The folds of her angvastram wafted gently in the breeze around her. She had a kind face with dark, quiet eyes and a soft voice. She spoke calmly, as if she was discussing the weather. ‘I am a Meluhan. To be Meluhan is not about the country you live in – it is about how you live, what you believe in. What is the purpose of a long life, if not to strive for something higher? Lord Ram’s most sacred law has been broken. We have fallen. All that we are has already been destroyed. What can we now hope to strive for in this life, if this is our karma?’

Bhagirath couldn’t believe his ears.

The Meluhan woman continued. ‘I believe in the Neelkanth. I have waited for him for so many years, worshipped him. And this is what Meluha has done to him. To our Princess – the most exemplary Meluhan of us all, who lived every breath of her life strictly according to Lord Ram’s code. This is what Meluha has done to our Laws that make us who we are.’ She was quiet for a moment, her eyes searching his. ‘I am guilty. I took the Somras. I followed the Emperor and, through my complacency and silence, was party to everything that conspired to bring this about. If this is Meluha’s evil, then it is my evil too. My karma. I will pay my debt to the Neelkanth this day, and pray that it may allow me to be reborn with a little less sin upon my soul.’

Bhagirath was stunned. What logic was this? She inclined her head in a half nod towards him, and again began walking with perfect composure back into the city.

Gopal’s voice came from behind him. ‘I know. They all say the same thing. I am Meluhan. The Law has been broken. It is my karma.’

They stood in silence together and watched the woman go.

‘Prince Bhagirath.’ The two of them started slightly, pulled out of their silent contemplation.

‘Yes, Kartik?’ said Bhagirath, turning to face him.

‘I want you to call General Parvateshwar.’

‘I have already sent in a messenger to get Anandmayi,’ said Bhagirath. ‘But neither she nor her husband has come as yet. She will not leave without Parvateshwar. I’m still trying to convince the both of them.’

‘Tell them,’ said Gopal, ‘Lord Kartik and I have invited them here. We need to talk about something that is important for India’s future.’

Bhagirath frowned. He knew that what Gopal and Kartik were suggesting was the only way to get his sister and her husband out of Devagiri, tenuous though it may be.

‘I will go into the city myself,’ said Bhagirath.

‘And, Prince Bhagirath...’ Gopal hesitated.

‘I understand, Panditji. I will not breathe a word of this to anyone.’

They stood in silence together, looking at a city that would no longer exist tomorrow.