“Oh?”
“I thought about the prophecy, and how Zoya might be required to play the role of Meera when the time comes. I was wondering how I could help her fulfill this destiny if indeed, it were her destiny when I suddenly remembered the book of hymns.”
“The book of hymns?”
“Yes. When the priestess of the temple of Meerabai gave me shelter that night in Dwarka, she gave me a book of Meera’s hymns to protect me from harm in the future. I remembered that I still had that book in my backpack and I fetched it quickly. These were hymns that Meera sang to summon her beloved Lord Krishna, and now the priestess sings them at prayer times to serenade the Lord.”
“Ohhhh! Brilliant. How come you never told us you had this?”
“Silly of me. Somehow, I never made that connection in my head until that moment. Since I’m not a Hindu, I never grew up with these legends, and it is as new to me as it is to the rest of you.”
“I can imagine. So what did you do then?”
“The book is written in Hindi. So, at first, I thought about chanting it slowly and having Zoya repeat after me to see if the chanting would lead to a revelation of some sort. But Zoya had a better idea.”
“She’s a smart cookie.”
“Oh, definitely. She suggested that we chant this over the ship’s radio.”
“And broadcast it out?”
“Exactly. That would give it greater reach.”
“If Kalki was out there, it’d reach her.”
“Or maybe it would create a larger ripple of sound energy that would cause a dent in her consciousness.”
“What the—”
Nirmala giggled. “Chris told me this later. He said there is little chance she actually heard the broadcast and more probability of her having felt it with her consciousness.”
“That Chris! Anyway, continue. So, you chanted, I guess…”
“Of course. I started mouthing the words slowly to Zoya and she repeated them as best as she could until she didn’t need me anymore.”
“Didn’t need you anymore?”
“After the first two paragraphs of chanting she suddenly broke into song…it was amazing, actually. She was singing every word just as it was written in the book of hymns without stopping to even caste a glance at it. Like a trance. Crazy, huh?”
“Hmm. The prophecy is starting to make more sense every day. How long did she sing for?”
“Not long. Maybe an hour.”
“And then what happened?”
“Her chanting suddenly stopped. There was a response. Over the radio. Faint at first…and then it boomed over the ship’s sound-system.” Nirmala paused for breath. A moment of silence ensued.
“What did it say?” Alejandro asked at last.
“Ride thee to Dashur, and I shall join.”
“Just that?”
“Yeah. The message was loud and clear before it slowly faded away.”
“Thrilling.”
“Yep. I guess you know the rest.”
Alejandro nodded in agreement.
“But what happens now?” Nirmala asked.
“I don’t know, maybe dinner? I’m starving.”
“Oh God!” Nirmala laughed. “I meant about our mission. Now the whole world will know and our cover will be blown. Kalki just disappeared. Where is she anyway? What do we do now? How do we fight the Aifra?”
“Oh, that! The impending threat of a major disaster has been averted. Everyone’s still alive. So that’s good. Wolfgang wants a meeting tomorrow to discuss our plan going forward, and I can’t think on an empty stomach. So, shall we?” Alejandro smiled offering his arm to Nirmala, inviting her to accompany him.
Together, they left for the Dining Hall to join the others for the buffet dinner and festivities.
message from THE AUTHOR
Thank you for taking the time to read this book. I hope you enjoyed it as much I enjoyed writing it. If you liked it then please take a moment to leave a review for the book on:
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other books by THE AUTHOR
Colour Me Confounded
what people are saying about colour me confounded
“Written in simple and lucid language with economic use of words, she puts forward the life of modern women as it is, minus the embellishments or the jargons of feminism and alternative living.”—The Statesman (Kolkata, December 9, 2018)
“I applaud Poulomi Sanyal for crafting a work that captures the subtle complexities of women’s lives. I look forward to reading more of this author’s future woks.” —J.G. MacLeod (Author)
“Excellent work and incredible writing by Poulomi Sanyal!” —Steven Nedeau (Author)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Poulomi Sanyal has been writing poetry since she was ten years old, and she even created her own literary magazine when she was twelve. Sanyal was born in India but has lived all over the world, including Hong Kong and, more recently, Canada. She is fluent in English, Bengali, and Hindi, and she also speaks conversational French.
Sanyal received her master’s degree from McGill University in Montreal and has spent the past ten years working in engineering in Toronto. In her free time, she enjoys writing, painting, acting, and traveling.
The Coming of Kalki Page 27