Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy
Page 22
“We were always so proud of you, Son.”
“Thank you. By the way, what kind of humanitarian service are you going to do?” Coinman asked.
“To start with, I am going to work on the welfare of underprivileged kids and women. Instead of protecting the weak, society oppresses them. That’s not good for humanity.”
“I am sure the weak would be fine now. They are going to get you by their side. I wish you every success in this noble endeavor. Take good care of yourself, Mother,” Coinman said, hugging her. “Call me when you get there. We are going to be out of touch for one year, sadly, because once we are at the sage’s ashram, we will be cut off from everywhere else.”
“I will. I will keep in touch with Shimla, too, to make sure she is doing well.”
Seeing the taxi from the window, Kasturi started walking outside.
Coinman and Imli hugged Kasturi one final time, all of them with tears in their eyes.
Kasturi had chosen to leave at a time when Shimla was still asleep because she knew the gentle young woman couldn’t have endured her departure.
Coinman and Imli gazed in the direction of the taxi, with vision blurred by tears, until it disappeared from their sight.
30. The Lonely Fracture in Time
Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the most important factors governing the world around you. I bet you have forgotten about me already. It’s me, your humble mate Sesha.
Actually, if you had really forgotten about me, then that only makes me extremely happy—because that tells me I haven’t done a bad job making myself invisible through the story. On the other hand, if you do remember me, I would like to congratulate you on your phenomenal memory.
Sadly, I am not done testing your memory yet, not until we’re done with this surprise quiz. Isn’t life a collection of weird quizzes with no answers to half the questions? Well, here is my quiz: what was Coinman’s real name?
I got you, didn’t I? It was Kesar. Remember?
I’ll be honest. Since coming back, I have only annoyed you so far. But that’s not why I am back. I have reappeared, against my wishes, to keep a professional promise I made to Sage Mangal. As much as Sage Mangal strives to market his services to the world to help humanity out of complex problems, he doesn’t want his detailed recipe to be discovered. It’s not because he wants to retain the exclusive copyright, but because he doesn’t want this knowledge to fall into bad hands. Knowledge that can make miracles happen needs to be guarded carefully. If it falls into the wrong hands, miracles become disasters in no time.
I am back to mend a fracture in time caused by our inability to divulge details of the rigorous journey in which Imli and Coinman engaged. So we rather have to catch them after their journey is done, right at the point when they are preparing to leave the ashram.
Before I disappear again, let’s kill the elephant in the room. I am as confused as you are on how Hukum could get away without meeting ABC! My explanation: the world isn’t always fair.
31. The Spiritual Quest
Sage Mangal’s ashram was located on the banks of the Ganges River, at the bottom of the mountains, well hidden in the mangrove trees. Covered with colorful flowers on all sides, the ashram was connected directly to the riverbank via a walking trail. On clear days one could see from the ashram the mesmerizing beauty of the falls, the mountain, and the river, as well as stunningly beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
It was the most serene place, miles away from the nearest highway and outside access. The timeless chirping of the birds during the day and the musical singing of the crickets at night added to its ambience. The pristine spiritual atmosphere was ideal for immersion in one’s true soul and spending time in its rejuvenation.
It was the morning of their last day at the ashram. Still feeling tired from their previous night’s packing, Kesar and Imli had woken up early to be ready on time for their last meeting with the sage.
“Kesar,” Imli said, as she came back from the shower, “I was thinking, maybe we can talk to Sage Mangal directly when we meet him today and implore him to let us stay here for a few more months. I just can’t leave this place.”
“The reverend sage only takes a few students in each batch for a year. People wait for years before they can get in. Most people can’t, despite being willing to pay any amount of money. Therefore, having completed the course successfully, I have no doubt that asking the holy sage to extend our stay would cause him ire.”
“I know,” Imli said. “It’s just that once you have found heaven, you want to do anything to stay in it.”
“Hey—do you know,” Kesar asked Imli, “that I have finally been able to kill the deadly cobra I was after?”
“Really?” Imli clapped in excitement and came running to him. “I want to hear all about it. Did you do it during last night’s dreams?”
“Yes. In my dream last night, I saw the same black cobra that’s been troubling me for over two years. The dream started with the chase I always had with it—shifting all the stuff in the house to find him. The only change this time was that I could actually kill it.”
“That is so wonderful. Don’t stop. I can’t wait to hear the details. Please!”
“So last night, in my dreams, I was helping you with chopping some vegetables, and I suddenly saw the cobra passing from beneath the couch in our drawing room to our bedroom. Without wasting a second, I hurled the knife at him with full force. I couldn’t believe the accuracy of my aim. The snake was cut in two halves, bleeding over the rug.”
Imli clapped again and hugged him. “To me, that symbolizes the final defeat of our adversaries.”
“Maybe you are right. This cobra—it has surely caused me immense distress for two years. The very idea of having a deadly snake hiding in the house can make every moment of your time quite a challenge to live. Even if it was only in dreams, it seemed to affect my mind during waking hours, too.”
“I am glad you were able to kill him.”
“Last year when my father passed away, you know, I thought the cobra had represented the death hovering over the family. Turned out that wasn’t the case. These dreams have perturbed me even more after that. So yes, I am really relieved.”
“I am curious what may have changed to help us get rid of the cobra.”
“Maybe it’s the final lesson we had from the sage yesterday.”
“The secret endowment?”
“Yes.”
They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Kesar spoke again.
“Imli, this is the last time we have mentioned it. We are bound by our promise to Sage Mangal; we are not going to talk about it even between us. Like he said, it has to remain a secret, and, until he summons us, it stays undiscovered.”
Imli nodded and said, “I am very intrigued by that—what in the world will make him summon us? Of what help can two ordinary souls like ours be to him?”
“I guess we need to wait to find out,” Kesar said. “Let’s get ready so we can leave in the next ten minutes for the final meeting. Let’s not make Mahatma wait for us.”
Imli nodded and rushed to the mirror to do her hair.
Hindi Word References
Andar – Inside
Asana – A yoga posture
Ashram – A spiritual monastery
Bandar – Monkey
Barulay – A spicy snack from north India
Chandar – The moon
Cheela – A spicy snack from north India
Daulat – Wealth
Daya – Benevolence
Fattu – A person who lacks courage or is timid
Hukum – An order; a commanding instruction
Ida – Earth
Imli – Tamarind fruit that’s used in cooking
Jay – A victory
Kasturi – Musk from a deer, which is used in perfumes
Katori – A small bowl, typically made of steel, used for curry
Kesar – Saffron
Mahatma –
A grand soul; person with supernatural powers
Mujra – The dance form of courtesans
Panna – Emerald
Purdah – A veil that covers the face
Ramta – Wanderer
Rudra Tandava – Divine dance performed by the destroyer
Sanjog – Destiny
Saree – Traditional Indian female dress
Sawaal – A question
Sevak – A helper; an attendant
Shimla – A hill station in the northern part of India
Tulsi – The holy plant of basil
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pawan Mishra is a leader in the technology and finance industries. He completed his education at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He spent the first eighteen years of his life in the small town of Aligarh in India and discovered his love of storytelling, reading, and writing during this time. In his debut novel, Coinman, Pawan Mishra plays to those who have ever felt stymied by the bureaucratic process of office life, successfully and mercilessly capturing the inertia and ennui that’s inherit in most corporate cultures.
Pawan now lives in Morrisville, North Carolina, with his wife, Ritu, and two daughters, Mitali and Myra.
Visit him at:
www.pawanmishra.com
pawanmishrablogs.wordpress.com