Chapter 25 The Unexpected Halt to the Ritual
The earth gave a warning rumble. The weather changed abruptly. Thunderclouds raced past the horizon to mushroom overhead, crackling ominously with electrical current.
The wind picked up, swirling stray bits of hay, flattening the standing crops and bending the palm trees almost double. A stinging rain threw its pincers into the crowd.
The statue halted its descent, the devotees looked around in frightened confusion. Toward the north, beyond the flat plains, was a great monolith, standing like a silent spectator.
A lone figure of a man stood on the flat top of the monolith, like a black speck against the dull sky. Even from this distance, Veer saw the figure raise a palm to the sky.
Lightning sizzled. Thunder boomed.
A great bolt of lightning had stuck one of the tallest structures in the plains, the pulleys. The wooden structure caught fire easily. The burning pulley teetered lazily before crashing into the crowd.
Screams rent the air as the devotees ran in panic, crashing into one another. The temple security guards called for order, their voices lost in the clamor of the panicking crowd.
Veer scanned the area, breathing a sigh of relief when he spotted Chandra safe at a distance, away from the crash. Although she was still too close to the other two bamboo pulley structures.
He also noticed Maruthi’s sister—what was her name again?—tugging at Chandra’s arm, trying to get her to budge but she wasn’t cooperating, her eyes glued to the still figure standing on the monolith. She finally moved when Sameera spoke into her ear, seeing common sense and retreating to safety.
Veer’s relief was short lived as he glanced back at the monolith, eyes narrowed. What were the odds of running across a weather mage? And why was he here, now, of all times and places. It was too much of a coincidence for it to not be about the idol. And the key piece.
Veer’s eyes glinted yellow and Vihari answered, the kite making his swift way toward the monolith.
Cries from a different direction distracted Veer’s attention there. The men manning the pulleys were working frantically to stabilize the platform with the statue. But it was a losing battle; without the third system to balance, the platform tipped.
The heavy idol slipped and plummeted into the whirlpool. The assembled devotees and priests beat their heads, moaning their misfortune.
Aradatta stood on a flat rock at the edge of the confluence, past the safety barricade, deep in conversation with the village chief and Agrani. At his signal, several of his men waded into the waters with ropes encircling their waists, linking their arms, forming a human chain.
A crack sounded as the lightning struck close, splintering another pulley. It went crashing into the pool. The human chain broke. The men were barred from entering the pool, their ropes entangling them, preventing their progress. They had no choice but to retreat.
The scene descended into complete chaos. Rough waters chopped the fallen pulley into wooden debris. The whirlpool, with its now swirling sharp-edged debris, created a dangerous trap for anyone daring an attempt to rescue the idol.
Veer made his way through the screaming crowd toward the temple elders. He saw Chandra and the others already there.
“Agrani, please, you must stay back. This is too dangerous,” Aradatta cajoled the distraught village elder.
“Don’t tell me that when my beloved Lord is lying at the bottom of the pool.
You know well if we can’t get the idol up before the eclipse breaks, then it won’t be fit for worship.
I’d die before I allow such a thing to pass.
Better I perish than stay alive to witness such atrocity.
” Her tiny bent frame shivered in the cold rain, but she hung onto her staff and refused to budge.
Aradatta stood torn and helpless. Seeing what happened to the people who had dared to go in, no one came forward to make another attempt. Their bravery deserted by the extreme odds.
Inexplicably, a dhol boomed from the far shore. People fleeing in droves stopped hearing the sound of the large drum. Spindly arms beat the massive percussion instrument strung across a drummer’s body.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The beat rivaled the thunder of the skies. Lightning splintered a nearby rock. He flinched but didn’t stop.
“Look! Aradatta,” said Agrani, pointing at the drummer. “How can we forget our duty when that man hasn’t?”
She extended her hands to the crowds in a plea. “Will no one be willing to go to the Lord’s assistance?”
Aradatta murmured, “You’re right. I shall go in.” The old woman’s granddaughter, Radha, sobbed and clutched at Aradatta’s shirt. She appeared to be related to him. He patted her on her wet head. “Hush, daughter. The Lord shall take care of me. I shall be all right.”
“Wait! I volunteer,” called Veer. The assembled turned to look at him, hope in their eyes. He spotted Chandra’s pale, worried face among them.
“Are you sure, young man?” asked Aradatta, doubtfully. “There is no telling if you can come out alive.”
Veer nodded, gazing toward the whirlpool with determination.
Shota and Chandra came to meet him as he stood stripped to his dhoti, tying a rope to his waist.
“There is no reason to do this, Veer,” said Shota in an aside to Veer.
Aradatta had stepped away to give their “family” a little privacy.
“Our earlier plans are in place. Billadev is waiting inside the temple with the rest of our men. A little delay with the statue is actually going to help, why risk your life now?” argued Shota.
Veer raised an eyebrow at Chandra. “I’m assuming you’re itching to ask the same thing?”
He sighed at her brief nod, then explained, “Because this way I can get my hands on the idol without disrupting the ceremony or breaking into the temple. It’s a much better way.”
“Even if by some miracle, you get your hands on it, there won’t be enough time to examine the statue to determine if the key piece is hidden on it. The risk is too great,” said Chandra, shaking her head.
“I thought you would approve, Princess,” said Veer with a crooked smile. “Weren’t you the one who warned me about the temple’s closure if the ceremony is disrupted? So why the disapproving frown?”
“Not at the stake of your life, Veer.” A vertical line of worry bisected her brow line. “There’s no way you can get it out of the whirlpool without help. I’ve seen the statue needing at least two grown men to lift it. This is a futile mission. Please abandon your attempt.”
“She’s right, Veer. I’ll come with you to help,” said Shota.
“I need you to stay here, Shota,” he said, lifting his hand where the cabochon ruby shone dully. “If I can’t lift the statue, there is no way you can. You’ll be at a disadvantage in that whirlpool.”
“So will you, if you are talking about the sharp splinters,” pointed out Shota.
“True,” agreed Veer. “But we both know I have an affinity to my sister’s magic. Have the healing stones ready, I probably will need them.” Then he added in a low voice, “I sent Vihari scouting to the monolith. He is immune to lightning but keep an eye out for him.”
Veer stepped back toward the water. “Wait for my signal before pulling on the rope,” he told Aradatta.
“Wait!” called Chandra.
She came toward him and adjusted the rope at his waist into a new knot. “This knot is more secure and if you get entangled, you can slip it easily as long as you pull here.” She showed him where and stepped away. Shadows flickered in her eyes.
“Stop looking so worried, Chandra. I shall be all right.” He chucked her under the chin. “Perhaps you can put in a good word with your Lord Brihadeeshwar for me, hmm? He is a miracle worker, isn’t he?”
He plunged into the pool before they could argue any further, disappearing into the current within seconds.