The Holy Mountain

08 The Saraswat Clan

Ivyanah

The following day was filled with chaos and activity. Dhwani was getting ready to leave for Mumbai, and all of us were busy helping her with packing. The entire apartment was in a frenzy of cleaning and organizing.

As I was cleaning a shelf in the hallway, my gaze fell upon a cartoon box that I had brought with me. It contained my father's work - his research, findings, and adventures. Although I found it hard to comprehend the complex scientific jargon written on the pages, I couldn't resist flipping through them out of curiosity. After flipping through some pages, my eyes caught sight of a symbol drawn in the upper right-hand corner of the book. To my surprise, it was the same symbol that Shivesh had tattooed on his arm. The coincidence struck me as eerie, and I couldn't help but wonder about the significance of this symbol and its connection to Shivesh.

"What could this symbol possibly mean?" I wondered as I examined it more closely. At first glance, I thought it may be some design but what is it doing here in my father's book?

I decided to do some research and turned to the internet for answers. I utilized Google Lens to scan the symbol, and to my astonishment, I stumbled upon an article that was way more shocking. The article said something about the Saraswat clan.

According to the legend, " The clan was founded by three powerful individuals, each possessing unique elemental powers - fire and earth, wind and space, and water. Every member of the clan bore the standard symbol, signifying their responsibility to safeguard three powerful objects of immense value."

As I read on, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. What did this symbol have to do with my father's research, and was there a connection to Shivesh's tattoo? The more I delved into the article, the more questions arose in my mind.

I continued reading, "These three objects were a locket for wind and space, a sword for fire and earth and finally a ring for controlling the water. Only the heirs of the clan possessed these elemental powers, while others had a smaller degree of them."

I was certain that my father was not a member of this clan, or else I would have known about the symbol and its significance.

I have to figure this out with Shivesh. I made a mental note to talk to him the next day, but for now, I had to focus on these two.

Dhwani left last night and Niyati had to catch an early morning train.

I was on my way to college and was thinking of all the possible answers Shivesh would give me. However, I didn't inform my two friends about my plans, fearing that they might worry unnecessarily. After all, it might turn out to be a minor issue, and I didn't want to cause them any undue stress.

I eventually arrived at the parking lot and found Shivesh in his usual spot. He was leaning against his car carefree and relaxed.

He greeted me with a warm smile as I approached him.

"I need to talk to you about something important," I said, cutting straight to the chase. Shivesh's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he looked at me curiously. "What is it?"

I took his hand and showed him the wrist where the symbol was imprinted and said, "What is this?"

He was taken aback by the sudden gesture and the question.

"What do you mean?" He said taking his hand back, his tone defensive.

"I know about The Saraswat clan". He was visibly shocked by my revelation. "Now I want you to tell me about it."

"There's nothing as such..."

And then his brother interrupted, "We need to discuss something very important"

He took Shivesh with him. They discussed something for quite a while and Shivesh returned with a different emotion of rage.

"We'll talk about this, but until then please don't discuss it with anyone."

And with that, he rushed off, leaving me standing there wondering what to make of the situation.

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