write up an FIR for Sarla Auntie and had allowed her to be repeatedly abused by her drunkard husband. Her father had not realised that he had been set up by Garg and Sir Khan! His hand had been forced so as to propel him into the arms of Sir Khan.
‘Garg will ensure that you are present when Saini comes to check the contents of the safe deposit box,’ continued Sir Khan. It was the last sentence that he would ever utter. The Ninja spike that left Priya’s hand twirled in the air momentarily before it pierced Sir Khan’s throat. His eyes continued to vacantly stare at Priya in frozen horror, as blood spurted out from the centre of his neck. The cigar fell to the floor and the glass of water on the side table crashed to tiny fragments as it hit the Italian marble of the floor.
Ratnani got up from his chair in panic when he saw what his daughter had done. By the time that he reached Sir Khan’s bleeding body, it was all over. It had all happened within a couple of seconds. Sir Khan’s body slumped forward in his armchair as the blood from his throat dripped on the floor, forming a puddle much like the ones created by Taarak the previous four times.
Priya stood up calmly and walked over to her father, quietly urging him not to touch anything. ‘What now?’ asked Ratnani with a slight waver in his voice.
‘Everything else goes as per plan,’ replied Priya. ‘Lord Krishna shall ensure that the Syamantaka comes to us, and us alone. Sir Khan tricked you into his camp by using Garg! It was about time that I removed this hurdle in my path.’,’ replied Sir Khan energy sai
‘How are we going to get out of here?’ whispered Ratnani. ‘Sir Khan’s men are outside. They’ll kill us the moment we open the door.’
‘I have an idea,’ said Priya, grabbing hold of the don’s mobile phone that lay on the side table. She began typing a text message.
‘To whom are you sending a message to from Sir Khan’s phone?’ asked Ratnani.
‘To the chief of Sir Khan’s security detail. He’s sitting a few feet away from the door to this room. It says that he should ask all hands to rush to the swimming pool annexe because a tip-off has been received regarding a bomb having been planted there,’ said Priya laughing maniacally.
‘And what happens after we leave here?’ asked Ratnani.
‘I bring this saga to a final conclusion,’ Priya said flatly to her father, her eyes glinting as if they had turned to ice.
Duryodhana saw the deserted battlefield in which no Kaurava soldiers remained. He wearily rode his horse towards Lake Dwaipayana and submerged his body in the comforting water in order to regain his strength. He was soon joined by Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra, Aswatthama, Kripa and Kritavarma. They tried boosting his morale and were somewhat successful. Duryodhana now appointed Aswatthama as commander of his non-existent army. In the meantime, puzzled by the sudden disappearance of Duryodhana, we sent out spies to find out where he was. When we got the news that he was at Lake Dwaipayana, we went there ourselves.
Saini and Radhika walked down a flight of stairs to a well-lit basement. Rathore had been unable to join them, because he was completing local police formalities related to Chhedi’s murder. The news of Chhedi’s death had left Saini shattered. ‘We should never have split up,’ he said to Radhika. ‘It’s my fault. If we had remained together, the chances of Taarak getting away with yet another murder would have been very slim.’
Radhika had allowed Saini to mourn and vent but she also realised the importance of visiting the vault. She convinced Saini to move forward with inspecting the safe deposit box immediately. Like most such establishments, this one, too, was located below street level for reasons of security. Rajendra Raval, the manager of South Delhi Safety Vaults Ltd, was waiting for them at the reception desk and brightened a little too enthusiastically when Saini introduced himself.
‘Ah, Mr Saini, how nice to meet you!’ he exclaimed. ‘Yes, I was waiting for you. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, I’ll just have you sign a few documents that absolve us from any legal liability once you have operated Mr Varshney’s safe. After that you may open
the safe deposit box. May I offer you a cup of coffee in the meantime?’ Both Saini and Radhika declined. Complimentary beverages seemed to stir up memories of poisoned cups of coffee being handed out by Priya. Radhika delved into her pockets for some almonds and popped a few into her mouth before offering some to Saini. ‘Have some,’ she said. ‘Almonds contain brain-boosting elements and you need all your intellect to be supercharged!’ Saini declined grumpily.
‘May I have your passport, please?’ asked Mr Raval. Saini took it out from his jacket’s inner pocket and handed it over. Mr Raval gave it a quick look and then tell us anything about the Di absentmindedly said, ‘I’ll be back with the original and a copy. Please give me a minute.’
As he went into the administrative office behind the reception, CBI Special Director Sunil Garg—who was viewing the developments on a surveillance video monitor—tapped Raval on the shoulder and curtly said, ‘He has come to check the contents of a safe deposit box, not to ask for the hand of your daughter in marriage! Be more businesslike or he will smell a rat. Now, take him to the vault and let’s see what’s inside!’ Raval nodded his head vigorously and left after making a copy of Saini’s passport on the duplicating machine. He had to do everything himself this day because the office staff had been given the day off—on Garg’s specific instructions.
Mr Raval led Saini and Radhika through the massive grille doors into a dazzlingly bright room. The rectangular room had safe deposit boxes lined up on all four walls except for the portion where the grille doors were located. The safe deposit boxes were packed together in a gleaming matrix that stretched from floor to ceiling, the higher boxes accessible via a movable ladder. Extra rows of boxes were also laid out like supermarket shelves in the centre of the room.
‘Now let me see, what was the number of the box?’ Mr Raval asked himself absentmindedly. He paused, looked down at the clipboard in his hand and said to Saini, ‘Got it! Number 894! It’s at the far end of this aisle. Please follow me.’
Saini and Radhika walked silently behind Mr Raval. Number 894 turned out to be one of the smaller safety deposit boxes on the premises. Mr Raval placed his key into the slot and turned it clockwise. He then took out the key and placed it into the second slot that would, in ordinary course, have been used for plugging in Varshney’s key. Turning the key clockwise in the second slot produced a light clicking sound and the safe door swung open. Mr Raval pulled out a metallic rectangular box, no more than a foot long and six inches wide. He placed the box on a moveable steel table and courteously retreated. He did not draw attention to the fact that the table had been strategically placed at a point where the viewing angle of the ceiling-mounted surveillance camera was perfect.
Saini held his breath. His hands trembled as he unsnapped the catch on the side of the metallic box. Radhika stopped him. She took his trembling hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze, smiling. Saini was grateful for her presence and reassurance. He took a deep breath and opened the lid.
At Lake Dwaipayana, Bhima challenged Duryodhana to a duel with maces. My brother, Balarama, had just returned from his pilgrimage along the Sarasvati and was present to witness the duel between his two students. Bhima found it difficult to bring down Duryodhana, who was far better at wielding the weapon of choice. I kept patting my own thighs to signal to Bhima that the only way he would be able to incapacitate Duryodhana would be by breaking his thighs. Finally taking the hint, Bhima lashed out with his mace at Duryodhana’s thighs—contrary to Balarama’s rules that disallowed hitting below the waist. Duryodhana crumpled to the ground with his legs broken. An enraged Balarama lifted his plough to kill Bhima and it was with great difficulty that I convinced my brother that Duryodhana was the one who had lecherously asked Draupadi to sit on his lap and that Bhima was simply fulfilling a noble oath.
Saini observed the contents of the metallic box carefully. A piece of foam had been enclosed within a circle.mis Saini and Radhikapl
aced inside the box to prevent the artefact inside from shifting. Within the foam was a groove that had been cut perfectly to accommodate the item. It was a small earthen plate—around four centimetres long and an equal four centimetres wide. The face of the plate was blank except for four squarish holes that would accommodate the pegs of the four seals. A raised edge ran around the perimeter of the base plate so as to keep the seals snug.
Saini lifted the ceramic plate off the foam and turned it around. It was inscribed with a Sanskrit shloka. It was quite evident that the shloka had been engraved much later, probably during Raja Man Singh’s times, whereas the plate itself was of far older provenance, dating back to the days of a prosperous Sarasvati civilisation.
‘What does it say?’ asked Radhika.
Saini began to translate slowly. He carefully noted down each sentence on paper and read out each word carefully as he translated the Sanskrit shlokas:
Seek Shiv at the highest point, Seek Vish by the sea; Give up your quest, for they are one, only your heart can see.
When creation and destruction are unified, And 894 reigns supreme; Where coconuts and lotuses adorn my crown, by the river I shall be.
Caste aside hatred and learn to love, Man Singh says to you. Search my temple of seven floors, and you will find me too.
You seek the stone that turns lead to gold, but verily do not find; search instead for the faithful stone that can truly transform your mind.
‘Any ideas what it could mean?’ asked Radhika.
Saini kept staring at the Sanskrit inscription. ‘Did you notice that the inscription talks of the number 894. Isn’t it ironical that Varshney specifically chose safe deposit box number 894 to hold this artefact?’ he whispered in awe.
Radhika looked at the open door of the safe deposit box. Indeed, it was 894. ‘What is the significance of 894?’ she asked.
‘I honestly don’t know,’ replied Saini. ‘The first part of the inscription seems to be telling us that seeking Shiv at Mount Kailash—Shiv at the highest point—would be of no use. Similarly, seeking Krishna at Somnath—Vish by the sea—would also be futile. We have indeed tried at both places and failed.’
‘So in what direction could it be pointing us?’ asked Radhika.
‘There is only one place that I can think of,’ said Saini, recalling Varshney’s words to him during their fateful tour to Kalibangan:
The base plate was handed down through generations even though the seals were lost in antiquity. The base plate eventually reached the hands of Raja Man Singh who was a great Krishna devotee in the sixteenth century. Raja Man Singh had a Sanskrit inscription engraved into the plate and installed it in a Krishna temple that he built in Vrindavan.
‘What place is that?’ asked Radhika.
‘The Radha Govinda temple of Raja Man Singh in Vrindavan,’ said Saini. ‘It was seven floors high and it was only during Aurangzeb’s time that the seven floors got whittled down to three.’
‘Hold it right there!’ s enclosed within a circle.t
When the Pandavas returned to camp, I asked Arjuna to get down from the chariot first, even though it was contrary to norm: usually, the charioteer got down and the warrior then followed. Arjuna was a little irritated by this breach of protocol but nonetheless alighted. After he had gotten off, I too alighted and the chariot burst into
a fireball. A shocked Arjuna asked me what had happened and I explained to him that many divine weapons of Drona and Karana had hit his chariot, which should have been destroyed much earlier. I had used my divine powers to absorb the shock. Arjuna felt embarrassed because he knew now that one of the main reasons he had been able to survive near-death situations was because of his divine charioteer.
In the administration office sat CBI Special Director Garg, watching and hearing the events unfold on his video monitor. Next to him sat Mr Rajendra Raval, the manager of the safe deposit box rentals company. Both of them sat without the slightest movement, because their hands were bound behind their backs and their lips were sealed shut with duct tape. Behind both of them stood Priya holding a .44 Magnum revolver taken from Garg’s own holster.
Taarak, dressed in expensive casuals, was a change from his persona as a driver. Saini softly said, ‘There’s nothing here that’s worth losing life over. Tell us what you want. We don’t need to fight for it.’
Saini’s voice seemed to have a calming effect on Taarak. ‘The ceramic baseplate is all I want. Hand it over and no one will be harmed,’ he said equally softly. Saini picked up the ceramic plate and slowly extended it towards Taarak, who took it from Saini gently. It was almost as though the scene was being played out, frame by frame, in slow motion.
Taarak placed the ceramic plate in his belt pack while keeping his eyes trained on Radhika and Saini. Within a minute, another figure appeared at the door to the vault room. It was Priya. ‘How nice to see both of you once again,’ she commented caustically, pointing her Magnum at Radhika while Taarak kept his gun trained on Saini.
‘If both of you would be so kind, please stand facing the wall,’ Priya requested with mock courtesy. Saini and Radhika were in no condition to argue and did as they were told. Taarak quickly walked up to them and patted them down. Since neither was carrying any weapons, he proceeded to the next step—binding their hands behind their backs with duct tape. He then gagged them by wrapping duct tape around their mouths.
‘You may now turn around,’ instructed Priya. ‘Thank you for cooperating. While I would have loved to stay and chat, it’s critical that I find the Syamantaka. Professor Ravi Mohan Saini, you have always occupied a special place in my heart. That’s why I could not allow my dear boy Taarak to do this on his own. Heaven forbid, we cannot treat you on par with the rest!’
Turning to Radhika, she said, ‘You have my heartfelt apologies, Inspector. I am aware of the story about your husband’s sad demise and the fact that you had to see him die. I daresay you may have developed some protective feelings towards Professor Saini over the past few days, especially after the intimate moments that you spent enclosed within a circle.t erme R together in the Saptarishi Cave. It is therefore with immense sadness that I must make you sit here and watch him die!’
There was a flash of terror in Radhika’s eyes as she saw the gleaming scalpel emerge from Taarak’s belt bag.
Soon, Aswatthama, Kripa and Kritavarma reached Duryodhana who was lying on the ground writhing in pain from his fractured legs. When Aswatthama got to know of the manner in which rules had been broken, he was overwhelmed with rage. He took an oath to kill all the Pandavas and their remaining allies. Even though Kripa and Kritavarma were not in agreement with his evil plans, Aswatthama crept into the Pandava camp at night and searched for the Pandava brothers. He saw the five sons of Draupadi asleep and mistakenly thought that they were the Pandava brothers and ruthlessly slayed them. After killing several others in the Pandava camp, he set it on fire. He rushed back to Duryodhana and gave him the good news regarding the supposed death of the Pandavas. Duryodhana took a look at what was supposed to be the head of Bhima and recognised it as that of one of Draupadi’s sons. ‘Oh, what have you done, Aswatthama?’ cried an anguished Duryodhana as he breathed his last.
The room was deathly quiet except for the muffled sounds of Radhika struggling to get her hands free. In front of her sat Saini with his back to a wall of safe deposit boxes, with his arms bound behind his back and his mouth sealed shut with duct tape. On his forehead was a rubber stamp impression of a serpent—Sheshnag, the fifth permanent fixture of Vishnu.
Saini was unconscious, having been mercifully sedated by Taarak before he plunged the Swann-Morton scalpel into his left foot. Just above Saini’s head was one of the large safe deposit boxes on which Taarak had written the usual Sanskrit shloka in Saini’s own blood.
Mleccha-nivaha-nidhane kalayasi karavalam
dhumaketum iva kim api karalam
kesava dhrita-kalki-sarira jaya jagadisa hare.
The puddle of blood around Sa
ini’s comatose body was getting bigger by the second. Radhika struggled frantically with the duct tape around her wrists. She laboured to breathe through the gag across her lower face. She knew that it was just a matter of time before Saini died.
The bright white fluorescent lights inside the vault room had been deliberately left switched on by Priya so that Radhika would be able to see him die. It would also allow the cameras inside the vault room to transmit the scene to the video monitor in the administrative office that continued to be watched by Garg and Raval, duly bound and gagged.
Taarak and Priya had removed the security tape that had recorded their initial entry. Placing the rewritable CD along with the ceramic baseplate in their bag, they had locked the vault grille and the door to the administrative back office, leaving all the lights switched on at full intensity. As they had reached the outer entrance, Priya had smiled sweetly at the armed guard. ‘Oh my, what a big gun you have,’ she had purred into his ears seductively while Taarak had used the distraction to sedate him. The keys to the establishment had been pulled out of the guard’s pocket and his unconscious form had been unceremoniously shoved down the stairs. Emerging into the bright sunlight, the duo had locked the main entrance to the premises of South Delhi Safety Vaults Ltd and had made off swiftly. a small earthen plate—around four centimetres long and an equal four centimetres wide. ol Balaramai
Pick up the phone, thought Rathore, as he desperately waited for Radhika to answer. He was sitting in a taxi on his way to South Delhi Safety Vaults Ltd. Rathore was eager to update Radhika that a data dump of whatever had been stolen by Taarak had been mapped and faxed to him. His boss, however, had her phone mysteriously switched off—alternatively her phone had gone out of range. Something was terribly wrong. ‘Driver, if you can get me there in three minutes, there’s another two hundred rupees as tip,’ he said as he tapped the taxi driver’s shoulder.