‘Yes, like baba. He is the one who stands between Evil and India. If he fails, life in the subcontinent will be destroyed by Evil.’

‘Baba will not fail.’

Ganesh smiled at Kartik’s response.

‘Do you know why?’ asked Kartik.

Ganesh shook his head. ‘No. Why?’

Kartik clasped Ganesh’s right hand and held it to his chest, like the brother-warriors of yore. ‘Because he is not alone.’

Ganesh smiled and embraced Kartik. They walked silently around the banyan trees, doing the holy parikrama of Lord Ram’s idols.

‘What is going on, dada?’ asked Kartik, as they continued their circumambulation.

Ganesh frowned.

‘Why have both the emperors allied against baba?’

Ganesh breathed deeply. He never lied to Kartik. He considered his brother an adult and treated him as such. ‘Because baba threatens them, Kartik. They are the elite. They are addicted to the benefits they derive from Evil. Baba’s mission is to fight for the oppressed; to be the voice of the voiceless. It is obvious that the elite will want to stop him.’

‘What is the Evil that baba is fighting? How has it entrenched its claws so deeply?’

Ganesh took Kartik by the hand and made him sit at the foot of one of the banyans. ‘This is for you alone, Kartik. You are not to tell anyone else. For it is baba’s right to decide when and how others are to be informed.’

Kartik nodded in response.

Ganesh sat next to Kartik and explained to him about what Brahaspati and Shiva had discussed the previous day.

‘What have you been doing these past five years, Brahaspati?’ asked Shiva.

Sati and Shiva had joined the chief scientist in the Naga queen’s chambers. Brahaspati felt like he was being interrogated. But he could understand Shiva’s need to get to the bottom of the issue.

‘I was trying to find a permanent solution to the Somras problem,’ answered Brahaspati.

‘Permanent solution?’

‘Destroying Mount Mandar is a temporary solution. We know it will get rebuilt. The Nagas tell me the reconstruction has been surprisingly slow. It shouldn’t have taken five years. Not with Meluhan efficiency. But it’s only a matter of time before it gets rebuilt.’

Shiva looked at Sati, but she didn’t say anything.

‘Once Mandar is back to full manufacturing capacity, the destruction of the Saraswati and the production of the toxic waste will begin in large measure once again. So we have to find a permanent solution. The best way to do that is to examine the Somras’ ingredients. If we can somehow control that, we could possibly control the poisonous impact of the Somras waste. Many ingredients can be easily replaced. But two of them cannot. The first are the bark and branches of the Sanjeevani tree, and the second is the Saraswati water. We cannot control the availability of the Sanjeevani tree. Meluha has large plantations of it across its northern reaches. How many plantations can one destroy? Besides, trees can always be replanted. That brings us to the Saraswati. Can we somehow control its waters?’