part0033

Kalki looked away to the clouds and the woods that they were leaving, as they were entering the village area. The city was darkened with smoke and industrial waste from the armoury, mines, dirt and bazaars that occupied the thinnest of lanes. He had seen the royal fort, but it was far off from the city.

“It just makes me wonder what a tavern’s guardsman owes you. Why else would he offer to help you?”

“Owes me is not a neat thing to say,” Kalki said. “I don’t let people owe me. I help them without wanting any favours in return.”

“I know. Which makes me wonder why he helps you,” prompted Lakshmi.

“I help him occasionally at the tavern free of cost, the times when it is necessary.”

Lakshmi looked at Kalki, studying his face. Her mouth had grown into a frown with her brows furrowed and her grey eyes staring at him unblinkingly. “You are lying,” she said, finally concluding with a smile. “It’s so evident. If you don’t want to tell me, just say you don’t want to tell me but it only makes me wonder what sort of crime you have committed, so as to hide a simple fact from me, since you tell me everything.”

Kalki sighed, his chest feeling heavy. “We have reached.” He diverted the topic as he saw a huge plume of smoke spiralling out of the woods, yards away from his dairy farm. “Something’s burning, perhaps.”

“Where are the others?”

Kalki walked around, but found no one in the village. There were donkey and bullock carts. He bypassed the Mitra’s household, crossing the Tripathi hut, finally reaching his house, where even mother Sumati wasn’t present.

“Where did they all go?” he asked Lakshmi.

“Where did they all go together?”

Kalki instantly realized. There’s only one place.

Kalki had reached the Soma Caves, passing the uneven trail of road that zigzagged across the ascending mountain. He had brought the chariot with him and he could see the people milling around Soma Caves, watching him in shock and delight. The kids began to get excited at the sight of the chariot while the adults just gasped. Sumati was in the front, carrying out prayers with a thali in front of the Soma Caves. That was what they did whenever they were in trouble—go and pray at Lord Indra’s site, where he had performed penance and gifted Shambala the magic stones.

Sumati came forward, while the group behind her led by Devadatta stood still. He played with his moustache, curious about the exchange that was to emerge between mother and son.

“Where were you gone?” she asked.

“I was in the city.”

Her expression didn’t shift but she looked back at Lakshmi, who was standing meekly. Kalki blocked her vision just then and Sumati just raised her eyebrows.

“It was my doing. Not her’s,” he said loudly for Lakshmi’s furious parents to hear. “Why aren’t we protecting my father? What are we doing here?”

“We are doing the same. I’m protecting my husband.”

“With this?” he looked at the thali. “This is not saving him in any way.”

“We are praying to God and we will make sure that Lord Indra and Lord Vishnu would bestow his safety over my family…”

Kalki ignored his mother.

“I believe in the greatness of this place, but it won’t help us fight those outcasts.”

Kalki’s face remained impassive. He held Sumati for a moment almost in a state of tender love and then he made her stand beside him. Sumati was heaving with anger, but not after she laid her hands on him again, and Kalki knew why. Kalki had come forward and he had a certain leadership quality about him; his neck up, his eyes narrowed. Devadatta didn’t even dare to speak as Kalki eyed him with calmness and clinical sterility.

“I had gone to the city of Indragarh, the nucleus of Illavarti, to bring back weapons to fight those Mlecchas. We can sit here and pray to the Gods or we can go up to those hills and fight our way through. Those Mlecchas didn’t just kidnap my father, they kidnapped our peace, our love, our hopes and our desires. They made us think that we are weak and fragile, villagers, common folks. And we are proving them right by standing here in front of rocks, praying to a God who might never even come from the heavens. He might one day, but that day isn’t today. Today is our day. Today is the day where we can prove to those outcasts and the Gods that we are not just villagers. We can be warriors as well; we just need to have bravery and valour on our side,” he paused, as he took a deep breath.

Devadatta took a deep breath. “Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, if we agree to get the weapons, where should we scout?” he continued. “It’s better to send a request to the city to send us a helping party than just scavenging the entire area.”

Some of them nodded in the group while others just remained conflicted. Kalki knew there were a few, who, if convinced, would join his band to defeat the forest dwellers.

“The city won’t send anyone, for they are already being corrupted by their political intrigue. It’s horrible out there, with the infestation of the Tribals,” Kalki said.

“Nevertheless we believe going up foolishly and wasting our time at that dark forest is just…well…” he continued, but Kalki chose to not listen.

At that point, a realization hit him. Kalki looked up at the woods again, the bright lush greenery that sprawled ahead of them. And there was the circle of smoke coming out.

“So your argument is we don’t know where to look for, right?”

“Exactly,” Devadatta nodded. “If we would know, I will personally take an axe and go there, I tell you. Sarpanch or not, I’ll be the warrior. But unfortunately, we don’t know where they are.”

Kalki crossed his arms, trying to conceal his smirk. “Well, what if I say I know where they are?” Devadatta’s mouth grew small as he tried to loosen the tight collar of his tunic. “I think you should get that axe you were talking about.”