CHAPTER 7

Lord Ram’s Unfinished Task

‘You seem to be a little distracted this morning, my Lord. Are you alright?’ asked a
concerned Daksha.
‘Hmm?’ said Shiva as he looked up. ‘I’m sorry your Highness. I was a litde distracted.’
Daksha looked with a concerned expression at Kanakhala. He had seen a similar look of
despair on Sati’s face at dinner the previous night. But she had refused to say anything.
‘Do you want to meet later?’ asked Daksha.
‘Of course not, your Highness. It’s alright. My apologies. Please continue,’ said Shiva.
‘Well,’ continued a concerned Daksha, ‘we were talking about the changes that Lord Ram
brought about in society’
‘Yes,’ said Shiva, shaking his head slightly to get the disturbing image of Sati’s last plea out
of his mind.
‘The Maika system worked fantastically well. Our society boomed. Ours was always one of
the wealthiest lands on earth. But in the last one thousand two hundred years we have shot
dramatically ahead of everyone else. Meluha has become the richest and most powerful
country in the world by far. Our citizens lead ideal lives. There is no crime. People do what they
are suited for and not what an unfair social order would compel them to do. We don’t force or
fight unprovoked wars with any other country. In fact, ours has become a perfect society.’
‘Yes, your Highness,’ agreed Shiva, slowly getting into the conversation. ‘I don’t believe that
perfection can ever be achieved. It is more of a journey than a destination. But your society is
certainly a near perfect society.’
‘Why do you think we are not perfect?’ argued Parvateshwar aggressively.
‘Do you think it is perfect Parvateshwar?’ asked Shiva politely. ‘Does everything in Meluha
go exactly as Lord Ram would have mandated?’
Parvateshwar fell silent. He knew the obvious, even if he didn’t like the answer.
‘The Lord is right Parvateshwar,’ said Daksha. ‘There are always things to improve.’
‘Having said that, your Highness,’ spoke Shiva, ‘your society is wonderful. Things do seem
very well ordered. What doesn’t make sense to me then, is why you and your people are so
concerned about the future. What is the problem? Why is a Neelkanth required? I don’t see
anything that is so obviously wrong that disaster would be just a breath away. This is not like
my homeland where there are so many problems that you wouldn’t know where to begin!’
‘My Lord, a Neelkanth is needed because we are faced with challenges that we cannot
confront. We keep to ourselves and let other countries lead their lives. We trade with other
societies but we never interfere with them. We don’t allow uninvited foreigners into Meluha
beyond the frontier towns. So we think it’s only fair that other societies leave us alone to lead
our lives the way we want to.’