Another night, and now both ghost sisters don't even bother to pretend before Prashant. Last night, he was finishing yesterday's nagin story (serpent-women), and they got disturbed by a group of more than 50 masked men. And the brave, mighty, paragon of loyalty, the one and only Rajput uncle? Not even his shadow! Who knows if he's competing with Arjun (A Mahabharata hero) in his dreams? Short story, even shorter, Sister Chandramukhi flipped into Hulk mode after they interrupted the story at a critical point. Yeah, not a body left. The whole affair made me dizzy, and we decided to postpone the session.
"That works for me. I was about to get impatient with the lack of response from locals. Now I can exact my revenge. No bloodshed, though; there is no need. Today, I'll have Rajput uncle make a public visit to the temple. Along with his family. Not too many, just 1000 Rajputs in all their panoply, marching slowly along the main road to the temple. After all, we're just bringing a message of devotion. Hehehehe (villainous laughter)"
[M: I thought you'd take this chance to make an example by a Bollywood-style fight in the rain.]
"Na, sister, I am melodramatic, but I won't do things that don't help me in the slightest. There will be days when I'll show all my gully kung-fu to the world. But sadly, today is not that day."
[M: So are you going to occupy town?]
"What are you saying? Do I look like some kind of villain? I'm just putting some pressure to get concessions and a platform for my legitimacy. I know what I'm doing, I won't be abusing my power. I call you sister, at least trust this little bit, I've integrity down to the bones."
[M: Don't pretend, I heard that you were also a government officer.]
"What's that, someone wants to learn the socioeconomic state of 1500s India? On it. Sister, sorry, public demand, I'll have to go. Bye."
During the meal, he met with Navin, asking about the upcoming festival in town. Sadly, there was none, so Prashant had to invent one. Just so happens that a few hungry pilgrims will be visiting this afternoon. 1000 to be precise.
"Uncle, how was the duel last night? Were you able to outshoot Arjun? Didn't Bheem give you a hard time? Heard he's a proud one."
"Nah, they were okay.."
"...."
Speechless was the subtext even cows could guess on Prashant's face. "I knew it, you are such an unreliable fellow. Anyway, after a while, take 1500 Rajputs, keep 500 in shadows, and the remaining you guys will wander around town. We'll set up a drama scene of two long-lost brothers finally meeting each other in this foreign land. Of course, I'll be the elder brother, and the other side will be fully submissive and maybe arrange some flower showers and music.... Control Prashant, Control."
"Sure, I'll choose a perfect person to act as your younger brother. Trust me. I'll take my leave."
Uncle left to arrange with such gusto that Prashant felt something was off. But everything else can wait, now it's time to finish the meal. He has something to do outside town. He won't be taking anyone along. It's a gift he decided to give himself. And with that, he gulped down quickly and left the premises. Navin always wanted to interject and say something. Based on the expressions, it seemed important. But so what? Prashant always believed he was the most important person in the world for him. And now he has cheated, and there's really a gift.
Just outside Nasik, he retraced the path he took a week ago. There was a ford near the road, all shaded from prying eyes by trees.
"Begin operation awesome."
[Command not recognised.]
"Please, cheat baba, spawn 10 of item #548."
[Spawning elephants. Mana:0]
"Come on, these are not just elephants. These are majestic animals that I specifically imagined last night after the assassination. Everyone one of them is cleaned, bathed and scented. Pristine doesn't even begin to describe them. Wait, oh damn it. I spawned them in dirt, mud and the middle of the wilderness."
[Spawning successful]
A group of elephants appeared out of thin air. And suddenly the whole forest went noisy, like extremely noisy. As it turns out, their voice is not as soothing as one imagines from watching Baal Ganesh (baby form of god with elephant head). They were draped in extremely luxurious clothes. Maroons, reds, blues, greens and yellows. Intricate patterns, some hand-stitched, some painted. There was a sun prominently placed in the centre. In what seems like gold threaded as strings. The elephants wore many kinds of jewellery. Their large ears were pierced, and delicate pearl earrings dangled with some chimes. Their ankles had large gold anklets studded with red, green, and blue gems, each the size of a fist. The forehead was painted with red coloured 'Om', 'Trishul', 'Swastik' and lotus symbol. Their tusk had solid gold tips at the end. And everywhere you'll see silver bells attached to make a somewhat pleasant sound. At least that is what the designer had imagined.
When the sacred animals looked at their master, they all knelt and .... Sprayed lots of muddy water from their trunks while making snickering sounds. Yup. For those who haven't experienced elephants are remarkable pranksters. They are just like children; when fed, they'll unleash chaos by teasing everyone around. They genuinely enjoy living near humans, at least in India, where feeding them is considered a collective joy. Nearly all kept elephants will have funny stories about their cranky mood just after waking up in the morning, their habit of jumping in puddles of water and rolling in mud regardless of what they were doing before.
So the very fashionable model elephants were collectively having water fights and making funny sounds. The largest among them, which seems a sage beyond ages, came before Prashant and stayed still. Prashant thought he yearned for patting. He was wrong. The big guy simply wrapped Prashant with his trunk and both rolled in the water. This went on for nearly half an hour till they stopped. Prashant even had to drag the big guy out. The whole scene looked remarkably funny, like when Jerry Mouse drags the big dog to prank Tom. They were well-fed and now had their fill of fun, so the next negotiations went smoothly. The only shame was that they did not allow Prashant to do a standing entry in town. Otherwise, a prince simply standing on the symbol of auspiciousness and visiting the town would have been hot news.
So the boys entered town, surely they would have lost much of the precious jewellery in the wild. What can we do? The broken terrain of the Deccan is truly difficult for the mass mobilisation of armies. Soon, Prashant led them to the temple, and people passing by were happy to see the guests, and soon a large crowd gathered.
"Perfect time to elevate my prestige. Where's Rajput uncle?"
"Here, Prince. I've arranged everything well. Just waiting for you."
"Oh, sorry, so where's my younger brother. The public is dying to watch a recap of Rammilan." (In myths, a brotherly meeting with God Ram was an occasion of significant importance.)
Suddenly, a giant of nearly 7 feet of muscle started walking towards Prashant.
"He.. he? He is my younger brother! I asked a Rajput, not Pathan!"
"Surendra Singh is a genuine Rajput. Don't doubt my ability, prince. If you're not convinced, I can tell you the names and glorious deeds of his 50 generations of ancestors." Rajput uncle loudly proclaimed in an uncharacteristic show.
"50? Isn't that too much? Can you even recall the name of your grandsons at your age?"
"Oh, so tell me, the wise Prince, what's your WiFi password?"
"12345"
"...."
"...."
"Yeah. Sure. Go ahead, my prince. Better not keep your younger brother waiting. PhD holder..." Uncle kept muttering without caring for his master's face.
"What do you know, feudal man, my mobile password is 54321. I won't argue with backward grandpa." Prashant retorted while walking towards the giant.
"Brother, is that you? In this foreign land? I had a dream about a goddess and came here on a whim. How can such a coincidence happen in this world? It's as if the town has some fate with you....." The giant guy went even more melodramatic and fake.
"Control Surendra, keep quiet, and everyone will think you're a wise man."
"Brother, my name is Jayendra...."
"I knew it, uncle is unreliable." Prashant fumed midway when he thought everything would be a flop show. Suddenly, the big elephant grabbed him and placed him on its back. Other elephants on cue started making loud noises, and a few even showered flowers. And the public loved it.
Just a few rooftops away, two women were talking.
"Did you help him?"
"Nah, it's just the land remembering his deeds."
"But you are uncharacteristically lenient towards him."
"So what, you too are a little too much interested in this town. 6 months before his arrival, you hunted all the villains in the town. Rapists, human traffickers and those dogmatic fools who would rather keep their people in chains than help. Don't tell me that has no connection with him."
"No comment. I heard now math works 6+1=9?"
With this question, one of them vanished.
M: Two-faced. And that time, he was just too lucky.
And remaining woman turned into a breeze of petals, mixing with other petals showering down on everyone.
"What's that? Was there someone on the temple roof?" Prashant's thoughts were interrupted midway. Suddenly, temple elders and market guild leaders came forward. Navin, now visibly relaxed, introduced their names, and the oldest grandpa came to Prashant. "See, animals are more reliable than humans. Nature is great." Prashant muttered. With slow motion and all the elegance of a prince, he came down to meet everyone. Prashant had plenty of training from his past life as a government servant on how to be late to meetings, but talk as if the World Bank was consulting him and that caused the delay. With a filmy smirk, he pretended to be a messiah "Honoured elder, please tell me what ails thee?"
All the buildup was unnecessary, as it turned out, they were merely interested in hosting the elephants for upcoming weddings and temple festivals. They loved the stunt with flower petals. Well, the elephants do eat too much, every day literally tons. So Prashant agreed. And the town came to have a prominent place for him. Even if the place is just a person who can lend elephants for happy occasions.