SYAMANTAKA: THE LOST GEM

CHAPTER-03

The religious city with the holy river Ganges passing through it, surrounded by ghats. Varanasi. The evening festive processions were going on in the city. It was a jostling crowd filled with sages who had their faces covered with white ash and bodies covered in orange loincloth, priests wavering a tower of firelight candles and devotees praying the prayers in their minds.

Towards one end, the market was crowded with shops of flowers, fruits and all types of chaats and sweets.

"How's business, Ramlal?"

"All good, Krishna. Something tells me this Diwali will be special," replied Ramlal standing behind the counter of his shop filled with Indian sweets and snacks.

"That's great. Pack me 6 Kachori and Samosas." Krishna said.

"Done, sir.  1..2... 6. Here. Bye. Jai shri ram."

"Jai Shri Ram." Krishna held the brown cover handed over by Ramlal and peeked at the delicacies inside. Wow... The smell of the fresh kachoris wanted him to grab it right now but he had to hold himself together. He had to wait for the other priests. The voice would go over his head.
"Control your cravings, Krishna... You should learn to control... Control...". His hands could feel the heat from the piping hot samosas and kachoris packet. His Brain was stuck on what to do. Then, He tried to think logically. If he waited to eat the crispy samosas and kachoris, They would become cold. The priests wouldn't care much about the heat. But it meant a lot to Krishna. What was the point of eating a Kachori cold? It's like having coffee with no coffee powder. Useless. The detail was important. Then, They would ask him to microwave it but that would again suck out all the oil from the Kachori. Again Useless. Henceforth, to provide justice to the Kachoris, The final statement made by his brain was to eat them right now.

He looked ahead he was just 100m away from the ashram where the priests were waiting But now nothing could change the final statement was proclaimed by his brain. He grabbed it with his hand and stuffed a quarter in his mouth. His Teeth broke the crispy layer and soon he could get a taste of the flavoured filling inside. If he had to get the Kachoris, it had to be from Ramlal's shop. Whenever he comes the shopkeeper would never fail him. Krishna felt this was the Kachori which opened his gates to heaven. He felt he was finally on the spiritual path.

He was eager to share his discovery with the rest of the priests. His key to spiritual understanding. Kachori. He opened and then closed the gates. He was jumping on his toes with joy and entered the Verandah.

"Heyyy ..."

He stopped. A huge number of priests in white cotton clothes wrapped around them stood along the four sides of the massive courtyard. Everyone's face turned to Krishna. Everyone looked with a plain face while his elder brother looked at him in anger. He realised he was still holding the Kachori in his hands. He threw it back in.

Gajendra Baba was sitting in the centre of the courtyard with his legs folded cross-likely on the floor. He was in deep meditation. The rest of the priests held a Rudraksha mala in their hands and were chanting hymns. Krishna couldn't assess the situation. Govind's eldest brother walked towards him and whispered in his ear.

"You don't know? Today was the day Kartik, his son, died. On this day, he remains in deep meditation from morning to night in his memory."

Krishna saw Gajendra Baba's face. There was no feeling of remorse or sadness while performing this practice. He was truly a great man. His middle brother, Kanha, came joyfully looking at the packet in Krishna's arms. He snatched it from Krishna's arm.

"Wow, you left half for me. How kind of you?" Kanha smiled. "Why did you shout while you entered?"

"I discovered the key to my spiritual enlightenment. Ramlal's Kachori."

"Then, the smell of it should wake Gajendra Baba up. You should always grab the opportunity to become enlightened."

Both of them started giggling. Govind shushed them both. At that moment, Gajendra Baba's eyes opened in a flash. The three brothers were surprised. The priests around him were surprised to see Gajendra Baba on his legs. The penance was supposed to go till the day completed.

"OH, GOD!!! THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME!!" Gajendra Baba shouted.

Everyone in the courtyard was surprised at what happened. "It's time to celebrate. We have good news. Distribute sweets and kachoris to everyone." The priests were surprised looking at this behaviour.

Krishna exclaimed in joy. "Look... you saw it with your own eyes ... Kachori."

"Keep quiet!" Govind commanded both of them. He walked to Gajendra Baba who was shouting with madness of joy. "What happened, Baba? Why are you shouting? What's wrong? Why are you so hyperactive?"

"Because it's confirmed, Govind." He smiled. "She is alive. The saviour is alive. Nitya is still alive."