The Mahabharata Secret (21 page)

‘So what do you think they are meeting for?’

‘I don’t have a theory about that, yet,’ Imran admitted to his boss. ‘Like I said, it’s just a hunch that something more is cooking.’

Vaid sighed. ‘Fine. But you’re going out on a limb on this one, Kidwai. I’ll get you into the farmhouse. But I’m not getting the Home Minister involved in this. Not without a better reason than a hunch of yours. Once you’re in the farmhouse, you’re on your own. If you’re wrong about this, just make sure that you don’t mess up there. If something goes wrong, I won’t cover you. Not this time. Is that understood?’

Imran nodded. ‘Got it. But I’ll find something. I can feel it in my bones.’

Right On Track

‘So that’s the plan,’ Farooq said to Murphy. ‘We won’t move in until you give us the signal. And you’ll lie low after that, until we reach the final phase of the plan.’

Murphy looked thoughtful. ‘Seems like a good plan. The only problem I can see is if they find more clues at Barabar and the search goes on. We are now running against time.’

‘I don’t think this trail goes on for much longer,’ Farooq sounded confident. ‘We are going to where the Magadha Empire sprang from, where Asoka had his Capital. The location where the secret is hidden can’t be too far. The description by Surasen, the man who first discovered the cavern 2,000 years ago, mentions a 10-day journey from the Capital of the empire. We are close to finding it now. And I think our plan will ensure that they work to our deadlines.’

‘Very well.’ Murphy rose. ‘You’d better not mess this one up. They aren’t happy with you, I can tell you that.’

Farooq didn’t reply. The secret of the Nine was within his grasp. And he would ensure that it did not elude him.

25

Day 8

The Patna-Gaya Highway, Bihar

Colin looked out of the window of the Nissan X Trail they had hired at Patna, the Capital city of the state of Bihar. They had decided to set up base at the Asoka Palace Hotel in Patna after arriving earlier in the morning. Two hours ago, they had left Patna and were now driving down to Gaya.

‘One kilometre to Bela,’ he announced as they passed a milestone. He glanced at the roadmap of Bihar that lay open on his lap. ‘From Bela, we turn right, off the highway.’

‘I’ll be glad to reach the place.’ Vijay shifted in his seat as he drove. Colin was in the passenger seat next to him, while Radha, Shukla and White were in the backseat of the X Trail. The drive had been tiring. The road was a two-lane highway and in poor shape. With alarming frequency, it would degenerate into a mass of potholes and cracks, making it difficult to maintain a good speed. Even when they did manage to speed up, Vijay often had to slow down as they passed through villages that would keep popping up on either side of the highway. Occasionally, they would have to stop for a tractor-trailer or bullock cart that emerged from the dirt paths that snaked away from the road and through fields on either side.

A signboard announced that they had reached the town of Bela and the car slowed down to a crawl as Vijay manoeuvred through the mass of bicycles, push carts, bullock carts, cycle rickshaws and motorcycles that thronged the road.

Cows and stray dogs mixed freely with the traffic and people and Vijay had to use the vehicle’s horn liberally. He popped his head out of the window and hailed a hawker selling bangles.

‘Where do we turn for Barabar?’

Though the question was aimed at the hawker, four men standing nearby gathered around the car, and began arguing about the best way to reach Barabar.

Vijay waited, patiently, as they discussed the merits of each route.

Finally, one of the men gave him directions, nodding his head all the time as if to reassure Vijay about the accuracy of his advice.

Vijay drove off only to stop a few metres ahead to validate the directions he had been given.

Relieved to find that they had been guided correctly, he followed the directions and they soon found themselves on the road to Barabar.

The road from here was rough and bumpy; mostly potholes and dirt. They had been warned, at Patna, about the state of the road beyond Bela, which had led them to rent the X Trail.

Forty-five minutes later, jolted and shaken by the ride, they arrived at the site of the caves. The landscape was bleak and barren; desolate scrubland with large rocks and boulders strewn around as if thrown there in anger by the hand of a giant. Clumps of straggling trees dotted the scene which was dominated by the hill.

Even as they approached, they realised that
Barabar Hill
was a misnomer.

The hill was more a huge black rock, not more than 30 feet in height. It rose from the ground like the back of a whale protruding from the ocean. The rock was bereft of any vegetation.

Vijay brought the vehicle to a halt at the foot of the rock.

They alighted and gazed at the desolation around them. Radha shivered. ‘I can see why people are advised not to venture here alone,’ she remarked, looking around.

White waved an arm at the rock-strewn landscape. ‘Most people are probably unaware that this site has an association with Asoka the Great. Considering that it is one of the oldest surviving structures built during Asoka’s reign, it shouldn’t be so deserted.’

Vijay hauled out his black leather bag from the car and pulled out a sheaf of papers.

‘According to this commentary,’ he referred to the papers, ‘The oldest cave is the
Sudama
cave. It lies on the south face of the rock. Going by the verse,
Sudama
will be the eldest of the four brothers. That’s the one we need to check.’

Heaving the strap of the bag onto his shoulder, he started off for the southern rock face with Colin by his side. The others followed slowly with Shukla, who couldn’t keep pace with the two friends.

They reached the southern face of the rock and began walking along the black rock wall.

‘Just think,’ Colin said, ‘we are in some ways retracing the footsteps of a legendary Indian king who lived 2,300 years ago. I can’t believe that I’m walking the same path that he’d have trodden. This is the great thing about India. Everywhere you go there’s centuries of history, sometimes thousands of years of heritage. It’s awesome!’

Vijay nodded. ‘Yes,’ he agreed, ‘I had never thought of it that way.’

Suddenly, Colin grabbed his arm and pointed. Just ahead of them, cut into the black rock wall was a rectangular opening.

Vijay and Colin stood before the doorway, staring at the darkness beyond the entrance. Was this the culmination of their journey?

Vijay reached into the bag and pulled out two portable lamps. He handed one to Colin. The twin beams cut through the darkness that filled the interior of the cave, but revealed nothing.

Cautiously, Vijay stepped through the entrance, shining his lamplight all around him.

To his great surprise, he found the light reflecting off the walls. No matter where he trained the lamp, the beam of light shone back at him.

The cave was empty.

‘Wow!’ Colin whispered in awe, joining Vijay and experiencing the same effect. ‘This is amazing!’

‘It is remarkable,’ Vijay agreed.

The artisans who worked in this cave had chiselled the inner walls to a high degree of polish, such that they were like mirrors. They had retained their glassy appearance even today, 2,300 years after they had been built.

The two friends gazed around the cave in awe. A shout made them jump; the echo rolled around the cave, the sound bouncing off from wall to wall, as effortlessly as the light reflected off them.

The others had joined them and Radha had chosen that moment to test the echo.

Vijay scowled at Radha, who was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Why did you have to do that?’ he complained. ‘You scared me out of my skin.’

‘You certainly did,’ Colin agreed. ‘That wasn’t funny, sneaking up on us like that.’

‘I’ve always wanted to do that.’ Radha was still smiling broadly. ‘After reading Forster’s book and learning about these caves, I never believed that I’d be standing in one of them and experiencing the echo first-hand.’

‘This is amazing.’ White was looking around in wonder. ‘Let’s split up,’ Vijay suggested. ‘Radha and I will explore this side of the cave. Colin, you can team up with Greg and Dr. Shukla and check out the far side.’

With nods of agreement, the group split up.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Colin shouted across the cave at Vijay, momentarily forgetting to whisper. Immediately, they were surrounded by a volley of echoes, as each word repeatedly reverberated around the cave, the echoes overlapping with each other to produce an astounding effect.

Vijay walked over to the other group. ‘Inscriptions,’ he whispered.

‘Well, then,’ Colin whispered back, ‘you’ve got your hands full. This wall’s full of inscriptions.’

He shone the beam, at an angle, on the wall and immediately a mass of inscriptions jumped out at them. Line upon line of symbols etched into the stone, some etched over other symbols, sprang to life. Vijay gazed at the inscriptions in bewilderment.

‘This can’t be what we’re looking for,’ White said softly.

‘Doesn’t seem likely,’ Shukla agreed. ‘Some of these are in the Brahmi script, which is the one used for Asoka’s edicts, and others are probably from a later era. Most likely, the inscriptions that have overwritten the earlier ones are from the Gupta dynasty, which flourished in this region in the fifth century
AD
.’

Vijay strode back to Radha and shone his lamp on the wall, at an angle. This wall, too, was covered with inscriptions. He quickly updated Radha on the conclusion the other group had reached.

Just then, there was a loud whoop from Colin and once again a medley of echoes filled the cave, melting into one another, a harmony of sounds as his whoop reverberated around the cave.

Shaking his head in mock frustration, Vijay grabbed Radha by her hand and they walked over to join Colin, who was now examining the rear of the cave.

‘Sorry,’ Colin grinned sheepishly as they regrouped around him. ‘I keep forgetting about the echo. But look at this.’

He trained his lamp on the rock wall that formed the rear of the cave, revealing a doorway four feet high, in the form of an inverted U.

‘Okay,’ Vijay indicated the opening with a grin. ‘You discovered it. You go first.’

‘And get eaten by the protectors of the treasure or whatever monster guards the secret of the Nine? Have you watched “The Mummy”? No way!’

Sighing, Vijay bent and entered the doorway. It was the entrance to a small tunnel. In the light of the lamp, he could see that even the walls of the tunnel were as smooth as glass and reflected the light at him.

After a few feet of stooping and walking through the passage, he emerged into a chamber. While the outer cave was larger and had a barrel vaulted roof, the inner chamber in which he now stood had a roof that was hollow and semi-spherical.

The chamber was empty.

He shone the light back through the doorway and called out to the others. ‘Come on in. It’s alright.’

He noticed that this chamber didn’t have an echo.

The rest of the group emerged from the tunnel. As they regrouped they found Vijay staring at the wall opposite the entrance.

‘You’ve found something,’ White observed as they came up to him.

‘Yes,’ Vijay answered. ‘Do you notice anything about these walls that set them apart from the walls of the outer cave?’

White squinted at the wall. ‘No inscriptions?’

‘Exactly.’ Vijay shone the light on the walls on either side of them and the wall behind them. ‘None of these walls have inscriptions; except for this one.’ He trained the lamp on the wall opposite the entrance and it jumped out at them.

A nine-spoked wheel. The symbol of the Nine.

They looked at each other. Whatever they were seeking, it was hidden in this inner chamber. All they had to do was locate it.

The Ominous Threat

‘We’ve contained the media and they’ve agreed to cooperate... for now,’ Imran reported.

Vaid stared back at him and rubbed his eyes as he stifled a yawn. The two men had been up since a little past midnight. He nodded. ‘Good work. But we still need to monitor them. There’s no saying when some journalist will decide that this is a career-boosting opportunity for him or her, and we can’t afford any loose cannons right now.’

‘We’re on it. I’ve got men in the studios and offices of every major television channel and media network that received the email. A couple of television channels played hard to get initially, but fell in line when we told them a few things we knew about them.’

‘I don’t want to know what you threatened them with.’ The shadow of a smile creased Vaid’s face. He had seen Imran stretch the boundaries on previous occasions.

‘Oh, I didn’t threaten them,’ Imran grinned. ‘I gave them, you know, friendly advice. Just so I was sure they wouldn’t put this on air the moment my back was turned.’

Vaid glanced at his watch. ‘Time for my meeting with the Home Minister. I’ll let him know that things are under control.’ He looked pointedly at Imran. ‘Are you sure you want to continue with your plan? This threat takes top priority. And your hunch about Bheem Singh has nothing to do with the threat. Remember, it’s still a hunch.’

Imran nodded. ‘I won’t get another opportunity like this to get in there. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. I’ll just take a look around and get out of there. It should not take me more than half an hour.’

‘Keep me posted.’ Vaid left the room and Imran followed him out.

As he walked down the corridor to his office, Imran’s thoughts turned to the mysterious email they had received at midnight. It had been sent to 10 major news networks, both electronic and print media. But what perplexed him wasn’t the source or the intention of the email. Both were very clear, surprisingly, for a terror threat.

He opened the door of his office and gave a start. Blake was sitting there waiting, his face haggard and worried. He, too, had been up since midnight, working with his colleagues in the CIA and with other government agencies in countries where similar threats had been received.