VAISHALI-6

6

"Mr.Neel. K.V. Agnihothri...this way sir "the hostess led him to the business class section. Neel settled down in one of the lush seats and closed his eyes. 

The Ascetic's face came into his mind immediately. Who was he? Why did he always appear before some major event in his life? Is there going to be some happening in near future? Is this plane going to crash? he thought for a moment!

...And he smiled. He was never scared of death. This is something that he found very weird with himself and did not share with anyone! Thats because they would think he has gone bonkers or may be they will never believe it and think that to be a part of the sharade he concocted of being Neel - The Sauve Sofisicated and Fearless Agnihothri.

He began to remember all the times the ascetic appeared to warn him or save him from danger! What is this secret society! Some Indian version of  Ku klux clan!

As the plane took off his thoughts took him back into his childhood. He was seven... 

-----VAISHALI-----

As Vaishali screamed she blindly graabed something that she sensed was there...it was a branch and  held on to the branch wih the last vestiges of her strength. She could not hold on for long... She just thought of Tejas and Rishi. Why are they not coming to help her... she slipped further as the branch broke under her weight and yet again  she caught hold of something... it was the root of a large tree that was on the edge of the road its roots hanging almost six feet below... oh my god! I am going to fall now she thought and her hands left the root unable to hold on...

-----VAISHALI----- 

Naaraayani Agnihothri was tending to the Akhanda Jyothi in the Mandir and she suddenly saw spurts of flame licking up into the space. Had she not been careful her hands would have been burnt. She panicked. This was the signal for something bad. An impending doom. The Akhanda Jyothi was going on in the family for generations now and she believed in its sanctity and purpose. 

When she entered the Threshold of KADAMBARI this veritable castle which is their home as a new bride 45 years back, she did not have any doubt about the importance of the Akhanda Jyothi when her  mother in law oficially handed over the responsibility to her to take care of it and never to let it die.

She still vividly remembered how she was taken into the mandir that was in built in the castle and how she was told about the legend associated with it and how it came to the Agnihothris. She was then made to take a vow to fulfil the obligations to keep it alive for eternity. 

Since then, She took it upon her since then and continued with it till date although her own daughters in law entered the family long back but the pressure of the huge house hold made them wary to accept the responsibility and she understood.That is the reason for which she still tended to the Jyothi.

------VAISHALI-----

The first time the ascetic appeared when he was seven. Actually when he turned seven. It was his birthday and they all were spending it in their family house KADAMBARI which was in Madhya Pradesh. The Agnihothri clan shifted to Delhi for good but they had huge properties in MP and the best part was that the family house was a beautiful castle nestled in the forests which were a part of the vindhyaas.

Neel remembered going there to celebrate with his entire family for a weekend and people were so excited for him that all the elders were busy with preparations. It was a family tradition that they always had a Mahaa rudra abhishekam on the birthdays of all male members of the family.

Since the kids were impatient they were let out into the huge grounds with the gardener and the aaya to play. Neel with half a dozen of his cousins was playing in the gardens when the ball his elder brother hit crossed the mesh fence that was put up to seperate Kadambari from the rest of their property. He ran to collect it and found it in one of the bushes outside. As he made to go for it there  appeared an ascetic before him and he gaped at the man clad in a loin cloth with a teeka of chandan, his face aglow with radiance and a smile on his face that showed eyes that were very kind and full of love. Neel being a child did not find him intimidating so he smiled and the ascetic kept his palm on his forehead and blessed him Chiranjeeva!!( Long live!!) And he said

"Snakes that are an adornment to sadaa shiva are but poisonous to the world.
The trident shall rule always and remember it ...always.
keep awake else you will sleep for ever
The warrior must surpass adversity with presence of mind!
take the test of time for...
we are with you."

"Neel Baba aap wahaan kya kar rahey hai... "the maid shouted at him and he turned back to yell,"ball laarahaa hun" and when he turned back the ascetic was gone! 

As he went to pick the ball there was a sharp pain in his ankle and he found his maid shreiking and he found something slithering away. 
"Saanp saanp. Bacche ko kat gayaa "maid was shouting which brought the whole house down. 
Neel was too small but very sharp. He remembered the ascetic saying "snakes are poisonous "so thats what it was. 
When Vardhamaan came running and held him in his arms, he told his father" pappa Trishul. Trishul! "
None paid interest in what he was blabbering but for Naaraayani Devi his granny.
She heard him saying Trishul and froze. 
She said "Ek minute!" 
Everybody stopped talking at once. 
Then she asked , "aap kya bolrahe hain ji?" She called never called Neel by his name as he was named after his grand father Neelkanth. Neel recalled amusedly.
Neel said," dadi Trishul rules the world. "
"Aur kisne kahan ye aap se?( And who told you this?)" For which Neel without hesitation said "Daadi waale daadaajine.( The Grandpa with the beard)"
Immediately she asked sourabh to get Neel inside and took him to the mandir and there was a Trishul with a garland of lemon on it.
She asked Vardhaman to make a cut where the snake bit but sterlizing it first from the candle lit from The Akhand Jyothi. 
"But amma he needs a docter and I have already asked for a car to be here any moment. We are taking him back." Vardhamaan protested.
"Definitely Munna! but after first aid and the child himself told us the remedy. Your father had a collection of herbs especially for curing snake bite that are kept in a box under the trishul in the mandir. So first we do that and by that time the car shall come."Naarayaani stated.
Amidst protests they made a small incession on his left ankle and Naaraayani applied the herbal medicine freshly prepared and in the mean time a car was arranged to take him to Bhopal and they flew to Delhi where he was admitted to The AIIMS.
Neel's father was told by the doctors not to let him sleep before he reached the hospital and this once again was what the ascetic said. He did not understand that but he did now.
But the Ascetic helped him by giving him very important information at a time much needed. "Sir your seat belt the stewardess's prompt brought him back as the plane was about to land."

-----VAISHALI-----

She closed her eyes and thought of her parents and all her people and geared up for her final moments when she suddenly found herself still. Vaishali opened her eyes and saw that she was standing on a stick which was horizontal and crooked chiseled at one end that which she saw in the hands of that Aghora! "What in the world is happening,"she thought when she was pulled by a pair of lean hands towards the hill and she found herself in a dark cave which was actually covered by the shrubbery she was hanging to.It was lit only with an oil lamp. Before she could even configure where she was... she heard a noise to her left away from the lamp and she turned and froze!!!!