The Kailashanath Diamond

Chapter 4

Swati had never experienced a colder night than this, of course. She was abandoned for doing nothing, a child of nobody, and her friend Nandita had flown away to Shiva’s Altar. This competition, of course, was not her game. She knew nothing of what the temple complex offered in the library; about Chakra Aiming and whatnot.

Swati was hopeless at Talwaar Vaar and no better at other things. And she was jealous of Nandita for her excellence in YogMukta, their complex’s toughest endurance test.

And there was Ashwin, of course, getting time to be in the library and to have Vedanta and Ayurveda and Sanskrit classes to excel in.

She felt equal to Jasnoor and Madhumita, and of course, not Parvati. Parvati’s mother must be Gauri. She thought and thought, and felt sore not able to comprehend why Parvati had not been claimed. And she did not want to think. She often would say in desperation to Jasnoor, ‘Nandita means Saraswati in Sanskrit, then why in world would she be the daughter of Shiva?’

As the competition evening approached, she grew more and more nervous. The events were put up on the notice board.

First was a set of rounds of Talwaar Vaar, which she knew none of them was good at. Then they had YogMukta, and that wasn’t her field of expertise also.

But then they also had Chakra Phekan, and Baan Teer.

She didn’t know what they were but they felt comforting.

She saw a cute little squirrel approaching her. She saw it and squeaked, ‘Hi there, squeaky. How are you?’

And believe it or not, the squirrel spoke to her.

‘Hi madam. My name is Pip, and I am the chieftain of all squirrels in north branch sector. I came to ask you about a major crisis in Road A-5, Nutshell Avenue. Tell me where to get an ah-corn?’ it said.

Swati got one from the kitchens and gave the animal, and it happily hopped away.

SO, that was all she had: the power of talking to animals. Nothing else, only that was her power.

The horns and shankh blared and she scuttled away to the podium. She had to do something.

Then she saw the Chakra and understood. She was born to use that thing. It was round and shaped like a metal ball. They were divided, with Madhumita getting magic talent show as a challenge, Jasnoor getting cooking, sewing and treasure hunting in one hour, and Swati getting Chakra throwing. Parvati was about to get her task, but the head of Mahishasura severed appeared above her head.

‘Behold, Almighty Durga has claimed you, my child!’ shouted Narada.

So, that was end of one contestant. Selected before even getting her task. Now Swati has three more to defeat.

 In one hour, Swati had to throw fifty chakras in the water with a small stretch of land. The land must be targeted every single time. If not successful, she would be thrown out.

Narada counted down to ten and blew the conch horn. The task had started.