Saini got down from the car and began circling the tree slowly.
‘What is so remarkable about this banyan?’ asked Kurkude, impatiently.
‘This, dear professor, is the Jyotisaar tree. “Jyoti” means “light” and “sar” translates to “core understanding”. This tree is the core understanding of light, or ultimately an in-depth understanding of God. This tree is thousands of years old and is an offshoot of the holy tree under which Krishna delivered the Bhagwad Gita to Arjuna. It has withstood the test of time and has remained rooted here from time immemorial. It saw the battle being fought right here at Kurukshetra!’ exclaimed Saini, reverentially touching the trunk of the tree. ‘If only trees could talk, we would have all the answers by simply conversing with the Jyotisaar!’
‘Some years ago, wasn’t there talk of a resident having found bones belonging to the soldiers in the great war right here?’ asked Kurkude.
‘Yes, there is a man called Ram Prasad Birbal—a resident of this area—who claims that ,’ replied Sir KhanDeb scriptureshe has found bones dating from the Kurukshetra battle. But honestly speaking, his findings do not really matter. The thermo-luminescent dating of other relics in addition to carbon-dating at other Kurukshetra sites have yielded dates far older than the Indus Valley civilisation. Euan Mackie, an English archaeologist, has even discovered a clay tablet depicting Krishna’s uprooting of the Yamala Arjuna trees. Guess where the clay tablet was discovered? In Mohenjodaro! Once again: proof that the Indus-Sarasvati was indeed the very civilisation that gave us the Vedas, the epics, the Puranas and the Upanishads.’
‘Was there ever any doubt on that score?’ asked Kurkude.
‘The doubts were created by foreign historians,’ replied Saini, as he knelt in front of the tree to offer prayers. ‘Hundreds of sites of the Sarasvati civilisation were wrongly clubbed together and classified as the Indus Valley civilisation. It came to be regarded as a civilisation that apparently had no body of literature. On the other hand, the Vedas, which probably constitute the largest body of ancient literature anywhere in the world, were seen as sophisticated writing without a corresponding civilisation. The common-sense approach of linking the two together went contrary to the Aryan-invasion theory. This was in spite of the fact that the Vedas repeatedly allude to their sages performing their sacred rites on the banks of the Sarasvati. The discovery of the dried bed of the ancient Sarasvati is the strongest evidence to link the Vedas to Harappan culture. The swastika—a sacred symbol in the Vedas—has been found at innumerable places in Indus Valley sites. Archaeologists have also discovered fire altars, images of people in meditation, and sacred water tanks—all indications of the fact that the ones who built these magnificent cities were the same people who wrote the Vedas.’
‘Wasn’t there also a view that the Vedas were possibly written after the decline of the Indus Valley?’ asked Priya, touching her head reverentially to the tree trunk.
‘That theory has been disproved by the discovery of the ancient route of the Sarasvati,’ retorted Saini. ‘The Rig Veda in particular calls the Sarasvati the largest river of the region, pure in its course from the mountains to the sea! This means that the river was in full flow when the Vedas were written.’
‘Did the Sarasvati continue to flow even during the time of the Mahabharata?’ asked Kurkude.
‘The Mahabharata describes the Sarasvati as a river that was no longer mighty—one that had begun to dry into isolated lakes in Rajasthan and Haryana,’ said Saini. ‘By simply reading ancient Vedic literature one can visualise the stages of the Sarasvati river. When the ice age ended, the massive glaciers of the Himalayas began to melt and this melting process made the Sarasvati exceptionally mighty. It remained in full flow until the glaciers had melted. But the end of the Sarasvati would have coincided with the end of Dwarka too, because the increasing sea levels would have inundated the city!’
Saini was about to stand up and walk towards the car when he noticed Kurkude in panic. The old man was feverishly searching his pockets. ‘What’s the matter, Professor?’ asked Saini.
‘The seal!’ he cried. ,’ replied Sir Khan71bmef‘I can’t bloody find it! Someone has stolen it!’
During the Rajasuya ceremony, the Brahmins asked Yudhistira to select a guest of honour. Yudhistira chose me because the Pandavas attributed their progress to my guidance. Shishupala could not bear to see the man who had stolen Rukmini away from him being given so much importance, and began insulting me in open court. Given that Shishupala was my cousin, I had granted his mother a boon that I would forgive a hundred insults by him, but not a single one more. I warned him after his hundred insults had been uttered but he kept going. As soon as Shishupala hurled his hundred and first insult, I released my Sudarshan Chakra and lopped off Shishupala’s head. Some kings stormed out and attacked Dwarka to avenge Shishupala’s death. I thus had to leave Indraprastha in a hurry in order to defend Dwarka.
The mood inside the car had turned sullen ever since the professor had discovered that the seal was missing. Taarak had helpfully suggested that they should consider going back to the restaurant where the professor had been poisoned. After all, it was possible that the missing item may have simply slipped out in the restroom or even when they had been carrying the professor out to the car. Saini knew that it was not an option that could be considered. The possibility of the police trailing them outweighed all other considerations.
Saini was feeling rather depressed himself. The first seal—given by Varshney to him—had been taken away by the police from his house. The seal that Varshney had planned to send Dr Nikhil Bhojaraj had obviously been taken by the killer given that it hadn’t been found either at Varshney’s home or in Bhojaraj’s ship. The third seal—the one with Kurkude— was now missing. Even if they met Devendra Chhedi and saw the seal that Varshney was supposed to have sent him, it would be of little use in the absence of the other three.
‘We’ll just have to make the best of a bad situation,’ said Saini to the others during a rest break when Taarak was away. ‘We do have photographs of the missing seals. Unfortunately, the photographs only tell us what is on the face of the seals, not what is on the reverse. In any case, we’ll make best use of the photographic evidence along with the actual seal that is in Chhedi’s possession.’
‘You’re assuming that Chhedi will cooperate with us,’ said Priya. ‘We need to be careful. It’s possible that the police may have already told him to hand us in.’
‘You don’t know Chhedi, Priya. The man hates authority of any sort. Schoolteachers, corporate honchos, government babus, politicians and policemen usually get his hackles up,’ replied Saini. ‘I doubt that he will turn us in. In fact, we were pretty good friends in school. He could never understand why I was best friends with Varshney instead of him!’
‘Sir, we are on the outskirts of Chandigarh. I think that you had better find out the exact address so that I may seek directions,’ said Taarak to Saini as he returned from his break. Saini nodded, turned to Kurkude and said, ‘Could you possibly Google-search Devendra Chhedi on your Blackberry? I do recall that he was working for a company—the name was… what was it? Something like Immuno…’
‘Immuno Molecular Life Sciences Limited,’ replied Kurkude. ‘I’ve found it. Want me to call?’
,’ replied Sir Khanba on the KaliyugaKurkude called the number and handed over the phone to Saini. The call was made to the company’s switchboard, which patched it through to Chhedi’s secretary. ‘Who should I say is calling?’ she asked.
‘Please tell him that it’s Ravi Mohan Saini and that I’m seeking an urgent appointment with him,’ replied Saini.
‘Please hold for a minute, sir, while I transfer your call,’ requested the secretary, subjecting Saini to some more elevator music. Chhedi came on the line within a minute. ‘Roger, you old devil, how have you been?’ he asked jovially, addressing Saini by his school nickname. Saini breathed a sigh of relief. There seemed to be no antagonism or distance
in his demeanour.
‘I have some stories to tell you, Dumpy, but can’t do it over the phone. Can I come over? I’m in your neck of the woods already,’ replied Saini, keeping up the friendly and informal tone.
‘Sure. How does half an hour from now sound? I’m located at Chandigarh Corporate Plaza on the sixth floor,’ said Chhedi.
‘Perfect. Listen, did our common friend—Varshney—send you an artefact for safekeeping? He did? Good,’ said Saini.
‘Do you need directions to Chandigarh Corporate Plaza?’ asked Chhedi, carrying on the conversation over the speakerphone at his desk while Radhika Singh and Rathore sat opposite him, listening to every word exchanged between the two men. As the conversation ended, she nodded to Rathore who picked up his phone and began getting his men in place.
Sitting inside the car, Saini looked at the notepad in his hand. He jotted down a few sentences to remind himself of the status of the seals and those who had them:
Varshney: Had four seals—was supposed to send them to four friends—three were passed on but Bhojaraj’s never reached him. Varshney was killed with a discus symbol imprinted on his forehead.
Bhojaraj: Was supposed to receive one seal, but didn’t get it. Killed nonetheless, with a lotus symbol imprinted on his forehead.
Kurkude: Received one seal but it was lost or stolen during the car journey.
Saini: Received one of the seals directly from Varshney but it was taken away by the police when his residence was searched.
Chhedi: Received one of the seals and claims that it is still with him.
Saini looked at the bulleted points once again. Then his face drained of all colour. He looked at the names written down once again just to be sure that his mind was not playing tricks on him. It wasn’t.
Varshney—Bhojaraj—Kurkude—Saini—Chhedi.
Krishna had been a Yadava, but the Yadavas had been composed of eighteen different clans, some of whom had fought on the Pandava’s side and others on the Kaurava’s. Some of the clans that had helped Krishna build the magnificent city of Dwarka were the Vrishnis, the Bhojas, the Kukuras, the Shainyas and the Chedis. Saini mentally struggled with the similarities as he made notes with a trembling hand:
Varshney—Vrishni
Bhojaraj—Bhoja
Kurkude,’ replied Sir Khanvi sai—Kukura
Saini—Shainya
Chhedi—Chedi
Duryodhana, who was still seething with envy, returned to Hastinapur and decided that the time was ripe for revenge. Upon the advice of his maternal uncle Shakuni, he invited Yudhistira—who was addicted to gambling—to a game of dice. Unknown to Yudhistira, the dice were magical and Shakuni could make them fall any way that he wanted. As the game commenced and it looked like luck was not on his side, Yudhistira’s kin pleaded with him to withdraw but he refused, believing that he would win back everything during successive wagers. I wish I had been there to take matters into control. Unfortunately, Yudhistira lost everything—first his chariots, then the jewels in his treasury, then the slave girls of his palace, his elephants, his horses, his cattle, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally, even his wife, Draupadi.
Priya had noticed the look of panic on Saini’s face. ‘What’s the matter? Tell me,’ she urged. They made Taarak stop the car once again and got out along with Kurkude, so as to be out of Taarak’s earshot.
‘Krishna was a descendant of Yadu. The all-encompassing term “Yadava” was used to describe Yadu’s descendants,’ began Saini. ‘But the Yadavas were composed of several clans—eighteen in number. Amongst the Yadava clans mentioned in ancient Indian literature are the Haihayas, Chedis, Vidarbhas, Satvatas, Andhakas, Kukuras, Bhojas, Vrishnis, Shainyas, Dasarhas, Madhus and Arbudas. Now, when I see the names of the five people who have had the seals in their possession, I find it spooky that all five surnames have ancient Yadava connections!’
‘Ancient Yadava connections? How so?’ asked Priya.
‘Krishna’s grandfather was Shurasena, and some of his tribe came to be known as the Shainyas. Over several generations, the Shainyas eventually settled in the Punjab and came to be known as Sainis. That’s my surname!’ exclaimed Saini.
‘Fine, but what about the others? How are they connected?’ asked Priya.
‘Another clan was established by a son of Satvata—also a descendant of Yadu,’ said Saini. ‘His name was Vrishni and that’s the name by which his clan came to be known. They first settled in an area called Barsana in Uttar Pradesh and as they migrated to other parts of India they came to be known by various family names such as Varshnei, Varshnai, Varshnaya, Warshne, Varshni, Vrishni, Vrushni—or like my late friend Anil—Varshney.’
‘Hmm. What about Nikhil Bhojaraj? That name sounds more Dravidian than north Indian,’ said Priya.
‘The word “Bhoja” literally means “bountiful”. The name of this clan appears as the descendants of Mahabhoja,’ answered Saini. ‘The Bhojas went on to construct the Bhojeshvara Temple at Bhojpur—not far from Bhopal. They eventually assumed various family names, depending on the regions in which they settled—including Bhoj, Bhojwani, and Bhojaraj. A dialect of northern India—now famous for a rather risqué variety of Indian cinema—is ,’ replied Sir Khana,b scripturesknown as Bhojpuri. It is from the Bhoja clan name that Dr Nikhil Bhojaraj derived his surname.’
‘And my surname?’ asked Professor Rajaram Kurkude curiously. ‘In what way am I connected with Krishna’s Yadava lineage?’
‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra describes the Kukuras as a Yadava clan. The Bhagavata Purana says that the Kukuras occupied the territory around Dwarka and that Kansa’s father—Ugrasena—belonged to this group. Many surnames—including yourh as Kukura, Kurkude, and Kurkure are derived from the clan’s original name,’ replied Saini.
‘Does Devendra Chhedi fall into the Yadava lineage too?’ asked Priya.
‘Absolutely,’ said Saini. ‘The Chedis were definitely a Yadava clan. They were descendants of Chidi, the grandson of Vidarbha—a descendant of Yadu. They eventually carved out their kingdom in the region that is represented by modern-day Chhattisgarh and their descendants continue to be known by the same name—Chhedi. Can you blame me for finding this eerie?’
‘What do you think is the reason that you five people were chosen?’ asked Priya.
‘Obviously, Varshney knew something that I don’t,’ said Saini. ‘He specifically chose four other people who, like him, were Yadava descendants. Varshney was never one to do anything without a very specific reason.’
‘Why don’t you discuss it with Chhedi? He may have an alternative view. Geneticists also tend to be equally enthusiastic about issues of genealogy,’ said Kurkude.
‘You’re absolutely right, Professor. This is a perfect issue for Chhedi to sink his teeth into,’ said Saini as he thought about that fateful day when he had been visiting Kalibangan and Varshney had told him:
‘You are not just my best friend Ravi, you are almost my brother. One day, you will realise that this statement was not made in a burst of sudden emotion but was based on logic. I know your genetic makeup, my friend!’
Draupadi said to me that it was the gatekeeper who informed her that her presence was being demanded by the Kauravas who had won her in a game of dice. ‘Go and ask my husband whether he lost his own freedom first, or mine? If he had wagered himself first, he had no remaining rights over me, in which case he did not possess the authority to wager me!’ said Draupadi. The open question in court was technically correct but it irritated Duryodhana who dispatched his brother Dusshasana to grab Draupadi by her hair and strip her naked in court. Draupadi had been sitting in a private room as she was menstruating. Barely covered, she prayed to me for protection. I ensured that the length of cloth covering her remained unending. As a result, Draupadi could not be disrobed. Draupadi took a vow that she would leave her hair untied until the day that she could wash it in Dusshasana’s blood. Bhima took two terrible oaths. He vowed that he would drink Dusshasana’s blood.
He also vowed he would break Duryodhana’s thigh on which he had lecherously invited Draupadi to sit!
‘It’s better that we split ourselves into two teams,’ said Saini as they reached the parking area of the commercial building in which Immuno’s laboratories and offices at St Stephen’s College in New Delhi. li between i were located. ‘If all of us walk in to Chhedi’s office together and are greeted by a welcome committee of the cops, it will mean that there will be no one outside the police dragnet.’
‘Good thought,’ said Priya. ‘I’m pretty certain that Radhika Singh believes that you’ve kidnapped Professor Kurkude. Why not let the professor stay in the car while the two of us go in first? If we do not emerge within an hour then Professor Kurkude can come looking for us. Is that acceptable, Professor?’
Kurkude nodded.
‘Good. Now, the bigger concern is how to get inside without the police knowing. I can feel it in my gut that there is substantial police presence here, even though they’re all in plainclothes,’ said Saini.
In the distance was a small office inconspicuously labelled Radius Facilities Management. It was quite obviously the management company that had been assigned the task of managing the complex. Large corporate blocks such as this one always had a single entity providing housekeeping, janitorial services,
gardening, security, pest control, waste management, mail room services and engineering support. The Radius office was located on the ground floor with two entrances—a front entrance overlooking the central atrium and a rear one overlooking the parking lot.
The rear exit of the facility management office was temporarily blocked by a truck, probably replenishing supplies. Saini smiled as an idea struck him. He turned to Taarak and said, ‘You are intelligent enough to have figured out that I’m on the run. I can assure you that I’m no criminal. Would you be willing to help me by keeping the truck driver engaged?’ asked Saini, keeping his fingers crossed.
The Krishna Key Page 4
