A Father’s Bedtime Story in Chandigarh
Genre: Fiction
Sub-genre: Folklore
Length of blog: 800 words
This was a Times of India competition and below were the rules of the competition:
Rules:
1. The story must be set in the Gupta Age, in Ujjain (the capital of the
empire in its latter half).
2. It must involve a crime. And its resolution.
3. The below passage should be present in the submission.
“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 immediately.”
A Father’s Bedtime Story in Chandigarh
“Vikramaditya was one of the foremost kings to rule India. He lived in the first century before Christ. Legend has it that, he was given a boon by Goddess Kali to rule for 1000 years, as he was a fair king. And his fair rule produced some of the best men to come forth and help in administering this huge Indian subcontinent.”
“One of these men, who formed the Nine Gems of his court, advised Vikramaditya to rule for six months and spend six months in the forest. This would enable him to rule for 2000 years, doubling his lifespan.”
“But dad, how can anyone live for 2000 years?”, Udul said.
“That we cannot iterate, but we all know the Gupta age has a lot of Vikramadityas- Vikramaditya-I, Vikramaditya-II, etc. He would’ve looked different each time he came back from the forest. His courtesans would’ve not realised a change in appearance. Plus he disguised himself often and roamed around the citizens taking feedback of his rules and laws. Who is to say that it was the original Vikramaditya or not? Udul listened wide-eyed as his father continued.
“Four hundred years into his regime when Vikramaditya was in the forest, a curious case occurred. It so happened that 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 immediately.”
“Its this woman’s husband”, Supratik was told.
“My husband cannot die like this, I have to die first”, she said.
“The matter a daily nuance, if and only if, the body was cremated. But it became the talk of town, so much so, that when Vikramaditya-II came back from his six-monthly forest life he was deemed to visit the ‘woman who kept her husband embalmed in her house’. He travelled one week to get to her village.”
“She pleaded Vikramaditya-II to do something so that her love for her husband showcased that her husband would move around again and live a normal life. A few months later Vikramaditya-II disguised himself and became part of crowd that followed her to the river where she washed her husband. She single-handedly took him back on a bullock-cart.”
“Vikramaditya-II could not forget the woman’s status quo and wished he could do something to change the mood in the village. Six months passed-by and Vikramaditya-II went back into the forest. One night he found himself roaming the forest with only the singular thought of how to solve the woman’s plight. He staggered eastwards following a riverbank upstream until it was morning, or so he thought. He followed the light that was shining from high up in the trees and came onto a cabin in the hills.”
“Vikramaditya spied a man chanting and throwing things into a fire. He threw gold, goat heads, even dead birds and snakes. The fire burning brighter and brighter until Goddess Kali herself appeared. The man started to have a conversation with her in a language he could not understand. Vikramaditya-II had not known until now that Goddess Kali could be summoned. He knew she appeared to people of her own choice. After a few moments Goddess Kali left by seeming to step into the fire.”
“Then what happened, dad”, Udul said.
“The next night Vikramditya-II came prepared. He surmised that the man was Indradev, an avatar of Shiva, trying to persuade her love. He reached the cabin before sundown and scattered the cabin with intoxicating alcohol and herbs and he himself hid nearby with a jar of water.”
“The ritual began with an already intoxicated Indradev, and just as Goddess Kali appeared, Vikramaditya-II leapt forth sword in hand and the jar of water over the fire.”
“I don’t come for myself”, Vikramaditya-II continued, “I come for the woman who has belief in her love for her husband and is waging wars with all who want to cremate his body. I only ask what is fair, neither gold nor gems. I am ashamed to intrude in the passion of the Gods, but this is the only way to solve a problem that has eaten my brains for more than a year now. Goddess Kali was impressed by the staunch bravery of the woman who had not left her husband’s side even after his death and vowed to Vikramaditya-II that she would visit her.”
“A few months later, Supratik called upon Vikramaditya-II at the royal palace and gave news that the woman’s husband was brought to life by Goddess Kali.”
“Another conundrum averted. Long live King Vikramaditya”, Udul said.
— The End —