Seven Lives Together-The Mughal Warrior by Shrimant
Chapter 9
The Prison
Finally, the day arrived when he expected to see some light. Four guards came to take him out of the ship. He didn’t know which city he had been taken. Hopefully this was his dearest Agra. He knew guards would not answer his question. No problem, he could see for himself. His dreams shattered when his eyes were covered with a black cloth. He silently tolerated. Finally, he was taken out. He smelled the air. Definitely it was not Agra, and there was no daylight too. He could hear the singing of all the night birds and insects. He was taken to a horse carriage and driven to some unknown location. Suraj’s eyes were kept blindfolded. But his ears were alert. After travelling some time, he could hear the sound on the road, the sound of many other horse carriages. He was sure they were going through the busy area of some city, and the time was evening. He guessed that the city was Delhi.
As expected he was taken inside a fort like structure; a prison. When his blindfold was removed he found himself in a small cell. After long he saw some light coming out of a small opening near the ceiling. He checked the cell; that was the only outlet for light and air. It was almost at a height of two feet from his head. The door was of solid steel. Suraj had seen many prisons before, not as a prisoner but as the son of a ruler. Usually extremely dangerous prisoners were kept in such cells having solid steel doors and virtually no outlet to the outside world.
That night he ate well and slept peacefully. Shortly he would be produced for a trial of his case. That was the tradition of Mughal administration. He could prove his innocence. After all, he was never a rebel. He was the one who actually informed Mughal top leadership about the plans of Sher Afghan.
Days and nights passed. He didn’t find any evidence of taking him for a hearing. He tried to ask the attendants when they brought him food. Most of the time, he didn’t get any reply. After long, one attendant told him that this was the prison meant for people who had already completed judicial process. They were either serving their life in prison or waiting for the death sentence to be carried out. In short, they had lost all avenues for another appeal.
Suraj at first didn’t believe what the attendant said, but couldn’t sleep. He thought it was just another negative thinking which would gradually vanish from his mind. It didn’t. He wished the attendant was naive and didn’t know the truth. He planned to ask some other attendant to find out what was the fact. He didn’t dare to do that. He was afraid to get the similar reply: only convicted criminals were housed in this prison and many were on death row. He had never been communicated what his crime was and what punishment had been decided for him.
He tried, in vain, to sleep, but couldn’t. He was not afraid of death. He was afraid of uncertainty. He considered such death as cowardly. How can a Rajput fighter like him welcome death without fighting? He tried to soothe his mind. He started to think about the gratifying moments he had spent with Saira and also Satyanand.
His sleeplessness was temporary. After few days, he accepted his fate and became normal. The Mughals wanted to give the death penalty to him. How foolish? They didn’t understand the death penalty would actually free him. Satyanand had blessed him to have at least seven lives with Saira. As long as he was in this body, he would be identified by the Mughals as the son of Purujit, whom they punished against the false accusation that he was a traitor. He would be treated as an accomplice of Sher Afghan, another rebel who was just killed. It was possible that his letter to the Mughal administration describing his position vs. Sher Afghan had never reached them. They misunderstood him and awarded severe most sentences without even giving him a chance to defend himself. The Emperor was all powerful and could take any decision: fair or unfair. No one could question him.
For few days, all these kept Suraj disturbed. But once he accepted the fate as it was, he was at peace with himself. Yes, the memory of his infant boy flashed before him from time to time. That didn’t stop him from his fantasy. When he started fantasising, he felt remarkably relaxed.
Weeks, months and even years passed. He was never taken to slaughter gallows. The attendants were wrong. He had probably been given a life sentence. He was never told formally what the accusation against him was or what punishments had been decided for him. His small dark cell became the world for him for the rest of his life. Sometimes he was thinking what might have happened to Saira. One thing he was sure, Saira and her mother Nadirah both were born fighters. They rather would fight and die than surrender them to someone’s evil intentions.
The fantasies of treasured moments in his life kept him relaxed. One day he was meditating. He suddenly found himself coming out of his tiny dark cell and was standing on a long hallway. There was no watchman to stop. Have they all slept somewhere? Or they might have deserted the prison. Anything was possible. All the prisoners had been securely lodged in their own cells, and steel doors were securely locked. There was no chance for anyone to escape. This was enough reason for the guards to be comfortable and take rest.
He observed the long hallway. It was unusually long, housing hundreds of tiny cells on both sides. One side looked dark, and the other side looked quite bright. It was long since he had seen the brightness of the day. He felt thirsty, not for water, but for the daylight. He walked along the corridor. He knew the doors must be locked. His temporary freedom was limited to the big hallway. He would have to go back to his little dark cell. At least he could get some hole in the gate and steal the view of the bright light outside. He finally came to the gate. The gate was not locked. Strange! Did something terrible happen to the Mughal Emperors? This was not the time to think of them. He needed to enjoy the sunshine before coming back to his cell. He pushed the ultra heavy Iron Gate with all his might. The gate opened making way to the outside free world. He walked away. There was nobody to stop him. There were no guards. After long he came under the bright sunlight and inhaled fresh open air. He started walking without any fear. He knew he couldn’t go far in the powerful Mughal Empire. Once again he would be caught and lodged in jail. Unfortunately, the mighty Mughals couldn’t award any more punishment. He was already in the death row. They couldn’t punish him twice. This thought made him more fearless, and he walked ahead. There were hills and trees all around. ‘Is this prison located in a dense forest?’ he thought.
For a long time, he didn’t see any human being. Then he heard a human voice. He looked around. He felt people were following him. Probably, the guards could know about his escape from prison. No, there were no guards. He saw two men from a distance. Both were climbing a tree. He moved bit close hiding him behind bushes. He could see their activities clearly. The younger one was climbing the tree more slowly than the other. Both men were dressed like royal Rajput fighters like him. Swords and swivel guns were hanging from their waist. The older man was coming down to the young one and was saying something. He couldn’t clearly hear what the older man told the younger one, but from his action he understood that he was probably training him climbing a tree quickly.
‘It is fascinating,’ Suraj thought.
He had learnt many was skills from his father and could even beat him in sword fighting, shooting etc. But he lacked his father’s mastery of speedily climbing trees. Purujit often told him, ‘You may not need this skill in a normal war. But you don’t know what circumstances await you and when. If you are in a jungle and are being pursued by enemy, skills like climbing trees and mountains will give you extra edge to survive. Suraj kept that lesson pending for next time. That ‘next time’ never came. Purujit was assassinated. He was deprived of learning a vital lesson. Suraj started concentrating on them and tried to learn some skill. He tried to imagine what the elder person was instructing to the young man as he couldn’t hear them.
He gathered courage. The two men were certainly not prison guards. He looked at what he was wearing. It was not the dress for the prisoners. Surprisingly he was still wearing his normal clothes. Only difference was the clothes were dirty. He was also looking different with his unshaved
face. There was a decent chance they might not know that he was a prisoner. Suraj moved closer, enough to see them and hear their voices clearly. He positioned himself properly behind a bush and started watching the practical demonstration.
Suddenly he noticed the man’s face. He couldn’t believe himself.
‘How can this be possible?’ he thought.
The man’s face resembled with that of his father- Purujit. He felt dizziness.
‘Is my father alive?’ he asked himself.
He had never seen his father’s dead body. Was it possible that he was alive and was hiding in a jungle? Till now there was uncertainty about the death of Anarkali. He was not finding any way to solve that. Suspense was added. This time it was about his father.
‘Then who is the young man my father is giving instruction?’ he thought.
He could see the young man’s back as he was climbing the tree. Suraj kept his eyes fixed and soon encountered another surprise.
It was him.
‘There is something seriously wrong,’ he thought and watched the young person again.
Yes, it was none other than Suraj.
He never remembered that he had a twin. He scratched his head. No, he was the only son to his parents.
‘Is he another son of my father from another wife?’ He thought again. Keeping more than one wife was allowed in the society and there was no reason Purujit would have to hide that fact. Then there was the third option: that his father had a twin and his son also looked like Suraj. The young man was exactly looking like him. He was looking healthier, happy and with clean clothes.
The young man now looked at Suraj. Suraj didn’t think he should hide any more. He came out of the bush and moved towards his lookalike. He couldn’t see his father’s lookalike anymore. His lookalike walked towards him without uttering any words. Suraj could smell the perfume on his body. He was looking confident like a true Rajput warrior. Suraj couldn’t decide how to greet him. His lookalike opened his arms, so did Suraj. Both hugged each other. His grips were tight but comfortable. Gradually he felt the grips were loosening. Suraj’s eyes were closed. He couldn’t see what was happening. But he just felt that his lookalike was merging with his body. Then he felt there was no one in his arms. He opened his eyes. Neither his look alike nor his father was around. The whole event seemed unusually mysterious to him. Probably there was something wrong. Who knew whether ghosts were coming to him in the guise of himself and his father? He felt so unsafe that, for few moments, he thought prison was a safer place and started running without giving a second thought. He heard his lookalike saying to him, ‘Climb the tree to escape the prison and then swim.’
The prison gate was open as if no one had noticed it since he escaped through it. He entered the prison and closed the gate behind him. Then he ran into his tiny dark cell, closed its heavy metal door and sat down on the floor in the meditation pose. Few moments later he opened his eyes. Everything seemed normal. No one had noticed him going out. He could hear the guards moving along the corridor. Surprisingly he was not feeling exhaustion after all this running, rather he felt more energetic. He was not quite sure whether he actually went out and saw the mysterious things or he slept and saw them in his dream. It couldn’t be a dream as he found himself in a sitting position when he opened his eyes.
He recollected the last words of his lookalike, ‘Climb the tree to escape the prison and then swim.’
‘Nonsense,’ he uttered to himself, ‘the boundary walls of the prison were so high that anyone who tries to jump out would either die or be seriously injured. There must have been some obstacle on the other side of the fence. Prison guards usually spread broken glass, nails on the field to terrorise those who try to escape.’
That night he slept peacefully as usual. Towards midnight he woke up to some knocking sound. Someone was knocking on the stone wall. The stone walls were so strong that it was extraordinarily hard to get any sound from the other side. The knocking sound continued for hours. He could imagine that the prisoner on the side chamber was trying to make a tunnel. He quietly laughed, ‘Poor guy is making unnecessary effort. He doesn’t know that the hole will not take him out of the prison, rather lead to another dark cell.’ The knocking sound stopped before dawn. Again next night he heard the same noise after midnight. One thing he was sure: if guards find it after the tunnel opens in his cell, they could doubt him too. Still he kept quiet and didn’t inform the guards.
Several nights passed. The same routine continued. The digging continued regularly at past midnight. He had no idea how deep the wall between two cells was. He mentally compared it with the walls of forts. Given proper instruments, it was possible to dig tunnels even through the strongest forts. It was not possible for a prisoner like him to get hold of those sharp digging instruments. Besides, the instruments were so long that it was almost impossible to hide them in a small cell from the spying eyes of the prison attendants.
One morning he got up to see tiny pieces of rock on his floor. He looked at the wall, to find out if the tunnel had actually opened. To his surprise there was an extremely small hole, not enough for a baby mouse to move through. Suraj laughed at the irony of the man who spent weeks of unslept nights and hard effort to seek freedom. First the tunnel was so narrow and secondly it opened to another cell instead of outside the prison wall. He found one fabulous idea. He recollected his first meeting with Satyanand in the jungle, and he asked him, ‘What blessed event has happened to both of you during last two days?’
Saira could think up to ten lucky events while he was sure there was none. He started to laugh loudly but stopped abruptly. Now he was not alone. There was someone across the wall. He became aware of his presence. He started counting the lucky events.
Number one: the so called tunnel was so narrow; it could be concealed easily from the prying eyes of the guards and attendants. There was no point for digging a real tunnel for a man to escape that didn’t open up outside the prison. Probably the prisoner was unsure whether he had chosen the right way to dig his tunnel, so he intentionally decided to make it as narrow as possible to save on his efforts and also to hide it easily.
Number two: he was not alone anymore. He could spend his time gossiping with someone, could share his thoughts. He could even tell him his experience with his lookalike.
He was eager to call him through the narrow hole, but abstained. The poor guy had spent an entire night to dig the last part of the tunnel. He must have been extremely exhausted and disappointed of the unwanted result. He should get some rest.
It didn’t take long. He heard chanting of prayer from the other side. Suraj sat straight and gave attention. The sound was not particularly clear, as if, someone was chanting from a distance. Still it was soothing to his ears. He felt relaxed and listened to the chanting even though many of those words were not clear to him.
The chanting continued for hours. Then there was a long tranquil. The hole was at a height of two inches from the floor. He quietly kept his clothes near the narrow tunnel so that attendants coming to provide food would not see. In the afternoon, he decided to start conversation, ‘Hello,’ he started.
For some time, there was no response from the other side. ‘Probably the man is disappointed at the poor outcome of tunnel digging, so is exhausted.’
He came to a crawling position so that his mouth would be at the same height of the hole and started again, ‘Please don’t be disappointed because the tunnel opened in a wrong direction. You and I are both extremely lucky for this narrow tunnel. At least we both can talk to each other and avoid frustration. You will be surprised to know long ago I had met a monk who has taught me how to filter out lucky instances from the most adverse events. I will tell you about me if you accept my friendship.’
There was no answer. He still continued patiently, ‘I think you are too much worried about your conditions. You and I both are under nearly similar situation. If you talk to me, I will tell you how Satyanand has taught m
e to deal with life.’
Still there was no response from that side. Suraj thought probably the man had closed his side of the tunnel fearing discovery, so now could never hear his voice. He was disappointed. Then he mixed some water with the soil that came out of digging of the tunnel, to close it from his side. Suddenly there was a voice from the other side, ‘How are you Suraj?’ the man asked.
He was surprised, ‘How do you know my name?’ he asked, ‘I don’t remember that I have told you my name so far?’
‘I got the information that you are in this cell. Then I decided to start digging the tunnel,’ the man from the other side said. ‘But I was not sure whether you have been moved to another cell. Thank God, your voice confirmed that you are still available.’
‘So did you know that you are not digging this tunnel to find freedom?’ Suraj asked.
‘Who said this tunnel was not for freedom? I got the freedom to communicate with you, to share my thoughts to you,’ the man replied.
‘That sounds philosophical,’ Suraj commented, ‘but a convenient means to cheer yourself when you can’t get real freedom. Anyway I am also happy with this freedom to communicate. At least we both can avoid some boredom. Sorry I forgot to ask your name, and I am also surprised how you knew my name.’
The man laughed loudly. Suraj was dumbstruck to hear the laugh. The voice seemed familiar. He scratched his head. His surprise didn’t last long.
‘I am Satyanand.’
Suraj couldn’t say anything for some time. It was beyond any imagination that Satyanand could be made a prisoner by Moghul authorities. As far as he knew, he had no political connections. He always remained absorbed in his spiritual life and researching of the unknown facts of life.
‘I am sorry I didn’t recognise your voice,’ he apologised, ‘though your voice was very much known to me, I could never imagine that you can be in a prison. How can you be accused of any crime?’
‘Everything is possible in this world,’ Satyanand explained, ‘circumstances led my destiny to this place.’
There was sound of unlocking of the door. Suraj quickly covered the narrow tunnel with his clothes and sat down covering it with his back. The attendant came in with the plate full of delicious food. Moghuls were extraordinarily generous in the matter of providing delicious meals to prisoners. Mughal monarchs themselves were fond of delicious, spicy foods and invested heavily on high profile cooks to research and develop new delicacies. This was another area where the Empire liked to spend liberally besides spending on weapons. They generously extended the hospitality of serving fresh and existing delicacies to their armed forces and even to high profile prisoners. In fact, cooking career was a large industry in Mughal economy and an excellent career opportunity to aspiring cooks.
Satyanand and Suraj continued their conversation for days, and he couldn’t certainly keep count of how many days passed between them.
Suraj was particularly interested in knowing how a saint like Satyanand landed in jail.
‘I was coming to meet you in Hooghly,’ Satyanand explained, ‘that was when the events took an ugly turn.’
‘I don’t understand why I am being taken as a traitor,’ Suraj interfered, ‘I have clearly written a letter informing the Emperor the evil intentions of Sher Afghan. I also suggested that I would behave as a trusted person to him so that I can understand his moves.’
‘How many days after your sending the letter did the fight happen between Sher Afghan and Qutbuddin?’ Satyanand asked.
‘I guess just two or three days,’ he replied.
‘Do you think your letter might have reached the Emperor during such a short period of time?’ Satyanand enquired.
‘Impossible,’ Suraj affirmed, ‘but it must have reached him after the incident. Only that letter can prove that I am innocent.’
‘I can visualise several possibilities,’ Satyanand said after a thoughtful pause.
‘Firstly, Sher Afghan had probably kept you under close observation. You might be thinking you are one of his trusted men, but he never trusted you. He was the main conspirator behind your father’s murder.’
‘How did you know?’ Suraj’s eyes started glowing with the excitement of getting additional facts and evidences about his father’s murder.
‘My source of information is the same as yours,’ Satyanand replied, ‘I reached your home the day after you were arrested. Habib, the gardener of Sher Afghan, told me about this plot. I guess he is right.’
‘Sher Afghan wanted me to convince Portuguese to help him against Mughals,’ Suraj disclosed to Satyanand, ‘but I was not in a mood to help him.’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Portuguese are not fools to help a man who was not even capable of inflicting slightest harm to the mighty Mughal Empire.’
Suraj didn’t say anything but stared at the tunnel with admiring surprise.
‘You are probably thinking how I can comment about a foreign force with so much confidence,’ Satyanand commented.
Suraj just nodded his head. Satyanand couldn’t see this from the other side of the narrow tunnel.
‘Well I have been curiously studying their actions and development since long.’ Satyanand clarified, ‘I have even been in touch with their top brass in Goa.’
‘Have you ever been to Goa?’ Suraj asked.
Satyanand replied after a pause, ‘Yes, I went there few months after you saw me in the island in Chilika Lake. I was curious to know about them. I lived there for few months and continued studying their ways.’
Suraj didn’t say anything, but his eyes indicated that he wanted to know more. Satyanand could feel this from his cell.
‘These Portuguese are not just traders,’ Satyanand commented, ‘they are in an expansion mode. They want to make the whole country their territory.’
‘I know,’ Suraj replied, ‘they are already occupying Goa, Daman and Diu. Hooghly is part of Mughal Empire for namesake only. They have so many warships in Hooghly that Mughals can’t reoccupy that city from Portuguese. Of course, they are paying enormous taxes to Mughals for using Hooghly as their base for doing business. That was the deal when Emperor Akbar gave them permission to build a city for making a trading centre. Gradually they made it their military base. Mughals are pretending not to know anything because they are afraid to confront them.’
Satyanand didn’t say anything, just smiled in affirmation.
‘One thing I don’t understand,’ Suraj continued again, ‘if Portuguese is so powerful and want to colonise the entire country, why aren’t they attacking the Mughals and occupying their empire?’
‘Because there is a strange balance of power,’ Satyanand analysed, ‘Mughals have extensive army, Portuguese lack such an army. Portuguese has modern weapons and a powerful Navy. Mughals lack all modern technological knowhow. They have tried to acquire modern weapons from Portuguese without success. The moment the balance will shift, one power will displace the other from the country.’
‘Do you think some day the balance will shift?’ Suraj asked.
‘Of course it will,’ Satyanand confidently replied, ‘someday this equilibrium will go. But it is difficult to predict when, how and in whose favour will go. Portuguese is desperately trying to find an ally. If they can get some ally, who can help them with a large army, they can take over.’
Suraj seemed to be displeased. He felt as if Satyanand is supporting a foreign power against an internal one and indicating him to support the Portuguese against the Mughals.
‘I don’t want to be another Jai Chand,’ Suraj said.
[Prithviraj Chauhan was the king of Delhi in 12th century. Jai Chand, his relative, was king of Kannauj. Prithviraj eloped with Jai Chand’s daughter Samyukta and married her against the wishes of her father. Jai Chand wanted to take revenge. As Prithviraj’s army was mightier than Jai Chand’s, the later took advantage of Muhammad Ghori of Ghazni, Afghanistan. Ghori had unsuccessfully fought several times against Prithviraj and lost all hopes to capture Delhi.
At this time Jai Chand, in order to take revenge, extended support to Ghori against Prithviraj. Ghori took advantage of internal conflict between two powerful relatives. Finally, Ghori captured Delhi and killed Prithviraj. Thus, Delhi fell into foreign hands. Till now Jai Chand is the most hated king of India’s history.]
Suraj’s answer seemed to be rude. Satyanand probably didn’t expect this. He tried to keep his composure and just smiled. After a pause he started again, ‘You can’t be another Jai Chand even if you want. Jai Chand was a king. He had an army and resources which he extended to Muhammad Ghori. On the other hand, you have just your talent and knowledge. Portuguese may require several heroes like you. But what they want desperately is an Indian king or Nawab with resources. Just remember you were in Goa for a considerable period. They extremely well knew your expertise as an officer in Mughal army. Have they ever even proposed you for your help to attack Mughals?’
‘No,’ Suraj saw the light in the remarks of Satyanand. The remarks were convincing, but the voice was never offending, ‘I am sorry for my rude reply.’
‘Never worry for that,’ Satyanand assured him, ‘I knew your mental state.’
‘I may not be of any use to them,’ Suraj started again, ‘but is it not an unpatriotic action to help a foreign country to conquer our motherland?’
‘Isn’t the Mughal also an external power?’ Satyanand questioned.
‘But Mughals have adopted our country as their motherland and have virtually no relationship with the land of their origin. Logically they are no more a foreign power who is occupying our land.’
‘That is your view point,’ Satyanand replied, ‘and it depends upon from which direction you want to look at it. However, you and I are nobody to determine which force will run the country. You have never been so ambitious to dream yourself as the ruler of this country. Rather you and your father have been loyal to the Mughal rulers in spite of all the distrust and harassment by them. On the other hand, I am a monk who is travelling on the spiritual path. The purpose of my life in this birth and lives in future births is different. Yes, while travelling long distance, you sometimes notice events which affect your thoughts. It is extremely difficult to be immune from them. I developed curiosity about Portuguese and travelled to Goa to obtain firsthand information about them.’
‘Were you so impressed by them that you thought they might one day rule over the country?’ Suraj asked.
‘I am just an observer,’ Satyanand said, ‘I went to observe what is happening. You don’t know, there are other players as well who are dreaming to establish colonies in this country.’
‘Who are they?’ Suraj looked surprised.
‘Portugal is just one European country,’ Satyanand explained, ‘obviously there are other European countries there, and some of them are planning to come to India for trade.’
‘Do you know who they are?’ Suraj was interested in knowing.
‘England, France and Holland,’ Satyanand said, ‘and they all are competitors of Portugal. So I guess they all will aim to colonise this country, partially or wholly.’
Suraj looked promising, ‘I got some idea.’
‘What?’
‘Have you got any idea how these countries have maintained relations among one another?’ Suraj asked.
‘They fight with one another,’ Satyanand replied.
‘That’s good,’ Suraj said with a bright smile, ‘they will spend all their energy fighting with one another and can’t conquer this country. Afghan and Mughal rulers could conquer our country because there was no unity among our rulers.’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Do you think when these European countries come here, our rulers will fight united against them?’
‘No,’ Suraj said, ‘unity is against our nature.’
‘One thing you should try to observe,’ Satyanand brought another compelling point, ‘never remain in the impression that Afghans conquered our country because of great unity among them. Don’t forget Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, father of Akbar, and occupied Delhi. Both Sher Shah Suri and Humayun were Afghans. There was infighting on both sides.’
Suraj didn’t say anything. Satyanand started again, ‘The main reason why our brave Rajput rulers succumbed to defeat in the hands of Afghans is because they lived in past glories.’
‘Our history is no doubt glorious,’ Suraj interfered, ‘and I don’t think there is any reason we shouldn’t feel proud of this.’
‘Feeling proud of your past glory and living in the past glory are two different concepts my child,’ Satyanand explained patiently, ‘the gap between the two is like the gap between sky and bottom of the ocean. Most of those who live in the past glory are not innovative. And innovation leads to progress. That is where Afghans outdid brave Indian rulers.’
Suraj did not understand the monk, ‘When there is conflict between two forces, one which is more dominant wins. Am I wrong?’
‘No, unless you think power is just muscle power.’ Satyanand replied, ‘Our kings thought the traditional weapons their ancestors were using were the best weapons for ever. They hated the idea of using cannons saying that killing enemies from a distance without face to face combat is an act of a coward. Their ancestors were not fighting after sunset. Muslim invaders attacked them after sunset and killed their soldiers. Still these rulers didn’t learn from their mistakes. They still maintained that attacking the enemy in the evening is an act of a coward. You still think Prithviraj was a hero! He defeated Mohammad Ghori several times. Every time Ghori would promise him not to strike again, and he would free him. Finally, when Ghori got a chance, he killed him. He didn’t forgive him even once. Prithviraj might have been a hero, but he was a fool. He got so many chances to kill Ghori. But he thought he will be called brave if he pardons Ghori. He missed the golden chance, not once, but several times.’
Suraj nodded in satisfying affirmation. Satyanand couldn’t see. He was in another dark cell with three feet wide wall between them and an extremely narrow tunnel which allowed only sound to pass through.
‘I have few more questions sir,’ Suraj begged.
‘You may ask,’ Satyanand said, ‘I want to hear your voice.’
‘Are the Europeans more innovative than the Mughals?’
‘Why don’t you try to explore this yourself?’ the Monk suggested, ‘you have been a vital part of the Mughal military and used all their weapons. You are acquainted with their tricks. You have also spent time with Portuguese and tried their weapons. What do you think?’
‘Portuguese have a much better fleet,’ he replied, ‘and they have much more varieties of modern weapons. Even Akbar has tried to acquire those weapons from them in the past, without success.’
‘That means Mughals are aware that there are better weapons and have tried to get them from the Portuguese,’ Satyanand commented, ‘but they have never tried to develop themselves. They came to India from Afghanistan as there is way through roads. Their ships can sail in the rivers and have limited access to the sea. On the other hand, Portuguese have travelled the oceans to make business here and started making colonies. Mughal Empire is expected to remain stable for years to come. They will spend most of their time in luxury rather than innovation. On the other hand, these Portuguese and other European countries will stay miles ahead of Mughals in innovation. They will call the shots in coming centuries.’
It was already late night. There was no clock. There was no external link to indicate time. The prison attendants came in the evening, to serve food. That was the only indicator of time. Satyanand needed rest so that he could get up again in the early morning and start his rituals like meditation.
This honeymoon didn’t last long. One evening after dinner Satyanand told through the tunnel, ‘Tomorrow is my last day.’
‘Thank God,’ Suraj expressed his satisfaction, ‘finally they are letting you free from the prison.’
Satyanand laughed loudly, ‘Yes, ultimately they are letting me free not only from the prison,
but from the body as well.’
Suraj took a long pause. Death is not something to be feared about by a warrior. He had seen many deaths in his life. He had killed many during various wars he fought. He had never felt any sympathy for the enemy whom he had killed. Tonight it was different. He felt his soul was about to leave the body. He was always been a devotee of God, although he had never thought that he could see Him. But he had felt the presence of God in Satyanand, who gave a meaning to his life.
‘Are you alright?’ Satyanand enquired from his cell through the narrow hole in the wall.
‘I am not sir,’ Suraj replied, ‘I can’t believe my ears. How can everything end like this?’
‘End? Whose end?’ the monk replied, ‘this is not going to be my end. You know this.’
‘I know they can’t kill your soul. But this is a quote from religious book to console others. I am not convinced.’
‘Don’t forget that you and Saira’s journey together will last at least for seven lives,’ Satyanand reiterated, ‘so be sure that we will meet again somewhere.’
‘I have a doubt and thinking of asking you since long,’ Suraj looked hesitant.
‘If you don’t ask me now you may have to wait long to find the answer,’ Satyanand laughed.
‘There should be a reason behind remembering the past lives for so many births,’ Suraj asked.
‘I believe this is against the law of nature,’ Satyanand admitted, ‘memory comes to an end with death of a person. Some people can remember the events of their past lives. I think the memory never dies with destruction of the physical body. It is stored somewhere in your soul, and some people like me are able to retrieve that memory with strong will power. I don’t know exactly where it is stored. I am always curious to explore so many unanswered queries. My curiosity has led me to continue my studies. I became a monk so that I don’t have to spend my productive years in worldly life like earning money to support the family etc. I got lots of free time to do what I want. Then I realised that this research will not be finished in years or even decades. Even one life is short for this. If I have to follow up some souls, their multiple births, multiple deaths, I need hundreds of years for that. That means I also have to go through those phases like multiple births and several deaths.’
‘I have another small question,’ Suraj begged, ‘Is there a life between death and birth?’
‘There is a parallel world between death and next birth,’ Satyanand convincingly said, ‘but I will let you know more when time comes.’
‘When that day will come? Do you expect to be spared from the gallows?’
‘You are still behaving like a child,’ Satyanand laughed, ‘gallows can’t kill my soul you know. It will help me to spend and explore the parallel world between death and next birth. It will certainly help me to obtain another new body.’
Suraj looked convinced and also composed now, ‘All these years I was thinking that you are another monk who is travelling the path of spirituality. Now I realise that you have a much greater goal and am glad that I will be your team mate for hundreds of years.’
Satyanand smiled indicating his assertion that yes Suraj would be part of his team. Then he casually asked, ‘By the way, what is the purpose of your life?’
Suraj looked blank. He started after a thoughtful pause, ‘Now my goal is to escape the gallows, leave this prison somehow, and be reunited with Saira and my baby boy. I don’t know how, but I am confident of a miracle.’
Satyanand smiled, ‘What was your goal before?’
‘When I started my career as a soldier with my father’s teaching, I was dreaming of getting the attention of the Emperor and becoming a Governor of some state. That dream was shattered when my father Purujit was assassinated. My goal suddenly changed. I strived for getting justice. That desire was converted to avenge.’
‘But the main culprit Sher Afghan is gone now!’ Satyanand replied with a smile.
‘Yes,’ Suraj said, ‘but what about my so called father-in-law and brother-in-law?’
‘So you believe them guilty.’
‘Yes.’
‘It might have been possible that they might have gotten the orders from higher authorities, and they just executed the orders.’ Satyanand tried to explain the actions of Ashfaq Khan and Ayaaz.
‘I admit they might have gotten orders,’ Suraj argued, ‘but they should have verified the allegation before executing the orders.’
‘All right, I will ask you a question,’ Satyanand reiterated, ‘your father Purujit has also executed the orders of the Emperor and eliminated many rebels. Most of the time many people had been eliminated on the basis of just information that someone was planning for a rebel and before actual rebel took place. You have also accompanied him to some such expeditions. Has your father or you ever thought of verifying the claim before attacking the so called rebel? It might have been possible that the allegation was unsubstantiated, or someone made a malice allegation to get rid of the victim. Didn’t Ashfaq and Ayaaz do the same thing? You are thinking that they killed your father because you married his daughter against his wishes. That may just be a coincidence! They have done exactly the same thing what you and your father have done in some cases.’
Suraj looked convinced. He thought for a while and said, ‘You are right sir. All those actions are done on the instructions of the Emperor. In that case, I will not make Ashfaq or Ayaaz guilty before verifying the facts. But my target will be the Emperor.’
Satyanand didn’t smile this time. He just laughed loudly.
Suraj looked puzzled, ‘Did I say something stupid?’
‘I know you are capable of targeting the Emperor for achieving your goal of revenge,’ Satyanand opined, ‘and it is not impossible though difficult. Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume you are the ruler of a state; an independent ruler or even an Emperor. You have a massive army, an organizational system and also have spies to send you information about your opponents. You know that the information is essential for your survival as an emperor or a king. One day you get information that someone is planning for a rebel. What will you do?’
‘I will send forces to nab the culprit immediately,’ Suraj replied, ‘or even eliminate the culprit.’
‘Can’t you wait for verifying the claim?’ Satyanand asked.
‘Ideally verification should be done before reaching at a conclusion,’ Suraj agreed, ‘but most of the times immediate action becomes inevitable. The more you wait to take action against an alleged rebel, the more difficult it becomes to suppress the rebellion. Because each rebel also runs a spy network before planning insurgent movement. If you waste time in finding out the truth of the information, you may lose the war itself.’
‘My guess is that is exactly what has been done in case of your father or even in your case,’ Satyanand concluded, ‘often people can see one side view of the incidents, but you are lucky to view from both sides. You should consider yourself lucky that you got this knowledge through experience. It is unfortunate that the experience is a tragic one.’
Suraj didn’t say anything. As the pause became longer Satyanand asked from the other side of the narrow tunnel, ‘Are you all right Suraj?’
‘Yes I am,’ he replied, ‘I am just thinking what I will do with this valuable knowledge. Should I wait for the gallows and utilise the knowledge if I become a ruler in my next birth? I will have a regret: in spite of getting proper education I didn’t set any worthwhile purpose for my life.’
‘You are too young to die my son,’ Satyanand said from the other side, ‘you should strive to escape from here.’
A glimpse of hope appeared on the face of Suraj, ‘Sir I am sure you can explore the future and certainly know what lies ahead of me. Will you please …’
Satyanand interrupted, ‘If I know the future, I would have warned you of the dangers coming when I met you in the Island of Chilika Lake. And I could have saved my life too. I am not keen to die on the gallows. I was expecting
a natural death in ripe old age as a smooth transition to my next life. That didn’t come to me. You can plan for the future, but you can’t predict the future.’
‘I am genuinely keen to escape from here,’ Suraj expressed his desire.
‘Sometimes life gives you clues to achieve what you otherwise think is impossible,’ Satyanand disclosed, ‘you should be vigilant to notice that. Also, you should know how and when to use the clue. You have mentioned once that you could escape to a jungle near the prison and no guard could notice you.’
‘Yes,’ Suraj said.
‘Do you think the prison guards in Mughal Empire are so relaxed that they can’t notice the escaping of a high profile prisoner waiting for the death sentence? You escaped to a jungle and saw your father there!’
‘Yes I saw my father,’ Suraj said, ‘and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He doesn’t have a twin brother. The only explanation possible is that his assassination news is wrong.’
‘And you saw a duplicate copy of yourself too.’ Satyanand said, ‘though you are sure that you don’t have a brother.’
‘Yes I saw someone who exactly resembled with me.’ Suraj confirmed.
‘Are you sure this is not a dream?’ Satyanand asked.
‘Whatever I saw was so perfect,’ he confirmed, ‘it can’t be a dream. I have experienced so many dreams in my life. I forget most of them following morning. This time it was unusual. My father was teaching tree climbing to the duplicate Suraj. I am not proficient in tree climbing. I remember I had a plan to learn this skill from none other than my father. Now I feel so confident that if I am actually asked to climb a tree, I can do it easily. When I came back into my cell, I was tired and closed my eyes for some time. Then I found myself sitting cross legged on the floor.’
‘I don’t know exactly what happened,’ Satyanand said, ‘but I am sure there is no jungle near this prison. One side wall of this prison is facing river Yamuna. Yes, if you travel in the river you may come across some Jungle. Did you see any river when you escaped out of the prison?’
‘No,’ he admitted.
‘I have arrived at some conclusion after getting all the facts from you.’ Satyanand said in a decisive tone.
‘What is that?’
‘You have never been outside the prison, and you were also not dreaming. You were in meditation and without knowing drifted into deep meditation. It is possible you met your father’s soul who was eager to teach you something which is sometimes tremendously vital for survival. The replica of you whom you saw is none other than yourself. You learnt and practised climbing a tree which you wanted to learn from your father. When your lesson was over, you again came back to your prison cell and found yourself sitting cross legged on the floor. The only reason the doors of your cell and the prison gate were open for you is that your physical body never went out of your cell. How can the guards notice your escape when your body didn’t actually go out? And one last argument: if indeed you went out physically, a person smart like you shouldn’t miss the chance. You should have gone in hiding and never came back to the prison cell.’
Suraj didn’t reply. He didn’t have any point to challenge the argument of the monk. He changed the subject.
‘Sir, I must admit I love Saira more than my life,’ he started another topic, ‘and you have blessed us to be together for at least seven lives. Can I safely assume that if I don’t survive in my attempt for escaping, I still have a chance to meet her in my next life? Also, how long the soul will take to get reborn after death of a body?’
‘Your question is quite difficult,’ Satyanand replied, ‘I would suggest being positive. Never assume that you are meeting death in an attempt to escape. I would recommend, always dream even when you are awake that you are being reunited with Saira. Also, you both should keep imagining that you are meeting again in your next life and recognising each other with full recognition of your past lives. It is possible that, by the time, the Mahashakti (Infinite Intelligence) reunites you she might have already become someone else’s spouse, and you might have also become someone’s spouse. If you truly love her, you will never feel embarrassed in that situation. About your last question: how long your soul will take to reborn. I have seen souls wandering for hundreds of years before getting another body. My research is still incomplete in this field. One thing I believe, your imagination and strong desire will guide you to the right womb at the right time.’
‘One last advice Suraj,’ Satyanand started again.
‘I am always blessed by your advices sir,’ Suraj said in a depressed tone, ‘please bless me again.’
‘If you are lucky to escape from here,’ Satyanand continued, ‘which I am sure you can do, please go to Goa. Try to learn as much possible about the western countries especially their technologies. During my stay in Goa, I felt that they are technologically much advanced than us. Your shipping business is an enormous advantage for your learning. If possible use your ships to transport goods to other European countries like England, Holland and France. These countries have the potential to come to India and give a tough time to the Mughals. You will get the opportunity to study their political system and more importantly their military system. I have heard they have so many modern weapons which will look like magic to Mughals.’
‘Your advices are all vital to me sir,’ Suraj said humbly to the monk, ‘I have a small doubt. You hate Mughals because they are foreigners. Then how should we support the western powers who are also foreigners?’
‘I will support India being ruled by Indians,’ Satyanand clarified, ‘you do not need a better army to conquer an empire. You need a high level of innovative brain. You are worried that you have not set any positive goals for your life. Whatever goals you have set became worthless after sometime. You dreamt of becoming closer to the Emperor Akbar and become a Governor. That goal was shattered when your father was termed as a rebel suspect and was killed. You then made another goal to expose Sher Afghan to the Mughal Emperor and establish yourself clean. He was killed by the Mughal forces, and you were imprisoned on the same charges which should have been against Sher Afghan. Practically all your life goals have been shattered. If you think this life as the beginning and end of your existence, then almost half of your life is already gone. But if you are convinced you will continue to live with full past memories for at least seven lives, then your life is long enough to consider this life as an early childhood. Like any child, you should spend this time in studying, and that is exactly what I am advising. I have no particular sympathy towards the western countries. But I know you need an advanced knowledge which is not available locally.’
‘I am now convinced sir,’ Suraj said finally before both decided to stop the conversation and go to bed.
Next morning was remarkably refreshing. Suraj got up from a goodnight’s sleep with fully recharged. He became optimist. He was not afraid of death anymore.
The morning breakfast was delicious. After long he got such a delicious food. Another guard came and gave him some new clothes. He was surprised. The guard ordered him to wear the new clothes after taking bath. This was another surprise. He didn’t ask. He knew there would be no response from them. The launch was also extremely palatable. This time it was Mughlai Biryani; one of the tastiest dishes believed to have been invented by food loving Mughals. At around early afternoon, the guard came, opened the door of his cell and ordered to go to the assembly area. Suraj didn’t ask, but the guard told him the reason: the Emperor Jahangir was in prison for some special occasion. Now he understood why the prisoners have been served with delicious food. He wanted to talk to Satyanand but didn’t get time.
The assembly area was a wide open field with a high boundary prison wall on one side and prison cells on other sides. There were few trees and an expansive lawn of grasses and weeds. It seemed that the lawn had been cleaned in a short notice, to organise an event. There was a stage on one side, and it was covered with clothes. Suraj looked at the crowd of prisoners and guards. H
e didn’t find a single familiar face. He tried to find Satyanand. He had not seen him since long after they both met in Chilika Lake. He searched him amongst the crowd but failed to locate him. He tried to stand on the side of a makeshift corridor with a red Persian carpet on the floor. Definitely the Emperor would walk on it to the stage. He asked other fellow prisoners. Nobody was clear what was happening. Someone told the Emperor was here to let some convicts free on some auspicious occasion. Another told that there might be mass execution of convicts who dared to challenge the Empire. Suraj was not comfortable with this guess. He was never a rebel, but was accused of helping rebel. His father had been a victim without even dreaming of being a rebel. He stopped speculating and just watched the drama without any interest.
It didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. Slogans by prison guards and soldiers indicated that the Emperor Jahangir was arriving. Soldiers stood on line on both sides of the red carpet to create an armed human wall as the Emperor walked slowly towards the stage. He stood on the stage and waved his hands. All of a sudden the noise stopped to a pin drop silence. A specially designed gallows were unveiled on the stage. The soldiers brought a chained convict. The man was walking confidently with his heads high and a smile on his face. It seemed some drama was being staged with the Emperor, chained convict and the soldiers, as the actors. All other convicts gathered to watch the show were the audience. Suraj looked at the chained convict. He couldn’t see his face properly because of the spot he was standing. But he quickly recognised the way he was walking. He was none other than Satyanand. He didn’t believe his eyes that his most admired personality’s life would come to an end suddenly, unless he genuinely believed that they would meet again in the next life.
The heavy voice of the Emperor roared, ‘Hello monk! Do you now realise the result of opposing an Emperor? Are you now afraid of the gallows?’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Emperor, you are afraid of death, not I. You are here in person to ensure that I will actually be killed. This shows how much stress you are passing through. The Emperor of this vast and powerful Mughal Empire can’t ensure that his soldiers will carry out his orders. This shows your weakness.’
Jahangir laughed loudly and asked, ‘You predicted the Empire will go down. You can’t even predict your own destiny! How dare you predict the future of the Empire and give false hopes to rebels?’
‘I predicted correctly Emperor!’ Satyanand replied with equal loud voice, ‘but your brain is so week that you didn’t understand what I said. Remember that I am not an astrologer and have never claimed to predict the future. I just warned you that the way Mughal Empire is operating, one day the Western powers will take over. I am not loyal to any Western power. I just dreamed that you will learn something from them and provide better governance to the people. But you didn’t understand. I also didn’t realise that son of Akbar has such a poor underdeveloped brain.’
‘Shut up monk,’ Jahangir ordered. How could an Emperor tolerate such an insult in front of so many people?
Suraj felt helpless. He couldn’t even help the man whom he regarded as equivalent to a god. He closed his eyes and prayed God that each word of the monk comes true. Then he opened his eyes and looked at the sky as if God would appear from the air and do something to protect Satyanand. God didn’t appear. What appeared was an unusual red coloured sky. He didn’t believe his eyes. He was stressed, and thought that he was visualising weird things as he saw his father and his own replica. After some time, he realised that everyone else was also looking at the sky and giving remarks about the red coloured sky. Even the Emperor Jahangir was looking at the red sky with suspicion and fear. Satyanand was also looking at the sky with a smile on his face.
Jahangir turned towards the prison guards and ordered to execute the monk as soon as possible. Guards covered Satyanand’s face and pulled him towards the gallows holding his arms. Satyanand shouted loudly, ‘Jahangir you are a fool. You can’t kill me. I will again come back to haunt the Mughal Empire. And keep in mind, white Europeans one day will grab the Mughal Empire.’
By the time he finished, there was humongous uproar. It seemed as if an entire ocean came roaring towards them. Jahangir shouted, ‘Don’t waste time. Hang him immediately.’
Soon the suspense of Red coloured sky and roaring sound unveiled. A fierce sand storm was approaching. Convicts and armed guards ran here and there to protect themselves. Suraj didn’t want to go. Rather he slowly moved towards the prison wall. The soldiers who stood as a human wall on both sides of the red carpet stood still looking nervously at the sky. It seemed the wrath of the Emperor was more dangerous than the anger of the nature.
Suraj stood below a tree adjacent to the prison wall. He quickly jumped onto the tree and climbed like an expert and rose to a height above the prison wall. To his surprise he found Satyanand’s information was accurate. The river Yamuna was flowing exactly opposite to the prison wall. He looked at the gallows expecting some miracle would happen, and Satyanand’s life would be saved. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Satyanand’s body was hanging from the noose. Jahangir was running to his safety from the storm. All guards and soldiers also started running in. Suraj saluted the body of the monk with folded hands and jumped into Yamuna.
He was a terrific swimmer. Monsoon was over, so there was no flood in the river. It was difficult for him to keep the head over the water as sands were hurting. He tried to go as far as from the prison wall. He was afraid that once the storm was over prison guards would be aware of his escape. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to find him out in the river. He was clearly not the first inmate who escaped using the tree and river. He was an optimist. He imagined, Satyanand was helping him. He felt abundant energy in his body and mind. Satyanand often talked of infinite energy. He felt as if he had been connected with the source of boundless power and forcefully propelled his body in Yamuna. The love of Saira and his little boy Puru pulled him. He swam in underwater as long as possible and sometimes raised the head to get a grasp of air. After some time, the sand storm stopped, but heavy rain came. He thanked God. As long as the climate remained like this Mughal guards would not find him.
As the rain started to slow down and the sky started clearing, he saw the faint sunray of dusk covering the water. Now was time to come out of water before the darkness came. There were ferries and ships plying in the river. But there was also risk. If someone doubted that he had escaped from the prison, he might have been handed over in anticipation of reward. Fortunately he was not in prison uniform. All the convicts were allowed to wear normal clothes in view of the presence of the Emperor.
He decided to take the risk and approach some ferry. He located a ship and started swimming towards her. It looked like a vessel containing merchandise and was large enough to travel even in an ocean. He shouted at the top of the voice and waved his hands so that someone could spot him. He was right. Someone noticed him. The ship slowed down, and a man threw a rope towards him. Soon Suraj found himself on board of the ship just before darkness descended. He was tired but was composed.
The man guided him to a cabin and gave him clean clothes to wear. He changed his clothes and planned a story for the ship captain. He would tell them that he was experienced in working in the ship and beg to get a job. This would be a careful plan to hide inside the ship and travel to a far off place. He came to the brightly lit hallway planning his story. It was difficult to imagine a story as to how he fell in the river. Suddenly a tall, fair and well built man came from the other side. He was well dressed like a warrior, with a sword hanging from his left waist and a pistol hanging from the left waist.
Suraj looked at him, and his plans for a story vanished immediately. He was Ayaaz. For some time, he felt as if he fell from the frying pan to the fire. He looked around to find out by chance he could lay his hands on any weapon. Either he would kill Ayaaz or would be killed by him. He was looking fierce like a wounded lion.
Ayaaz took out the sword in one hand and the
gun on another. Before Suraj could realise anything he threw both of them on the floor close to Suraj, ‘Now they are yours Suraj,’ he told calmly, ‘you can kill me now.’
Suraj was surprised. ‘Is this a mischievous way to intimidate me before killing?’ he thought.
He didn’t pick either the sword or the gun. He looked straight into the eyes of Ayaaz. His eyes were not threatening. Both knew each other since childhood. It seemed as if he was undergoing some trauma and was in need of psychological support. Suraj slowly came towards him and opened his arms. Ayaaz quickly came into his arms, and both were locked up in a long tight hug. Tears started pouring from Ayaaz’s eyes. He was muttering incoherently, ‘This ship and I both belong to you. We have named this ship ‘Yamuna Nagin’ but this name has not been displayed to avoid scrutiny by Mughal spies.’
The Mount Everest between two friends melted in minutes. Suraj was hungry. Both friends sat together for a sumptuous dinner. The ship was moving forward tearing the blue waters of Yamuna. Both friends sat together in Ayaaz’s cabin, which overlooked the waters of the river through a window.
Ayaaz started.
‘The order came from the top at around midnight,’ he recollected, ‘and we were not actually told what it was. There were soldiers and their commanders. We were not even allowed to ask what is all this. My father and I knew all the details of Chandra Mahal. As we both were with the soldiers, your father’s security guards didn’t doubt and didn’t try to stop them. That was the only reason why we both were chosen to accompany the operation. What happened next was just in our presence and against our will. It is true my father was not happy with Saira’s decision to marry you. I was also not happy. We could have accepted this after some time. But the events didn’t let us resolve. Even we didn’t dare to maintain relations with you. We were afraid to be branded traitors. All this was plan of Sher Afghan. Kareem didn’t keep any communication with us. My father fell ill after that. He never recovered from his illness till his death. His wish was to meet you and Saira and bless you both. That remained unfulfilled.’
‘Did you meet Saira?’ Suraj asked.
‘Yes,’ Ayaaz answered, ‘I took her to Goa. She is managing your shipping business there. It was beyond my imagination that a woman can run a business so successfully and take it to such heights. Your ships are now sailing to European countries. Kareem has gone to England to transact business with some prominent business people there. You came at a right time. This ship will halt at Hooghly and then move into Bay of Bengal. We are going to Goa.’
Suraj’s body language changed to reflect immense joy. Satyanand’s body might not yet have been cremated. His last advice to him was still ringing in his ears, ‘Go to European countries and understand their system.’
Suraj came back again to his old self.
‘I am happy today. I never imagined this situation even today morning. I don’t know how I will thank Satyanand. He was like a God-sent to me. You know Ayaaz I have set many goals for my life. And each of my goals has failed till now. There was a time, when I was dreaming of climbing the career ladder in Mughal Empire. I aspired to become a Governor of some province. That dream was shattered when Mughal government instructed the elimination of my father. Then I set another goal for me. That was to prove his innocence and punish you and your father. How wrong I was? Then I targeted Sher Afghan. I was trying to find out, whether his wife Mehr-un-Nisaa and Anarkali both are one individual. Till now I strongly believe there is a link between the downfall of my father and the story of Anarkali. I tried to expose Sher Afghan and rewarded by Mughals for my loyalty. See how fate betrayed me. He was eliminated, but my letter to Mughal court vanished somewhere. I was sent to prison as an accomplice to a rebel.’
Both friends were talking throughout the night. The darkness of the night was slowly fading away. They walked together to the deck to welcome the lovely sunlight of the dawn.
‘Do you have any idea whether Anarkali changed her name to Mehr-un-Nisaa before marrying Sher Afghan? I have always been thinking that this will give me some clue about the plot to eliminate my father. You know Emperor Akbar ordered to bury Anarkali alive. There is another gossip that she escaped through a tunnel. Whether Akbar himself allowed her escape or it was facilitated by my father without Akbar’s knowledge, is a mystery. Then Mehr appeared from nowhere, and she was also in love with Crown Prince Saleem (now Emperor Jahangir). Akbar didn’t appreciate this relationship and organised her marriage with Sher Afghan. This must be the cause of tension between Emperor Jahangir and Sher Afghan. Saira and her mother spent few months in Lahore to find out the truth. They met so many people. But they didn’t find any evidence that Anarkali and Mehr, both are different name of one individual.’
‘Are you still expecting to approach Jahangir to get justice?’ Ayaaz asked.
‘No,’ Suraj replied, ‘I have escaped from his prison. If I approach him, I will be again thrown into some prison without any trial. I don’t want that.’
‘Your decision is right,’ Ayaaz complimented, ‘you have no future in the Mughal Empire. Kareem and I have also decided to settle in Goa. I am sure you will support your wife’s decision to settle in Goa.’
‘That’s correct,’ Suraj admitted.
Ayaaz started again, ‘As per my knowledge Sher Afghan is behind the elimination of your father. Mehr was taken to the harem of Jahangir after Sher Afghan’s death. You are right she was the cause of tension between Jahangir and her husband; Sher Afghan. Subsequently Jahangir married Mehr. She is now known as Nur Jehan, which means Light of the World.’
‘So are Nur Jehan, Mehr-Un-Nisaa and Anarkali are all one person?’
‘I don’t know,’ Ayaaz answered.
Suraj looked at the reflection of morning sunlight on the blue waters of Yamuna. ‘Yamuna Nagin’ steadily moved ahead on its way to Goa.
– THE END –
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The Prison
Finally, the day arrived when he expected to see some light. Four guards came to take him out of the ship. He didn’t know which city he had been taken. Hopefully this was his dearest Agra. He knew guards would not answer his question. No problem, he could see for himself. His dreams shattered when his eyes were covered with a black cloth. He silently tolerated. Finally, he was taken out. He smelled the air. Definitely it was not Agra, and there was no daylight too. He could hear the singing of all the night birds and insects. He was taken to a horse carriage and driven to some unknown location. Suraj’s eyes were kept blindfolded. But his ears were alert. After travelling some time, he could hear the sound on the road, the sound of many other horse carriages. He was sure they were going through the busy area of some city, and the time was evening. He guessed that the city was Delhi.
As expected he was taken inside a fort like structure; a prison. When his blindfold was removed he found himself in a small cell. After long he saw some light coming out of a small opening near the ceiling. He checked the cell; that was the only outlet for light and air. It was almost at a height of two feet from his head. The door was of solid steel. Suraj had seen many prisons before, not as a prisoner but as the son of a ruler. Usually extremely dangerous prisoners were kept in such cells having solid steel doors and virtually no outlet to the outside world.
That night he ate well and slept peacefully. Shortly he would be produced for a trial of his case. That was the tradition of Mughal administration. He could prove his innocence. After all, he was never a rebel. He was the one who actually informed Mughal top leadership about the plans of Sher Afghan.
Days and nights passed. He didn’t find any evidence of taking him for a hearing. He tried to ask the attendants when they brought him food. Most of the time, he didn’t get any reply. After long, one attendant told him that this was the prison meant for people who had already completed judicial process. They were either serving their life in prison or waiting for the death sentence to be carried out. In short, they had lost all avenues for another appeal.
Suraj at first didn’t believe what the attendant said, but couldn’t sleep. He thought it was just another negative thinking which would gradually vanish from his mind. It didn’t. He wished the attendant was naive and didn’t know the truth. He planned to ask some other attendant to find out what was the fact. He didn’t dare to do that. He was afraid to get the similar reply: only convicted criminals were housed in this prison and many were on death row. He had never been communicated what his crime was and what punishment had been decided for him.
He tried, in vain, to sleep, but couldn’t. He was not afraid of death. He was afraid of uncertainty. He considered such death as cowardly. How can a Rajput fighter like him welcome death without fighting? He tried to soothe his mind. He started to think about the gratifying moments he had spent with Saira and also Satyanand.
His sleeplessness was temporary. After few days, he accepted his fate and became normal. The Mughals wanted to give the death penalty to him. How foolish? They didn’t understand the death penalty would actually free him. Satyanand had blessed him to have at least seven lives with Saira. As long as he was in this body, he would be identified by the Mughals as the son of Purujit, whom they punished against the false accusation that he was a traitor. He would be treated as an accomplice of Sher Afghan, another rebel who was just killed. It was possible that his letter to the Mughal administration describing his position vs. Sher Afghan had never reached them. They misunderstood him and awarded severe most sentences without even giving him a chance to defend himself. The Emperor was all powerful and could take any decision: fair or unfair. No one could question him.
For few days, all these kept Suraj disturbed. But once he accepted the fate as it was, he was at peace with himself. Yes, the memory of his infant boy flashed before him from time to time. That didn’t stop him from his fantasy. When he started fantasising, he felt remarkably relaxed.
Weeks, months and even years passed. He was never taken to slaughter gallows. The attendants were wrong. He had probably been given a life sentence. He was never told formally what the accusation against him was or what punishments had been decided for him. His small dark cell became the world for him for the rest of his life. Sometimes he was thinking what might have happened to Saira. One thing he was sure, Saira and her mother Nadirah both were born fighters. They rather would fight and die than surrender them to someone’s evil intentions.
The fantasies of treasured moments in his life kept him relaxed. One day he was meditating. He suddenly found himself coming out of his tiny dark cell and was standing on a long hallway. There was no watchman to stop. Have they all slept somewhere? Or they might have deserted the prison. Anything was possible. All the prisoners had been securely lodged in their own cells, and steel doors were securely locked. There was no chance for anyone to escape. This was enough reason for the guards to be comfortable and take rest.
He observed the long hallway. It was unusually long, housing hundreds of tiny cells on both sides. One side looked dark, and the other side looked quite bright. It was long since he had seen the brightness of the day. He felt thirsty, not for water, but for the daylight. He walked along the corridor. He knew the doors must be locked. His temporary freedom was limited to the big hallway. He would have to go back to his little dark cell. At least he could get some hole in the gate and steal the view of the bright light outside. He finally came to the gate. The gate was not locked. Strange! Did something terrible happen to the Mughal Emperors? This was not the time to think of them. He needed to enjoy the sunshine before coming back to his cell. He pushed the ultra heavy Iron Gate with all his might. The gate opened making way to the outside free world. He walked away. There was nobody to stop him. There were no guards. After long he came under the bright sunlight and inhaled fresh open air. He started walking without any fear. He knew he couldn’t go far in the powerful Mughal Empire. Once again he would be caught and lodged in jail. Unfortunately, the mighty Mughals couldn’t award any more punishment. He was already in the death row. They couldn’t punish him twice. This thought made him more fearless, and he walked ahead. There were hills and trees all around. ‘Is this prison located in a dense forest?’ he thought.
For a long time, he didn’t see any human being. Then he heard a human voice. He looked around. He felt people were following him. Probably, the guards could know about his escape from prison. No, there were no guards. He saw two men from a distance. Both were climbing a tree. He moved bit close hiding him behind bushes. He could see their activities clearly. The younger one was climbing the tree more slowly than the other. Both men were dressed like royal Rajput fighters like him. Swords and swivel guns were hanging from their waist. The older man was coming down to the young one and was saying something. He couldn’t clearly hear what the older man told the younger one, but from his action he understood that he was probably training him climbing a tree quickly.
‘It is fascinating,’ Suraj thought.
He had learnt many was skills from his father and could even beat him in sword fighting, shooting etc. But he lacked his father’s mastery of speedily climbing trees. Purujit often told him, ‘You may not need this skill in a normal war. But you don’t know what circumstances await you and when. If you are in a jungle and are being pursued by enemy, skills like climbing trees and mountains will give you extra edge to survive. Suraj kept that lesson pending for next time. That ‘next time’ never came. Purujit was assassinated. He was deprived of learning a vital lesson. Suraj started concentrating on them and tried to learn some skill. He tried to imagine what the elder person was instructing to the young man as he couldn’t hear them.
He gathered courage. The two men were certainly not prison guards. He looked at what he was wearing. It was not the dress for the prisoners. Surprisingly he was still wearing his normal clothes. Only difference was the clothes were dirty. He was also looking different with his unshaved
Suddenly he noticed the man’s face. He couldn’t believe himself.
‘How can this be possible?’ he thought.
The man’s face resembled with that of his father- Purujit. He felt dizziness.
‘Is my father alive?’ he asked himself.
He had never seen his father’s dead body. Was it possible that he was alive and was hiding in a jungle? Till now there was uncertainty about the death of Anarkali. He was not finding any way to solve that. Suspense was added. This time it was about his father.
‘Then who is the young man my father is giving instruction?’ he thought.
He could see the young man’s back as he was climbing the tree. Suraj kept his eyes fixed and soon encountered another surprise.
It was him.
‘There is something seriously wrong,’ he thought and watched the young person again.
Yes, it was none other than Suraj.
He never remembered that he had a twin. He scratched his head. No, he was the only son to his parents.
‘Is he another son of my father from another wife?’ He thought again. Keeping more than one wife was allowed in the society and there was no reason Purujit would have to hide that fact. Then there was the third option: that his father had a twin and his son also looked like Suraj. The young man was exactly looking like him. He was looking healthier, happy and with clean clothes.
The young man now looked at Suraj. Suraj didn’t think he should hide any more. He came out of the bush and moved towards his lookalike. He couldn’t see his father’s lookalike anymore. His lookalike walked towards him without uttering any words. Suraj could smell the perfume on his body. He was looking confident like a true Rajput warrior. Suraj couldn’t decide how to greet him. His lookalike opened his arms, so did Suraj. Both hugged each other. His grips were tight but comfortable. Gradually he felt the grips were loosening. Suraj’s eyes were closed. He couldn’t see what was happening. But he just felt that his lookalike was merging with his body. Then he felt there was no one in his arms. He opened his eyes. Neither his look alike nor his father was around. The whole event seemed unusually mysterious to him. Probably there was something wrong. Who knew whether ghosts were coming to him in the guise of himself and his father? He felt so unsafe that, for few moments, he thought prison was a safer place and started running without giving a second thought. He heard his lookalike saying to him, ‘Climb the tree to escape the prison and then swim.’
The prison gate was open as if no one had noticed it since he escaped through it. He entered the prison and closed the gate behind him. Then he ran into his tiny dark cell, closed its heavy metal door and sat down on the floor in the meditation pose. Few moments later he opened his eyes. Everything seemed normal. No one had noticed him going out. He could hear the guards moving along the corridor. Surprisingly he was not feeling exhaustion after all this running, rather he felt more energetic. He was not quite sure whether he actually went out and saw the mysterious things or he slept and saw them in his dream. It couldn’t be a dream as he found himself in a sitting position when he opened his eyes.
He recollected the last words of his lookalike, ‘Climb the tree to escape the prison and then swim.’
‘Nonsense,’ he uttered to himself, ‘the boundary walls of the prison were so high that anyone who tries to jump out would either die or be seriously injured. There must have been some obstacle on the other side of the fence. Prison guards usually spread broken glass, nails on the field to terrorise those who try to escape.’
That night he slept peacefully as usual. Towards midnight he woke up to some knocking sound. Someone was knocking on the stone wall. The stone walls were so strong that it was extraordinarily hard to get any sound from the other side. The knocking sound continued for hours. He could imagine that the prisoner on the side chamber was trying to make a tunnel. He quietly laughed, ‘Poor guy is making unnecessary effort. He doesn’t know that the hole will not take him out of the prison, rather lead to another dark cell.’ The knocking sound stopped before dawn. Again next night he heard the same noise after midnight. One thing he was sure: if guards find it after the tunnel opens in his cell, they could doubt him too. Still he kept quiet and didn’t inform the guards.
Several nights passed. The same routine continued. The digging continued regularly at past midnight. He had no idea how deep the wall between two cells was. He mentally compared it with the walls of forts. Given proper instruments, it was possible to dig tunnels even through the strongest forts. It was not possible for a prisoner like him to get hold of those sharp digging instruments. Besides, the instruments were so long that it was almost impossible to hide them in a small cell from the spying eyes of the prison attendants.
One morning he got up to see tiny pieces of rock on his floor. He looked at the wall, to find out if the tunnel had actually opened. To his surprise there was an extremely small hole, not enough for a baby mouse to move through. Suraj laughed at the irony of the man who spent weeks of unslept nights and hard effort to seek freedom. First the tunnel was so narrow and secondly it opened to another cell instead of outside the prison wall. He found one fabulous idea. He recollected his first meeting with Satyanand in the jungle, and he asked him, ‘What blessed event has happened to both of you during last two days?’
Saira could think up to ten lucky events while he was sure there was none. He started to laugh loudly but stopped abruptly. Now he was not alone. There was someone across the wall. He became aware of his presence. He started counting the lucky events.
Number one: the so called tunnel was so narrow; it could be concealed easily from the prying eyes of the guards and attendants. There was no point for digging a real tunnel for a man to escape that didn’t open up outside the prison. Probably the prisoner was unsure whether he had chosen the right way to dig his tunnel, so he intentionally decided to make it as narrow as possible to save on his efforts and also to hide it easily.
Number two: he was not alone anymore. He could spend his time gossiping with someone, could share his thoughts. He could even tell him his experience with his lookalike.
He was eager to call him through the narrow hole, but abstained. The poor guy had spent an entire night to dig the last part of the tunnel. He must have been extremely exhausted and disappointed of the unwanted result. He should get some rest.
It didn’t take long. He heard chanting of prayer from the other side. Suraj sat straight and gave attention. The sound was not particularly clear, as if, someone was chanting from a distance. Still it was soothing to his ears. He felt relaxed and listened to the chanting even though many of those words were not clear to him.
The chanting continued for hours. Then there was a long tranquil. The hole was at a height of two inches from the floor. He quietly kept his clothes near the narrow tunnel so that attendants coming to provide food would not see. In the afternoon, he decided to start conversation, ‘Hello,’ he started.
For some time, there was no response from the other side. ‘Probably the man is disappointed at the poor outcome of tunnel digging, so is exhausted.’
He came to a crawling position so that his mouth would be at the same height of the hole and started again, ‘Please don’t be disappointed because the tunnel opened in a wrong direction. You and I are both extremely lucky for this narrow tunnel. At least we both can talk to each other and avoid frustration. You will be surprised to know long ago I had met a monk who has taught me how to filter out lucky instances from the most adverse events. I will tell you about me if you accept my friendship.’
There was no answer. He still continued patiently, ‘I think you are too much worried about your conditions. You and I both are under nearly similar situation. If you talk to me, I will tell you how Satyanand has taught m
Still there was no response from that side. Suraj thought probably the man had closed his side of the tunnel fearing discovery, so now could never hear his voice. He was disappointed. Then he mixed some water with the soil that came out of digging of the tunnel, to close it from his side. Suddenly there was a voice from the other side, ‘How are you Suraj?’ the man asked.
He was surprised, ‘How do you know my name?’ he asked, ‘I don’t remember that I have told you my name so far?’
‘I got the information that you are in this cell. Then I decided to start digging the tunnel,’ the man from the other side said. ‘But I was not sure whether you have been moved to another cell. Thank God, your voice confirmed that you are still available.’
‘So did you know that you are not digging this tunnel to find freedom?’ Suraj asked.
‘Who said this tunnel was not for freedom? I got the freedom to communicate with you, to share my thoughts to you,’ the man replied.
‘That sounds philosophical,’ Suraj commented, ‘but a convenient means to cheer yourself when you can’t get real freedom. Anyway I am also happy with this freedom to communicate. At least we both can avoid some boredom. Sorry I forgot to ask your name, and I am also surprised how you knew my name.’
The man laughed loudly. Suraj was dumbstruck to hear the laugh. The voice seemed familiar. He scratched his head. His surprise didn’t last long.
‘I am Satyanand.’
Suraj couldn’t say anything for some time. It was beyond any imagination that Satyanand could be made a prisoner by Moghul authorities. As far as he knew, he had no political connections. He always remained absorbed in his spiritual life and researching of the unknown facts of life.
‘I am sorry I didn’t recognise your voice,’ he apologised, ‘though your voice was very much known to me, I could never imagine that you can be in a prison. How can you be accused of any crime?’
‘Everything is possible in this world,’ Satyanand explained, ‘circumstances led my destiny to this place.’
There was sound of unlocking of the door. Suraj quickly covered the narrow tunnel with his clothes and sat down covering it with his back. The attendant came in with the plate full of delicious food. Moghuls were extraordinarily generous in the matter of providing delicious meals to prisoners. Mughal monarchs themselves were fond of delicious, spicy foods and invested heavily on high profile cooks to research and develop new delicacies. This was another area where the Empire liked to spend liberally besides spending on weapons. They generously extended the hospitality of serving fresh and existing delicacies to their armed forces and even to high profile prisoners. In fact, cooking career was a large industry in Mughal economy and an excellent career opportunity to aspiring cooks.
Satyanand and Suraj continued their conversation for days, and he couldn’t certainly keep count of how many days passed between them.
Suraj was particularly interested in knowing how a saint like Satyanand landed in jail.
‘I was coming to meet you in Hooghly,’ Satyanand explained, ‘that was when the events took an ugly turn.’
‘I don’t understand why I am being taken as a traitor,’ Suraj interfered, ‘I have clearly written a letter informing the Emperor the evil intentions of Sher Afghan. I also suggested that I would behave as a trusted person to him so that I can understand his moves.’
‘How many days after your sending the letter did the fight happen between Sher Afghan and Qutbuddin?’ Satyanand asked.
‘I guess just two or three days,’ he replied.
‘Do you think your letter might have reached the Emperor during such a short period of time?’ Satyanand enquired.
‘Impossible,’ Suraj affirmed, ‘but it must have reached him after the incident. Only that letter can prove that I am innocent.’
‘I can visualise several possibilities,’ Satyanand said after a thoughtful pause.
‘Firstly, Sher Afghan had probably kept you under close observation. You might be thinking you are one of his trusted men, but he never trusted you. He was the main conspirator behind your father’s murder.’
‘How did you know?’ Suraj’s eyes started glowing with the excitement of getting additional facts and evidences about his father’s murder.
‘My source of information is the same as yours,’ Satyanand replied, ‘I reached your home the day after you were arrested. Habib, the gardener of Sher Afghan, told me about this plot. I guess he is right.’
‘Sher Afghan wanted me to convince Portuguese to help him against Mughals,’ Suraj disclosed to Satyanand, ‘but I was not in a mood to help him.’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Portuguese are not fools to help a man who was not even capable of inflicting slightest harm to the mighty Mughal Empire.’
Suraj didn’t say anything but stared at the tunnel with admiring surprise.
‘You are probably thinking how I can comment about a foreign force with so much confidence,’ Satyanand commented.
Suraj just nodded his head. Satyanand couldn’t see this from the other side of the narrow tunnel.
‘Well I have been curiously studying their actions and development since long.’ Satyanand clarified, ‘I have even been in touch with their top brass in Goa.’
‘Have you ever been to Goa?’ Suraj asked.
Satyanand replied after a pause, ‘Yes, I went there few months after you saw me in the island in Chilika Lake. I was curious to know about them. I lived there for few months and continued studying their ways.’
Suraj didn’t say anything, but his eyes indicated that he wanted to know more. Satyanand could feel this from his cell.
‘These Portuguese are not just traders,’ Satyanand commented, ‘they are in an expansion mode. They want to make the whole country their territory.’
‘I know,’ Suraj replied, ‘they are already occupying Goa, Daman and Diu. Hooghly is part of Mughal Empire for namesake only. They have so many warships in Hooghly that Mughals can’t reoccupy that city from Portuguese. Of course, they are paying enormous taxes to Mughals for using Hooghly as their base for doing business. That was the deal when Emperor Akbar gave them permission to build a city for making a trading centre. Gradually they made it their military base. Mughals are pretending not to know anything because they are afraid to confront them.’
Satyanand didn’t say anything, just smiled in affirmation.
‘One thing I don’t understand,’ Suraj continued again, ‘if Portuguese is so powerful and want to colonise the entire country, why aren’t they attacking the Mughals and occupying their empire?’
‘Because there is a strange balance of power,’ Satyanand analysed, ‘Mughals have extensive army, Portuguese lack such an army. Portuguese has modern weapons and a powerful Navy. Mughals lack all modern technological knowhow. They have tried to acquire modern weapons from Portuguese without success. The moment the balance will shift, one power will displace the other from the country.’
‘Do you think some day the balance will shift?’ Suraj asked.
‘Of course it will,’ Satyanand confidently replied, ‘someday this equilibrium will go. But it is difficult to predict when, how and in whose favour will go. Portuguese is desperately trying to find an ally. If they can get some ally, who can help them with a large army, they can take over.’
Suraj seemed to be displeased. He felt as if Satyanand is supporting a foreign power against an internal one and indicating him to support the Portuguese against the Mughals.
‘I don’t want to be another Jai Chand,’ Suraj said.
[Prithviraj Chauhan was the king of Delhi in 12th century. Jai Chand, his relative, was king of Kannauj. Prithviraj eloped with Jai Chand’s daughter Samyukta and married her against the wishes of her father. Jai Chand wanted to take revenge. As Prithviraj’s army was mightier than Jai Chand’s, the later took advantage of Muhammad Ghori of Ghazni, Afghanistan. Ghori had unsuccessfully fought several times against Prithviraj and lost all hopes to capture Delhi.
Suraj’s answer seemed to be rude. Satyanand probably didn’t expect this. He tried to keep his composure and just smiled. After a pause he started again, ‘You can’t be another Jai Chand even if you want. Jai Chand was a king. He had an army and resources which he extended to Muhammad Ghori. On the other hand, you have just your talent and knowledge. Portuguese may require several heroes like you. But what they want desperately is an Indian king or Nawab with resources. Just remember you were in Goa for a considerable period. They extremely well knew your expertise as an officer in Mughal army. Have they ever even proposed you for your help to attack Mughals?’
‘No,’ Suraj saw the light in the remarks of Satyanand. The remarks were convincing, but the voice was never offending, ‘I am sorry for my rude reply.’
‘Never worry for that,’ Satyanand assured him, ‘I knew your mental state.’
‘I may not be of any use to them,’ Suraj started again, ‘but is it not an unpatriotic action to help a foreign country to conquer our motherland?’
‘Isn’t the Mughal also an external power?’ Satyanand questioned.
‘But Mughals have adopted our country as their motherland and have virtually no relationship with the land of their origin. Logically they are no more a foreign power who is occupying our land.’
‘That is your view point,’ Satyanand replied, ‘and it depends upon from which direction you want to look at it. However, you and I are nobody to determine which force will run the country. You have never been so ambitious to dream yourself as the ruler of this country. Rather you and your father have been loyal to the Mughal rulers in spite of all the distrust and harassment by them. On the other hand, I am a monk who is travelling on the spiritual path. The purpose of my life in this birth and lives in future births is different. Yes, while travelling long distance, you sometimes notice events which affect your thoughts. It is extremely difficult to be immune from them. I developed curiosity about Portuguese and travelled to Goa to obtain firsthand information about them.’
‘Were you so impressed by them that you thought they might one day rule over the country?’ Suraj asked.
‘I am just an observer,’ Satyanand said, ‘I went to observe what is happening. You don’t know, there are other players as well who are dreaming to establish colonies in this country.’
‘Who are they?’ Suraj looked surprised.
‘Portugal is just one European country,’ Satyanand explained, ‘obviously there are other European countries there, and some of them are planning to come to India for trade.’
‘Do you know who they are?’ Suraj was interested in knowing.
‘England, France and Holland,’ Satyanand said, ‘and they all are competitors of Portugal. So I guess they all will aim to colonise this country, partially or wholly.’
Suraj looked promising, ‘I got some idea.’
‘What?’
‘Have you got any idea how these countries have maintained relations among one another?’ Suraj asked.
‘They fight with one another,’ Satyanand replied.
‘That’s good,’ Suraj said with a bright smile, ‘they will spend all their energy fighting with one another and can’t conquer this country. Afghan and Mughal rulers could conquer our country because there was no unity among our rulers.’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Do you think when these European countries come here, our rulers will fight united against them?’
‘No,’ Suraj said, ‘unity is against our nature.’
‘One thing you should try to observe,’ Satyanand brought another compelling point, ‘never remain in the impression that Afghans conquered our country because of great unity among them. Don’t forget Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, father of Akbar, and occupied Delhi. Both Sher Shah Suri and Humayun were Afghans. There was infighting on both sides.’
Suraj didn’t say anything. Satyanand started again, ‘The main reason why our brave Rajput rulers succumbed to defeat in the hands of Afghans is because they lived in past glories.’
‘Our history is no doubt glorious,’ Suraj interfered, ‘and I don’t think there is any reason we shouldn’t feel proud of this.’
‘Feeling proud of your past glory and living in the past glory are two different concepts my child,’ Satyanand explained patiently, ‘the gap between the two is like the gap between sky and bottom of the ocean. Most of those who live in the past glory are not innovative. And innovation leads to progress. That is where Afghans outdid brave Indian rulers.’
Suraj did not understand the monk, ‘When there is conflict between two forces, one which is more dominant wins. Am I wrong?’
‘No, unless you think power is just muscle power.’ Satyanand replied, ‘Our kings thought the traditional weapons their ancestors were using were the best weapons for ever. They hated the idea of using cannons saying that killing enemies from a distance without face to face combat is an act of a coward. Their ancestors were not fighting after sunset. Muslim invaders attacked them after sunset and killed their soldiers. Still these rulers didn’t learn from their mistakes. They still maintained that attacking the enemy in the evening is an act of a coward. You still think Prithviraj was a hero! He defeated Mohammad Ghori several times. Every time Ghori would promise him not to strike again, and he would free him. Finally, when Ghori got a chance, he killed him. He didn’t forgive him even once. Prithviraj might have been a hero, but he was a fool. He got so many chances to kill Ghori. But he thought he will be called brave if he pardons Ghori. He missed the golden chance, not once, but several times.’
Suraj nodded in satisfying affirmation. Satyanand couldn’t see. He was in another dark cell with three feet wide wall between them and an extremely narrow tunnel which allowed only sound to pass through.
‘I have few more questions sir,’ Suraj begged.
‘You may ask,’ Satyanand said, ‘I want to hear your voice.’
‘Are the Europeans more innovative than the Mughals?’
‘Why don’t you try to explore this yourself?’ the Monk suggested, ‘you have been a vital part of the Mughal military and used all their weapons. You are acquainted with their tricks. You have also spent time with Portuguese and tried their weapons. What do you think?’
‘Portuguese have a much better fleet,’ he replied, ‘and they have much more varieties of modern weapons. Even Akbar has tried to acquire those weapons from them in the past, without success.’
‘That means Mughals are aware that there are better weapons and have tried to get them from the Portuguese,’ Satyanand commented, ‘but they have never tried to develop themselves. They came to India from Afghanistan as there is way through roads. Their ships can sail in the rivers and have limited access to the sea. On the other hand, Portuguese have travelled the oceans to make business here and started making colonies. Mughal Empire is expected to remain stable for years to come. They will spend most of their time in luxury rather than innovation. On the other hand, these Portuguese and other European countries will stay miles ahead of Mughals in innovation. They will call the shots in coming centuries.’
It was already late night. There was no clock. There was no external link to indicate time. The prison attendants came in the evening, to serve food. That was the only indicator of time. Satyanand needed rest so that he could get up again in the early morning and start his rituals like meditation.
This honeymoon didn’t last long. One evening after dinner Satyanand told through the tunnel, ‘Tomorrow is my last day.’
‘Thank God,’ Suraj expressed his satisfaction, ‘finally they are letting you free from the prison.’
Satyanand laughed loudly, ‘Yes, ultimately they are letting me free not only from the prison,
Suraj took a long pause. Death is not something to be feared about by a warrior. He had seen many deaths in his life. He had killed many during various wars he fought. He had never felt any sympathy for the enemy whom he had killed. Tonight it was different. He felt his soul was about to leave the body. He was always been a devotee of God, although he had never thought that he could see Him. But he had felt the presence of God in Satyanand, who gave a meaning to his life.
‘Are you alright?’ Satyanand enquired from his cell through the narrow hole in the wall.
‘I am not sir,’ Suraj replied, ‘I can’t believe my ears. How can everything end like this?’
‘End? Whose end?’ the monk replied, ‘this is not going to be my end. You know this.’
‘I know they can’t kill your soul. But this is a quote from religious book to console others. I am not convinced.’
‘Don’t forget that you and Saira’s journey together will last at least for seven lives,’ Satyanand reiterated, ‘so be sure that we will meet again somewhere.’
‘I have a doubt and thinking of asking you since long,’ Suraj looked hesitant.
‘If you don’t ask me now you may have to wait long to find the answer,’ Satyanand laughed.
‘There should be a reason behind remembering the past lives for so many births,’ Suraj asked.
‘I believe this is against the law of nature,’ Satyanand admitted, ‘memory comes to an end with death of a person. Some people can remember the events of their past lives. I think the memory never dies with destruction of the physical body. It is stored somewhere in your soul, and some people like me are able to retrieve that memory with strong will power. I don’t know exactly where it is stored. I am always curious to explore so many unanswered queries. My curiosity has led me to continue my studies. I became a monk so that I don’t have to spend my productive years in worldly life like earning money to support the family etc. I got lots of free time to do what I want. Then I realised that this research will not be finished in years or even decades. Even one life is short for this. If I have to follow up some souls, their multiple births, multiple deaths, I need hundreds of years for that. That means I also have to go through those phases like multiple births and several deaths.’
‘I have another small question,’ Suraj begged, ‘Is there a life between death and birth?’
‘There is a parallel world between death and next birth,’ Satyanand convincingly said, ‘but I will let you know more when time comes.’
‘When that day will come? Do you expect to be spared from the gallows?’
‘You are still behaving like a child,’ Satyanand laughed, ‘gallows can’t kill my soul you know. It will help me to spend and explore the parallel world between death and next birth. It will certainly help me to obtain another new body.’
Suraj looked convinced and also composed now, ‘All these years I was thinking that you are another monk who is travelling the path of spirituality. Now I realise that you have a much greater goal and am glad that I will be your team mate for hundreds of years.’
Satyanand smiled indicating his assertion that yes Suraj would be part of his team. Then he casually asked, ‘By the way, what is the purpose of your life?’
Suraj looked blank. He started after a thoughtful pause, ‘Now my goal is to escape the gallows, leave this prison somehow, and be reunited with Saira and my baby boy. I don’t know how, but I am confident of a miracle.’
Satyanand smiled, ‘What was your goal before?’
‘When I started my career as a soldier with my father’s teaching, I was dreaming of getting the attention of the Emperor and becoming a Governor of some state. That dream was shattered when my father Purujit was assassinated. My goal suddenly changed. I strived for getting justice. That desire was converted to avenge.’
‘But the main culprit Sher Afghan is gone now!’ Satyanand replied with a smile.
‘Yes,’ Suraj said, ‘but what about my so called father-in-law and brother-in-law?’
‘So you believe them guilty.’
‘Yes.’
‘It might have been possible that they might have gotten the orders from higher authorities, and they just executed the orders.’ Satyanand tried to explain the actions of Ashfaq Khan and Ayaaz.
‘I admit they might have gotten orders,’ Suraj argued, ‘but they should have verified the allegation before executing the orders.’
‘All right, I will ask you a question,’ Satyanand reiterated, ‘your father Purujit has also executed the orders of the Emperor and eliminated many rebels. Most of the time many people had been eliminated on the basis of just information that someone was planning for a rebel and before actual rebel took place. You have also accompanied him to some such expeditions. Has your father or you ever thought of verifying the claim before attacking the so called rebel? It might have been possible that the allegation was unsubstantiated, or someone made a malice allegation to get rid of the victim. Didn’t Ashfaq and Ayaaz do the same thing? You are thinking that they killed your father because you married his daughter against his wishes. That may just be a coincidence! They have done exactly the same thing what you and your father have done in some cases.’
Suraj looked convinced. He thought for a while and said, ‘You are right sir. All those actions are done on the instructions of the Emperor. In that case, I will not make Ashfaq or Ayaaz guilty before verifying the facts. But my target will be the Emperor.’
Satyanand didn’t smile this time. He just laughed loudly.
Suraj looked puzzled, ‘Did I say something stupid?’
‘I know you are capable of targeting the Emperor for achieving your goal of revenge,’ Satyanand opined, ‘and it is not impossible though difficult. Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume you are the ruler of a state; an independent ruler or even an Emperor. You have a massive army, an organizational system and also have spies to send you information about your opponents. You know that the information is essential for your survival as an emperor or a king. One day you get information that someone is planning for a rebel. What will you do?’
‘I will send forces to nab the culprit immediately,’ Suraj replied, ‘or even eliminate the culprit.’
‘Can’t you wait for verifying the claim?’ Satyanand asked.
‘Ideally verification should be done before reaching at a conclusion,’ Suraj agreed, ‘but most of the times immediate action becomes inevitable. The more you wait to take action against an alleged rebel, the more difficult it becomes to suppress the rebellion. Because each rebel also runs a spy network before planning insurgent movement. If you waste time in finding out the truth of the information, you may lose the war itself.’
‘My guess is that is exactly what has been done in case of your father or even in your case,’ Satyanand concluded, ‘often people can see one side view of the incidents, but you are lucky to view from both sides. You should consider yourself lucky that you got this knowledge through experience. It is unfortunate that the experience is a tragic one.’
Suraj didn’t say anything. As the pause became longer Satyanand asked from the other side of the narrow tunnel, ‘Are you all right Suraj?’
‘Yes I am,’ he replied, ‘I am just thinking what I will do with this valuable knowledge. Should I wait for the gallows and utilise the knowledge if I become a ruler in my next birth? I will have a regret: in spite of getting proper education I didn’t set any worthwhile purpose for my life.’
‘You are too young to die my son,’ Satyanand said from the other side, ‘you should strive to escape from here.’
A glimpse of hope appeared on the face of Suraj, ‘Sir I am sure you can explore the future and certainly know what lies ahead of me. Will you please …’
Satyanand interrupted, ‘If I know the future, I would have warned you of the dangers coming when I met you in the Island of Chilika Lake. And I could have saved my life too. I am not keen to die on the gallows. I was expecting
‘I am genuinely keen to escape from here,’ Suraj expressed his desire.
‘Sometimes life gives you clues to achieve what you otherwise think is impossible,’ Satyanand disclosed, ‘you should be vigilant to notice that. Also, you should know how and when to use the clue. You have mentioned once that you could escape to a jungle near the prison and no guard could notice you.’
‘Yes,’ Suraj said.
‘Do you think the prison guards in Mughal Empire are so relaxed that they can’t notice the escaping of a high profile prisoner waiting for the death sentence? You escaped to a jungle and saw your father there!’
‘Yes I saw my father,’ Suraj said, ‘and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He doesn’t have a twin brother. The only explanation possible is that his assassination news is wrong.’
‘And you saw a duplicate copy of yourself too.’ Satyanand said, ‘though you are sure that you don’t have a brother.’
‘Yes I saw someone who exactly resembled with me.’ Suraj confirmed.
‘Are you sure this is not a dream?’ Satyanand asked.
‘Whatever I saw was so perfect,’ he confirmed, ‘it can’t be a dream. I have experienced so many dreams in my life. I forget most of them following morning. This time it was unusual. My father was teaching tree climbing to the duplicate Suraj. I am not proficient in tree climbing. I remember I had a plan to learn this skill from none other than my father. Now I feel so confident that if I am actually asked to climb a tree, I can do it easily. When I came back into my cell, I was tired and closed my eyes for some time. Then I found myself sitting cross legged on the floor.’
‘I don’t know exactly what happened,’ Satyanand said, ‘but I am sure there is no jungle near this prison. One side wall of this prison is facing river Yamuna. Yes, if you travel in the river you may come across some Jungle. Did you see any river when you escaped out of the prison?’
‘No,’ he admitted.
‘I have arrived at some conclusion after getting all the facts from you.’ Satyanand said in a decisive tone.
‘What is that?’
‘You have never been outside the prison, and you were also not dreaming. You were in meditation and without knowing drifted into deep meditation. It is possible you met your father’s soul who was eager to teach you something which is sometimes tremendously vital for survival. The replica of you whom you saw is none other than yourself. You learnt and practised climbing a tree which you wanted to learn from your father. When your lesson was over, you again came back to your prison cell and found yourself sitting cross legged on the floor. The only reason the doors of your cell and the prison gate were open for you is that your physical body never went out of your cell. How can the guards notice your escape when your body didn’t actually go out? And one last argument: if indeed you went out physically, a person smart like you shouldn’t miss the chance. You should have gone in hiding and never came back to the prison cell.’
Suraj didn’t reply. He didn’t have any point to challenge the argument of the monk. He changed the subject.
‘Sir, I must admit I love Saira more than my life,’ he started another topic, ‘and you have blessed us to be together for at least seven lives. Can I safely assume that if I don’t survive in my attempt for escaping, I still have a chance to meet her in my next life? Also, how long the soul will take to get reborn after death of a body?’
‘Your question is quite difficult,’ Satyanand replied, ‘I would suggest being positive. Never assume that you are meeting death in an attempt to escape. I would recommend, always dream even when you are awake that you are being reunited with Saira. Also, you both should keep imagining that you are meeting again in your next life and recognising each other with full recognition of your past lives. It is possible that, by the time, the Mahashakti (Infinite Intelligence) reunites you she might have already become someone else’s spouse, and you might have also become someone’s spouse. If you truly love her, you will never feel embarrassed in that situation. About your last question: how long your soul will take to reborn. I have seen souls wandering for hundreds of years before getting another body. My research is still incomplete in this field. One thing I believe, your imagination and strong desire will guide you to the right womb at the right time.’
‘One last advice Suraj,’ Satyanand started again.
‘I am always blessed by your advices sir,’ Suraj said in a depressed tone, ‘please bless me again.’
‘If you are lucky to escape from here,’ Satyanand continued, ‘which I am sure you can do, please go to Goa. Try to learn as much possible about the western countries especially their technologies. During my stay in Goa, I felt that they are technologically much advanced than us. Your shipping business is an enormous advantage for your learning. If possible use your ships to transport goods to other European countries like England, Holland and France. These countries have the potential to come to India and give a tough time to the Mughals. You will get the opportunity to study their political system and more importantly their military system. I have heard they have so many modern weapons which will look like magic to Mughals.’
‘Your advices are all vital to me sir,’ Suraj said humbly to the monk, ‘I have a small doubt. You hate Mughals because they are foreigners. Then how should we support the western powers who are also foreigners?’
‘I will support India being ruled by Indians,’ Satyanand clarified, ‘you do not need a better army to conquer an empire. You need a high level of innovative brain. You are worried that you have not set any positive goals for your life. Whatever goals you have set became worthless after sometime. You dreamt of becoming closer to the Emperor Akbar and become a Governor. That goal was shattered when your father was termed as a rebel suspect and was killed. You then made another goal to expose Sher Afghan to the Mughal Emperor and establish yourself clean. He was killed by the Mughal forces, and you were imprisoned on the same charges which should have been against Sher Afghan. Practically all your life goals have been shattered. If you think this life as the beginning and end of your existence, then almost half of your life is already gone. But if you are convinced you will continue to live with full past memories for at least seven lives, then your life is long enough to consider this life as an early childhood. Like any child, you should spend this time in studying, and that is exactly what I am advising. I have no particular sympathy towards the western countries. But I know you need an advanced knowledge which is not available locally.’
‘I am now convinced sir,’ Suraj said finally before both decided to stop the conversation and go to bed.
Next morning was remarkably refreshing. Suraj got up from a goodnight’s sleep with fully recharged. He became optimist. He was not afraid of death anymore.
The morning breakfast was delicious. After long he got such a delicious food. Another guard came and gave him some new clothes. He was surprised. The guard ordered him to wear the new clothes after taking bath. This was another surprise. He didn’t ask. He knew there would be no response from them. The launch was also extremely palatable. This time it was Mughlai Biryani; one of the tastiest dishes believed to have been invented by food loving Mughals. At around early afternoon, the guard came, opened the door of his cell and ordered to go to the assembly area. Suraj didn’t ask, but the guard told him the reason: the Emperor Jahangir was in prison for some special occasion. Now he understood why the prisoners have been served with delicious food. He wanted to talk to Satyanand but didn’t get time.
The assembly area was a wide open field with a high boundary prison wall on one side and prison cells on other sides. There were few trees and an expansive lawn of grasses and weeds. It seemed that the lawn had been cleaned in a short notice, to organise an event. There was a stage on one side, and it was covered with clothes. Suraj looked at the crowd of prisoners and guards. H
It didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. Slogans by prison guards and soldiers indicated that the Emperor Jahangir was arriving. Soldiers stood on line on both sides of the red carpet to create an armed human wall as the Emperor walked slowly towards the stage. He stood on the stage and waved his hands. All of a sudden the noise stopped to a pin drop silence. A specially designed gallows were unveiled on the stage. The soldiers brought a chained convict. The man was walking confidently with his heads high and a smile on his face. It seemed some drama was being staged with the Emperor, chained convict and the soldiers, as the actors. All other convicts gathered to watch the show were the audience. Suraj looked at the chained convict. He couldn’t see his face properly because of the spot he was standing. But he quickly recognised the way he was walking. He was none other than Satyanand. He didn’t believe his eyes that his most admired personality’s life would come to an end suddenly, unless he genuinely believed that they would meet again in the next life.
The heavy voice of the Emperor roared, ‘Hello monk! Do you now realise the result of opposing an Emperor? Are you now afraid of the gallows?’
Satyanand laughed, ‘Emperor, you are afraid of death, not I. You are here in person to ensure that I will actually be killed. This shows how much stress you are passing through. The Emperor of this vast and powerful Mughal Empire can’t ensure that his soldiers will carry out his orders. This shows your weakness.’
Jahangir laughed loudly and asked, ‘You predicted the Empire will go down. You can’t even predict your own destiny! How dare you predict the future of the Empire and give false hopes to rebels?’
‘I predicted correctly Emperor!’ Satyanand replied with equal loud voice, ‘but your brain is so week that you didn’t understand what I said. Remember that I am not an astrologer and have never claimed to predict the future. I just warned you that the way Mughal Empire is operating, one day the Western powers will take over. I am not loyal to any Western power. I just dreamed that you will learn something from them and provide better governance to the people. But you didn’t understand. I also didn’t realise that son of Akbar has such a poor underdeveloped brain.’
‘Shut up monk,’ Jahangir ordered. How could an Emperor tolerate such an insult in front of so many people?
Suraj felt helpless. He couldn’t even help the man whom he regarded as equivalent to a god. He closed his eyes and prayed God that each word of the monk comes true. Then he opened his eyes and looked at the sky as if God would appear from the air and do something to protect Satyanand. God didn’t appear. What appeared was an unusual red coloured sky. He didn’t believe his eyes. He was stressed, and thought that he was visualising weird things as he saw his father and his own replica. After some time, he realised that everyone else was also looking at the sky and giving remarks about the red coloured sky. Even the Emperor Jahangir was looking at the red sky with suspicion and fear. Satyanand was also looking at the sky with a smile on his face.
Jahangir turned towards the prison guards and ordered to execute the monk as soon as possible. Guards covered Satyanand’s face and pulled him towards the gallows holding his arms. Satyanand shouted loudly, ‘Jahangir you are a fool. You can’t kill me. I will again come back to haunt the Mughal Empire. And keep in mind, white Europeans one day will grab the Mughal Empire.’
By the time he finished, there was humongous uproar. It seemed as if an entire ocean came roaring towards them. Jahangir shouted, ‘Don’t waste time. Hang him immediately.’
Soon the suspense of Red coloured sky and roaring sound unveiled. A fierce sand storm was approaching. Convicts and armed guards ran here and there to protect themselves. Suraj didn’t want to go. Rather he slowly moved towards the prison wall. The soldiers who stood as a human wall on both sides of the red carpet stood still looking nervously at the sky. It seemed the wrath of the Emperor was more dangerous than the anger of the nature.
Suraj stood below a tree adjacent to the prison wall. He quickly jumped onto the tree and climbed like an expert and rose to a height above the prison wall. To his surprise he found Satyanand’s information was accurate. The river Yamuna was flowing exactly opposite to the prison wall. He looked at the gallows expecting some miracle would happen, and Satyanand’s life would be saved. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Satyanand’s body was hanging from the noose. Jahangir was running to his safety from the storm. All guards and soldiers also started running in. Suraj saluted the body of the monk with folded hands and jumped into Yamuna.
He was a terrific swimmer. Monsoon was over, so there was no flood in the river. It was difficult for him to keep the head over the water as sands were hurting. He tried to go as far as from the prison wall. He was afraid that once the storm was over prison guards would be aware of his escape. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to find him out in the river. He was clearly not the first inmate who escaped using the tree and river. He was an optimist. He imagined, Satyanand was helping him. He felt abundant energy in his body and mind. Satyanand often talked of infinite energy. He felt as if he had been connected with the source of boundless power and forcefully propelled his body in Yamuna. The love of Saira and his little boy Puru pulled him. He swam in underwater as long as possible and sometimes raised the head to get a grasp of air. After some time, the sand storm stopped, but heavy rain came. He thanked God. As long as the climate remained like this Mughal guards would not find him.
As the rain started to slow down and the sky started clearing, he saw the faint sunray of dusk covering the water. Now was time to come out of water before the darkness came. There were ferries and ships plying in the river. But there was also risk. If someone doubted that he had escaped from the prison, he might have been handed over in anticipation of reward. Fortunately he was not in prison uniform. All the convicts were allowed to wear normal clothes in view of the presence of the Emperor.
He decided to take the risk and approach some ferry. He located a ship and started swimming towards her. It looked like a vessel containing merchandise and was large enough to travel even in an ocean. He shouted at the top of the voice and waved his hands so that someone could spot him. He was right. Someone noticed him. The ship slowed down, and a man threw a rope towards him. Soon Suraj found himself on board of the ship just before darkness descended. He was tired but was composed.
The man guided him to a cabin and gave him clean clothes to wear. He changed his clothes and planned a story for the ship captain. He would tell them that he was experienced in working in the ship and beg to get a job. This would be a careful plan to hide inside the ship and travel to a far off place. He came to the brightly lit hallway planning his story. It was difficult to imagine a story as to how he fell in the river. Suddenly a tall, fair and well built man came from the other side. He was well dressed like a warrior, with a sword hanging from his left waist and a pistol hanging from the left waist.
Suraj looked at him, and his plans for a story vanished immediately. He was Ayaaz. For some time, he felt as if he fell from the frying pan to the fire. He looked around to find out by chance he could lay his hands on any weapon. Either he would kill Ayaaz or would be killed by him. He was looking fierce like a wounded lion.
Ayaaz took out the sword in one hand and the
Suraj was surprised. ‘Is this a mischievous way to intimidate me before killing?’ he thought.
He didn’t pick either the sword or the gun. He looked straight into the eyes of Ayaaz. His eyes were not threatening. Both knew each other since childhood. It seemed as if he was undergoing some trauma and was in need of psychological support. Suraj slowly came towards him and opened his arms. Ayaaz quickly came into his arms, and both were locked up in a long tight hug. Tears started pouring from Ayaaz’s eyes. He was muttering incoherently, ‘This ship and I both belong to you. We have named this ship ‘Yamuna Nagin’ but this name has not been displayed to avoid scrutiny by Mughal spies.’
The Mount Everest between two friends melted in minutes. Suraj was hungry. Both friends sat together for a sumptuous dinner. The ship was moving forward tearing the blue waters of Yamuna. Both friends sat together in Ayaaz’s cabin, which overlooked the waters of the river through a window.
Ayaaz started.
‘The order came from the top at around midnight,’ he recollected, ‘and we were not actually told what it was. There were soldiers and their commanders. We were not even allowed to ask what is all this. My father and I knew all the details of Chandra Mahal. As we both were with the soldiers, your father’s security guards didn’t doubt and didn’t try to stop them. That was the only reason why we both were chosen to accompany the operation. What happened next was just in our presence and against our will. It is true my father was not happy with Saira’s decision to marry you. I was also not happy. We could have accepted this after some time. But the events didn’t let us resolve. Even we didn’t dare to maintain relations with you. We were afraid to be branded traitors. All this was plan of Sher Afghan. Kareem didn’t keep any communication with us. My father fell ill after that. He never recovered from his illness till his death. His wish was to meet you and Saira and bless you both. That remained unfulfilled.’
‘Did you meet Saira?’ Suraj asked.
‘Yes,’ Ayaaz answered, ‘I took her to Goa. She is managing your shipping business there. It was beyond my imagination that a woman can run a business so successfully and take it to such heights. Your ships are now sailing to European countries. Kareem has gone to England to transact business with some prominent business people there. You came at a right time. This ship will halt at Hooghly and then move into Bay of Bengal. We are going to Goa.’
Suraj’s body language changed to reflect immense joy. Satyanand’s body might not yet have been cremated. His last advice to him was still ringing in his ears, ‘Go to European countries and understand their system.’
Suraj came back again to his old self.
‘I am happy today. I never imagined this situation even today morning. I don’t know how I will thank Satyanand. He was like a God-sent to me. You know Ayaaz I have set many goals for my life. And each of my goals has failed till now. There was a time, when I was dreaming of climbing the career ladder in Mughal Empire. I aspired to become a Governor of some province. That dream was shattered when Mughal government instructed the elimination of my father. Then I set another goal for me. That was to prove his innocence and punish you and your father. How wrong I was? Then I targeted Sher Afghan. I was trying to find out, whether his wife Mehr-un-Nisaa and Anarkali both are one individual. Till now I strongly believe there is a link between the downfall of my father and the story of Anarkali. I tried to expose Sher Afghan and rewarded by Mughals for my loyalty. See how fate betrayed me. He was eliminated, but my letter to Mughal court vanished somewhere. I was sent to prison as an accomplice to a rebel.’
Both friends were talking throughout the night. The darkness of the night was slowly fading away. They walked together to the deck to welcome the lovely sunlight of the dawn.
‘Do you have any idea whether Anarkali changed her name to Mehr-un-Nisaa before marrying Sher Afghan? I have always been thinking that this will give me some clue about the plot to eliminate my father. You know Emperor Akbar ordered to bury Anarkali alive. There is another gossip that she escaped through a tunnel. Whether Akbar himself allowed her escape or it was facilitated by my father without Akbar’s knowledge, is a mystery. Then Mehr appeared from nowhere, and she was also in love with Crown Prince Saleem (now Emperor Jahangir). Akbar didn’t appreciate this relationship and organised her marriage with Sher Afghan. This must be the cause of tension between Emperor Jahangir and Sher Afghan. Saira and her mother spent few months in Lahore to find out the truth. They met so many people. But they didn’t find any evidence that Anarkali and Mehr, both are different name of one individual.’
‘Are you still expecting to approach Jahangir to get justice?’ Ayaaz asked.
‘No,’ Suraj replied, ‘I have escaped from his prison. If I approach him, I will be again thrown into some prison without any trial. I don’t want that.’
‘Your decision is right,’ Ayaaz complimented, ‘you have no future in the Mughal Empire. Kareem and I have also decided to settle in Goa. I am sure you will support your wife’s decision to settle in Goa.’
‘That’s correct,’ Suraj admitted.
Ayaaz started again, ‘As per my knowledge Sher Afghan is behind the elimination of your father. Mehr was taken to the harem of Jahangir after Sher Afghan’s death. You are right she was the cause of tension between Jahangir and her husband; Sher Afghan. Subsequently Jahangir married Mehr. She is now known as Nur Jehan, which means Light of the World.’
‘So are Nur Jehan, Mehr-Un-Nisaa and Anarkali are all one person?’
‘I don’t know,’ Ayaaz answered.
Suraj looked at the reflection of morning sunlight on the blue waters of Yamuna. ‘Yamuna Nagin’ steadily moved ahead on its way to Goa.
– THE END –