AS END COMES, Dr.Rajaram [summer books TXT] 📗

Tears rolled off Ratan's eyes it was simply inevitable because all he could do at that movement was to cry…cry his heart felt because down laid the body of an old sage who had mentored Ratan for the last four years.Ratan who had a stand of a lion was now bought down to a mere twig he was given nothing but few pieces of a rare grass that grew amidst the cold breeze of the Himalayas.Ratan was a conferred Doctor in his field of History ;it was only at his 26th year that he was conferred the doctorate on his work on the "start of civilization"which had won him a lot of laurels.he work he had done had satisfied his mates but not him;he wanted more in his life. More so that he could have the best in the world.So he set off to an unknown expedition hearing to none of his family.

It was four years ago when he had wandered everywhere to find a right subject that he came across the most beautiful yet the very mystic Himalayas.There was a heavy studded snow-fall and Ratan was all alone on the banks of river Ganga.The cold breeze had caught him so hard that he was not even able to move his fingers.There he laid for many days with no one to care for;the man with a Wheaties complexion had blurred to dark blue,the majestic eyes that always wanted new was sunken of cold and hunger.All that was left of him was his breadth which he had held tight since he knew that he wanted to achieve the best!Nature came in his way as the sage during his daily walk saw him as if dead on the banks.he was taken nurtured and fed with herbs which gave him strength and health so that he could lead the life as of the sages in Himalayas.Not even for a second had the sage left Ratan alone may it be during his daily regimen or his meditation.Never had Ratan told the sage for what he had come for.

Years passed by;daily there would be the raising even before the sun,followed by a great yoga session where all the tantric postures were done,then was the time to search for food which was always less for his stomach but enough for the day.Afternoons were always trying as he had to walk for seven kilometers across the great hill to collect fresh water to give it to the sage for his daily offering,evening the sage would perform the rituals in front of a shiny stone which he called the LINGAM.Ratan had watched each of the things closely without a question being asked.First it felt good later he realized that it had become a part of his life which he couldn't miss.Slowly Ratan was being transferred as the sage himself and he could already feel the thoughts within him.the closeness was such that the sage wouldn't speak to Ratan and yet Ratan knew what the sage wanted.beard had grown around his face and no one even himself would be able to recognize him as the cracked feet and lips which hardly pained would drip blood which was running short in him.He would run to the top hill bare foot and descend down as if nothing was done as that was his only time pass.

It was just a year ago that the sage had started to tell Ratan what had the Himalayas in it.There were a lot of vegetation that the sage told Ratan that would help heal diseases that otherwise threatened the man kind but he would also tell that the herbs would work only in the Himalayas and not elsewhere.Ratan was slowly forgetting the purpose of his visit to the Himalayas,he was keen to just serve the sage as if being mesmerized by him.Then came the day when the sage asked Ratan to pour the fresh water to the LINGAM which he did;but as the water was being poured he cold feel an electrifying feel running through his body which gave him new strength and will to work more.He began to realize that he had become stronger and active than ever.He felt the feel of happiness which had never been a part of him earlier.

This day which Ratan had never thought came as a galloping wind when he returned from his seven kilometer walk...saw the old sage fallen on the ground with a little air passing through his nose.Ratan kept the water aside came to the sage and leaned towards him as if he knew the sage was to tell him something.Very slowly but clearly the sage pronounced the five letters which Ratan immediately memorized
"SWASTHIKA RUDRA VISHNU PRALAYA SHANTHI"
the words meant nothing to Ratan but he knew it had something to do with the world.the sage had shown herbs of rare properties which could have helped the dying but there was no time..slowly the sage stopped breathing and everything came to a stand still.

Ratan held the body against him for long hours and as the evening set in something reminded him of his duty and as if guided from someone he made a big fire sufficient enough to burn the sages body and caste the body in it which burnt to the last.The time had come to perform the ritual to the LINGAM which he did with great worship and prayers,there was this new energy flowing into him and he had overcome the sorrow of departing his untold master.The night fell and Ratan was all set to take a small rest to continue the next day when he fond a small herb fallen just beside the place where the sage usually rested.At once Ratan was aware of the herbs nature it was a deadly poison more lethal than the cobras bite if taken internally,why would it come here?as the question that kept coming in his mind...was it taken by the sage himself or was there an intruder??

Ratan could not sleep a he kept awake with all the past memories which haunted him the whole night which never seemed to pass by.As dawn broke Ratan was ready for the daily regimen when he came across more than three foot prints imprinted on the ice which were fresh as new.Immediately it was clear the sage was murdered but the reason was still very unclear.Ratan had to decide to find the murderers and to regain his past intention of achieving more and so set out with the minimum things that the sage had left behind.The hill kept haunting him as he made way towards Kashi to find the new beginning...

It was just another morning for Ratan who looked like any other sage at the banks of river Ganga offering their prayers.The day was setting in and the questions unanswered kept coming back to his mind,why wold somebody kill the sage?what was that he told?why am i being involved? There was no answer to any of his own questions.Ratan thought of visiting the famous Kashi temple before moving ahead.There was nothing that he could have called his own.He had lost all that he had brought from his home,now after four years when even his family might not be able to recognize him he carried just a yellow saffron turban in which he had packed nicely the few herbs which the sage used to carry,a kettle made of silver which he had used to bring the water to perform the rituals,it also contained the ashes of the sage as it had to be put in the river Ganga on the thirteenth day of the sage's death.The most important of all he was carrying the LINGAM which Ratan had held with great regards and pure devotion.The cloth was hanging behind his broad shoulders as he pray to Lord Shiva and parted out of the temple.
Hardly had he come out of the temple opening a man came running from front and straightly banged against Ratan,but it didn't shake the physically built Ratan who had just bone and healthy flesh in his body,just shook the man off thinking it to be an accident.But the man came back this time more fiercely charging at Ratan;the reflex was so instant that the man just rammed his head against the temple pillar.Ratan by now had realized that this was someone from the party which had murdered the sage.Ratan became arrogant as he himself ran towards the man who was struggling to get up beside the pillar.The man was just lifted on the shoulders of Ratan easily as if he was lifting another cloth turban on the other side.The man who noticed the tied turban at once clinched it from Ratan's shoulders and slipped off him.As he fell to the ground Ratan was quick enough to grab him from his shirt and pulled him shouting loudly "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?...WHY??"The man was shocked he tried to squeal off from Ratan who had held him tightly as if holding a dog with a chain.People slowly began to gather around them seeing which the man suddenly bent down lifted some sand and threw it into Ratan's eyes.Ratan left the man to rub his eyes still holding firmly to the turban.But as he opened his eyes there was no sign of the man but there was a police man asking Ratan to come to the station for inquiry.Ratan tried to convince the police that he was a scholar and was here with a purpose;the police was in no mood to hear Ratan's story and was straight away taken to the near by police station.

* * *

"How should i convince you?"Ratan had almost given up after trying to tell who he really was to the local inspector Sindhiya since the last two hours.Ratan was held at the station for having created public nuisance in front of the temple."It was not me.."Ratan as pleading"... it was the man who was trying to steal something from me.I also believe that he has also murdered the sage I lived with."came the statement which Ratan thought was not appropriate at the time.
"Murder? What murder?? Who was murdered by whom???"exclaimed inspector Sindhiya
there was some gloomy look on face of Ratan he just felt himself being drifted into a dark tunnel with no opening.
"Sir,you don't understand"he was trying for one