Call of the Aether.

Chapter 1

Queen Gandhari had been carrying her immense womb for two years now. Her sister in law Kunti had already born a son -Yudhistir. Kuntis recent childbearing troubled her and the Queen's own womb had worn her patience. Gandhari banged at it with her fists and the world around her shook. She stood there while the pain grew and shot at her between the legs. The Queen then fainted and fell.

In the forests below the Himalayan mountains, a pale man sat deep in thought. His beautiful wife Kunti sat with their son Yudhishtir on her lap. Kunti sat ardently studying her husband awaiting his decision. After the contemplation Pandu stood up and looked at Yudhishtir and then Kunti. “Yudhishtir being first born will be King. They say Gandhari will beget her hundred children today. They are said to be strong and hard. We must also have a strong child Kunti. Strong as the mountains above us and as hard as the ground below us. Come Kunti, Call on the Great Vayu to bless us with a son. A son as strong the great Wind God himself.”
Kunti looked at her husbands feet and replied, “You must remember this is not the first time you have asked me to…” Pandu raised his hands, “Yes I know of what you speak. It will not be the last my dear, lest you wish your husband to die with no heirs. Do as I say for it is my will.”

Kunti bowed and lifted the innocent Yudhishtir to her husband. Pandu picked him up and walked away leaving Kunti alone. Kunti sat in meditation. Her mind was in turmoil. She looked around but everything was quiet and still. Not a blade of grass moved. She waited and waited when suddenly but softly a breeze touched her skin and ran through her hair. She shivered and said the Mantra.

In the Hastinapur Palace compounds, Adhiratha the Royal Charioteer drove in haste. The King and his attendant Sanjaya had to be rushed to the Infirmary where rumours were abound that something had happened to the Queen. The Queen had been expecting for a long time now. Adhiratha thought about his own son. The Infirmary then appeared from behind the trees. Adhiratha drove his chariot in and stopped. The King dismounted the Chariot and strode into the infirmary followed by Sanjaya. Born blind the King watched with his sightless eyes as the Sage cut open Gandhari. The surgeon performing the operation was the Spiritually Omnipotent Vyaas. Vyaas had blessed Gandhari with a hundred sons. He was here now to redeem his words. But there were dark omens about -Inauspicious for a royal nascency.

At the foot of the Himalayas, Kunti closed her eyes in fear. The sky above her exploded and a tornado formed. The peaceful meadow tore itself to feed the tornado which grew immense and then, as suddenly as it had come it vanished. Everything became quiet. Kunti looked about and stood up. She heard the hooves and turned around. It was the most beautiful Deer she had ever seen. Atop the deer was the God she had just summoned. She didn’t dare look at his face but instead rested her eyes on the Wheel he carried. The Wheel spun around and then slowed down and finally stopped completely.

Meanwhile in the Royal Infirmary, the sliced open Abdomen fell to the sides to reveal a huge mass of dark flesh. The midwives screamed. The King's eyes grew wide as Sanjaya told the King of what he saw. The Sage ordered the room to be emptied. The Queen was taken away and The King, Sanjaya and The Sage pondered over the darksphere of flesh. It was alive in its horror and ugliness. It excreted fluids and shook itself. As ordered, many potsof warm ghee were put around the Sage and his blessing. He cut through the fluids and touched the tissue. It bled but was as hard as iron. He then drew from his dressing an amulet of holy water. He sprinkled a fewdrops on the mound of flesh. The ball shook and began to fall apart.The Sage hastened the break up of the flesh with his hands till he reached the center. At the center he grabbed one piece and looked at it as the rest of the parts of the mound fell to the ground. His eyes rested on it for a few moments before he discarded it into one of the pots of ghee.

Pandu waited listening to the screams of his wife. When it stopped and the cries of the child resounded he hurried. He saw Kunti lying there pent out. Her hair was disheveled and she looked worn but her eyes shone looking at the child in her arms. So intense was her admiration of her baby that she did not even notice the approach of Pandu. Pandu placed Yudhishtir on the ground and peered at this new child. He was beautiful and healthy. Pandu put his finger in the childs hand and the child gripped it tightly. Pandu smiled. "He is strong. Very strong. Haha." He then looked at Kunti and touched her cheek," You have done well Kunti. Very well." Kunti felt helpless between the greedy pride of her husband and the innocence of her newly born child.

Gandhari stood with her husband while the Sutas (Labourers) dug the ground. She stood there strong and cold. They had buried what she had given birth to. Bheeshma-the Grandsire, Vidhura - the Kings brother were also present. Then one pick axe struck something. They cleared the mud and a pot emerged. Everyone grew tense at the prospect of opening the pot. Bheeshma, who had grown hard and strong with age, deftly opened the lid and there it was. A child. It looked strong. But there was something wrong. Bheeshma picked up the infant by the leg and slapped it on the bottom to make it cry. The sound that came out of it drove a chill down everyones spine. From the grounds around them wolves howled, vultures turned and strong winds blew.

I sit here in front of my comp adjacent to the worst DVD player of all time which by the way is below the BEST DVD player of all time (which my dad disconnected) wondering how to write what I want to write.

Today's post obviously wont be fiction. Its about something else. Something real. Something Worldly. Yes? Hmm. I have many dreams. Of these some are practical. Some are more easily realizable than others. Here are some that can be realised but requires fortune and effort.

1) Sharing the waters with a Blue Whale Yeah baby. Swimming with a blue whale is on top of my list. Touching it would be awesome but then monkeys should not be too cocky. You might get hurt. Respect should always be accorded.

2) Touching General Sherman

If you thought The Blue whale was the largest organism on this planet think again. Its a tree called General Sherman which is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States east of Visalia, California. It weighs more than 6 blue whales and is freaking 2200 years old.


3) Hunting a Tiger with no guns -

Well no poison. No bombs. Just spears, arrows,a camera and your balls. I dont know how many of you have actually seen a wild tiger with your own eyes in the open with nothing between you and the tiger. I have and its exhilarating. This one was wild but it was in Corbett so it knew not to fuck around with open safari jeeps. From what I have heard from hunters/photographers is that there aint no animal as pricy as a tiger. Its like the most elusive celebrity ever. And its fierce and powerful. An awesome balance between pure strenght and agility. I hope I live.

4) Driving a SR 71 -

Haha. Now most of you might think oh its like a Ferrari or a Porche but sorry. The_UndeaD_ isnt so grounded. The SR 71 is THE fastest vehicle ever made. Its got a max speed of mach 3.2. Can you comprehend that? At a cruising speed of Mach 3 I can clock New York to Delhi in what a little over 4 hours. I can fly from Kuwait to Delhi in 45 minutes. Now I dont want to put a picture of this awesome machine on my blog . Heres the link.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird.jpg

Isnt it Beautiful?

5) Reaching for the Moon -

Well today we can go into space and bounce around a lil bit for a million dollars. Tomorrow I am sure they ll let you touch the moon, mebbe even get a rock back , mebbe even allow you to leave Jakka there. Haha. Ahem. This Dream might not be that realistic coz as you can see it doesnt have its feet firm on earthly ground.

I called this post Divine Footprints because through these "dreams" I believe you can see the Power of the Gods not in a story or in Karma or in the universe out there but right her right now in Reality.

Well I think thats enough realistic dreaming for now. Everyone take care.
Tag urself if you have it in you.

My biggest obstacle to writing with a sound mind is surprisingly my mother. She keeps interrupting the flow with food offers, chats about mundane nothings, worries about my future and the english translation of malluwhatevers is going on on TV.
Shes a formidable Obstacle. Its almost impossible for me to teach her any respect for my writing. She thinks of it as a kind of harmless Lunacy. Today I will attempt to instill some sense into her but I doubt it will work. My mother as she grows older becomes more and more like a child. She plays around and laughs off everything while I pull my hair and stomp the ground. I wish I could end this snippet of mine in a sweet constructive way but I doubt it. In the end I have to shout at her but I hate shouting at my mom.

Adhiratha returned home after a long day at the Palace. It was raining and the sky was grey. Tired and worn, Adhiratha went over to his porch, sat on his Cane chair and stared into the overcast sky. Radha stepped into the porch and walked softly to her husband. She bent over and lightly touched his arm. Lightning exploded and the thunder shook Adhiratha. He turned to see Radha’s finger on his lips. She beckoned him to follow and then entered the house slowly .

In Hastinapur, a group of children played in the rain near a well. Lightning exploded and the thunder shook them. The Ball they were playing with fell into the well and they screamed in unison at the one who dropped it. An Old powerful warrior laughed as he watched them from the Palace Balcony, waiting to see how they would solve their predicament. Then another flash from the Sky and Bheeshma saw fiery eyes and heard that terrible voice. He grasped his head wondering what brought on this vision. The children were quiet now. He followed their line of sight and saw a Brahmin approaching them.
Drona walked softly on the grass his fingers running through his prayer beads. His eyes fluttered in and out of his eyelids immersed in prayers. Bheeshma could hear the prayers vibrating in his skull. How did this Brahmin know these chants? And then it stopped. Bheeshma looked up.
Drona towered over the children his eyes wide open – boring into them. They stood in fear staring at him. This was no normal Brahmin. He had the muscles of a warrior and the scars of a fighter. His eyes showed great learning and calm. Drona then cocked his head and smiled.

“Oh Little ones. Why do you look so forlorn and lost? Where is the joy you had before I happened to pass by?” Yudhishtir the eldest of the litter looked at Drona. The rains were pouring now and he pointed to the well “Our ball has fallen in....”. Yudhishtir blinked as the rain drops smashed into his young face. Drona smiled again.

Back in his house Adhiratha followed Radha in. She led him to the basement. There she opened the door quietly and led him to the window of the Armoury. There was something glowing in the Armoury. It was golden and it came from the other end of the room. Adhiratha peered in looking for the source of the light. He saw his Bow on the floor and the string strung out next to it. Then footsteps approached and the glow became stronger. Radha drew away and so did Adhiratha. Then he saw him.
It was Vasusena, his ten year old son. His golden earings glittered in the dark and brought a beautiful hue to the room. Carefully Vasusena drew the string and began to string the bow. Adhiratha knew it was not possible. Even full grown strong men found it hard to string that Bow but – Vasusena was special. There was something about him. Great strength and something divine. Adhiratha watched in silence as the ten year old tied one end of the string to the lower leg of the Bow and then lifted the Bow that was heavier and taller than him. The other end of the string being held in his mouth, Vasusena placed one of his legs on the lower leg of the bow and grasped with both his hands the upper leg of the bow. He then pulled. Adhiratha couldn’t believe it. The Bow creaked and moaned fighting the pull. Vasusenas body pulled tight with the effort and his parents watched with horror as his Gift could be seen clearly now. Vasusena had one deformity that Adhiratha and Radha never understood. He had rock hard Armour under his skin. The stringing of this bow brought the armour to the crust of his skin and it was clearly defined now. With the Bow sufficiently bent Vasusena quickly tied up the other end of the string. He then let go of the Bow and a twang ran through the house and his parents hearts.

Drona bent down and picked up a blade of grass. He then leaned over the well and looked at the ball at the bottom of the well. He threw the blade of grass and it went straight down. It hit the ball, lightly penetrating it yet holding on to it. The children seeing this were awed. They then scrambled on their fours and collected more blades for the Brahmin. Drona then deftly launched many more blades each behind the other forming a chain from the ball all the way to the mouth of the well. When the chain was complete he simply drew the ball out to which the children cheered and praised him.
Drona amused by the little ones threw his ring into the well. The children went silent wondering why he did such a thing. Drona then saying a mantra threw a single blade with incredible force into the well. The blade went straight for the ring floating on the water. As it slipped into the ring something happened. The water that was ahead of the blade suddenly appeared behind it though the blade kept up in its momentum. With the water behind it the blade shot back up the mouth of the well into Dronas hand. Bhim ,the largest of the litter ran to the Grandsire and shouted out this great feat of the Brahmin to Bheeshma. Drona turned and looked at Bheeshma. Their eyes met but they already knew a lot about each other. Thunder crashed again and both were reminded of the fiery eyes . The Terrible One had taught them both and somehow they intuited this fact of the other. They both greeted the other by bowing their heads.

Meanwhile in Adhiratha’s home Vasusena crept out of the house and stood in rain. His parents kept a safe distance but continued to watch him. The boy was looking at the sky. Thick clouds blanketed the sky - hard and opaque. Vasusena strained his eyes and then he saw it. In the distance near the horizon he saw a break in the clouds and the flow of Sunlight. He smiled and picked up the bow. He fixed his arrow and stared at the hole through which sunlight poured in. It was far away. So far away. Thunder crashed above him.

The Terrible One sat in rain looking at his training grounds in Vishnatar. Parasuram, Death of the Highborn, was impatient. Storms used to follow him in the olden days when his blood lust couldnt be quenched. This storm troubled him though. The Lessons should not be stopped because of a few drops of water. Bah, todays children were too fussy. He got up and drew his bow and shot a mighty arrow at the heavy clouds. The arrow punched a hole in the clouds and sunlight poured in. His students came out and wallowed in the Beam of light. Parasuram stared at the hole he made when he saw something fiery heading for the same hole. An arrow. That too an ordinary arrow. An ordinary arrow burning because of its immense speed. It went straight through the same hole Parasuram had made. Tracing the line of that arrow he looked at the horizon. He wondered who this audacious person could be.

There were three of us. Radh, Leo and I (names have been changed). We were at this old house in the tropical hills of Kerala. Radh and I were playing around the house. If there is any doubt in the matter our friendship was Platonic. Leo was looking out of the window when suddenly he drew back and told me that there was an odd character walking around the house. For some reason something nipped me in my head when I heard it. There were alarm bells ringing but I didnt know why.
Radh and I got up and walked to the window. There he was walking around the property like nothing happened. He wasnt a big man. He had that standard brown maroon Dravidian colour. He was old but his wrinkles and his good health left you confused about his age. He was Savra. The Greenery around him appeared more green than ever and the earth he stood on was as red as blood. Last I heard he had died.
I looked at him and he smiled at me. That skewed Toddy smile. The Skewed smile then approached our window. The wooden windows of this house could either shut out the light completely or be left open. Though Radh and Leo had their senses straight I lost it. There was great danger about and our lives were threatened. Savra scared the shit out of me.
I pulled the window shut and screamed at the others to help me. The shutters banged shut and I pulled up the latch to fit it into the metal ring. Wrinkled fingers appeared in the gap between the shutters and pulled them open. Panic hit me and I told Leo to hold on to the shutters. I focused and found a scissor around. A Nose hair scissor- that curved and sharpened towards the end. I ran back to the window and stabbed wildly at the wrinkled hands. The soft skin took the first stab. The skin moved with the point of the scissor and dragged itself over the bones and muscles but the tip of the scissor didnt break the skin. I stabbed again and again but to no effect. Seeing this Radh and Leo also shat.
Savra then tore open the shutters.