It was 3’o clock in the night, Shubham was engrossed in watching episodes of his favorite historic thriller drama. Shubham often wondered how thrilling it would be to play a historic character all decked in traditional costumes, weave magic and ignite fire on screen with his acting performance. He slummed on the sofa and soon the noise of his snores was higher than the volume of the television.
A grey mist was spread everywhere, and he was travelling in this mist.
Supratik, the chief of Police and Internal Security at Ujjain, walked rapidly up to the riverside, just as the body was being fished out. The officer supervising the operation turned around and saluted his commander. The commander recognized the body of Makati, the right-hand man of Saka chief. Chandragupta-II thwarted an invasion by the Saka, a group of eastern Iranian nomadic tribes, also known as Scythians, and gained the title of Sakari, or the enemy of the Saka.
Chandragupta-2 conquered the western Indian region of Malwa after defeating the Western Kshatrapas, a branch of Sakas. Makati was an expert in changing disguise and hence was on the run from the prison after Sakas got defeated and he was arrested. He was having deep sword wounds on his body, and he must have tried to cross Kshipra River to flee Ujjain but got drowned in the process. Ujjain is situated on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River. Chandragupta-2 set up a second capital at Ujjain, the largest city in the modern state of Madhya Pradesh in Central India.
The head of Police Security Immediately informed Raja Adhiraj about this development. He called for the meeting for all security heads and gave necessary orders to beef up the security of the state. He was sure Sakas must be planning a strategy to avenge the death of Makati. He also gave instructions to cremate the body according to his rituals.
Raja Adhiraj enquired about “How the developments are going for the biggest Ujjain Fair?”
Supratik told him, “All is going well and the traders from all parts of the country are coming to take part in it and arrangements are being made to make everybody’s stay comfortable, and to make it a grand and beautiful affair. Security is tightened in all the areas and a security counter is set up right in the middle of the fair so that the public can approach us easily if they face any hurdles or difficulties.”
People from all walks of life started arriving for the fair. Some were rich traders, craftsmen, laborers, and came from far-off places just to have fun in the fair. It was a big event in the state of Ujjain; many nomadic groups came from far off places to participate in the social and cultural programs. One such group named “Katyayani” came with the highest recommendation letter from one of the queen’s sides of the family. When they were checking into the city from the outskirts Supratik was there on the security site. Five members were there in the party, and the main artisan, a woman, was so beautiful that Supratik just stood there and stared at her when she stepped out of her palki to go through security checks and to sign documents.
He was standing there mesmerized by her beauty even when they were long gone, longing to see that beauty one more time. He was lost in daydreaming when his right-hand man touched him on the shoulder.
He told Supratik, “About some unusual activities happening in the area. Locals saw some unusual movements, some fire in the jungle at night and saw some unknown faces trying to enter the state through jungle area. When they raise an alarm, they try to flee, but locals are certain one or two suspects have entered the state.”
Supratik replied, “Kasha it is a huge security lapse when such a big ten-day event is about to start. We need to find them as soon as possible and to know about their purpose for entering the city illegally.”
Day One
The fair started with a huge pomp show. There were paper garlands and paper lanterns used for decoration, rangolis were made on the corners and center, and flowers were giving a beautiful touch to the decoration. People from all levels of society came for a visit, lots of events were happening at the same time, cultural activities were going on; children were enjoying rides of swings, giant wheel, puppet show etc. Women were busy shopping for clothes, ornaments, household goods, accessories etc. Men were busily betting on horse racing, rooster fights, and card game stalls. Food stalls were set up of famous states, and a wide variety of sweets and snacks were enjoyed by all. Supratik’s men in plain clothes were mingling with the crowd like commoners to know about any unfair practices or conspiracy going on in the fair and to ensure smooth running of the fair.
Everywhere there was a festive feeling, everybody was enjoying it whether children or senior citizens. There was a special dance program by Royal dancer Amravati, a visual treat to watch, a free lunch organized by the royal family for the people. There was a painting competition organized by the royal family on day one. Everywhere there was a festive atmosphere and in the evening the city was lit with divas, candles, and lanterns. There was a beautiful Aarti celebration of lord Shiva on the banks of River Kshipra done by Raja Adhiraj Chandragupta2 himself. Ujjain was a visual treat to watch. Day one passed without any difficulty and Supratik and his men continued with their hunt.
Around 2 o’clock in the night Supratik was returning home when one of his men came calling him for an emergency. He mounted his horse and headed towards the meeting place where he was surprised to see Mohan, one of his top informants.
He told Supratik, “That an attack was being planned on Raja Adhiraj by the Sakas in the next nine days of the fair, when he was not sure, but he had already alerted his under-hand informants to gather as much information as possible. One more thing, some of their men had already entered the state by changing their disguise and identity. A detailed check needs to be done once again of all the new entrants who entered the state, or the relatives of local people paying them a visit during the fair.”
Supratik called for an emergency meeting of all his security heads and issued instructions to search for the illegal entrants in the city. I want information on them in the next twelve hours. This is a serious and delicate issue; it is a matter of life and death. I will not tolerate any kind of security lapse in the smooth running of the fair or on the security of Raja Adhiraj and no harm should come to anybody. If you see any suspicious characters run a background check and arrest them at once. In any case no harm should come to the innocent people otherwise be prepared for the consequences if any kind of mishap happens.
Day two and three passed smoothly with the usual cultural activities; there was a dance competition on day two and a poetry competition on day three. On the second day of the fair a motel owner approached the security counter and informed “Kasha that yesterday two people came to my motel and wanted accommodation for eight days. I agreed and they paid me in advance, they have some unusual big boxes with them. I noticed a strange thing. They had an identical looking Scorpion tattoo on their hand, and they were talking in some native dialect. All these things made me suspicious, so I decided to inform you.”
“That is very thoughtful of you Harridan. We will do a security check on them meanwhile I am sending my two men with you, and they will keep an eye on them very discreetly,” said Kasha.
On day three there was a special play performed by “Katyayani” group which was very much appreciated by the audience. They whistled and clapped a lot throughout the play and in the dance performance by Riana, the main lead. She looked like an Apsara and people from all age groups were mesmerized by her beauty and dance moves. Supratik was sitting in the audience in disguise and watching the performance, totally spellbound by Riana’s beauty, and imagining himself with her on stage. When the performance ended, he came out of his daydreams.
He personally wanted to meet her and congratulate her on her splendid performance. Keeping that in mind he started walking backstage when he noticed two people with their faces covered talking in hushed tones. When they noticed Supratik was coming their way, they started walking fast in another direction, their unusual behavior made him suspicious. He whistled loudly which was a code among his security men to alert each other whenever help is needed. He went after them and managed to catch one of them but before they could take him for interrogation, he consumed something from his neck pendant and was dead in minutes. Supratik was extremely disappointed, but his death confirmed the fact that some big conspiracy was being planned to disrupt the smooth running of the fair. He checks him to gain information on him when he notices a scorpion tattoo on his arm.
Suprati called for an emergency meeting with Raja Adhiraj and all his security heads. He narrated the whole incident which happened a while ago and even before the arrest he consumed poison, and there was a scorpion tattoo on his hand. This is a warning sign of a grave danger hanging on our head which we have no inkling about, but we must avert that danger at any cost.
Sometime later Kasha came and apologized for being late. Kasha told, “everybody about the other incidents which happened sometime back about suspicion of a motel owner on two men who have similar scorpion tattoos on their hand. His men were keeping an eye on them and digging up more information on them. To know about their motives of coming to the city.”
Raja Adhiraj issued orders to arrest them discreetly and to use any fair and foul way to get information from them. Supratik at any cost this conspiracy must be foiled no innocent person must come to any harm. This grand fair started on a good note. It must end similarly.
Supratik issued instructions to his men to arrest them but before that checked them thoroughly and removed any kind of jewels from their neck, hands or any kind of liquid hiding in their pockets and transferred them to the secret cell.
Their room and luggage were searched and a large amount of cyanide, arsenic and a map was recovered. A third-degree treatment was given to the men after they refuse to give any information, after ten hours of torture they break down and agreed to share their plan of conspiracy. A detailed study was done on the map which was recovered from the men and of the points which were highlighted on it. The facts which came out were astonishing because the point marks were those when Raja Adhiraj was going to be present at the fair, his seating plan and it was the day when he would be addressing the public.
The days of the fair passed quickly, and the vigilance of Supratik and his men got more stringent day by day. The public was enjoying themselves with no inkling of dread looming on their heads. The cultural events, competitions and other activities went on as planned, because if any change was made then there was a brief chance of attackers getting the hang of things and they might change their plan, which can prove to be extremely dangerous. After the inquiry with the traitors, they were sent back to the motel with twenty-four hours surveillance on their head and with a warning not to act smart and behave normally.
On the seventh day of the fair two men with the same scorpion tattoo on their hand came to meet them in their motel room. After staying for half an hour, they left the motel room with two packages. The man in plain clothes followed them from a distance.
On the eighth day Raja Adhiraj came to the fair to meet the public, he had lunch with them and took part in some fun activities with the children. Then there were cultural activities lined up by diverse groups like a play, singing, instrument playing, and puppet show, magic show, comedy show, dance performances, the last one to perform was the “Katyayani ” group. This time they are performing a play on Ramayana and Riana was playing the character of Sita.
She was depicting different shades of Sita and expressing them beautifully by her facial expressions and dance moves. Everybody was totally spellbound and magically involved in her performance, such was the beauty of her art. The scene changes and she is shown in Rudra Avatar of Goddess Durga expressing her anger towards the whole devil community. She was shown with a chakra, Trishul, bow and arrow and taking rounds while performing her dance moves. Next when she turned Royal dancer Amravati was seen dancing in the same get up instead of Riana. The change was so sudden and spectacular that it left the audience speechless for a minute. Then there was a shout of whistles and a round of applause by the audience and royal family.
Everything went so smoothly that no one will ever be able to know what a great disaster was averted by making that change. The conspiracy to kill Raja Adhiraj was just foiled by Supratik and his men. The killer was none other than Riana; she was going to kill Raja Adhiraj in the finale when she performs Rudra Avatar by using arsenic laden arrows. Her plan was foiled by superb planning done by Supratik and his team. She was arrested before the final act and tried to consume poison but stopped from doing so. She has a similar scorpion tattoo on her arm. He beheaded her the moment she was captured by his men. Raina was Makati’s wife and a member of the Saka community; she was here to take revenge for her husband’s death. Supratik thought “what a poisonous beauty” looks can be so deceptive.
Supratik alias Shubham wakes up with a jolt from his dream. What a character he played and how well he fulfilled his duties. I am so proud of myself. Only if this was a reality instead of a mirage.
A voice called his name, Shubham come out of your dreams. Again, you slept putting the television set on. Get ready for college and put your energies into your studies instead of acting.
“Your time is precious, do not waste it. A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”
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Very nicely penned