Shiva raised his eyebrow a bit.
Parvateshwar is the only one apologising instead of making excuses. He is a true follower of
the great king Ram’s way
Shiva smiled.
Daksha let out an audible sigh of relief.
Shiva turned towards Daksha. ‘Let us put this in the past, your Highness. Like I said, there
are some things about your nation that could be improved. No doubt about that. But it is
amongst the best societies that I have seen. And it is worth fighting for. But I have a few
conditions.’
‘Of course, my Lord,’ said Daksha, eager to please.
‘At this point of time, I am not saying that I can perform the tasks that you expect of me nor
am I saying that I cannot do it. All I am saying is that I will try my best. But before that, I want
to understand more of your society before I can be sure of how I can help. I am assuming that
nothing will be hidden from me nor will I be misled.’
‘Of course, my Lord.’
‘Secondly, you still need immigrants to expand your population. But you should not mislead
them. I think that you should tell them the entire truth about Meluha and let them make an
informed decision on whether to come here. Or you don’t invite them at all. Is that fair?’
‘Of course it is, my Lord,’ said Daksha. Nodding briefly towards Kanakhala, he committed,
‘We will implement that immediately.’
‘Furthermore, it is clear to me that I am not going back to Kashmir. Can my tribe, the
Gunas, be brought to Devagiri? I would like them to be with me.’
‘Of course, my Lord,’ said Daksha with a quick look at Kanakhala. ‘Instructions will be sent
today itself to bring them to Devagiri.’
‘Also, I would like to visit the location where you manufacture the Somras. I would like to
understand this drink of the gods. Something tells me that it is important to do so.’
‘Of course you may, my Lord,’ said Daksha, his face finally breaking into a nervous smile.
‘Kanakhala will take you there tomorrow itself. In fact, my family is also scheduled for a visit
there day after tomorrow for a puja at the Brahma temple. Perhaps we could meet there.’
‘That would be nice,’ said Shiva smiling. Then taking a deep breath he added, ‘And lastly, I
guess that you would like to announce the arrival of the Neelkanth to your people.’
Daksha and Kanakhala nodded hesitantly.
‘I would like to request that you don’t do that for now.’
Daksha and Kanakhala’s face fell immediately. Nandi’s eyes were glued to the floor. He had
stopped listening to the conversation. The enormity of his prevarication was tearing him apart.
‘Your Highness, I have a terrible feeling that when people know I am the Neelkanth, every
action and word of mine will be over-interpreted and over—analysed,’ explained Shiva. ‘I am
afraid that I don’t know enough about your society or my task to be able to handle that at this
point of time.’
‘I understand my Lord,’ said Daksha, willing a broken smile back on his face. You have my
word. Only my immediate staff, my family and the people you allow will know of the Neelkanth’s
arrival. Nobody else.’
‘Thank you, your Highness. But I will say it again: I am a simple tribal man who just
happened to get a blue throat because of some exotic medicine. Honesdy, I still don’t know
what one man like me can do in the face of the odds that you face.’
singke
(singke)
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