An Indo- German Expedition

Chapter 18


Aarushi and Arjun were looking for references of Aryan invasion in Germany and Europe, while Ishaan was checking his weather man app hoping the rain would stop soon. The excitement was uncontrollable and the teens so badly wanted to visit Black Forest right away. Maya was cuddled in a corner watching Rachel and Ross.

Girl, get off that F.R.I.E.N.D.S and come and help us, Arjun said pleadingly to Maya, who didn’t bother to look up from her tablet, nor give him an answer.

How far could this be true? An Indian or maybe an Asian ruler in Germany-sounds very weird to me, Aarushi smirked. Ishaan and I have always been called blacks in our school and never once have we been treated the same as the kids from other developed countries. And to think that we actually did have a ruler here from Aryan race is amazing.

Awesome, Maya replied imitating one of her favorite US dialects.

Arjun looked at the three and then at the window which was now covered with mist completely.

You know what? This could have been possible. Have you ever read the Chola history? Raja Raja Chola had established trade contacts with Rome in the 11th century itself. When the Cholas were defeated at Thanjavur and Urayur some of the small rulers moved to parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and some are believed to have travelled as far as Europe, not willing to serve under the Pandian regime. And recently in the 1940’s when India was fighting for Independence from the British, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had once met the Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler, who in turn had claimed that India and Germany were brothers from the same Aryan race, although the credibility of the book in which I have read this news, is not established. There were at least trade relations between Asia and Europe. But I am sure an interesting story lies at the Black Forest. We have to uncover it as soon as possible.

Ishaan continued in his base voice, Yes, now that the enemy had seen us, we are in danger any time. The sooner we put an end to this, the better. Also you guys are here only for two more weeks. He paused.

Arjun and Aarushi looked at each other and quickly looked away.

Come along with us, can’t you? She asked looking straight at Ishaan.

Oh, you want us to chase this wild goose all the way back to India? Ishaan smiled. Maya wished that would happen.

I will show the beach, the malls and we can watch movies eating popcorns, visit temples, get lost in the mad rush you know, she chided.


It was getting darker and darker with every passing hour. They had finished their dinner and the parents insisted that the teens join them for a game of cards. Quite reluctantly they joined them. At 1 pm, when finally the elders were tired and retired to bed, Arjun asked Ishaan if he would come along with him without the knowledge of the girls to the castle. Ishaan was eager to uncover this strange events and readily agreed.


Maya invited the boys for a short char, which they declined and climbed the stairs to their room. It was 2 am in the morning, before the boys were sure that everyone was fast asleep. They quietly pushed Ishaan’s bike for a few feet. The rain had stopped by now, although it was freezing with the gush of cold wind. But the boys knew that taking the car would create a problem if someone from the house peeps outside and finds the car missing.

Wrapping themselves in layers of cardigans, they started towards the castle. The boys didn’t speak much through the ride. Both were scared and excited at the prospect of finding something new. In a matter of one hour, they had parked their bike in front of the castle.


The castle was frightening at the sight of it. It was completely dark and thick bushes had reached the high walls the large gardens were covered with mud and water puddles. The path leading to the main entrance was filled with stones and a thin layer of ice. The boys walked slowly towards the gates with the help of their torches. They passed the corridor and the rooms which were empty, unfurnished and dusty. The ministry doesn’t bother about this place, I dunno why. Very unusual, Ishaan whispered.


They had looked at all the open rooms and found nothing but empty walls and moth covered floors.

Maybe, we are not in the right place, Arjun hushed and turned around to go back, when Ishaan had spotted a small path leading upstairs. As they climbed in dead silence, the wooden stairs creaked, scaring them. To their dismay, the first floor also was empty. All the rooms were filthy and deserted. The aura was exceedingly imposing and difficult to handle. As they reached the last door with no hope, they heard rain pouring heavily outside.

Damn, we have to ride home in this shitty rain, Ishaan complained.

The door was very heavy like all German doors. Surprisingly, this was the study room with books still lying in the shelves, although most of them were rotten. As the boys quickly yet carefully scanned for any usable book, they found one placed on the top shelf.

The cover was completely ripped off although the contents remained intact. Ishaan was the one to grab the book and at the very first look, he screamed in horror.

Holy cow, this is written in Tamil.

Arjun grabbed the book and his eyes popped out like tennis balls as he read the first page.


Chozhar perarasu Arjunavarman
The great Chola King Arjunavarman


Arjun looked at the book deeply before giving a shiver.

 

Chapter 19

It was raining heavily when the boys came out of the castle. Arjun had put the book carefully inside his cardigan and zipped his leather jacket. He kept touching the book as Ishaan rode slowly towards their house. They got down from the bike and walked slowly towards the parking. As soon as they reached the gates, the main door creaked open and the girls peeped out.

Aarushi looked at the boys questioningly, while Maya summoned them quietly to their room upstairs. As the foursome tiptoed the stairs, Arjun unzipped his wet jacket and took it off.


Where did you go? Aarushi demanded, wasting no time.

How did you know? Arjun replied wiping his wet face.

We saw you both pushing the bike near the lane. But we couldn’t call out, neither follow you both. It was horrible sitting here, waiting for you guys, Maya said in a tired tone.

As she went ahead to punch Arjun on his chest, Ishaan held her by his arm and dragged her away.

Wait. We have something. He said hurriedly and quickly narrated the turn of events and the book that they had found.

Aarushi was jumping in excitement, while Arjun went to change his cardigan and retrieve the old book.

Maya stood still. She was yet to compose herself from the touch of Ishaan. All along she knew she had a liking for him. It is only because we are cousins, she reminded herself. But today, the way he had pulled her sent jitters through her. Am too young for all this, she murmured and chose to sit in a corner and avoid Ishaan. This was very difficult, she knew.

Arjun came half jogging to the room where the other three had gathered around, Arjun showed the book and asked Maya if she would read it aloud, considered she had a wonderful command over the language.

Feeling important all of a sudden, Maya took the book and cleared her throat.

The others listened intently.

The first three pages were poems praising the great Lord Shiva. With a very pious voice, Maya created a spiritual vibe that resounding through the room. The three were silent yet impatient through the first three pages. The scripts were of old Tamil literature, and although Maya found it difficult to read it, she made a remarkable effort in conveying the content effectively to the three. It was authored by Arjunavarman, a small ruler in the Chola Dynasty. The book proceeded to describe the beauty of Thanjavur, the river, the people, festivals, the revered Chola ruler, apart from the wealth and prosperity of the kingdom. From the context of it, the book was written in the 16th century and had mentioned about the Chinese traders, Portuguese traders, the Great Famine and other important events.

The author had elaborately mentioned about his travel to Europe after the Pandian regime had defeated the Chola dynasty in the Great War. Arjunavarman, along with his best friend Sivathondu Pillai had reached the central part of Europe, where they rested in a cave to escape the hard cold. It was on a rainy winter, that they were captivated by the German army and jailed in the dark cellar with other prisoners.

They were a lot of Asian prisoners who like Arjunavarman were either small rulers from the Chola, Magada, Maurya kingdoms and merchants from the Asian continent. There were beautiful princesses in another cellar held captive as a result of war or invasion. One snowy morning, when the prisoners were busy building a castle for the king in Germany, Arjunavarman saw her. She was a princess who wore a saree and a thick shawl. She was carrying water for construction as all other women did. He fell for her at the very first sight. Her tired yet determined face showed radiance even in the dark hour. She was slender and poised and moved like wind through the bushy yet slippery terrain.

As Arjunavarman watched her, his friend noticed him and pulled him aside.

She is a Pallava princess. A warrior. She came here on an expedition with her troops and was caught by the mighty force.

Arjunavarman summoned his courage and walked up to her and looked straight at her black, beautiful eyes.

Can I talk to you? He enquired in gentle tone, which startled her.

Although she had seen him the day he was locked inside, she decided not to give room for any romantic emotions and wanted to focus on winning over the army in Germany. She knew it was a mountainous task, yet her heart kept pounding at the very mention of her name as a slave.

She didn’t reply and turned to go away, when Arjunavarman spoke to her even more gently this time.

I am sorry, I believe you do not wish to talk to me. I respect your feelings. Any time you need any help, you can ask me. I am Arjunavarman, from the great Chola dynasty.

Thus saying he turned back to his work.

Arshiyadevi, the bold and beautiful princess was dumbstruck with this gentleness. She decided to speak to him the next day and met him near a big pine tree with the help of her friend.

Arjunavarman explained his travel and his captivity and told her that he and his friend have found a way to escape from the big dungeons. He asked if the princess would like to come along with him.

No, she replied firmly.

I am a Pallava princess. No way, am going to run away from my enemies. I want to fight them. I will fight them, she said fiercely.

We don’t have troops to fight, devi, Arjun explained.

Each prisoner here is an army, she was determined.

Arjunavarman, knew that women from his land are very tough, and every word she spoke was nothing but fire. He knew she was unstoppable.

Your name says what your are devi, Arshiyadevi, the red fire, he smiled.

I will organize the men and train them and fight. I shall have this castle as my own. Will you kindly consent to adorn the throne with me when I do that?

She blushed and held his hands tightly.

Yes, I will.


It took Arjunavarman 3 years to train all the prisoners. His friend and his ladylove spent hours motivating and encouraging, every time they saw a warrior lose hope. Arshiyadevi had also communicated to various kingdoms in Asia asking for support in terms of arms and immunities and very quietly, she was building her base inside the dungeons. Her strategic approach combined with the Great War skills of Arjuna and Siva gave them a huge victory over the unprepared army of Germany. At a time when there were lot of internal revolts throughout Europe for religion and language, this war was unsupported by the big leaders. Unnoticed even.


After the war, Arjunavarman and Arshiyadevi married and resided in the castle. They decided to stay in the castle for some years before returning to the Pallava kingdom. Sivathondu Pillai, their friend along with other warriors who wanted to return to Asia, started on their journey back home. Siva reached his sweetheart in the Chola kingdom and travelled back to the castle to stay with his friend for some more months. One year had passed and Arjunavarman and Sivathondu Pillai had become fathers of a boy and a girl respectively. As they happily cuddled their little bundle of joy, fate had a different story for them.

 

Chapter 20


Arjunavarman, Arshiyadevi, Sivathondu Pillai and his wife were residing peacefully in the castle, with their just born babies. Little did they expect that the happiness was short-lived. The defeated Germany ruler waited patiently for all the internal revolts to subside, and finally when he knew the time was right, approached his friends and acquaintances and formed a large army. Although Arjuna and Siva were anticipating this, the might of the attack was unforeseen. Swords couldn’t stand the power of gun powder. As soon as the men knew it was difficult to win, they asked the women to leave the country in horses with soldiers to the Pallava kingdom. Although Arshi resisted and requested to stay and fight, she was convinced by the other three that it was very important to save the lives of the children.

Siva’s wife a trained and accomplished horse rider, very careful mounted her horse with both the children, as Arshi was carrying a huge cloth wrapped bag. Nobody knew what was in the bag, as it was packed by Arshi without the help of the maids. Arjuna was not quite sure, why Arshi ran inside the chamber hurriedly to pick something. Maybe a painting or a sword, he thought.


Arshi had run to the chamber of paintings and had returned only after half an hour with a package wrapped in a red silk saree. She didn’t reveal to any of them about its contents of it though. She merely signaled Siva’s wife to take both the children in her horse as she wanted to carry the package by herself.

The book ended with no further information on what happened to them after the war.



The teens looked terrified. No body spoke for long. Only when they heard a faint cough from Sekar’s room, they came back to senses.

So, this is the mystery. Something was taken by Arshiyadevi. What happened to them after that? Where did they go? Did the men survive? I wonder how the women managed to ride for a long distant with children. What happened to the stolen product? Did they return to Germany? Maybe we know something more in the Pallava history books. What a strong couple?

Everyone spoke aloud, unable to control their stream of thoughts.

Maya closed the book and got up. She grabbed a bottle of water and shut her eyes. She felt possessed for some time. It was an overpowering emotion to read the history in the 16th century in Tamil. Arjun understood that his sister was feeling weak and sat next to her putting a comforting arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulders and relaxed.

The other two looked anxious. Ishaan quickly summarized the book in short bullets in the white writing board in the room. What did Arshiyadevi take from the castle? He wrote in big red letters.

The others stared at the question mark for some time.


It was dawn already and the voices of Devi and Dharma could be heard clearly downstairs?


Let us rest for some time before we discuss this further, Ishaan picked the book and quietly walked to their room with Arjun. The girls switched off the lights and tried to sleep.


The elders were sipping coffee when Ishaan came over, unable to sleep. He picked a hot coffee and sat next to his uncle. As they discussed the plan for the next week, Sekar asked when Dharma and his family are planning to visit them.

In Feb? We can take holidays then. Dharma suggested.

Any time, you know. Buy why don’t you send the children at least for a week or two?

Of course. Check with Arjun and Maya on their vacations and go Ishaan, as Dharma’s wife said this, Sekar gave a warm pat on his back.

Ok, now we will make breakfast today. Why don’t you all rest? Arjun said cheerfully and descended the stairs to join the group.

Sounds perfect. The sun is out again. Shall we take a stroll around? He asked Sekar, who readily joined him. The women didn’t wish to pull on their shoes and wrap the jackets so they decided to watch the morning news.

Bread, scrambled eggs, jam, fruits and coffee? Ishaan suggested.

Yes, but let us do it the Indo-German way. How about some hot pooris with potato as well?

Any maybe vada and kesari? The girls joined them in the kitchen as Arjun gave a bow to welcome them.

It was fun to cook together, watching you tube videos and confusedly adding ingredients to the recipe worried about the measurements. Most of the dishes came out good. The families gathered around in the garden basking the mild sun and enjoying the meal. It was nothing short of contentment to the elders. The men chose to put away the dishes, while the women and the teens continued chatting.

For some time, the teens had forgotten about the book and were relaxing in the love of their parents.


Dharma, do you have a pocket knife? I have to cur these label tags, Sekar asked pointing to the suitcases after loading the dishes. It is in Aarushi’s room. I will get it for you, Dharma replied and got up from the couch.

As he walked towards the room he considered once if he should ask his daughter to get it for him.

She is still a child and I do not have to ask permission to enter her room, he said to himself and switched on the lights.

Sekar, he screamed standing on the doorway. His face was white. Sekar ran upstairs wondering what had happened and clasped his hands over his mouth on the sight of the white board.

Who told them about this? Dharma whispered pointing at the name of Arshiyadevi on the board.