for a while now. Perhaps because he had no throne to make him feel proud and greedy and . . . omnipotent. Now he was just a man with a broken leg.
“Why?”
“You have done horrible things.”
“So have you.”
“But I feel remorse.”
“I do too. But you are right, I’m not a good man. I have done things I shouldn’t be proud of.”
“Why are you asking me this?”
“Because of the voices.”
“Can you hear them now?”
He shook his head. Surprisingly, they had vanished as if he had been stripped of his powers. He touched his scalp and realized that his hair was starting to grow. “Well, I guess my baldness is cured.” He chuckled. “Have I been cured somehow?”
“What did the voices tell you to do?”
“I was never ruthless, but I was ambitious. A part of me wanted to be a good king, but the voices wanted me to lord over my people, instil fear in them, because fear rules the strongest.”
“And you were proven wrong once you fell from the throne.”
“Yes.”
“Could it be . . . that the voices were only a product of your imagination that stemmed from your fear of losing your throne? And now that you’ve lost and you are here, that imagination is satiated from the conclusion.”
Perhaps she was right. Perhaps, he was meant to fall down to rise up again. Shukr had said that he was Dharm. But then who was Adharm? Kalki. He was out there, readying himself to kill Kali’s but Kali wouldn’t let it happen. He will prepare himself, recover from his injuries, and build his strength.
“I have always believed you would be a good king. That’s why I’m here with you even though you have done things I am not happy about. There’s a spark in you, a spark of hope.”
Kali blinked. He couldn’t believe his sister was being so honest, and outspoken. Back in Indragarh, she mostly kept to herself. This was what she was like in the early days when Kali had been with a king and she used to teach him little things in life to overcome oddities.
“Thank you.”
“What do you plan to do now?”
“To become a better person, of course.” He paused, thinking of all those horrendous dreams he had been having, about his siblings crying out from the bloody rivers and the sands, calling his name out, telling him to find his legacy, his heritage, his past. “But first, I must do something that I should have done a while back.”
And with that, he turned around and walked away.
Kali had entered the shack where Shukr was lying down, but he couldn’t hear any snores. He dismissed Koko and Vikoko who had been standing behind him. He knelt next to Shukr as Shukr opened his eyes.
“What isss it?” he said, hissing.
; “I know it was you.” Kali gazed at him. “You were the one, weren’t you? The one who came in my dreams, who wanted me to find out about my heritage.” Kali had realized that Shukr’s voice and the voices in his nightmares were the same. Durukti had been wrong. It wasn’t just his imagination.
Shukr smiled. “You have a good memory.”
“Why did you do that?”
“O the last of the Asuras,” he sighed, “I have no strength to defeat Adharm, but you do. For that you had to be trained. You also need to know about your heritage. You are destined to rule not just Udaiyas, but Dakshini as well.”
“So, you made me fall down from the throne?”
“Yes. Initially, I tried to send messages through dreams, but you didn’t listen. So I made those dreams more lucid and they started affecting you.”
“But all of it, killing Ratri, that lover of hers, Vedanta, and troubling Arjan, it was all me. They were my decisions. And now you say you made me do it.”
Shukr paused, patting him on the shoulder. “The decisions were yours. But I influenced them. I made you reach the tipping point and let you fall yourself. So no, directly I didn’t make you fall from the throne. I was just there, whispering in the corner, applauding you for what you were doing and in that sense, you thought you were doing the right thing.”
“I thought my illness was the reason behind these visions.”
“Your illness made it easier for me, of course, to penetrate your psyche.”
“You influenced Urvashi to take me down?”
He shook his head. “You influenced her by killing her father. I just gave her the necessary tools to take you down.”
“Tools?”
“I was her guru,” he said. “Back when she was a little child. I taught her a lot of things.”
“How did you know she would take me down one day?”
“Because I had the Eye of Brahma initially.” He shook his head apologetically. “Before the Cursed One took it from me. He travelled to the land of Asuras to get it from me. This was during the Breaking, after the Mahayudh.”
“The Cursed One?”