The Urban Chronicle ✔

18: Kalinga MUN With Just Two Delegates

Hushed whispers erupted around us as we entered the royal court of the King of Kalinga. The king hadn’t arrived yet, but everyone had assembled and was waiting to begin the daily business. We were shown to our seats close to the throne and we sat down waiting for the king to make an entrance. I must being fashionably late is certainly not fashionable at all. If anything, it was quite annoying to wait for ten long minutes. All the murmurs around were making me uncomfortable, besides the fact that everyone present had their beady eyes trained on us. It was pretty unnerving if you ask me. I glanced at Neel and Mahindra. Mahindra showed no signs of nervousness but Neel kept tapping his foot on the ground, and instantly I knew that the two of us were sailing on the same boat.
“Didn’t their parents teach them that it’s very impolite to stare?” I whispered to Neel.
He laughed nervously in response to my feeble attempt to lighten the tension in the air. I looked down at my heavily embroidered lehenga one last time to make sure everything was perfect. I’m usually not one to dress up for the occasion but I wanted this meeting to be as smooth as it could get and so I had even dressed up formally to make a good impression. Imagine the consequences if I showed up for the negotiations of a peace treaty in jeans and a tank top?
The sound of cornets announced the arrival of the king. At last, the royal package was long due. Immediately, all the murmuring around us died down and the courtiers and subjects rose, their heads bowed down as mark of respect.
Neel and I followed Mahindra’s lead and stood up though we didn’t bow our heads. When the king motioned for everyone to be seated, we sat down. Mahindra who remained standing, said with a confident air, “Greetings from the great emperor Ashoka. It is our pleasure to have received your esteemed audience.”
The King of Kalinga nodded in acknowledgement but ddi not say a word. Mahindra continued, “Our kingdoms have had numerous petty conflicts till date. But Emperor Ashoka would like to offer an olive branch and start anew. Our peaceful co existence will be remembered for generations together. Never in the history of time have two kingdoms as mighty and powerful as Magadha and Kalinga negotiated a peace treaty.”
The king twirled his moustache as he contemplated the treaty and weighed the options before him. I must say I was impressed by Mahindra’s stature and eloquence. I for one would never have had the guts to speak before such a big assembly.
At last the king spoke in his deep, intimidating voice. Oh, the royal package speaks after all. “And what guarantee do I have that the treaty will not be compromised?” he said. I wondered if having such deep, intimidating voices was one of the unwritten criteria for becoming a monarch, because even Ashoka had a similar tone.
“We assure you that no such incident shall occur that might harm the integrity and sovereignty of our kingdoms.” Mahindra stated.
The king nodded, satisfied with the answer. For some reason, I had expected the king to be cruel and authoritative, judging from the way Mahindra talked about him. Mahindra had been scared of coming alone after all so you can’t really blame my imagination. On the contrary I found that he a calm and wise king. I wondered why Mahindra had been so wary.
“Your soldiers who are prisoners of war shall be released and in return we expect our fellow soldiers who are imprisoned in your kingdom to be released.” The king demanded.
“It shall be done. And we must alter our existing trade laws not only to enable more efficient trading but also to offer more opportunities for increasing the exchange of goods with other neighbouring kingdoms.” Said Mahindra.
The king nodded in agreement. “We should have a joint border control troop to keep a check on illegal activities. But I must make it very clear that I do not want any interference in each other’s internal affairs.” He asserted. His tone said that there would be no further discussion on his last sentence.
“Fair enough.” Mahindra replied.
I listened attentively as they discussed the minute details of the agreement. It was just as I had imagined when I read my history text books. After a lengthy and heated discussion it was decided that the king would send an ambassador to Magadha for the consolidation of the treaty, before it came into force.
After that the assembly dismissed. I hadn’t expected the King of Kalinga to accept the proposal so easily. I thought he would oppose it and would require some amount of convincing before he finally gave in. Well, that went well I suppose. Now we just had to find the tablet and we were good to go.
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