On her way back home, Anikaa drove mechanically. Her mind was absorbed with the strange happenings, Jiyu and his story about Himkhasa tribe, Agung, gems. When, she reached home Bahadur was circling outside on the huge porch with a phone in his hand.
"Mam, thank god you are here. We were so worried," whimpered Bahadur rushing towards Anikaa as she entered the parking.
"Stop worrying Bahadur and get me a strong cup of cardamom tea and a healthylicious breakfast," instructed Anikaa.
As Anikaa, entered the main hall, she saw Rachel talking on phone, giving some kind of number to the caller. Oh! It was the scooty's number.
"O...here you are...," screamed Rachel, putting her phone down and rushed towards Anikaa, hugging and almost stumbling her with all the force.
"Rachel...I am fine, hope you haven't called the military yet," teased Anikaa, briefly hugging her.
"Where were you...?"asked Rachel with anxiety.
"Just went out to enjoy the weather," winked Anikaa.
"Why do you always pull up such stunts?" asked Rachel still reeling with tension.
"I am not able to keep up with your mercurial mood swings which are on real high these days," added Rachel waspishly.
"Oh come on Rachel, this is not the first time and it will never be the last. I am like this. And, I know you are concerned but sometimes, I just need to be alone. I feel zoned out," stressed Anikaa on the word uncomfortably.
"Until, I phone you I am not in trouble. Remember that, it's a golden rule," added Anikaa and went upstairs to her room.
Rachel knew about Anikaa's 'zoned out' inclinations and she failed to understand them. It was the time when she would distance herself from everyone- emotionally and sometimes physically. Nobody- in her family or friends could guess anytime what's going on in her mind. Though Anikaa could easily perceive other's feelings, she hid her own emotions under several wraps.
Her attitude of 'keeping your stuff to yourself' added an extra layer of enigma to her. Relieved but a bit saddened Rachel went to her room to get ready for breakfast.
After a quick shower and breakfast, Anikaa decided to work on her painting. She asked Bahadur to remove the Jiyu's canvas painting and put up a fresh one for her. She started with dark colours, slowly adding brightness, sunlight, reflection and water to the painting. She finished her painting in next two hours- painting of a fisherman waiting in still water. She regarded the painting and related it to the ongoing bizarre events. Still waters are deep and so is this mystery of Jiyu, gems and Shalini's disappearance. The fisherman depicts me who is in the middle of this mystery. But, to catch the fish a fisherman needs patience and focus. Focus!
She signed the painting at the bottom and kept it aside to dry down. She was about to leave the balcony when she saw the other easel on which Shalini's vase painting was placed. Slowly, she walked towards the painting.
"There is something weird about this painting. I am not able to understand," she mused.
She carefully looked at the painting again, turned the canvas around and found it absolutely normal.
"Maybe it's just one of my feelings," she said and sauntered out of the room.
Anikaa went to her library where Rachel was working on her Ipad.
"Anything important, Rachel?" she asked.
"Yes, mam. Mr. Mansukhbhai Patel wanted to speak to you, he will call in half an hour and Vinod was requesting for a conference call."
"Okay. Arrange the call now; I will speak to the team."
After an hour of attending conference calls and catching up with her clients, Anikaa and Rachel decided to lunch. It was already 2 pm, when Shireen called. Both Anikaa and Rachel updated her about their wellbeing. Rachel didn't say anything about Anikaa's repeated disappearance in the morning and was exultant to hear about the cold weather of Canada. She was thankful that she was not part of their trip as she was not a fan of freezing temperatures.
After their call ended, Rustom and Gul called. They had reached London and were leaving for Austria in next five days to meet their daughter.
"Ahh...I need a drink. Bahadur, please get me a nice mocktail. All this talking has made me thirsty," said Anikaa.
"Well, there is nothing else lined up for the rest of the day. What should we do?" asked Rachel.
"Relax. I am going to read some books," said Anikaa thinking that she must do some research on the Himkhasa tribe.
"Great! I think, I will also read something. I haven't finished that love story yet," said Rachel. As soon as Rachel made her decision, her phone rang.
"Its Karan," she said shyly and picked up the phone.
"Hi...Well, no....I....I can....Just hold on a sec.....Karan is asking if we can meet for coffee again?" asked Rachel bashfully to Anikaa.
"Rachel, you decide," scoffed Anikaa.
Rachel took a deep breath and accepted Karan's invitation.
"So you like Karan?" asked Anikaa when she disconnected the phone.
"Yes," said Rachel shyly.
"Rachel for once, stop getting embarrassed, we are not discussing sex here," said Anikaa bluntly. Rachel gasped and looked around if anyone was about to hear their conversation. But, it seemed that were sitting alone in the living room. She was about to comment when Bahadur entered with their exotic- looking mocktails.
As he left, Anikaa switched back to the interrogation.
"So you like Karan, you gave him your number and he seems a good guy to me, but...I mean...I am not a relationship expert and you are a grown up but....trust your gut in these things. You know boys with money and good looks tend to sweep girls off their feet very easily," said Anikaa soberly.
Rachel wanted to leap and squeeze Anikaa in a big hug. She is so sweet! On one hand, she gave her the liberty to decide about Karan and on other hand she modestly asked her to be safe.
"Thank you," said Rachel.
"For what?"
"For being like this, being with me, being in my life."
"Oh god Rachel, please, if someone walks in that door they will think you are proposing me," teased Anikaa.
"So, for how long is Karan staying in India?" asked Anikaa unexpectedly. Switching moods!
"They are here for three weeks," answered Rachel veraciously.
"They?"
"Karan and Raymond. I don't know about Mr. Richard. Karan didn't tell me and I didn't ask him."
"Did you get any information about his wife, I asked you for?"
"Yes, I got a call from Sameer. He said he will submit his report by tomorrow morning. He is waiting for some key facts."
"Alright, daisy girl. Go, get ready for your cuppa coffee," winked Anikaa.
It was 5 pm when Rachel left with Karan who collected her from outside the villa. Anikaa didn't tell Rachel about a lot of things- Jiyu, the story of Himkhasa, her conversation with Mr. Sturrock, his wife's disappearance, about the painting that he sent last evening and the strange attraction with Raymond Sturrock. She, herself was mystified with all these incidents and didn't know whether it will be wise to share with Rachel. Nobody will believe her about Jiyu for sure as he was only visible to her and his story about Himkhasa tribe- being the most evolved human civilization bearing special powers.
"But I will have to start somewhere. Yes. Jiyu. I think I should start researching on him first," mumbled Anikaa.
Anikaa walked to her library and started searching for books on history of India. She found two prominent books in her father's collection- Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru and A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. She remembered how her father stressed on reading these two remarkable books in her school time. At that time, she was more interested in movies and hardly paid attention to hard-bound books. However, adventurous comics' like- Tintin, Phantom, Asterix and Obelix appealed her more. She also credited her non- adherence to book-reading for her rebellious nature. She gave a tough time to her parents, doing things which she was told not to do. With time, she developed the habit of book-reading and started making her own collection. Her temper also mellowed down but the thirst for adventure and rebel still persisted.
She browsed through her mother's collection where she found numerous books related to Indian History and culture. Unlike her mother, Anikaa was never fond of history as she hardly remembered names and important dates. It took her a lot of school years understanding the basic difference between B.C and A.D. and she was never able to score in social studies. Anikaa could never understand why she has to remember 'who fought whom'. For her, history was simply an in-depth analysis of 'what went wrong and how we should not repeat those mistakes'.
She also found various illustrated versions of Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata. These books were collected by both his father and mother on various accounts of travelling. Her father had bought two- 'pocket gita' for both Anikaa and Prashant, when they were in school; the time they hardly understood meaning of those verses. Her father's collection also included- Devdutt Patnaik's Indian Mythology and Myth=Mythia. She didn't read those books until a show dedicated to Indian mythology featuring Devdutt Patnaik, was aired on the television. His profound knowledge and unconventional grip on various subjects on Indian values and deities made her interested in reading those books.
Piling all these books in one corner, she moved to her own little collection of books in the wall where to her astonishment she only found illustrated comics and books relative to Indian mythology and culture. Her collection included- Panchtantra stories, Jataka tales, Amar chitra katha- fables, epics and classics, Upanishad and her school book which had Tulsidas and Rahim's dohe (couplet). She giggled with amusement when she saw her thin bundle of books compared to her parent's chunky collection. Sure a reader!
"That's all for now, let's see what I can find out about Jiyu or his story about Himkhasa tribe," mumbled Anikaa and carried the pile of the books to her desk.
Anikaa started with the thinnest and simplest books- her own collection. Some of the books were in very good shape but some of the comics had turned yellow and their pages wizened on the corners. These books were very precious to her as her mother bought them when they travelled by train during her childhood. Though her father worked in a good position in government sector, he never used to provide any money to her mother for personal expenses. However, Shireen never refused a comic to her daughter and she bought it whenever they travelled to grandma's house for summer holidays.
Anikaa browsed through the comics one by one- reliving those stories that enlightened her childhood and encouraged her to be morally correct. Then, she started browsing through Om Swami's book which she had read a year ago. The special mentions of different saints in Himalayas with the ability to perceive god captured her attention. After that, she took Autobiography of a yogi which she had completed reading few months ago. The book held an account of several saints with different abilities and powers that they achieved through self-realization and practising spiritualism.
Anikaa wondered if Jiyu was a saint holding the mystical power of invisibility. With his magnetic aura, brightness on his face, enchanting eyes and placid demeanour, he could be one of the sacred saints. As she started digging for more information, she was engulfed with different anecdotes of the existence of saints and their spiritual powers submerged in Hindu culture. There were stories about divine Kamdhenu cow who bestowed her owner with all the wishes he desired, ancient Rishis who blessed people by fulfilling their wishes by saying a simple word- Tathastu!, powerful and irascible sages like- Durvasa rishi who were revered by common men, kings as well as devas (gods). Such was the power of the learned saint that he could bless or curse someone with immediate effect.
After going through all the texts, Anikaa opened her laptop and found old documentaries on Indian sadhus and their congregation in Kumbh mela. She found a thought-evoking documentary on Kumbh mela conducted by National Geographic. There were saints who were in a same yogic position for last 30 years, some who never slept and some who never ate anything. The list of these simple looking men with astonishing powers was endless. One could not categorize or compare them with another.
Anikaa was so engrossed in her research that she didn't get the brief knock of Bahadur on the door.
"Mam, its 8 pm, shall I serve dinner?" asked Bahadur a bit more loudly as Anikaa didn't heed to his first call for dinner.
"Is it 8 already, gosh...," said Anikaa rubbing her eyes.
"Where is Rachel?" asked Anikaa dabbing her eyes with the tissue paper.
"Mam, she just called. She will be here in half an hour," answered Bahadur.
"I will wait for her. Eating alone sucks!" said Anikaa getting off her desk.
"Sure mam," said Bahadur and turned around to exit from the library.
"Bahadur!" called Anikaa and he turned in.
"Yes mam."
"How is your wife-....ummm... Kala.... right?"
"Yes mam, she is good. She always sends you regards."
"And your children- Lokesh and Lakhi?"
"They are very good mam, they always talk about you. Err.....they were very thankful that you changed their names last year."
"Ahh...of course...Charankumar Bahadur Singh and Geetadevi Bahadur Singh were quite old-fashioned and a bit too heavy for their size, isn't it?" quipped Anikaa.
Bahadur blushed and said- "Kya kare mam (What to do), my grandfather decided their names on his grandfather and grandmother. He said it was their rebirth."
"Do you believe in this Bahadur- rebirth, karma, saints?" asked Anikaa.
"Yes mam," said Bahadur, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"I mean I don't believe in rebirth, but I have two memorable encounters with saints. When I was 10 years old, we were playing near the river in my village. It was the monsoon season and the river was inundated because of flood in Godavari River. There was this strange looking man with a long beard, draping a loincloth came to us asking for a boatman as he wanted to go across the river. We told him that there are no boats today due to strong water currents. So, he went to the river bank, chanted something and bowed to the river. Then, with his hands pressed together he simply walked on the surface of the river and reached across in few seconds.
Mam, there was not even a single droplet of water on his dhoti. No one believed the five of us, but it sure was a miracle. He must be a great soul. I'm sure of it. Even today, when I recall that incident, I get goosebumps."
Anikaa was astonished as well. Shireen had told her the same story about a 'baba' who was her grandmother's guru. He used to cross Ganges on his own without any boat.
Anikaa encouraged Bahadur further- "And what is your second encounter?"
Bahadur made a wry face as he remembered the incident.
"It was because of my wife- Kalavati. You know how she is! She gets very attracted to all these miraculous stories about babas and will go to any length to visit them. When we got married, we didn't have any children for one year. All my relatives and family began giving suggestions on 'how to become productive'. After another year of unsuccessful attempts we were told to visit this 'baba' who was residing in our neighbourhood village. When I reached there, I saw hundreds of men and women standing in a queue for visiting this baba. This baba specialised in giving children. However, I was unaware about his method. When, my chance came and I told him about our problem, he agreed to help and asked me to stay at his ashram. We were given good food, shelter and everything. At night, baba called and said if we want children then my wife will have to spend a night in his room with him so that he can do the puja (worship of god).
I once looked through the baba and refused straightaway. But, Kalavati- my stupid wife- she agreed. She started arguing that for one night baba will transfer his cosmic rays to her body, just like she had seen in TV serials.
For her stupidity, I offered to stay with them in the same room at night and this time baba refused. Then, he kicked us out of the ashram when I gave him my final solution."
"What solution?" asked Anikaa laughing on Bahadur's little escapade.
"I offered to sleep in his room; after all I am the donor. He could transfer his cosmic rays to my body and this time, my beloved wife also agreed," said Bahadur putting Anikaa to roar of laughter.
"Bahadur I must say, you gave a gala time to baba."
"What to say mam, after two months Kalavati was pregnant with twins. Still, she gave the credit to baba saying- 'Baba ka chamatkar' (It's all baba's magic)," sighed Bahadur hopelessly.
"Oh my god Bahadur, your experiences are one of a kind," said Anikaa chuckling.
"What to say mam, my village people are very ignorant. They are still riding the old horse," said Bahadur.
"Who's riding horse?" asked Rachel suddenly entering the library.
"Oh it's a long story, how was your date?" asked Anikaa wiggling her eyebrows playfully.
"Date was fine. I mean he is a great guy...but today he was acting so different. I felt that...that he is fishing for information," said Rachel sceptically.
"Information?"
"Yes. I don't know. I just felt like that," said Rachel uneasily.
"We will talk about it later. Bahadur, dinner," said Anikaa and they all went to the dining area for the much awaited meal.
After dinner, Rachel expressed her doubts to Anikaa about Karan. But, Anikaa dismissed her saying that it must be his natural curiosity. It was no point in discussing about his intentions further because as such Sameer was researching on the Sturrocks'. Additionally, Rachel could only provide him with the information that everybody knew.
It was 10 pm and Anikaa was settled in her bed, researching on her laptop about saints and tribes with mystical powers. The more she delved on the subject, the more convinced she became that Jiyu and his mystical powers were genuine and not a sham.
"If he is for real then what about 'Himkhasa tribe' he talked about, do they exist as well?" pondered Anikaa. She opened a list of 645 tribes that exists in India- none of them were Himkhasa or even close to Himalayas.
She clicked on 'exotic tribes of ancient India' which appeared as part of search results in Wikipedia. Good old Wikipedia! There were exotic tribes like – Gandharva, Yaksha, Naga, Vanara, and Kinnara who were described as – 'superhuman, subhuman and other worldly extraterrestrials with speculated supernatural powers'. Though Himkhasa tribe was not mentioned in the list, she found two tribes- Kimpurusha (Is it man?) and Vidyadhara (Wisdom Holders) who used to live in inaccessible regions of Himalayas and had magical powers. They were quoted as superhumans or semi-gods possessing the power to diminish their size and fly in the air. There were numerous myths, stories and mysteries about hidden kingdoms and tribes on Himalayas. Maybe Himkhasa existed but nobody found about them! wondered Anikaa.
It was 11 pm, when Anikaa closed her laptop. She snuggled in her white largely- pillowed bed and remembered all about Jiyu's story- 'Himalayas- highly evolved humans- gems with powers'. His repeatedly mentioning that- they were highest form of human civilization could be correct....was correct...is correct, were her last thoughts before she slowly drifted to blissful sleep.