Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

 40) The Lost World

Dushyant listened to Shankaran's account of Maurya and Dharma's visit with growing astonishment. Shankaran recounted the sketches on the walls of Avadhi and how Dharma had linked the verse and the ring around the horse to Jalindra's cenotaph and River Yakshagni. Shankaran also related their surprise on learning that Shankaran and Dushyant were old friends.

"After you discovered the trap door, what happened?" Dushyant prodded.

"Oh, it was so unbelievable! Water gushed out at once. Remember, you told me about Yakshagni?"

"Yes, and you informed me that the river in Anuragnicheri was also a tributary of Yakshagni."

"Right! River Agni emerges from Agasthyamalai and joins the main river near Mangapuram before dropping into the ocean."

"Yes, yes...you mentioned that..."

"So, when Maurya opened the trap door in Avadhi, I think the water that gushed out was the waters of River Agni."

"Or Yakshagni..." Dushyant murmured.

"While the water gushed out, Dharma fainted and almost slipped into the ditch and if it had not been for Maurya, she would have gone inside."

"What?"

"Yes...and Dushyant, do you know the mystifying thing that happened? Just before fainting, she called out a strange name. Both Maurya and I were shocked."

"Whose name?"

"That is the unusual thing. After she gained consciousness, she did not even remember whose name she called out..."

"Oh, that is so strange!"

"Exactly! When Maurya asked her, she was so confused. I felt bad for her."

"Who did she call out for?"

"Ekveer..."

The reference to the name sent shock waves through Dushyant's body. Unable to say a word, his gaze shifted to the range of mountains that were visible from the window of the Ashram. He cast his mind back to the moment he had come across the name, Ekveer in the forest. He reflected on his meetings with Dharma in Modhera; her mention of Jalindra's cenotaph, her confused reaction on hearing the name of the river Yakshagni...

"Dushyant? Are you there?"

"Yes, yes...I am here. I think the signal dropped. What occurred after she called out the name?"

"She fainted and then Maurya carried her back to my house. I guess they had a long conversation about the incident. Anyway, I didn't probe much. But what astounded me was that the house collapsed after their visit. Dharma and I were right there. And in front of our eyes, Avadhi went down like a pack of cards..."

"Has she gone back to Delhi? Shankaran, can you share her number with me? I would like to talk to her about Avadhi..."

"Sure, I will message you."

"Thank you, friend."

The call had rendered Dushyant speechless. It was staggering that someone other than him had a connection to Alaka. If Dharma had called out the name of the Prince of Alaka, Ekveer, then that meant that she had an association with the old world.

He recollected his interaction with her in Modhera. There had been something very distinct about her that was very different from any other woman he had met. She had been outstandingly beautiful, almost bewitching; a rarity today. And her eyes held a depth of wisdom and farsightedness that was not spotted commonly in the present generation.

As he ruminated over Dharma, his mind evoked images of his morning visit to the ancient and dead forest. He thought over Anand Acharya's tale about Alaka, the prince, and his love for the tribal princess...

He gasped at the sudden realization that arose without warning. Like a flash of lightning, the connotation hit him with incredulity.

In the bygone world, Dharma had been the tribal princess...Ekveer's love!

The Yakshi!

No wonder, she had cast a spell on everyone in Modhera!

Did that mean that she had travelled through...

Oh, My God!

***************

However painful it was, Dharma had to make a break. She did not want an undecided Maurya. Even though her love for him was unconditional, she doubted if Maurya felt the same way about her.

Dharma brewed a cup of tea and carried it to the balcony. Settling on the chair, she dwelt on Avadhi, her encounter with those invisible Yakshis, their earful, and the ancient kingdom from where she was supposed to have hailed. The ring of her phone disrupted her contemplation.

"Hello!"

"Dharma? This is Dushyant."

************

When Maurya reached the hospital, Rashika's aunt spotted him, "Maurya, our Rashi has opened her eyes and the first thing she uttered was your name..."

"Is it? I thought she would take Arjun's name," Maurya's disparaging reply caught the older woman's attention and she narrowed her eyes indignantly.

"Maurya..." she began but Maurya cut short her response.

"Forget it. Let me go and see Rashika first." As he strode toward Rashika's ward, the family members gave way for him wordlessly. He was the cynosure of all eyes.

Vasukinath and his wife were present inside the ward. Rashika cried out in a feeble voice, "Maurya..."

Her father embraced Maurya and exclaimed, "Thank god, she got through, Maurya...It is all your lucky stars!"

Maurya wrenched away from Vasukinath's hold. He flinched in objection. The family's callousness appalled him. How had he not detected this insensitivity earlier? Had they forgotten that another family was grieving wretchedly; especially due to Rashika's fault?

Rashika's mother stated, "We should give them some time alone..."

"Yes, yes..." Vasukinath patted Maurya's shoulder and left the room with his wife.

Rashika accorded a weak smile. Maurya took the chair next to the bed and surveyed her. The bruised side of her cheek was plastered. Due to the impact of the steering wheel, there were ruptures in her chest. The doctors had taken out the glass shards that had pierced her ribs and stitched up the skin.

"Hi..." she greeted, her eyes not leaving his face for a moment. She discerned every flare of emotion in his eyes.

"Hi...How do you feel?"

She pointed out her cheek, "This side pains a lot...."

Maurya nodded, deliberating if he should ask her about Arjun.

"When did you come?" she asked him instead.

"Last evening..."

The nurse arrived and she began to note down Rashika's readings. Maurya stood up to leave but Rashika clutched his hand tightly. The nurse's eyes puckered with mischief, "You don't have to leave...I will be gone in a minute."

After the nurse left, Maurya asked, "Do you know about Arjun?"

She nodded without a word. Maurya noted that there was no indication of regret or guilt in her.

"Where were you going with him on that road? Tell me the whole sequence of that day..."

"Ok...I was at home when I got Arjun's call. He persuaded me to have coffee with him because his team had won a legal case. Then after coffee, I wanted to come home but Arjun insisted that we go for a drive. He directed me to take that road."

There was an uneasy silence in the room after she reeled off the events of the day.

"That was it? You didn't meet anyone else?"

"Who else could I have met? I am telling you exactly what happened the other day," Rashika reiterated defensively, scowling at Maurya.

"That is not what Arjun's brothers are saying."

Rashika burst out vehemently, "What are they saying? You know how they are. They have never liked me much. They would spin any story and you would believe them?"

Maurya's eyebrows shot up, "Are they lying then?"

"Of course! How can you believe them over me?"

"Rashika, I haven't yet told you about their account of the day. What makes you think that they lied to me?"

Rashika winced in pain, "Oh god! This is troubling me so much...." She touched her face and moaned.

The sheer indifference to Arjun's death, her lies and her theatrics disgusted him.

"It is all your fault," Rashika blurted out suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, if you had not gone waltzing with some other woman, I wouldn't have had to spend more time with Arjun," without any qualms, she accused him brazenly.

"Seriously? How do you manage to stoop so low Rashika? Sans any guilt, you transfer the blame on me! Actually, it was my fault that I thought I could talk to you. Your senseless driving killed Arjun, and here you are; finding ways to wriggle out of the responsibility."

Rashika had never seen Maurya so furious before.  His hurtful words aggrieved her. She recognized the cold indifference and subdued violence in Maurya's demeanour. It frightened her. Had she lost him? No, that was not possible...

She regained her composure and assembled her disarrayed thoughts. She grappled with the possible truth that Arjun's brothers would have convinced him of his innocence.

"Why did you meet Chaitanya?"

The question startled Rashika. Her glance scurried around the room, looking for an escape from Maurya's mercilessly grilling glance. How did Maurya know about her meeting with Chaitanya? With an adeptness that would stun even the best of manipulators, she decided to pin the whole fiasco on Arjun.

"Who is he? I didn't meet anyone like that..."

"You didn't?" Maurya quizzed, his lips thinning savagely.

"No, of course not! Wait, oh yes, Arjun told me that he had to meet someone urgently, so I guess he probably met this man before coming to the café."

"So, you don't know anyone by the name of Chaitanya?"

"No Maurya, I don't. Will you stop this third degree?"

Shaking his head in disbelief, Maurya snapped, "Even Machiavelli would be surprised by you..."

"Who?" Rashika frowned.

"We are done! Consider our engagement broken."

While Rashika stared at him shell-shocked, they heard a commotion outside the ward and Maurya rushed out. There were police personnel and they had come with a warrant to arrest Vasukinath.

The relatives blocked the officers from getting close to Vasukinath and demanded to see the warrant. Maurya made his way through the fracas and spoke to the officer in charge.

"Can we see the warrant?"

The family quietened as soon as they saw Maurya taking charge. He scanned the piece of paper carefully and glanced at Vasukinath. Arjun's family had filed a complaint against Vasukinath for Negligent Entrustment because the car that Rashika had driven was registered in her father's name.

"You have to go with them now. I will bring our lawyer and bail you out as soon as possible."

When Vasukinath's siblings and cousins began to argue, Vasukinath held up his hand, "I trust Maurya. He will do the needful. Now, let me go..."

As they watched, the police took him with them. Rashika's mother held on to Maurya and wept, "God knows whose evil eyes have snared this family!"

Maurya wanted to answer that it was the result of their own daughter's evil deeds. Instead, he dialled the lawyer's number.

There was so much to do that he heaved in weariness. The stinging ache that caught him unawares was rearing its head once again and he squashed it down forcefully. There was no use crying over spilt milk. Dharma had made her decision. Nevertheless, she hadn't heard his decision. Dharma thought he was this indecisive moron who couldn't choose his woman. She had already concluded that his ambition was more important to him than his love.

Drawing a deep breath, Maurya pledged himself to make Dharma proud of him. There was no way he was going to let go of the only woman he had ever loved so passionately in his life.

No, he was going to do everything right this time...

The arrival of the legal counsellor diverted his attention.

****************

"Dharma, I heard what transpired in Avadhi from Shankaran..." Dushyant said after their initial greetings.

"It was momentous. I haven't gotten over it yet."

"Why don't we meet and discuss? Say, in Parijatpur?"

"My friend is getting married next week. Can we meet after that?"

"Sure! I will return to Almora by then."

"I will call you once I reach Parijatpur..."

"Good, now that it is settled, I want to ask you about Ekveer...Why did you call out that name?"

Dharma went rigid. She shut her eyes and the face that sprung up was Maurya's. She jerked open her eyes and realized that Dushyant was waiting for her reply. "I was not even aware that I had called out that name. When I saw the water rushing out of the trap door, I think I recalled my nightmares..."

"What kind of nightmares, Dharma?"

"That I was drowning in a swollen river and the currents were dragging me away from someone close. That obscure image would stay with me for days after the nightmares."

"Dharma, we need to meet soon. Call me as soon as you reach Parijatpur..."

"Sure!" After a pause, Dharma appealed, "Sir, I want to ask you one more thing..."

"Go ahead, Dharma."

"Is there a position vacant in your office for me? Can I apply for a post there?"

There was no reply from Dushyant immediately. Dharma wondered if she had been impudent in asking for a job...

"You are a fashion designer and a successful one at that; that is what I gathered in Modhera."

"I am quitting this job."

"Why? Is it because of what happened in Avadhi?"

"Partly! I am looking for a change. I am sorry that I was flippant about it..."

"That is alright. I had been thinking of getting another person for my lab. However, I think you are an artist by nature. You must explore your innate talents more."

"Sure, sir. Thank you for calling me."

"Anyway, my assistant Bilaval has been whining for a long time. I would be happy to get a teammate for him."