‘What else?’ asked Shiva.

‘The destruction of the Saraswati seems a small price to pay when compared to another, even more insidious impact of the Somras.’

‘Which is?’

‘The plague of Branga.’

‘The plague of Branga?’ asked a surprised Shiva. ‘What does that have to do with the Somras?’

Branga had been suffering continuous plagues for many years, which had killed innumerable people, especially children. The primary relief thus far had been the medicine procured from the Nagas. Or else exotic medicines extracted after killing the sacred peacock, leading to the Brangas being ostracised even in peace-loving cities like Kashi.

‘Everything!’ said Brahaspati. ‘The Somras is not only difficult to manufacture, but it also generates large amounts of toxic waste. A problem we have never truly tackled. It cannot be disposed of on land, because it can poison entire districts through ground water contamination. It cannot be discharged into the sea. The Somras waste reacts with salt water to disintegrate in a dangerously rapid and explosive manner.’

A thought entered Shiva’s mind. Did Brahaspati accompany me to Karachapa the first time to pick up sea water? Was that used to destroy Mount Mandar?

Brahaspati continued. ‘What seemed to work was fresh river water. When used to wash the Somras waste, over a period of several years, fresh water appeared to reduce its toxic strength. This was proven with some experiments at Mount Mandar. It seemed to work especially well with cold water. Ice was even better. Obviously, we could not use the rivers of India to wash the Somras waste in large quantities. We could have ended up poisoning our own people. Therefore, many decades ago, a plan was hatched to use the high mountain rivers in Tibet. They flow through uninhabited lands and their waters are almost ice-cold. They would therefore work perfectly to clean out the Somras waste. There is a river high up in the Himalayas, called Tsangpo, where Meluha decided to set up a giant waste treatment facility.’

‘Are you telling me that the Meluhans have come to my land before?’

‘Yes. In secret.’

‘But how can such large consignments be hidden?’

‘You’ve seen the quantity of Somras powder required to feed an entire city for a year. Ten small pouches are all it takes. It is converted into the Somras drink at designated temples across Meluha when mixed with water and other ingredients.’

‘So even the waste amount is not huge?’

‘No, it isn’t. It’s a small quantity, making it easy to transport. But even that small quantity packs in a huge amount of poison.’

‘Hmmm... So this waste facility was set up in Tibet?’

‘Yes, it was established in a completely desolate area along the Tsangpo. The river flowed east, so it would go to relatively unpopulated lands away from India. Therefore, our land would not suffer from the harmful effects of the Somras.’

Shiva frowned. ‘But what about the lands farther ahead that the Tsangpo flowed into? The eastern lands that lie beyond Swadweep? What about the Tibetan land around Tsangpo itself? Wouldn’t they have suffered due to the toxic waste?’