Aditha's Queen

Northern Sunrise

"Welcome to Kashmir", said a smiling Naravahana.

Aditha, Nandini and Kannan alighted from the chariot and were led by Naravahana inside his mansion in Srinagaram. It was no less in grandeur to a palace. The construction was largely of solid timber to beat the punishing weather in winter. There was a storage area for wool and fur coverings, shawls and footwear near the entrance.

There were many small marble fireplaces in the huge drawing room and the floor was heavily carpeted in silk. Metal lamps hung from long chains on the ceiling to light the room at night and during gloomy winter days. The furniture in the room were of walnut wood with intricate carvings. Naravahana made the guests sit down on richly cushioned wooden armchairs with ivory artwork and went to the inner apartments to bring his wife.

Naravahana's wife Renuka was a very hospitable woman who made the guests feel at home as soon as they arrived. Aditha, Nandini and Kannan drank the saffron infused sweet milk that Renuka gave them. Two maids wearing flowing lehengas with long utthariyas and silver ornaments were helping Renuka by carrying trays laden with goodies.

Communication with Renuka was an impediment, as it was with her husband, with only Nandini understanding what they spoke to some degree and replying in funnily constructed phrases. The couple spoke in Kashmiri Prakrit (the local dialect) among their lot and in Sanskrit to Nandini. Renuka was overjoyed to see her husband return home. He loved Kashmir more than herself. He was the chief minister to the Maharani of Kashmir. And the couple did not have children. Nandini understood as much and translated everything to Aditha. The immersive Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatham lessons that Nandini had learnt from the Kanchi scholars came to her linguistic rescue. The visitors could feel the warmth of the hosts' reception, nonetheless.

After the initial courtesies were over, the couple took Aditha & Co to a wide balcony of the drawing room which was built wrapping around the entire grand manor. They saw the mesmerising beauty of the land surrounded by snow-capped mountains at a distance. The mild warmth of the autumn sunshine felt so welcome and the spectacular sight of orange Bhavani (chinar) trees was one to behold. They saw a scenic river flowing nearby.

"She is Vithastha (River Jhelum), the lifeline of Kashmir valley. She will be frozen for some time in a few months from now", Naravahana said, matching his words with gesticulations to make his guests understand better.

Renuka was soon engrossed with Kannan, whom she called 'Kanha'. Aditha was Adithya to the couple and, thankfully, Nandini's name remained unchanged. The guests were allocated a segregated quarters in the mansion for privacy purposes and Aditha, Nandini and Kannan moved there with their only possession from their past life, the Krishna idol.

Aditha and Nandini were extremely grateful for Lord Krishna's grace bestowed upon them and had resolved to obediently tread in the path the Lord showed them and to honour His words in letter and spirit. So they had never asked Naravahana where he was taking them or who he was. Nor did Naravahana disturb them with any enquiries or flab talk during the journey. He sensed their plight intuitively and empathised with their impending metamorphosis.

Aditha and Nandini had travelled with heavy hearts. The pain of losing their kith and kin and motherland forever was unbearable and tears flowed unchecked from their eyes many times everyday. They had held each other, trying to comfort one another in the shared grief. Kannan was their greatest solace. The little boy seemed to somewhat sense his parents' sorrow and showered his affection on them. He was now as much a dad's boy as he was a mom's boy. And he made them feel that there was perhaps a greater purpose to the painful journey.

"He knows when to do the right things. He knows too that daddy needs him now, more than ever, Nandini!", Aditha had said as Kannan kissed his father's cheeks.

The foursome had travelled for well a over a month across dozens of kingdoms from down south to far north, stopping at a new place each day for food, rest and sleep and sometimes to switch horses or chariots. Naravahana was a rich man with small bags of gold coins tucked safely under his seat. So the trip was a smooth affair from start to finish. He also looked like a man of learning and good connections but he did not put his clout to use even once as he single-mindedly stuck to his task of driving his proteges to safety.

Naravahana had started on a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram and had visited a number of temples en route his lengthy journey. He had befriended the seer at a temple in cholanadu and had been blown away by his spiritual achievements. The seer had rightly predicted the underlying cause of his long journey and provided a solution for his quest.