enormous, all embracing ocean. The mystery of the ocean’s final destination though was yet to
be unravelled.
‘What is Ram?’ enquired Shiva as he looked down at the word covering every inch of his
saffron cloth.
The three accompanying soldiers rode at a polite distance behind Shiva and Nandi. Far
enough not to overhear any conversation but close enough to move in quickly at the first sign of
trouble. It was a part of their standard Meluhan service rules.
‘Lord Ram was the emperor who established our way of life, my Lord,’ replied Nandi. ‘He
lived around one thousand two hundred years ago. He created our systems, our rules, our
ideologies, everything. His reign is known simply as ‘Ram Rajya’ or ‘the rule of Ram. The term
‘Ram Rajya’ is considered to be the gold standard of how an empire must be administered, to
create a perfect life for all its citizens. Meluha is still run according to his principles. Jai Shri
Ram.’
‘He must have been quite a man! For he truly created a paradise right here on earth.’
Shiva did not lie when he said this. He truly believed that if there was a paradise
somewhere, it couldn’t have been very different from Meluha. This was a land of abundance, of
almost ethereal perfection! It was an empire ruled by clearly codified and just laws, to which
every Meluhan was subordinated, including the emperor. The country supported a population of
nearly eight million, which without exception seemed well fed, healthy and wealthy. The average
intellect was exceptionally high. They were a slightiy serious people, but unfailingly polite and
civil. It seemed to be a flawless society where everyone knew his role and played it perfectly.
They were conscious, nay obsessive, about their duties. The simple truth hit Shiva: if the entire
society was conscious of its duties, nobody would need to fight for their individual rights. Since
everybody’s rights would be automatically taken care of through someone else’s duties. Lord
Ram was a genius!
Shiva too repeated Nandi’s cry, signifying Glory to Lord Ram. ‘Jai Shri Ram.’
Having left their horses at the government authorised crossing-house, they crossed the river
Ravi, close to Hariyupa, or the City of Hari. Shiva lingered there admiring Hariyupa at a slight
distance, while his soldiers waited just beyond his shadow, having mounted their freshly
allocated horses from the crossing-house on the other side of the Ravi. Hariyupa was a much
larger city than Srinagar and seemed grand from the outside. Shiva thought seriously about
exploring the magnificent city but that would have meant a delay in the trip to Devagiri. Next to
Hariyupa, Shiva saw a construction project being executed. A new platform was being erected
as Hariyupa had grown too populous to accommodate everyone on its existing platform.
How the hell do they raise these magnificent platforms?
Shiva made a mental note to visit the construction site on his return journey. At a distance,
Jattaa, the captain of the river crossing house, was talking to Nandi while he was about to climb
the platform to mount his fresh horse.
‘Avoid the road via Jratakgiri,’ advised Jattaa. ‘There was a terrorist attack there last night.
All the Brahmins were killed and the village temple was destroyed. The terrorists escaped as
usual before any backup soldiers could arrive.’