question?’
‘Of course, my Lord.’
‘Do you agree that honesty is required to make any friendship work? Even if it means deeply
offending your friend with the truth?’
‘Yes, of course,’ replied Daksha, wondering where Shiva was going with this.
‘Complete honesty is not just the bedrock of an individual relationship, but of any stable
society,’ interjected Parvateshwar.
‘I couldn’t agree more,’ said Shiva. ‘And yet, Meluha wasn’t honest with me.’
Nobody said anything.
Shiva continued in a courteous, but firm tone. ‘When my tribe was being invited to come to
Meluha, we had the impression you wanted immigrants because you needed people to work.
And I was happy to escape my benighted land. But now I realise that you were systematically
searching for the Neelkanth.’
Turning to Nandi, Shiva said, ‘We weren’t told that a medicine called the Somras would be
administered to us as soon as we entered. We weren’t told that the medicine would have such
effects.’
Nandi looked down with guilty eyes. His Lord had the right to be angry with him.
Turning to Daksha, Shiva continued, ‘Your Highness, you know that the Somras was
probably administered to me on my first night in Kashmir, without my knowledge.’
‘I am truly sorry about that dishonesty my Lord,’ said Daksha, with his hands in a penitent
namaste. ‘It’s something that I will always be ashamed of. But the stakes were too high for us.
And the Somras has considerably positive effects on your body. It doesn’t harm you in any
way.’
‘I know. I am not exactly upset about having to live a long and healthy life,’ said Shiva wryly.
‘Do you know that my tribe was also probably given the Somras that night? And they fell
seriously ill, perhaps because of the Somras.’
‘They were under no risk my Lord,’ said Kanakhala apologetically. ‘Some people are
predisposed towards certain diseases. When the Somras enters the body, it triggers the
immediate occurrence of these diseases, which when cured, never recur. Hence, the body
remains healthy till death. Your tribe is actually much healthier now.’
‘No doubt they are,’ said Shiva. ‘The point is not about the effects of the Somras. Both my
tribe and I are better for it. Yet, from what I understand of Meluha, getting somebody to do
something without telling him all the facts would not have been Lord Ram’s way. You should
have told us the complete truth at Mount Kailash. Then you should have let us make an
informed choice rather than you making a choice for us. We probably would still have come to
Meluha anyway but then it would have been our choice.’
‘Please forgive us the deception, my Lord,’ said Daksha, with guilty regret. ‘It is not our way
to do something like this. We pride ourselves on our honesty. But we had no choice. We are
truly sorry, my Lord. Your people are well taken care of. They are healthier than ever. They will
live long, productive lives.’
Parvateshwar finally broke his silence, speaking what was always in his heart since the
search had begun many decades ago. ‘Shiva, we are truly sorry for what has been done. You
have every right to be angry. Lying is not our way. I think what was done is appalling and Lord
Ram would have never condoned this. No matter how serious our troubles, we have no right to
deceive someone into helping us. I am deeply sorry’
singke
(singke)
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