Memories

Brihangad gazed intently at the now dark sky outside. When the sun would come out the next day, one of the most important people in his life would begin a new decade of her journey.

But Brihangad's eyes were dark and dim. There wasn't even the slightest trace of a smile on his features. In front of him, he could still see the mirthful picture of Shailadri, his youngest sister. When she had been twenty years of age, she had been a blooming bud. Unlike Mallika, she was a delicate woman. Ever since their parents had passed away, Brihangad had shouldered the duties of caring for his two little sisters-- Svetmala and Shailadri. Svetmala had been married to King Bajrabaahu, while Shailadri had chosen King Vijayadeva as her husband, who was the then leader of the Charuvanshi clan. This clan had been one of the most powerful of its kind in all of Deccan, and it's presence was more than significant.

Personally, he was a thousand times more happy with Shailadri's marriage than with Svetmala's. King Vijayadeva was not only a powerful, but also a just king. He treated his people like his kin. As a result, twenty five years back, when he had received news that his sister was expecting a child with her husband, his joy had known no bounds! They would be a complete family!

When the couple had been blessed with a baby boy, Brihangad had felt as if every single wish of his had been fulfilled. He remembered, how handsome the child looked even as a newborn, with a head of full of dark hair, and a pair of dark shining eyes. The image of that beautiful child, those moments of ecstacy, those short-lived hours of mirthfulness and laughter came pooling back to him, now that he stared blankly outside the windows.

"Tell me, elder brother," Shailadri had asked him, as he held her palm with one hand, and supported the baby's cradle with the other. "What should we name him?"

"It is upto the parents to decide what their little prince should be called," he had replied, smiling. "Brother-in-law, I admire your rich taste. Why don't you find your son a beautiful name?"

"Haha!" King Vijayadeva had burst out laughing. "However beautiful the name I give my child is, it will never be comparable to his beauty, isn't it?" He had asked, beaming at the sleeping baby. "Still, if you people insist, then, how about...umm... Kaustabh? How about naming him Kaustabh?!"

"That's a beautiful name," Brihangad had exclaimed himself. "I pray your lovely son grows to shine like the jewel you have named him after!"

"Don't worry, elder brother," Shailadri had added. "I will bring my son up to be the very manifestation of all our dreams, ideals and aspirations, into the dashing prince the Charuvanshis deserve!

Brihangad felt his chest tighten, and a heaviness descended on him. If only she had been able to bring up that child! If only that beautiful jewel hadn't been crushed even before the world could have seen it! If only ...

That stormy night, when he could do nothing, but run like a crazy person through the heaps and heaps of corpses of the Charuvanshis, shouting his sister's name, shouting little Kaustabh's name, crying out the king's name, was the worst scar he could ever have sustained.

The entire clan had been wiped out overnight. Poisoned! Poisoned with the same toxin that had been used on their army camp a few days back! And the cure? There was only one person who was aware of it. And that person was the one who had changed his life forever-- Lord Arjun.

He hadn't ever heard of this mysterious man, thanks to the fact that the latter liked to keep his identity obscure. Moreover, Lord Arjun was an ascetic, with no family ties. A few people, who collectively called themselves the Janas, were the only ones he kept by his side. As for his connections with the world-- Brihangad had soon realised that the Lord just didn't want to involve himself in the petty games that people played under the garb of being a part of a society. Lord Arjun hated hypocrisy, and he had profound indifference to what people commonly called 'desires'.

Indeed, over the course of all these years, Brihangad had seen how little Lord Arjun's attachments were! He barely wished for anything, and when he felt he wanted something, he would just go and get it. Most of his time was spent in deep meditation, during which, even the Janas avoided disturbing him. But it never happened that a problem was at hand and Lord Arjun turned a blind eye to it.

In fact, that night, when the Charuvanshi clan had been massacred, the Lord had reached there, with the means to revive the people. But unfortunately, time had betrayed him.

The air brushed past the old General, carrying the aroma of fresh bloomed blossoms.

After Shailadri's death, he had wanted to avenge her so badly, that he had made every preparation to attack Vaimadri and king Vidala. After all, it was an open secret that the massacre was entirely Vidala's doing. King Vijayadeva had previously offended him by harshly opposing his idea of forming an Alliance for a certain special purpose. Brihangad hadn't been able to decipher it at that time. Only after King Bajrabaahu ended up slaughtering the Bhanu family of the Vindhyas a few years later had he finally realised how deadly the things lurking in the shadows had been!

Back then, when he had been on the verge of attacking Vaimadri, Svetmala's letter had forced him to stop. The letter said that she was pregnant. King Bajrabaahu was the monarch of Sailam, but in his heart, he always supported King Vidala in all his decisions, even though many of them inflicted harm on his own countrymen. So if a war was to break out, was it too difficult for king Bajrabaahu to keep himself uninvolved. Brihangad had just lost one sister, he didn't want to sacrifice another for revenge.

In the depths of his heart, he bore a fire that could not be extinguished-- the fire of hatred for king Vidala. Perhaps that fire would have consumed him as well, had it not been for a little girl who had been brought back another fateful night by the late King Chandrasen, who grew to be his favourite niece, and the only 'desire' of the elusive Lord Arjun.

As his thoughts carried him from one thing to another, Brihangad heard his name being called--

"Uncle! Do you hear me?!"