An Original Apocalyptic Epic of Gods & Humans

ECO ARRIORS

INDIA’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

As told to time-traveller T. Srikanth Sharan

2

TEASERS

1. The American hero, “Superman”… Is he a copycat version of the

Indian God, Hanuman? The name “Superman” resembles

“Sundarmaan”, the hero of Sundarakanda of Ramayan. Superman’s

chest has an S-symbol resembling Sri Ram on Hanuman’s chest.

Finally, the underwear on Superman’s trousers… A botched attempt

to copy the silk dhoti of Hanuman!

And then comes the batman, again an American creation. But King

Vikramaditya is called the “Original Bat Man”. Why is it so?

2. What happens when a terrorist falls in love with a lizard?

3. In Ramayan, during His flight to the Himalayas, Lord Hanuman

initially mistook a glittering golden mountain in the ocean on His

right for the Sanjeevini parvat. Where is this mountain of gold

present in India?

4. It is said that the sudden disappearance of Harappan civilisation

was due to the “diamond dust”. What is it?

5. The Prime Minister of India in 2040 A.D. discovers the holy

throne of Lord Krishna in the submerged city of Dwaraka. Will she

discover the famous Syamantaka mani too?

6. Animals have built a temple to worship humans. Where is it

located and why was it built?

7. The Indian Archaeology Department conducted a futile

excavation in 2013 A.D. for a 1000 ton gold treasure in U.P. The

3

British Intelligence considers it to be a golden alien ship. How is it

related to global warming?

8. Hitler, in his pursuit of immortality, tried in vain to discover the

Holy Grail, the cup that was used by Jesus Christ. Where is the

original “Cup of Immortality” present in India?

9. The cow is considered holy by the Hindus… Can it save the

human race from extinction in 2039 A.D.?

10. Why did the flood water touch the throat of Lord Shiva during

the “Himalayan Tsunami” of 2013 A.D. in Uttarakhand?

11. The catastrophe of global warming drives humans away to the

“Hanging Heavens”, by 2150 A.D. Where are the “Hanging

Heavens” present?

12. Satellite images confirm the presence of the mythical Vedic

River Saraswati under the Thar Desert. Who is going to resurrect

the lost Saraswati River in India by 2070 A.D.?

13. Which Vedic philosophy formed the basis of the glorious Rama

Rajya of Lord Sri Ram? Who shall revive the Rama Rajya in India in

2050 A.D.?

14. Despite his superior intelligence, man destroys the same planet

on which he lives. Is he cursed? If so, what is the curse?

Read “Eco-warriors- India's Autobiography”

As told to time-traveller T. Srikanth Sharan

4

(ECO WARRIORS - INDIA’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY)

An Original Apocayptic Epic of Gods and Humans Copyright © 2015 by Srikanth Sharan Thatipatthi

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission

from the author.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,

institutions, events and incidents are either the products of the

author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any

resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is

purely coincidental.

5

Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................. 7

2. The Curious Curse

When Earth Stole Venus’ Beauty ........................................ 9

3. The Diamond Dust

Migration of the Harappans ............................................ 15

4. King Vikramaditya

The Immortal Batman .................................................... 22

5. The Treasure and The Alien Ship – I ........................ 29

6. Himalayan Tsunami

The Wrath of Lord Shiva ................................................. 34

7. Indy Bishnoi

The Wonder Woman of India .......................................... 39

8. Lepola

The Mysterious Disease ................................................... 47

9. The Discovery

Dwaraka and The Mountain of Gold .............................. 54

10. Let’s Grow Money in India

Indy in Action ................................................................. 66

11. The Return of the Rama Rajya .................................. 71

12. The Mysterious Punisher – I ...................................... 82

6

13. The Mysterious Punisher – II

Resurrection of River Saraswati ........................................ 88

14. The Treasure and The Alien Ship – II ...................... 96

15. The Hanging Heavens

A New Home for Mankind ............................................ 102

Additional Stories

16. The Love Story of a Terrorist and a Lizard ............. 109

17. Poornakumbha

Cup of Eternal Joy ........................................................ 115

18. The Temple

Where Humans are Worshipped .................................... 122

7

1

Introduction

Hello! I am India. And I need no introduction.

By the way, this is 2200 A.D. And I narrate my autobiography to

your friend Srikanth Sharan Thatipatthi, who travelled from 2015

A.D. to 2200 A.D., in his unique time-travelling machine. Srikanth

is absolutely filled with horror at my present plight caused by man-

made global warming and climate change. He feels sad that humans

don't live on me anymore. And he frequently keeps staring at the

sky, looking at those “Hanging Heavens” which are now home to

humans.

It is on his request that I narrate my autobiography. Though

there is so much to say, I shall restrict myself to some of the most

important events in my history that humans were ignorant of. I shall

narrate my history in the form of interconnected, T20-style short

8

stories, in a chronological sequence, starting from the birth of the

beautiful Earth to 2150 A.D.

Finally, the Earth never needed a superman from some other

planet. She has only craved for eco-conscious human beings to save

her from a man-made environmental catastrophe. Srikanth feels

that your knowledge of my history, particularly the events after 2015

A.D., might bring a positive change in your attitude towards Mother

Earth. If that is the case, your future is literally in your hands!

9

2

The Curious Curse When Earth Stole Venus’ Beauty

Human beings were often called the most intelligent stupids on Earth!

On the one hand, he was an extremely intelligent animal who had invented

flying machines that could travel to the edge of the solar system. On the

other hand, despite his intelligence, he had polluted, plundered and destroyed

the same Earth on which he lived. Do you like to know the mystery behind

human's mindless destruction of forests and environment? Read on.

10

Ages ago, Venus was the most beautiful of all the planets of the

solar system. She appeared wonderful because she was the only

planet that supported life. The diversity of plants and animals, and

the pristine environment consisting of land, air and water made her

a stunning beauty. Such was her beauty and importance that she was

aptly called the Goddess of beauty, love and fertility. Everyone,

including Mars, the God of War, competed for her attention.

Finally, Mars won her love.

Everyone felt Mars would be her natural choice because Mars

then was the second largest and the most powerful planet after

Jupiter. (Jupiter was the father of Mars and the King of planets.)

Mars was also blessed with natural armour present in the form of

concentric rings of icy and rocky particles around his equator.

But Saturn, the God of Agriculture, was jealous of Mars. “I am

responsible for the healthy plant life that nurtures biodiversity on

Venus which in turn made her the most beautiful. Hence, Venus

should marry me,” said Saturn to Earth. Earth was also jealous of

Venus' beauty. Hence, she encouraged Saturn to dethrone Venus

from her pedestal.

Saturn declared, “I am the God of Agriculture and I shall

deprive Venus of her plant life. That will cause an ecological

11

imbalance which will destroy both the environment and the living

beings that are dependent on plants on Venus. Venus thus becomes

ugly.”

Mars heard about Saturn's plan to destroy Venus. And hence,

he approached Saturn and pleaded with him, “Saturn, I beg you not

to destroy Venus' beauty. We are in deep love and we want to marry

soon.”

“What do I get in return? Nothing,” said Saturn, looking at the

ringed armour around Mars' chest in admiration.

Mars thought for a while and said, “Saturn, if you spare Venus, I

promise to cede my power and natural armour to you in return for

your kindness.”

Saturn agreed to Mars' proposal immediately and hence spared

Venus. Mars kept his promise by surrendering his armour of rings

to Saturn.

Due to his extraordinary sacrifice, Mars became a hero and the

love between Venus and Mars deepened. This made Earth even

more jealous of Venus. Saturn too remained unsatisfied. “I thought

that Venus' love for Mars would diminish after the loss of his

natural armour, power and glory. On the contrary, Mars became

12

Venus' hero because of his sacrifice. I am unable to digest this,” said

Saturn to Earth. On hearing this, Earth encouraged Saturn to

permanently deprive Venus of her beauty, and award her that

beauty.

Accordingly, when Saturn deprived Venus of her beauty, Earth

reciprocated Saturn's favour in an extraordinary way. She plunged

herself into the weakened Mars with great force, like a missile. Due

to the impact, the Earth split into two fragments. The smaller

fragment finally formed the moon which revolved around the larger

parent fragment, the future Earth. Mars too exploded into a number

of fragments which finally formed asteroids. That act of Earth

shocked all the planets, including Saturn.

Earth declared, “My intention is to weaken Mars so much that

Saturn will finally emerge as the second largest and the most

powerful planet after Jupiter.”

Saturn, who was pleased with Earth's affection towards him,

blessed Earth with such an extraordinary variety of beautiful plant

forms that made her an incredible beauty. The Gods and all the

heavenly bodies felt that nothing more beautiful could ever be

created in the universe!

13

Jupiter, the King of planets, retaliated against Saturn and Earth

for destroying Venus and Mars against the laws of Nature. “O

Saturn, you will no more be a God of Agriculture, but a planet

associated with bad omen. And you will bring misery to anyone

exposed to your rays, based on his/her past karma.”

Jupiter also hurled a curious curse on Earth. “Since you have

destroyed Mars, destroying yourself in the process, you too will be

destroyed in a similar way by one of your own kids. Those kids will

be extremely intelligent stupids who will destroy you for their selfish

interests, destroying themselves in the process.” When Earth

pleaded for mercy, Jupiter asked her to approach the Supreme

Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara for relief (shaap

vimochan).

With all her glory, when Earth approached them, the Trinity felt

elated at her magnificent beauty. Awestruck by Earth's beauty, they

promised her, “O beautiful Earth, only the most intelligent

creatures, the human beings, can reverse the curse and liberate you

from Saturn's rays. If humans fail to save you because of their

stupidity, we will certainly try to delay the progress of your

destruction. But we order you to serve us in penance, with your

wonderful, ever-evolving biodiversity, in return for your vimochan.”

Earth agreed happily. And the Holy Trinity descended on her and

made Earth their permanent home.

14

Lord Maheshwara chose the mountains and plains as His home;

Lord Vishnu, the seas; and Lord Brahma, the air. Lord Brahma

created the magnetic field, ozone layer and other protective layers

around the Earth to prevent Lord Saturn's negative influence on

her. The lush green forests and the beautiful landscapes soothed

Lord Maheshwara's senses and elevated Him to a deep state of

meditation. And the magnificent Earth evolved and prospered

under the aegis of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord of Organisation.

15

3

The Diamond Dust Migration of the Harappans

The Harappan (Saraswati) civilisation, which was the largest urban

civilisation of the Ancient world, disappeared mysteriously around 1700

B.C. Various reasons were put forward to explain its sudden disappearance.

But the main cause of its downfall was the effect of Jupiter's curse. Though

the Holy Trinity saved the civilisation from total destruction, Lord Saturn

outwitted them. And the Harappans were finally engulfed in the diamond

dust that followed.

16

The Harappan civilisation flourished between 2600 B.C. and

1900 B.C on the banks of the holy river, Saraswati. It was known

throughout the world for its wealth and prosperity and had had

trade contacts with the other ancient civilisations of Egypt and

Mesopotamia. It spread over a vast area that is represented by the

present-day Pakistan and North-western India. What you now call

the Thar desert was once a vast stretch of greenery that was fed by a

number of tributaries of the mighty Saraswati.

Harappa prospered due to favourable climate, a vast river

system, fertile soil, and rich biodiversity which included an extra-

ordinary variety of plants and animals. Such was the importance of

biodiversity to Saraswati civilisation that the whole area was then

known as “Pashupatipura” after their deity Lord Shiva or Pashupati,

the Protector of biodiversity.

As the Earth prospered under the protection of the Supreme

Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, Saturn tried his best to

destroy her. But he failed every time because of the fool-proof

protective mechanisms/air layers created by the Supreme Trinity all

over the Earth. Such mechanisms have been created by them in

response to Lord Saturn's bombardment of Earth with massive

rocky meteors that almost destroyed the Earth, 320 million years

ago. (Those events and protective mechanisms are explained in

17

greater detail in the chapter titled “The Treasure and the Alien Ship

- II”.) Those protective air layers have reduced many of the massive

meteors (fired by Saturn) into small meteorites by vapourisation,

which then fell into the oceans without causing any destruction.

Finally, Saturn came up with a strange idea and decided to test it on

Earth.

On one pleasant day, Lord Saturn released some of the massive

ice boulders, present in his concentric rings, with a tremendous

force towards Earth. As those ice missiles approached Earth, Lord

Brahma laughed at Saturn's tricks.

“The protective layers that we have created around the Earth can

even vapourise massive rocks. Why does he send these ice boulders

which can be melted easily?” asked Lord Brahma.

“But look at the sheer size of those missiles. They are super

massive and are about one-fourth of the size of the Earth. So, I feel

that they might not get vapourised completely. And I am sure they

will hit the Earth,” observed Lord Vishnu.

“If they cannot be vapourised completely, Lord Shiva’s Trishul

will divert them into the ocean and their impact can be greatly

reduced,” said a confident Brahma.

18

“Saturn is a highly intelligent God. We cannot take him lightly.

So, let's be cautious,” warned Lord Shiva.

As the ice boulders approached the Earth, they blocked the Sun

rays completely and the Earth was engulfed in darkness. The ice

began to vapourise as they passed through the atmospheric layers of

the Earth. But Lord Vishnu predicted an impending danger and

said, “Each ice boulder is so massive that only three-fourths of it can

be vapourised. So, I am sure these missiles will hit the Earth. Hence,

I urge you, Lord Shiva, to deflect them into the ocean immediately.”

Lord Shiva immediately released His weapon, the Trishul,

towards those ice missiles. But to everyone's surprise, the Trishul

was unable to deflect the missiles into the ocean. Instead, the

massive ice boulders exploded into huge fragments, in mid-air, as

the Trishul pierced them.

“This is unexpected. Since these ice missiles are not as hard as

rocks, my Trishul has pierced them, instead of deflecting them,”

exclaimed Lord Shiva.

“Maheshwara, those scattered fragments of ice are travelling

towards the densely populated regions of Egypt, Mesopotamia and

Pashupatipura. All these areas will be destroyed if those fragments

hit them at their current speed. Those fragments need to be

19

destroyed within the next five seconds before they touch the

ground,” said a tense Vishnu.

On hearing this, Lord Shiva opened His third eye immediately.

Massive gusts of high-energy flames radiated from His third eye and

vapourised all those ice missiles into massive clouds in a fraction of

a second. And the world was saved from a catastrophe. But it

produced a strange weather phenomenon over Pashupatipura.

The vapourisation process resulted in a drastic reduction of

temperature all over the world. This global cooling forced the

massive clouds of vapour to condense rapidly producing a very fine

dust of snow. This snow dust glittered and twinkled like a diamond

shower in the sunshine. Hence, people called it the diamond dust.

People enjoyed and played in the snow which was a rare

phenomenon in Pashupatipura. But to everyone's surprise, the

snowfall continued for weeks and months without any interruption.

Many animals were killed for wool and fur. But it failed to meet

the massive demand for woollen textiles. Since coal and petroleum

were unknown to them, the people of Pashupatipura felled the trees

and burned them to keep their houses warm. The rampant felling of

trees for firewood continued for months. It was during this period

that Meluhapala, the great priest king of Pashupatipura, made the

most famous eco-prediction of ancient times.

20

He declared, “My fellow citizens... trees sustain life on Earth.

The rampant destruction of forests for firewood will certainly create

an ecological imbalance on Mother Earth. And I feel this will result

in an environmental disaster that may even wipe out our entire

civilisation. I understand we do not have any other alternative to

firewood to protect ourselves from the freezing temperatures. But

we should all be prepared to leave Pashupatipura when the disaster

strikes. And move eastwards into the dense forests and fertile plains

of the Ganga. Be prepared...” But people did not understand the

importance of his declaration.

Within two years of his prediction, Earth's first man-made

environmental disaster struck Pashupatipura in 1700 B.C. The

massive destruction of forests for firewood resulted in endless

stretches of barren waste land all over Pashupatipura. Those barren

lands were unable to withhold and absorb the rainfall which

resulted in run-off of rain water and soil erosion. That in turn

produced massive floods which caused enormous destruction in

Pashupatipura.

The next year, even before people recovered from the

destruction caused by the floods, another catastrophe had struck

them. A severe reduction in natural water harvesting and ground

water recharge the previous year (due to the unhindered run-off of

21

rain water over the denuded forests) failed to recharge the streams

and tributaries that fed the mighty Saraswati. In addition to that,

reduced transpiration over those denuded forests produced very few

rain bearing clouds. And that resulted in a severe drought in

Pashupatipura.

Frequent droughts over the years started the process of

desertification particularly in north-western India. People finally

realised the truth in their king's eco-prediction and they migrated

towards the Gangetic plains in droves.

The migrants from Pashupatipura readily integrated with the

Rudra (Shiva) worshipping Dravidians and other indigenous tribes

of India. Supported by their newly invented iron technology and the

fertile lands fed by the great rivers, the people of Hindustan made

colossal strides in science, architecture, art and literature. And

Hindustan sustained as the oldest living civilisation in the world

because of its respect for Mother Nature and her biodiversity. And

that was aptly represented in the Sanskrit phrase “Vasudhaiva

Kutumbakam” which means "the Earth is one family".

The importance of the conservation of forests, trees and

biodiversity, thus became an important part of Indian culture and

spirituality. And the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and

Maheshwara made India their permanent home.

22

4

King Vikramaditya The Immortal Batman

Do you know that many of the iconic American superheroes like

Superman, Batman and Spiderman have Indian connections?

It is often said that the American creation of Superman was deeply

inspired by the Indian God, Hanuman. For example, the name “Superman”

was derived from “Sundarman” who was none other than Hanuman, the

hero of Sundarakanda (of Ramayan). Even the prominent S-shield on

Superman's chest, which is the Kryptonian symbol for hope, reminds one of

Hanuman's open chest revealing Lord Ram, who was Hanuman's strength

and hope.

Not just that. The Americans were so obsessed with Hanuman that

they even tried to copy the traditional silk dhoti covering the waist and

23

thighs of Lord Hanuman. What else can explain a fashion conscious

American's “Superman” wearing underwear on his trousers?

And then comes the “Batman”, again an American creation. But very

few know that the great Indian king Chandragupta Vikramaditya was the

original batman!

Why was Vikramaditya called a batman? And why did he become an

eco-warrior which made him the greatest king of the Golden Age (320 AD -

550 AD) of Ancient India? Read on.

24

Once upon a time in Ancient India, there lived a king named

Samudragupta who was famous for his conquests, bravery, wisdom,

and love for Nature. His love for science resulted in the

establishment of the Department of Science and Technology, which

funded scientific research and encouraged innovation in his

kingdom. All this led to the advancement in military, agricultural

and communication technologies which made Samudragupta

further expand the kingdom aggressively by conquering many

neighbouring kingdoms.

Samudragupta's younger son, Chandragupta II, was brave and

intelligent like his father, but was not a keen lover of Nature. As a

child, he was exposed to scientific research which further increased

his interest in science.

The most interesting aspect of research conducted in the

kingdom was immortality. That was a highly guarded secret, known

only to the king and a few of his top ministers and scientists. After a

few years of research, the scientists were able to induce immortality,

to a certain extent, in animals.

After a few years, the king died and the young Chandragupta

became the king. Chandragupta, with his youthful zeal, expanded

his empire by conquering many powerful kingdoms. The Gupta

25

Empire reached its peak during his reign and he took the title of

Vikramaditya.

Though the empire achieved greatness under Vikramaditya in

many areas like art, literature and science and technology, the

weakness lay in its rampant destruction of forests to make way for

urbanisation and agricultural expansion throughout the empire.

The destruction of forests resulted in water and soil erosion which

caused floods that frequently destroyed agricultural lands and cities.

Forest destruction also increased pest and disease outbreaks in crops

and animals. People suffered due to diseases and famines caused by

huge crop losses. Noted physicians like Dhanwantari discovered

many herbal medicines and plant extracts that cured various

diseases. Vikramaditya was deeply impressed with the curative

powers of plants and Nature. He also realised the importance of

forests and the ecological balance that they maintained.

In the mean time, as the empire weakened because of those

hardships, a group of Barbarian kings of the peripheral kingdoms

thought that it was the right moment for them to attack the empire

as Vikramaditya was busy tackling the calamities. So, they

simultaneously attacked and plundered the Gupta Empire which

was unprepared.

26

King Vikramaditya was caught and was given cyanide poison by

the enemies to kill him instantly. His 'dead' body was given to his

family and ministers to cremate it. His ministers were very happy to

receive his body because they knew that the king could not die of

cyanide poisoning. He was, in some sense, immortal. They took his

body to a secret underground laboratory where the royal physicians

and scientists put some plant extracts in his mouth that reduced the

concentration of cyanide in his body. After sometime, the king

opened his eyes. Everyone around cheered him as the immortal

king. He was indeed immortal to cyanide poisoning.

Are you wondering how King Vikramaditya had acquired such

immortal powers? Read on.

A few years ago, when Samudragupta was alive, his scientists

discovered a strange biochemical mechanism in plants which made

the plants resistant to cyanide poison. In turn, the scientists

employed the same complex mechanism in animals and achieved

immortality in animals against cyanide poisoning. As cyanide was

the most powerful poison commonly used to kill the enemy kings,

the scientists, on the advice of Samudragupta, induced the same

cyanide resistant mechanism in Chandragupta. That was done using

some plant extracts and a complex surgical technique on the young

prince. And that was the reason for Vikrama’s cyanide resistance.

Wonderful! Is it not?

27

Now, after he recovered, King Vikrama, along with his group,

escaped (from the underground lab) into the Dandakaranya forests,

and gradually regrouped his loyal commanders and followers. There,

they decided to test a brilliant plan to attack the enemy. The plan

was unique and had been in the research stage since the time of

Samudragupta. It was basically based on the Ultrasound Bat

Communication Network (UBCN) of the Gupta Empire. Are you

excited to know more about this bat network? Here it is...

Just before the Barbarian attack on the Gupta Empire took

place, the Military Intelligence and Research Agency (MIRA) of

Vikramaditya was in the process of releasing trained bats

throughout the empire. That was meant to gather intelligence

through “Ultrasound Bat Communication Network” which

consisted of a battalion of trained bats that communicated through

ultrasonic waves. The bat battalion consisted of commander bats

and messenger bats which were trained accordingly. Sophisticated

metallic equipment that produced inaudible ultrasonic sounds was

developed by the MIRA to convey messages to the bat commanders.

On the other hand, the bats were trained to deliver messages to the

Intelligence personnel through a system of colour codes. That

consisted of bats dipping their snouts in specific water colours and

then touching their wet, coloured snouts on specific points on the

empire's map. Thus the bats were able to indicate on the map, the

28

actual ground positions and the movements of the enemy armies

and spies. And they were able to differentiate the enemies from

Vikrama's own army through colour codes. Red indicated the

enemies; and green, King Vikramaditya's army. What a brilliant

plan! Had the plan been tested before the Barbarian attack, Vikrama

would have easily defeated the enemies.

Now, in the Dandakaranya forests, using that technology,

Vikramaditya's Intelligence Agency alerted the bat battalion, which

in turn delivered messages regarding the ground positions of enemy

armies. In the mean time, the kings loyal to Vikramaditya were also

informed of the plan to attack the enemy. Vikramaditya's army

commanders worked in tandem with the bat commanders.

Coordinating with the loyal kings, Vikrama attacked the relaxing

enemies with lightning speed in the darkness. Vikrama emerged

victorious and regained his throne.

In his victory celebrations, Vikramaditya declared that his

empire would follow a sustainable development model, which

would be based on respect for Nature and conservation of natural

resources like forests, land, water and mineral resources. And thus

the Gupta era became the Golden Age of Ancient India. And in the

hearts of all Indians, the great emperor Chandragupta Vikramaditya

remained immortal.

29

5

The Treasure

and

The Alien Ship Part - I

That was 2014 A.D. The Archaeological Survey of India failed

to discover the gold treasure under the fort of Raja Dhaanya

Bahadur, a nineteenth century king of Sangrampur of Uttar

Pradesh. The priest's dream, based on which the excavation was

carried out, did not help in the discovery of the treasure. But the

treasure was true and remained hidden in the fort.

The American and the British Intelligence Agencies watched the

situation with great interest as Sangrampur was always under their

secret surveillance. They even operated a secret satellite that kept an

30

eye on the fort and its surroundings. Such was the importance of

Sangrampur!

Sangrampur was part of Hayamukha of ancient India.

Hayamukha, which was also reported by the seventh century

Chinese traveller Hiuen-Tsang, was a Buddhist centre of learning

which specialised in plant and ayurvedic sciences. Such centres of

learning, supported by the renowned Nalanda University of

Pataliputra, flourished all over Hindustan at that time. It was also

claimed that the Nalanda University funded those centres using the

gold that was produced by the legendary Syamantak diamond. The

diamond had the ability to produce certain amount of gold every

day. The diamond was given as a boon by the Sun God to Satrajit in

the Dwapara Yuga. Satrajit was a noble in the kingdom of Dwaraka

that was ruled by Lord Krishna. He later became the father-in-law of

Lord Krishna.

After the reign of Sri Krishna, the diamond was passed on to

several rulers. The kingdoms and the dynasties like the Mauryas and

the Guptas to which the diamond was passed on, prospered. Finally,

it ended up with the Buddhists of the Nalanda University in

550AD. After the Muslim invaders destroyed the university in 1193

AD., the diamond passed into the guardianship of the sages of the

Himalayas.

31

Centuries later, they passed it on to Akbar, the great.

Hindustan, under the Mughals, once again became a powerful

empire in the world. Finally, in 1845 AD., the diamond was handed

over to Raja Dhaanya Bahadur of Sangrampur by the famed Sikh

warriors of Punjab. That was done as per the advice of the Sun God

who had appeared in their Sikh Guru's dream.

Though Sangrampur was a small kingdom, it had never

encountered famines, which were quite frequent in those days. That

was because of the prosperous agriculture practised with minimum

destruction of forests, in and around Sangrampur. Raja Dhaanya

was a Nature lover and a keen conservator. He used to travel and

collect many rare, wild and domesticated varieties of plants and

animals all over Hindustan. His scientists bred them in his vast

research farms and thus helped in the propagation of many precious

indigenous varieties.

King Dhaanya was also a great Shiva devotee. He visited the

Shiva shrines in the Himalayas every year. During his pilgrimages to

the Himalayas, he used to carry the seeds of endangered plant

varieties with him. He deposited them with the saints of the

Himalayas, who preserved them in the cool temperatures of secret

caves, for posterity.

32

During one of his pilgrimages, a saint at the Amarnath cave

temple in Kashmir advised King Dhaanya thus: “Raja, you shall

soon receive the legendary Syamantak diamond from the Sikhs. The

diamond needs to be protected from the British since the gold

produced from the diamond might be spent on extensive coal

mining by the British industrialists. Already, the diamond has lost

some of its divine powers due to unprecedented coal consumption

for the ongoing industrial revolution.”

“What is this strange relationship between coal and the

diamond's powers, Acharya?” asked the king, unable to resist his

curiosity. The king was then enlightened about Jupiter's curse on

Mother Earth.

As per the saint's order, king Dhaanya constructed a Shiva

temple in his fort at Sangrampur. A long horizontal iron beam was

placed in the temple. A panchaloha Shiva Linga was fixed on that

end of the beam that extended into the sanctum sanctorum

(garbhagruha) of that temple. A huge rock idol of Nandi (Holy Bull)

was placed on the other end of the beam, in front of the temple.

That end of the beam with the Nandi was in turn supported by a

huge, vertical rosewood pillar, three-fourths of which was buried in

the ground. The Syamantak diamond was placed in a small chamber

atop the dhwaja stambha (flag pole) of the temple, and that fact was

kept a secret.

33

The most interesting aspect of that temple was the architectural

splendour of the vimanam, i.e., the towering roof of the

garbhagruha. The inner surface of the roof of the garbhagruha was

concave and was constructed using a special metallic alloy. The

outer surface of the metallic roof was raised into a huge metallic

tower which resembled Lord Shiva's jatajutam – the long tangled

strands of hair piled up into a conical bun on Shiva's head. From a

distance, the vimanam looked like a jatajutam placed a few inches

above the Shiva Linga that was installed in the garbhagruha.

During the first war of Indian independence in 1857, King

Dhaanya was betrayed by one of his nobles and was killed by the

British. The British searched not only for the diamond but also for a

huge, disc shaped, golden coloured unidentified flying object (UFO)

in the fort. The UFO was reportedly sighted by the people during

the final stages of the construction of the temple. Based on the

intelligence reports, the British believed that the UFO was an alien

flying ship from another planet. But the British search for the UFO

and the diamond remained unfruitful.

34

6

Himalayan Tsunami The Wrath of Lord Shiva

The Supreme Lord of meditation, Lord Shiva, was disturbed.

And He emerged from His deep state of meditation. The Ganga,

bound by the hair-locks of Shiva, used to keep Shiva's mind peaceful

and fit for meditation with her freshness and purity. But these

divine powers of Ganga seemed to be fading.

When Shiva enquired Ganga, she poured her woes before Him.

“My Lord, I have been subjected to unhindered pollution. My

freedom has been severely curtailed due to the encroachment of my

river banks by humans. My glaciers began to shrink due to man-

made global warming which in turn has reduced my voluminous

flows. Apart from this, O Lord, the rampant destruction of forests,

which catch the rain water, filter it, and feed my streams, resulted in

35

soil erosion and muddy tributaries. I am no more the

personification of purity. Humans have defiled me. I feel pathetic,

My Lord.” With such a distressed Ganga on His head, Shiva

understood the reason for his disturbed focus during His

meditation.

Shiva went on a stroll around the Himalayas to rejuvenate His

mind. As He walked by, He found Nandi, His favourite vehicle, in a

distressed mood. When He enquired, Nandi replied, “O Lord, the

virgin forests and pastures, containing many nutritious and

medicinal herbs, have been destroyed by humans to build houses,

dams, etc. With no natural food to eat, we are finally forced to feed

on the trash left by humans. We feel sick, My Lord.”

Thinking of a long-lasting solution to this, Shiva entered His

house only to find His wife, Parvati, in a pale condition. This

surprised Shiva. Goddess Parvati was well-known for Her child-like

exuberance. She was also fond of nurturing Her family that

consisted of all the diverse animals and plants in Nature. But She

too was found in a gloomy state. When Shiva enquired Her about

Her poor condition, She replied, “Maheshwara, much of the

wildlife and biodiversity, which I love and nurture, has been

declining rapidly due to rampant destruction of forests by humans.

So, when my whole family is suffering due to such mindless

destruction by one of my own kids (the humans), how can I be

36

happy, My Lord?” Lord Shiva understood that much has changed

during His long years of meditation. So, He decided to meet

Brahma and Vishnu, the Supreme Lords of Creation and

Preservation, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lord Brahma and Vishnu, along with Mother

Earth, appeared before Shiva. Shiva was shocked to see Mother

Earth in a devastated condition. He recollected how magnificent she

was before He went into deep state of meditation, ages ago. When

He enquired her of her pathetic plight, Earth replied, “O Lord

Pashupati, I had been subjected to mindless destruction by one of

my own kids (the humans) in the name of unsustainable

urbanisation. My holy body has been polluted by harmful effluents

from industries and households. My beautiful body has been

abraded due to erosion caused by endless denudation of forests.

Due to this, I have lost my ecological balance without which I

cannot sustain biodiversity. And without biodiversity, I feel lifeless,

Devadeva.”

Vishnu said, “Maheshwara, I am ready to extract these harmful

human-generated pollutants from the Earth. But these pollutants

have the ability to destroy anything that comes into contact with

them. Hence, I do not know where to discard them.” Brahma, who

was hearing this, immediately responded, “Maheshwara, ages ago,

when a deadly poison was produced from the Ksheera Saagara

37

mathanam (Churning of the Ocean of Milk), You protected the

Universe by storing the poison in Your throat. Hence, I plead You,

Devadeva, to get rid of these harmful pollutants that will be

extracted by Vishnu from Mother Earth.”

Shiva thought that it was a very easy task for Him and hence he

readily agreed. Lord Vishnu said, “I shall first start with the Ganga.”

Vishnu extracted all the harmful pollutants of the Ganga and

concentrated them in a small bowl so as to make it easier for Shiva

to drink them.

After sipping a small amount, Shiva fell unconscious. Lord

Brahma treated Him with a herbal potion which helped Shiva

regain His consciousness. “These pollutants are extremely poisonous

when compared to the poison I drank, ages ago, to save the

universe,” exclaimed Shiva. “But I will not give up.” Saying so, Shiva

transformed Himself into His most powerful form, the Bhairava,

and consumed the whole pollutants and stored them in His throat.

But the poison in the pollutants was so intense that it made

even Bhairava semi-conscious. He realised that it was impossible

even for a Supreme Being like Him to withstand so much amount

of poison. And hence, Shiva thundered, “O Rain God, I order you

to burst on Me with full might, immediately.” That led to torrential

rains which resulted in flash floods. The floods destroyed everything

38

that had unsustainably encroached on the banks of the Ganges and

the slopes of the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand, where holy

shrines of Lord Shiva were present. Gradually, the flood level

reached the throat of Lord Shiva and diluted the concentration of

the poison in His throat, there by bringing Him back to

consciousness.

The Gods, including the Ganga and Mother Earth hailed Shiva,

the Lord of Destruction. By destroying some of the evils affecting

the Ganga, Shiva purified her, to some extent, and tried to establish

the ecological balance in Nature.

But Lord Shiva proclaimed, “I now realise that even the most

powerful Trinity of Gods cannot save the Earth from destruction. It

is up to the humans to act now and save their Mother Earth and

themselves from the impending man-made environmental

catastrophe.”

39

7

Indy Bishnoi The Wonder Woman of India

Can a human being become a fish or a bird? Yes. That was possible for

Indy Bishnoi, the wonder woman of India.

It is a universal truth that the higher animals evolved from the

lower animals. This can be clearly observed during the development

of an embryo of a higher animal. For example, a human embryo, in

its mother's womb, passes through various stages which are similar

to some of the developmental stages of its ancestors like fish,

amphibians and reptiles!

This is due to the presence of some of the “ancient genes” of the

lower animals, in human cells, that get expressed during the initial

stages of human embryo development. Later, these “ancient genes”

40

get “silenced” and some other “modern genes” get activated which

finally results in the development of a human foetus. Scientists, in

various institutes around the world, had carried out research on this

evolutionary phenomenon.

Indian scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

(TIFR), Mumbai, also worked on the same phenomenon. After

decades of research, in 2036 A.D., they became the first in the

world to successfully activate the silenced “ancient genes” in adult

mammals like rats and guinea pigs. And the results were fantastic.

The adult rats turned into fish when placed in water! And when

they were placed on the top of a tall stool, or when suspended in the

air with the help of a rope, the rats were able to develop wings,

similar to that of a bat. When the stimulus of water (or altitude) was

removed, the fish (or winged rat) once again turned into a normal

rat.

One of the brilliant students of the research team of TIFR that

developed the methodology for activation of “ancient genes” in rats

was Indy Bishnoi. She was born in 2010 A.D. in the legendary

Bishnoi community of western Rajasthan. The Bishnois were a

Hindu sect who gave utmost importance to the conservation of

plants and animals around them. Killing of animals and felling of

green trees were prohibited. Their main religious philosophy was

41

based on the principle that “harming the environment means

harming yourself.”

The Bishnois loved Mother Nature to such an extent that they

would even sacrifice their lives to prevent the killing of animals and

trees. One such example was of Amrita Devi Bishnoi, who along

with hundreds of fellow Bishnoi women, sacrificed her life while

preventing the felling of trees for the construction of the king's

palace in 1730 A.D. And Indy Bishnoi too inherited such fierce love

for Mother Nature.

Indy's father, Prithvi Bishnoi, was an Indian Revenue Service

officer who worked in the Income Tax Department. Her mother,

Jwaala Bishnoi, was an Indian Forest Service officer. Indy's parents

sensitised her to the harmful effects of unplanned urbanisation,

rampant corruption and illegal exploitation of natural resources. For

example, Indy, who had witnessed the catastrophic Mumbai floods

in 2020 A.D., learnt that the frequent occurrence of floods in

various cities was the result of illegal encroachment of natural water

bodies (for real estate construction), destruction of greenery,

mindless concretisation of natural pavements in the name of

beautification, and poor drainage system.

The illegal burial of lakes, which acted as natural water

harvesters and ground water rechargers, resulted in water erosion.

42

The absence of trees and natural vegetation, the presence of which

could have otherwise reduced the water erosion, further intensified

the flood phenomenon. Poor water infiltration into the ground due

to concretisation of pavements, and improper drainage system

finally resulted in catastrophic floods in the cities.

In addition to this, Indy's parents enlightened her about the

scams involving corrupt bureaucrats, politicians and business

tycoons who plundered natural resources for their personal gain. All

these experiences left an indelible mark on the young Indy's mind.

One day, when Indy was conducting research in her laboratory

at TIFR, she was accidentally exposed to the “inducer mist”. The

“inducer mist” was composed of tiny liquid droplets containing a

mixture of hormones and DNA fragments. The mist was regularly

used to activate the “ancient genes” in rats by making them inhale

the mist. None, including Indy, was aware of her accident.

On one moonlit night, Indy and her friends visited the famous

Chowpatty beach of Mumbai, in a caravan, to collect a few jelly fish

for their research. After the work, Indy said, “Friends, I would like

to relax on the beach. I will join you in the caravan after an hour.”

As she was relaxing on the beach relishing the vast body of

moonlit water, an irresistible love for water overpowered her. She

43

sensed a gradual change in her body and felt suffocated. In a fit of

delirium, she sprang into the sea, swam in a semiconscious state and

got lost in the deep sea. After a few hours, when she came back to

her senses, she was surprised to see herself alive. In fact, she was

breathing and moving effortlessly among some big fish in the ocean

depths. She was no longer a human, but a matsyakanya (mermaid)!

She swam for hours in the sea and felt amazed at the

extraordinary variety of plant and animal life under water. She

rested for a while on the Lakshadweep Islands, under the star

studded sky. She then continued her journey towards Kanyakumari

located at the tip of the Indian peninsula.

At Kanyakumari, she rested at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial

and meditated for a while. She realised that the Earth was not some

non-living object supporting the living organisms. It's a unique,

living superorganism that not only supported interdependent plants

and animals but was also in turn nourished by the eco-friendly

biological activities of those plants and animals! She dreamt of the

curse of Jupiter and foresaw the imminent man-made global

environmental catastrophe. The visuals of the global doom woke her

up from deep meditation.

After enlightenment at Kanyakumari, she continued her journey

towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands through the holy Ram

44

Setu (Adam's Bridge) that connects India and Sri Lanka. After a day

of continuous swimming, she finally reached the islands. She swam

around the islands and reached the volcanic Barren Island located

in the Andaman Sea.

She relaxed on the shore for a long time and transformed into a

human being again. Feeling hungry, she walked around in search of

some fruit trees. True to its name, the Barren Island was almost

barren because of its volcanism. Unable to walk further, she fell

onto the ground. Staring at the starry sky, the starving Indy longed

for a fruit tree that could satiate her hunger.

Her intense hunger and her inability to walk further produced

strange changes in her body. Large, strong flaps of cartilaginous

tissue emerged gradually from the lateral portions of her body. After

a few minutes, they produced webbed wings similar to that of a bat.

Having experienced the life of a fish, Indy was then sure of her

ability to fly. She ran for a while to gain momentum and leapt into

the air with expanded wings. But expectedly, she fell onto the

ground.

She tried and tried till she lifted herself up into the air. She

quickly learnt the nuances of flying and savoured the aerial view of

the Earth below. Forgetting her hunger, she flew to a great height in

45

a few minutes. After losing herself in flight for an hour, she then

alighted on a fruit tree and ate the delicious fruits with great relish.

Having regained her strength, she started her return journey to

Mumbai. She flew over the Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana and Maharashtra, and finally reached Mumbai. After

hovering for a while over the concrete jungle, she alighted on the

balcony of her multi-storey apartment. In the darkness of the night,

she transformed into a normal human once again. She draped

herself in a night gown hung in the balcony, and knocked gently at

the door of the adjoining bedroom.

There were a few uneasy whispers inside the bedroom.

Understanding the uneasiness of her friends, Indy said softly,

“Don't be afraid, my dear friends. It is me, Indy Bishnoi.”

“What?” her friends exclaimed. They turned on the light in the

balcony and peeped through the glass windows. “Oh my God,

where were you all these days? You have been missing for four days.

We have even lodged a complaint with the Police.”

“Will you please let me in? I have an incredible story to tell,”

Indy said excitedly. Her friends opened the door and hugged her.

46

“Why did you leave your clothes on the beach? Did you go for

swimming that night?” one of her friends asked, curiously.

“Yes. I did go for swimming. But, first of all, you should trust

me. Will you?” said Indy.

“Yes, we trust you,” said her friends.

“I seem to have been accidentally exposed to the “inducer mist”

in the lab. Hence, I can partially transform into a fish and a bird.

And I can swim and fly with ease...,” Indy narrated her story.

Even before her friends started wondering if her story was true,

Indy transformed herself into a winged woman, jumped from the

balcony and flew around.

“A batwoman!” her friends exclaimed in delight, tasting the

success of their evolutionary experiments.

The next day, hazy pictures of a flying “batwoman”, captured by

the surveillance cameras and stargazers the previous night, went viral

on the internet. After a week of thorough medical examination of

Indy, the Government of India officially declared the identity of the

“batwoman” as “Indy Bishnoi, the wonder woman of India”.

47

8

Lepola The Mysterious Disease

As if the deadly natural calamities caused by man-made global

warming were not enough, a mysterious disease emerged in the

tropical forests of Africa, Asia and Amazon, in 2039 A.D. But

unlike any other disease, the crippling, deadly disease spread

throughout the world in no time. And it affected both the rich and

the poor alike.

Initially, doctors thought that the disease was “Ebola” which had

appeared in a severe form in 2015 A.D., particularly in Africa. But

after a few days, they were shocked at the horrific symptoms of the

disease. The victims lost all sensation at the tips of their fingers and

toes, which got amputated naturally after a couple of days. And

death followed within a week! The crippled appearance resembled

48

leprosy. The mysterious disease attacked anyone who has not even

come into contact with the affected persons.

Within a month, one-fifth of the world human population was

wiped out. Kings, presidents and prime ministers of some of the

most developed nations fell victim to the disease. Scientists were

clueless about the cause of the disease and hence they were unable

to find any vaccine for its cure.

A global emergency was declared by the World Health

Organisation (WHO), and billions of dollars were invested in

research to find out the cause of the new disease which was named

“LEPOLA”.

Indy Bishnoi, who was leading various agitations against illegal

destruction of forests in India, decided to find out the cause of

Lepola. With her unique evolutionary powers, she transformed

herself into a fish; and later, into a bat. And she studied various

habitats as an animal travelling all over the world. Within a

fortnight, she discovered the cause of Lepola.

The next day, an Indian newspaper published the news of her

discovery. The news item read thus: “The root cause of Lepola is

human being. His excessive use of fossil fuels (coal and petroleum)

in industries and automobiles released enormous amounts of

49

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants into the atmosphere.

Further, his rampant destruction of dense forests drastically reduced

the number of trees on the Earth. We all know that trees absorb

CO2 and release pure Oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere. But man’s

mindless destruction of forests resulted in an unprecedented

accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere that not only caused global

warming but also produced some unknown mutations and

biochemical toxins in plants. These toxins in turn got accumulated

in even larger quantities in the herbivores (like cattle, goats, sheep,

poultry, etc) that fed on these plants. But these toxins are not

harmful to plants and animals. All these toxins were in turn

transmitted to human beings, the final consumers, through milk,

meat, eggs, etc. Extremely high quantities of these toxins thus got

accumulated in humans due to the above-mentioned

biomagnification process. And this finally resulted in the dreaded

disease Lepola. Finally, the spread of Lepola can be controlled by

prohibiting the destruction of forests, which will help recycle some

of the excess CO2 into O2.”

Some people wondered how those toxins were harmful only to

the human beings but not to the animals and the plants that

produced and accumulated them.

“Why not? A mosquito harbours and transmits the malaria

parasite to a human being who in turn suffers from malaria. But the

50

mosquito remains unharmed. So, these are human-specific

diseases,” argued some other scientists, in support of Bishnoi's

discovery.

After intense global research, scientists identified and isolated

the mysterious toxins, and established their role in causing Lepola.

But after a fortnight of research, the WHO declared, “It is

almost impossible to develop a vaccine for Lepola. This is due to the

continuous mutations in the antigens present on the Lepola causing

toxins. In these circumstances, the incidence of Lepola can be

decreased by temporarily reducing the consumption of animal

derived products like milk, eggs, meat, etc so as to reduce the

biomagnification of Lepola toxins in humans. Instead, consume

plant derived products like fruits, cereals, pulses and vegetables till

further research findings. Plant as many trees as possible and stop

the destruction of forests immediately.”

Instead of reducing the consumption of animal derived

products, people, out of fear, shunned those products, completely.

Instead, the whole world became vegetarian! That resulted in a

colossal wastage of animal products, particularly milk, all over the

world.

51

Indian agricultural scientists then came up with the age-old

Indian concept of “Panchagavya” to prevent the wastage of milk.

Panchagavya is an organic fermented mixture that mainly consists of

five different products derived from cow. They are dung, urine,

milk, ghee and curd. Panchagavya acts as a natural, eco-friendly

fertiliser, pesticide, plant growth stimulant and an immunity booster

in plants because of the hormones present in it.

The concept of the usage of Panchagavya in agricultural fields

and grazing lands was immediately adopted by all the European and

other Western countries which had a huge population of dairy

cows. They also exported excess cow milk, free of cost, to the poor

developing countries which faced a shortage of cow milk.

After two months of massive tree planting and a complete

prohibition on the destruction of forests, scientists observed that the

amount of Lepola causing toxins in the plants reduced by eighty per

cent.

But Dr. Madhav Sahyadri, the famous environmental scientist of

the renowned Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, argued,

“Massive tree planting and a ban on the destruction of forests alone

cannot reduce the enormous amount of pollutants (CO2) present in

the atmosphere in just two months. These seedlings should grow

into trees which can then recycle CO2 on a very large scale. Our

52

research too does not indicate much change in the global

atmospheric CO2 concentration in the past two months. Hence,

there should be some other reason for the reduced amount of

Lepola toxins in the plants.”

After a few days, Dr. Madhav's guess proved right. A joint Indo-

US research team declared, “The usage of Panchagavya, on a global

scale, produced certain beneficial biochemical changes, including an

increased immunity, in the treated plants, which helped in the

reduction of Lepola toxins in the plants.”

Meanwhile, based on global research reports, the United

Nations Organisation (UNO) declared, “Humans can now consume

animal derived products without any hesitation owing to the

negligible levels of Lepola toxins in plants and animals.”

The UNO further declared, “Since only a small amount of milk

is required in the preparation of Panchagavya, we request people

not to waste huge quantities of milk for the same. We also urge

people, all over the world, to participate in massive tree planting

operations, and also nurture the tree seedlings till they sustain

themselves. Our future is in our hands. And this is the last

opportunity for us to act and save our humanity from self-

destruction.”

53

Such was the importance of Lepola and its destruction in the

history of humankind that it produced a major shift in human's

attitude towards environmental conservation. A new ideology called

“Ecoism” emerged as an alternative to capitalism and socialism. And

it dominated the world for a generation.

Various political parties which supported the ideology of

“Ecoism” and its core principle of “sustainable development” came

to power, all over the world. They took various names like the

Ecoists, the Greens, the Conservationists, the Eco Freedom Party,

the Tree Party, the Eco Saviours, the Eco Warriors, the Eco

Revolutionaries, etc

As mankind was saved from a catastrophe due to Indy's prompt

discovery of the cause of Lepola, she became an eco-hero in India.

Further, people became conscious of Nature conservation, and

appreciated Indy's leadership and her campaign against widespread

destruction of forests in India.

Hence, in 2040 A.D., in those fresh winds of “Ecoism” that

were roaring across the world, India too voted an ecoist party, the

“Sustainable Development Party (SDP)”, to power. And the SDP's

leader, Indy Bishnoi, was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India,

who promised, and in fact, revived the Rama Rajya in India.

54

9

The Discovery Dwaraka and The Mountain of Gold

In 2040 A.D., the Prime Minister of India Indy Bishnoi shocked

the world by announcing an incredible scheme, “The Indian Super

Deposit Scheme”. None, including her best friend, Zeenath, trusted

the scheme.

The scheme had a tagline- “Let's Grow Money in India.” The

scheme was considered impossible because it had promised a return

of Rs. 10/- after ten years for every one rupee invested. When Indy

asked Zeenath, a gold trader, to invest her money in the scheme,

Zeenath exclaimed, “Indy, how can you promise me Rs.100 crore

after ten years, if I invest Rs.10 crore now? This is impossible.”

Zeenath looked deep into Indy's eyes for an answer. Indy replied

55

instantly, “I am confident. And I promise the returns.” But Zeenath

was not convinced.

Three months after the announcement, none invested in the

scheme. Everyone questioned the scheme. “The whole world is

suffering from severe economic crisis because of natural calamities

like severe droughts and unseasonal floods caused by global

warming and climate change. Plants and animals are unable to

adapt to the changed climate. So, agriculture has collapsed. This in

turn resulted in the collapse of agro-based industries which are

dependent on agriculture for raw material. Hence, stock markets,

which offered profitable returns a few decades ago, have collapsed

now. The safest places to invest now are the public sector banks

which offer only double returns on investments over a ten-year

period. So, how can one offer such astronomical returns of ten

times the investment? This is impossible,” argued Sam Adams, a

famous economist from U.S.A., in a T.V. interview.

One day, Indy invited Zeenath to dinner. After dinner, Zeenath

said, “Indy, you seem to be restless. What's bothering you?”

Indy replied, “I pinned lot of hopes on this scheme, Zeenath.

The Indian government needs at least one trillion dollars of

investment in the next five years, to boost the economy. India, like

the rest of the world, is going through a severe economic crisis due

56

to the catastrophic effects of man-made climate change. But because

of my unique evolutionary powers, I can understand that our

Mother Earth still has the ability to recover from the ill-effects of

global warming. All I need is money to make necessary amendments

on a large scale in India. People don't believe me. Even you don't

trust me, Zeenath.”

After hearing Indy's agony, Zeenath replied, “You are my best

friend, Indy. I trust you personally. But when it comes to

investment, you need to provide some guarantee. You see, as a gold

merchant, I lend money to people who offer their gold ornaments

as a security. Indy, you too should provide similar security to the

people who want to invest money on a large scale in your scheme.”

Indy quickly shot back, “Where can I get so much gold that can

act as a security to some one trillion dollars of people's investment

in the scheme?” Indy waited for an answer from Zeenath.

Zeenath thought for a while and said helplessly, “Maybe we

should find King Midas of the greek mythology, who can turn

anything that he touches into gold.”

Indy replied, “Why search Greek mythology when we have our

own great Indian legends?”

57

“So, Indy, who is the Indian Midas?” asked Zeenath.

Indy thought for a while and exclaimed, “Syamantak diamond!”

“Are you speaking about the Syamantaka mani that was given as

a boon by Sun God to Satrajit?' asked Zeenath.

“Yes. Exactly...It had the divine power to produce certain

amount of gold every day. And Satrajit's daughter, Satyabhama, later

married Lord Sri Krishna,” said Indy, excitedly.

“So, do you expect the diamond to be present in Brindavan of

the present day Uttar Pradesh?” asked Zeenath.

“No, Zeenath. Sri Krishna was the ruler of Dwaraka of the

present-day Gujarat. And Satrajit too was a noble in Dwaraka,” said

Indy.

“But Dwaraka was lost long ago,” exclaimed Zeenath.

“Yes. But the Archaeological Survey of India had discovered it

submerged in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Gujarat, a few

decades ago” said Indy.

“Did anyone find the diamond, Indy?”

58

“Not yet. Maybe, I should try.” Saying so, Indy left for Dwaraka

in Gujarat.

She reached the Gujarat coast, and entered the Arabian Sea.

After a few minutes, she became a mermaid. And she swam across

the submerged structures that were excavated by the Archaeology

Department. Even after a day-long search, she was unable to find

any diamond on the seabed.

As Indy was swimming through the rubble, a school of fish

passed by. Indy interacted with some of the fish in that group.

“My dear friends, do you have any idea regarding the Syamantak

diamond that was given as a boon to Satrajit of the kingdom of

Dwaraka? I am unable to find it in this rubble,” asked Indy.

An old fish exclaimed, “Oh! Dwaraka, the kingdom of Lord

Krishna… We are just coming from that place.”

On hearing that, Indy asked, “Is this not Dwaraka?”

“You are now on the outskirts of Dwaraka that was excavated by

humans. The core city of Dwaraka is eight kilometres away from this

59

place, in the deep sea, towards west. And it is present ten metres

below the ocean floor,” said another fish.

“So, it is impossible to see the actual city!” wondered Indy.

“As a matter of fact, we actually live in the Dwaraka city. It is

our home now,” said the old fish.

“But you said that it lies buried ten metres below the ocean

floor,” argued Indy.

“Yes. But there is a maze of numerous interconnected cracks in

the ocean bed that connect the ocean floor with the buried city of

Dwaraka. Many of our ocean friends live there,” explained the old

fish.

Indy felt very happy on hearing this. She immediately asked the

old fish, “Can I visit the holy place?”

The old fish agreed and asked one of her kids to accompany

Indy to that place.

Both of them swam into the deep sea and finally reached a spot

where Indy was guided by the other fish through a series of

complex, interconnected fractures in the ocean bed. Finally, they

60

entered a magnificent building which had huge rooms, the walls

and pillars of which were richly decorated with gold and diamond

ornaments.

Indy was guided through the building which was occupied by

countless number of ocean-dwelling animals like crabs, crawlers,

snakes, hydras, etc. When they finally reached a majestic hall with a

staircase and a peacock-feather shaped, diamond studded, golden

throne, she realised that it was the palace of Lord Sri Krishna.

Indy's joy knew no bounds as she experienced the spiritual bliss

before the throne of Lord Krishna.

Indy stayed there for a week, searching for the diamond in the

underground city. Though she found countless tonnes of golden

ornaments everywhere in the super rich city, she failed to locate the

Syamantak diamond.

After a week, she finally decided to leave. She thanked her ocean

friends for their hospitality and started her return journey to the

coast.

When she reached the coast of Gujarat, her fish-shaped body

transformed into her original human form again. People visited the

coast in large numbers to have a glimpse of their charismatic prime

61

minister. Indy was later told that the Indian Parliament had

declared a state of red alert as the security agencies thought that the

prime minister was lost after she had ventured into the sea.

Zeenath, who heard the news of Indy's return, rang her, “Indy,

where have you been all these days?”

Indy replied, “I was on a pilgrimage to the holy land of Sri

Krishna...”

The next day, Indy declared to the world about her discovery of

the underground Dwaraka. And the whole area, off the coast of

Gujarat, was declared a “marine sanctuary” and a “holy national

heritage” of supreme importance.

When Zeenath asked indy if she would use the precious treasure

of Dwaraka since she did not find the Syamantak diamond, Indy

replied, “No. I do not consider it a treasure. I consider it holy

because it belongs to Lord Krishna. And the underground holy city

will not be excavated since it would destroy the innumerable marine

animals which made the holy city their home. Instead, a highly

trained team will record the images of the underground city using

camera-mounted flexible cables that would be sent through the

fractures in the ocean bed, without causing any damage.”

62

“I am proud of you, Indy,” said Zeenath. Indy smiled and said,

“Praise the Lord.”

“Yes. Lord Krishna will certainly help you find the gold

necessary for your scheme too, Indy,” replied Zeenath.

“Let's hope that His Lotus Feet will bless me,” said Indy.

“Many of His devotees have found great solace at His Lotus

Feet. Indeed, the whole town of Brindavan found comfort at His

Lotus Feet, under the Govardhana Hill that was lifted by Lord

Krishna on His little finger to protect the people from a super

storm. Similarly, you too will be protected by a mountain of gold,

Indy. Don't worry,” replied Zeenath.

On hearing her words, Indy kept on repeating, “The mountain

of gold....., the mountain of gold....”

“What is the matter, Indy?” Zeenath asked, curiously.

“Zeenath, there is a mention of a mountain of gold in

Ramayan,” said Indy.

“Where?” asked Zeenath.

63

“In Lanka, when Lakshmana fell unconscious while fighting

Indrajit (the son of Raavana), Lord Hanuman was asked to bring

some fluorescent medicinal herbs from the Sanjeevini mountain in

the Himalayas. In the middle of His flight, Lord Hanuman observed

a glittering mountain of gold in the ocean on His right. But He

soon realised that it was not the Sanjeevini mountain since

Sanjeevini was located in the snow-capped Himalayas. So, I am now

wondering about that mountain of gold,” said Indy.

“Since He was in the middle of His flight, from Lanka towards

the Himalayas, the ocean on Hanuman's right could have been the

Bay of Bengal. And the golden mountain could have been a part of

the peaks of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some of which have

submerged under the sea over the years,” guessed Zeenath.

Indy thought for a while and shouted, “Eureka! The mountain

of gold exists. Gold is often associated with volcanoes. And some of

the peaks in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were once active

volcanoes. Over the years, the growth of vegetation on those

mountains covered with fertile volcanic soil might have covered the

exposed gold.”

Indy hugged Zeenath, and ordered a team of geologists to survey

the Andaman and Nicobar Islands immediately. After an intense

survey, the scientists discovered that the uninhabited Barren Island,

64

the only active volcano in India, located to the east of Andaman

Islands, was indeed the mountain of gold!

Indy declared the next day, “The Barren Island is a mountain of

gold that is priceless. So, I urge my fellow Indians and investors

worldwide, to invest in the Indian Super Deposit Scheme without

any fear. And I promise you that this mountain shall act as a

security to your investments.”

Some people wondered why Indy should not sell some of the

gold of that mountain instead of seeking investments worldwide.

To this, Indy replied, “When I am absolutely confident that I

will be able to repay ten times the investment one makes in the

scheme, why should I mine and degrade the mountain which is a

wildlife sanctuary that is home to a rainbow of marine life. And

above all, it is a virgin island where man has not ventured because of

its volcanism and government protection. The declaration of this

mountain as a security is only to convince the investors of the

security provided to their investments."

Within days of Indy's declaration, the total investment in the

Super Deposit Scheme crossed two trillion dollars. Everyone, rich

and poor, throughout the world, invested in the scheme. Such was

the confidence of people in the priceless “mountain of gold”.

65

Zeenath, who invested fifteen crore rupees in the scheme, asked,

"What next, Indy?”

Indy replied, "Let's grow money in India!"

66

10

Let’s Grow Money in India Indy in Action

Flush with funds, Indy Bishnoi was now ready to give shape to

her ecoist ideas. First and foremost, she appointed honest and

efficient Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in all the

government departments.

She then concentrated on the biggest crisis of India, i.e., climate

change. She knew that India (and the world) was going through a

severe environmental crisis due to pollution, global warming and

climate change, which have caused severe droughts, cyclones, floods,

forest fires, coastal flooding due to a rising sea level, soil erosion and

degradation of fertile farm lands, and disease epidemics affecting

food crops, animals and humans. All these have resulted in

enormous loss of plant, animal and human wealth.

67

Hence, she instructed the Department of Agriculture and

Biotechnology (DABT) to identify and record, within three months,

all the animal and plant varieties, including wild, traditional and

hybrid varieties, resistant to pests, diseases, droughts and floods in

different parts of India. She urged the people of India to cooperate

in the identification process.

The DABT carried out the work in coordination with the state

and the local governments, including the village panchayats, with

people's participation on a large scale.

She then focussed on the problem of unemployment in India.

On the one hand, there was a huge rural population which had lost

its agriculture based livelihood due to the harmful effects of global

warming and climate change on agriculture. On the other hand, the

failure of agriculture resulted in the collapse of agro-based industries

that had employed millions of people, all over India. That had led

to huge job losses, prohibitive food prices due to food scarcity, and

increased crimes in the society due to unemployment.

"I would like to create jobs on a large scale in India," Indy said to

Zeenath, excitedly.

"But how?" asked Zeenath.

68

"With the amount of funds I have in the Super Deposit Scheme,

I can easily establish eco-friendly industries, on a large scale, that can

employ a huge number of people in India," said Indy.

"Eco-friendly industries..! I heard only of polluting industries,"

exclaimed Zeenath.

"Yeah... These eco-friendly industries will manufacture

equipment necessary for the generation of electricity from

environment-friendly, renewable sources of energy like solar, wind

and tidal power. In fact, India is blessed with huge solar, wind and

tidal potential. Hence, if implemented on a massive scale, this eco-

friendly power will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels (coal and

petroleum) by 75 percent, in the next fifteen years," replied Indy.

"You seem to be more interested in pollution and climate

change caused by the burning of fossil fuels. But what are your plans

to boost the Indian economy, Indy?" asked Zeenath.

"Climate change and environmental pollution and degradation

are the biggest obstacles to economic growth. So, if you target these

problems, you will see wonders, Zeenath," explained Indy.

69

“If the solution is as simple as that, then why is the world not

shifting to eco-friendly energy?” questioned Zeenath.

“Lethargy, lack of political will, insensitivity towards Mother

Earth, lack of urgency towards issues of climate change, selfishness,

greed, lack of vision and respect for the future generations, and so

on.....,” replied Indy.

The next day, Indy Bishnoi launched a major scheme, the “Eco-

skill Development Mission (ESD Mission)”. The Mission's aim was

to train millions of unemployed people and develop their skills

required for their employability in the eco-friendly industries, which

are to be established soon on a massive scale.

After two months of announcement of the ESD Mission, a

newspaper headline read, “Crimes in India reduced by fifty

percent.”

“When millions of unemployed people are being offered very

handsome wages, even during their training stage under the ESD

Mission, why would anyone commit crimes to earn money?” said

Zeenath, to a smiling Indy.

70

“Praise the people! It is the money that they had invested in the

Super Deposit Scheme that is being utilised to pay the wages of the

trainees,” said Indy.

“How much?” asked Zeenath.

“I have allocated hundred billion dollars per year for the ESD

Mission,” replied Indy.

“Is it not too much?” asked Zeenath.

“No. A highly skilled workforce that is well-paid is absolutely

necessary for any country's progress. In the long run, their skills will

produce high value-added goods and services that will far outweigh

the present expenditure on their wages,” explained Indy.

“You are a visionary, Indy,” said Zeenath, who felt proud of her

friend.

71

11

The Return of the Rama Rajya

In the meantime, the Department of Agriculture and

Biotechnology has submitted its report on the resistant plant and

animal varieties in India.

Indy appointed a team of experts to prepare an agriculture

training material that was easily understandable to the rural

population. After a month, a beautiful, pictorial farmer training

manual was released by the experts. It contained most of the plant

and animal management practices that farmers already knew, along

with some of the latest technologies which would increase farmers'

income while preventing environmental pollution in the fields.

72

Zeenath, who was always fascinated by Mother Nature, procured

a copy of the manual and read it with great interest.

“Indy, I am so surprised that farmers can increase their farm

income by following simple, age-old practices like growing a mixture

of crops, along with farm animals, instead of a single crop on a large

farm,” wondered Zeenath.

“Yes, indeed. Some of our farmers seem to have forgotten these

age-old practices. A mixture of crops acts as a security against pests

and natural calamities. Some of the crops in the mixture may die

due to diseases, droughts and excessive rainfall. But the other crops

in the mixture survive and save the farmer from total loss.

Additionally, growing of cattle, poultry and other farm animals

provide extra income from nutritious food products like milk, eggs,

meat, etc. Animals also provide dung which acts as organic manure

for the soil. All these age-old practices, if implemented sincerely, can

prevent farmers' suicides to a great extent,” clarified Indy.

“And the most important thing is to plant trees around the

fields,” added Indy.

“I know that trees reduce the ill effects of climate change. But

how can they help farmers directly?” asked Zeenath.

73

“Trees are the visible Gods. They help farmers in many ways.

Trees are very resistant than the crops grown in the fields. And trees

act as homes to thousands of microbes, insects and birds, many of

which feed on the crop pests present on the adjacent fields,” said

Indy.

“So these insects and birds on these trees are actually the friends

of the farmers,” said Zeenath, excitedly.

“Exactly... These are called beneficial insects/birds which act as

natural enemies of the pests that attack our crops,” said Indy.

“But how about pesticides which too kill the crop pests?” asked

Zeenath.

“Pesticides too control pests and diseases. But these chemicals

are harmful to human beings and environment. Moreover,

pesticides kill the beneficial insects too,” said Indy.

“Should we stop using pesticides?” asked Zeenath.

“We have to use pesticides only when it is absolutely necessary,”

said Indy.

“I don't understand that,” replied Zeenath.

74

“See, Zeenath, what do you do when you develop a sore throat?”

asked Indy.

“I take hot ginger tea. Umm…, I love ginger tea. I gargle with salt

water. I stop consuming cool drinks. And if the infection still

persists and increases in severity, I take doctor's prescription. I think

everyone does this,” replied Zeenath.

“Exactly… But why don't you consult a doctor immediately?”

asked Indy.

“I feel that the human body can withstand minor diseases to a

certain extent. And I don't like to depend on medicines even for

simple ailments,” replied Zeenath.

“That's it?” questioned Indy.

“I also believe that if I use medicines, unnecessarily, the disease

causing germs become more resistant to the antibiotics. And, of

course, I don't want to waste money on doctor's fees, even for

common illnesses like sore throat and cold,” said Zeenath, with a

smile on her face.

75

“Excellent… Zeenath. All these reasons are applicable to plants

too. Plants also have the same inherent ability to withstand some

minor diseases. Moreover, a fine ecological balance exists in the

field wherein a handful of crop plants are fed upon by a small

number of harmful pests which are in turn eaten by beneficial

insects and birds. Thus, the control of harmful pests by Mother

Nature prevents economic losses to the farmers,” explained Indy.

“But how is that balance broken?” questioned Zeenath, unable

to hide her curiosity.

“There are many reasons, known and unknown. As I have

already explained, the cultivation of a single crop variety on a large

farm increases the population of pests, which reproduce faster than

the beneficial insects. And this results in pest domination and

disease epidemics.”

“The other reasons include the destruction of trees and forests

which harbour many beneficial insects and birds. Further,

indiscriminate use of powerful pesticides at higher doses, also kill

many of the beneficial insects, along with the pests,” said Indy.

“Oh, no,” cried Zeenath.

76

“You need to remember that beneficial insects are very sensitive

to pesticides, and hence, die rapidly. On the contrary, pests adapt,

evolve, and produce resistant offspring in such large numbers that it

requires manufacturing of even more powerful pesticides to control

them. And the cycle continues. In the meantime, the continuous

use of pesticides will wipe out the beneficial insects completely,”

explained Indy.

“So, it is the environment and the farmers who will be the final

losers if we disturb the balance of Nature! In order to protect the

environment and to reduce the cost of cultivation, pesticides have to

be used judiciously and only when absolutely necessary. Am I right?”

asked an enlightened Zeenath.

“Excellent. And trees, as you see, play a very important role in

maintaining this ecological balance, Zeenath. Trees also provide

food and fodder to the farmers and their cattle. They protect the

crops from extreme weather by obstructing hot and cold winds that

are harmful to the crops. The trees, with their trunks and leaf litter

on the ground, also prevent erosion of fertile top soil by slowing

down the movement of fast running rain water on the ground. And

this slow moving water sinks into the earth and increases the ground

water levels,” said Indy.

“Wow! This is natural water harvesting,” exclaimed Zeenath.

77

“I am very happy you understood that, Zeenath. These are just a

few examples of the innumerable ecological services provided by

Mother Nature. We are indebted to Mother Earth for our

existence,” said Indy to an enlightened Zeenath.

Within a fortnight, the training manual was circulated to the

farmers throughout India, in different languages, free of cost.

Indy Bishnoi ordered the DABT to breed and distribute the

resistant plant and animal varieties to the farmers. Improved

varieties of fast-growing nutritious fodder crops were also distributed

to feed the cattle population. And finally, with people's

participation, tree planting was promoted on a massive scale on the

farm bunds around the fields, in the waste lands of villages, and on

the road sides in the cities, throughout India.

After a year of intense training under the ESD Mission, eco-

friendly solar, wind and tidal power generating industries were

established on an unprecedented scale. Apart from those industries,

agro-based industries were also established on a large scale in rural

and urban areas to process, preserve and improve the quality and

value of the farm products so as to benefit both the farmers and the

consumers.

78

Within seven years, 1.8 trillion dollars of funds of the Indian

Super Deposit Scheme were utilised. And the results were visible to

everyone.

Renewable power had replaced the fossil fuels by seventy

percent! That has reduced both the air pollution and the

expenditure on the import of the fossil fuels tremendously.

Moreover, the introduction of efficient public transport systems like

the Electric Bus Rapid Transport System and the Metro Rail, which

ran on renewable energy, reduced pollution and traffic congestion

drastically in Indian cities.

Massive afforestation rapidly reduced the intensity and

frequency of extreme weather conditions like droughts and floods in

India. And rural and urban extreme poverty levels were reduced by

eighty percent due to a prosperous agriculture in rural areas and

handsome wages for the work-force employed in various profit-

making agro-based and other industries. India became a major

exporter of various processed food products, eco-friendly industrial

and consumer goods, and other services.

In 2050 A.D., ten years after the launch of the Super Deposit

Scheme, the Government of India, to the investors’ pleasant

surprise, announced a return of fifteen times the original

investment instead of the promised ten times returns!

79

Sam Adams, the famous U.S. economist, visited India to

interview Indy Bishnoi, who had won a consecutive third term as

Indian prime minister, a few days ago.

“Congratulations, Madam Prime Minister.”

“Thank you.”

"Madam Prime Minister, the whole world is excited about the

results of your revolutionary scheme. The initial investment in the

Super Deposit Scheme was two trillion dollars which was a huge

amount. You have utilised almost all of the two trillion dollars for

the development of infrastructure in India. And now, after ten

years, you have paid around thirty trillion dollars to the investors,

which is an impossible task even for the developed countries like the

U.S.A. And India now has a very high standard of living as a result

of your scheme. How could you achieve the feat, Madam Prime

Minister?" asked Sam Adams.

"Ten years ago, I had travelled extensively, in fish and bat forms,

to study the world as an animal. I had then realised that Mother

Earth had almost reached the point of no return due to pollution

and man-made climate change. The Earth was on the verge of an

unprecedented catastrophe. It was a “now or never” situation for me

80

as the Prime Minister of India. Hence, I have introduced the Indian

Super Deposit Scheme.”

"I have invested all the two trillion dollars, during these ten

years, in eco-friendly infrastructure and agriculture. This has

drastically reduced environmental pollution and has revived the

ecological services of our Mother Nature. It was these ecological

services that laid the foundation for sustainable development in

India. This sustainable development has not only increased our

standard of living but also preserved the Earth's ability to provide

her eco-services to the future generations. And it was these eco-

services of Mother Nature that helped us generate sixty trillion

dollars in ten years, with an initial investment of just two trillion

dollars," replied Indy.

"So, Madam, you are growing money in India, as promised in

the scheme. May I know who taught you about these ecological

services and sustainable development?" asked Sam Adams.

"The Vedas... It was this Vedic knowledge which had advocated

respect for Mother Nature and her ecological services that had

brought an unprecedented prosperity during the reign of Lord Sri

Ram. And it was the same sustainable development model of Lord

Ram which has now helped me revive the Rama Rajya in the twenty-

first century India. Jai Hind..." Indy concluded.

81

Later, in that year, Indy Bishnoi, the Prime Minister of India,

was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for her extra-ordinary vision

and service to the mankind.

82

12

The Mysterious Punisher Part - I

In 2090 A.D., Rana Thambore was arrested on the suspicion of

kidnapping some highly influential eco-plunderers comprising

corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and business magnates. But

everyone knew that he did not have the ability to kidnap such high

profile people.

Rana was an honest Indian Forest Service officer of Karnataka

cadre, who was passionate about conservation of Nature. After the

death of Indy Bishnoi in 2065 A.D., the eco-plunderers had again

started plundering Earth's natural resources, as if with a vengeance.

Rana, who witnessed the illegal destruction of natural wealth in

Karnataka, revolted against the corrupt bureaucrats and politicians.

The powerful eco-plunderers got him transferred and finally

83

dismissed from service on the charge of indiscipline. Rana became a

revolutionary writer who advocated stringent punishment and even

death sentence to the plunderers of Nature. That was the primary

reason why he was immediately arrested after some of the eco-

plunderers had gone missing.

Even after intense interrogation, the investigation agencies were

unable to extract any information from Rana who had denied his

involvement in the crime. A huge manhunt was organised all over

India to rescue the missing eco-plunderers. A powerful satellite was

also employed to trace them. Such was their influence in the society!

Finally, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was able to trace

the vehicles of the missing people to the border areas of the Thar

Desert of Rajasthan. That appeared strange because the eco-

plunderers had disappeared on different dates, and yet, all their

vehicles were found in the same place!

A search and rescue operation team, comprising five helicopters

and hundreds of ground troops, was sent to the Thar Desert. The

whole team disappeared after it entered the desert, and the Mission

Control in Delhi lost contact with the team. A few drones (remote-

controlled pilotless aircrafts) which were sent to survey the area also

went missing. Even the satellites were unable to trace the lost teams.

84

After a few days, all the members of the lost rescue team

emerged from the desert and reached a nearby town. When they

were interrogated by the CBI, they revealed that they were caught in

a mysterious sand storm and that their helicopters and vehicles were

lost in the sand. Their survival, despite the accident in the sand

storm, remained a wonder.

As there was no clue even after ten years of intense search, Rana

was released from house arrest due to lack of evidence against him.

He also agreed not to write any revolutionary literature against the

eco-plunderers. After having stayed alone in his house for such a

long time, Rana wandered all over India in search of pristine

wilderness.

He went to the Himalayas and realised that they were no more

covered with snow. Even the water bodies of the Himalayas and

other wild areas turned into dry lake beds (playas) and dust bowls

due to over-exploitation of water, pollution and global warming. He

discovered that many of India's majestic animals no more roamed in

the so-called protected sanctuaries. He wept at the sight of rampant

deforestation, poaching, pollution of rivers and forest fires that

became too frequent due to climate change. He wrote thus:

“The ambience appeared barren and bleak

When I went to see the Himalayan peak

85

And dejected I was at the sight of the playas

When I desired to swim in the lakes of Himalayas.

I went in search of Coringa

To see the elegant water fowls

But instead of a humdinger

I was greeted with dusty bowls.

To Assam from Coringa

In search of the Rhino of Kaziranga

Which now lived only in the songs of folk singers

As it was doomed by the fangs of hornmongers.

Royal tigers in the famed Corbett

Were not seen even in silhouette

And lost are the trumpets of wild elephants

Now heard only in temple pageants.

When I went to see the majestic Gir

The deforestation there made me stir

And so I went to feel the river Pench

Which offered no respite from the filthy stench.

When I went deep into the Bandipur

Wildlife wept at the fire furore

86

And so I retired to the Nagarhole

Only to witness the fiery rigmarole.

Deprived of biodiversity

I returned to my ugly city

That appeared from a distance as a lovely glow

Which, in truth, is an iron hand with a velvet glove.

Not even a spot of wilderness

In this urban jungle of concrete mess

Where many shades of pollution

Have achieved superlative distinction.

And nowhere is the lovely wilderness of ancient India

Which is now confined only to historical nostalgia.”

Gradually, over the years, the satellites began to record some

strange changes over the Thar Desert. The images revealed

considerable cooling over the Thar Desert, which was an anomaly in

that age of global warming. The cooling was found out to be the

result of extensive evaporation over the Thar Desert. What could be

the possible source of evaporation of water? Scientists guessed that

the source of water might be the lost holy river, Saraswati that had

flowed in its full splendour, 5000 years ago. Though the satellite

images proved the existence of water movement deep under the

87

Thar Desert, the scientists were clueless about evaporation from

such depths. Though it created a worldwide sensation, none dared

to venture into that area for fear of getting trapped in those

mysterious sand storms. But, on one new moon night, the satellites

recorded Rana venturing and disappearing into the desert!

Rana finally came out of the desert after six months. The CBI

cops were astonished to see Rana in a very healthy condition. How

did he survive in a desert for such a long duration without food and

water? They detained and interrogated him. But Rana did not reveal

anything about the desert. So, they took him to a military research

hospital in New Delhi to study his biological condition.

The study revealed that Rana was not starved during the last six

months. The reason behind his perfect physical and mental health

was the pollutant free food and water, and the optimum

temperature that he was exposed to, in the desert! Scientists were

clueless about the availability of food, water and the favourable

temperature in a desert. Since Rana did not reveal anything

regarding the mystery, the scientists anaesthetised him. They

inserted miniature cameras and micro-transmitters in his eyes to

visualise and track everything he sees. Rana knew nothing of those

experiments and he was released after a few days of stay in the

hospital.

88

13

The Mysterious Punisher Resurrection of River Saraswati

Since Rana was a single, unmarried person, he decided to visit

the Thar Desert, which he considered the purest and the most

beautiful area in India. And hence, he left Delhi for the Thar.

All his movements were recorded and transmitted to the

Mission Control of the CBI in Delhi, on a real-time basis, by the

miniature cameras in his eyes. A satellite too was engaged to track

his movements. Though the satellite lost track of him as soon as he

entered a particular area in the desert, the micro-transmitters (in his

eyes) carried out their work faithfully.

After walking for a few hours in the endless dunes of sand, he

finally entered the concave face of a huge sand dune, which led him

89

into a majestic building. The CBI cops, who were watching the

transmitted visuals in Delhi, realised that the building was none

other than the thirteenth century Balagarh Fort at Pokhran, in

Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. Pokhran was completely engulfed by

the Thar Desert, a few decades ago, due to global warming and

climate change.

In the fort, Rana went upstairs, and knocked on a huge wooden

door which had iron knobs arranged on it in a beautiful pattern.

The cops, who were seeing the visuals, were shocked when the door

was opened. All the missing eco-plunderers were present in that

room! The cops realised that it was Rana who had kidnapped all the

eco-plunderers, individually, in their personal vehicles, which were

later abandoned on the fringes of the Thar Desert. But, to the cop’s

surprise, all the eco-plunderers greeted Rana, enthusiastically!

One of them offered fresh water melons to Rana who ate them

lustily. After refreshing himself, Rana, along with the eco-

plunderers, went into a large, well-ventilated kitchen which stored

fresh fruits and vegetables. They used hand-pounded wheat flour to

make rotis on hot black-coated iron slabs. The slabs were heated by

sun rays concentrated through a suspended row of magnifying

glasses. Fossil fuels like coal and petroleum products were not used

anywhere in the fort. After breakfast, all of them, including Rana,

entered a huge store room in that fort. They collected a large

90

number of empty buckets and cans and some very long ropes, as if

to fetch water from a well. Each eco-plunderer carried around six to

seven buckets.

All of them stepped out of the palace and walked towards a

beautiful step-well, a few metres away. There was no water in the

step-well and its floor was muddy. The central portion of the step-

well was covered with huge rectangular granite slabs. When the eco-

plunderers removed the central slab, it partially revealed a dug well

beneath the floor of the step-well.

Standing on the stone slabs, the eco-plunderers lowered the

buckets into the dug well with the help of the long ropes tied to

them. After more than a minute, the buckets finally touched the

water at the bottom of the well. It took more than five minutes for

them to pull each water filled bucket out of the well. The well was

indeed a deep abyss! From the conversations of the eco-plunderers,

the CBI understood that they took more than two and a half years

to dig the deep well.

It took more than one hour for the eco-plunderers to fill all the

buckets. They carried the water-filled buckets out of the fort, into

the desert, and began irrigating the endless stretches of sand, at

regular intervals. After having emptied all the buckets, they repeated

the whole process of fetching water from the dug well and emptying

91

it in the open desert! After four hours of irrigating a vast stretch of

sand, the eco-plunderers finally paused for an hour for lunch.

In the afternoon, they resumed irrigation in a different stretch

of sand. There was no end to their drudgery covering vast stretches

of the sandy desert every day. “The eco-plunderers had gone mad,

for no sane person would toil so hard to fetch water from such

depths only to waste it by emptying it into the open sands,” shouted

one of the cops. But they understood the reason behind the cooling

effect over the Thar Desert.

After further analysis, the CBI put forward a convincing

hypothesis to explain the situation at the Thar. “The vast amount of

water drawn from the well is being fed by the underground river,

Saraswati that is flowing underneath Pokhran. The powerful,

underground shockwaves that had been produced by the

underground atomic explosion tests (conducted by India in 1998

A.D.,) at Pokhran, might have widened the fractures in the Earth's

crust. And the eco-plunderers might have dug a deep well along one

of those fractures that connected the underground river, Saraswati.”

But Rana's ability to understand such complex geological

phenomenon and the mysterious disappearances over the Thar

Desert puzzled everyone. Hence, the cops eagerly waited for Rana to

return from the desert.

92

Finally, when Rana returned from the desert, he was

immediately arrested on the charge of kidnapping the eco-

plunderers. The CBI also had the proof of Rana's involvement in

the crime, in the form of recorded visuals that were captured by

mini-cams present in Rana's eyes.

Rana was lodged in a solitary cell in the Tihar jail, and was kept

under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. He was tortured and

interrogated for weeks to extract information about the kidnappings

and the Thar Desert. But Rana revealed nothing and he frequently

uttered the words “Praise the King.”

On one gloomy day, as dark clouds gathered in the sky

menacingly, Rana was again tortured by the followers of the eco-

plunderers, for information. As he was tortured, the gloom turned

into a frightening thunderstorm. And the whole city of New Delhi,

the nerve-centre of Indian administration, was blacked out. The

thunderstorm then turned into a terrific sand storm which pounded

the capital city. Rana, who was chained to the chair, broke the

chains, stood up and ripped the chair into pieces, in anger. He

flexed his muscles in the darkness and roared at the height of his

voice. The prison reverberated. What an outlandish roar! It was a

terrifying fusion of eerie winds moaning through the trees, dreadful

howls of jackals and wolves, and deafening trumpets of ferocious

elephants.

93

After they came back to their senses, the torturers attacked Rana

and tried to chain him to a chair. Rana shook them off like dust on

his body. The dark silhouette of Rana once again flexed its powerful

muscles in the gloom. Weird thorn shaped structures erupted on his

silhouette. When the torturers attacked him again, Rana hit them

powerfully with his thorny muscles. The torturers fell on the floor,

became passive, and started their journey to the Thar Desert, in

their personal vehicles. In the darkness of the prison room, Rana

roared, “I am the king of the forest ghosts.” He blasted the prison

walls with his hands, jumped into darkness, and vanished.

After the sand storm subsided and the power was restored, the

cops retrieved the CCTV footage of that prison room. The CCTV

cameras that were installed in that high security prison had a battery

backup and were highly sophisticated. They could record visuals

even in darkness and in different wavelengths of light

simultaneously. The authorities were stupefied with horror when

they watched the footage. A mysterious shadow had entered Rana's

body and transformed him into a ferocious beast! His chiselled,

powerful physique was not made of flesh but curved, flexible wood

through which long powerful thorns slid out, when Rana flexed his

woody muscles. His eyes had various shades of green. He looked like

a mighty, well grown tree with a human outline. In fact, the

mysterious punisher was not a human but the ghost of a tree!

94

Yes. You read it right. The ghost of a tree indeed! Why and how

did the ghost avenge the eco-plunderers…? Is this what is in your

mind now? Then read on…

Earth always had the inbuilt ability to adapt and salvage herself

from destruction. But human's greed and incessant exploitation did

not give the Earth (and her biodiversity) sufficient time for recovery.

And hence, many trees and animals which were over-exploited

became extinct. And the once lush green forests turned into

degraded lands which have finally been abandoned by humans.

Pained at this unbearable man-made desertification, the ghosts of

animals and plants of those destroyed forests decided to save

Mother Earth from humans.

The ghosts chose the ever-expanding desert as their new home.

And they haunted the eco-plunderers by injecting a poisonous plant

sap into them which enslaved them to the ghosts. The haunted eco-

plunderers were then sentenced to life imprisonment in the Thar

Desert, where they dug a very deep well and harvested the lost,

unpolluted River Saraswati. The water was used to irrigate the desert

that was sown with seeds of diverse plant species.

After ten years of cultivation, luxurious vegetation developed in

the Thar Desert, which was the reason for the cooling effect over it.

95

But nothing was visible to humans because of the new mutant trait

of invisibility that the plants had developed as an adaptation to

human's greed! And the violent sand storms kept humans away

from the Thar.

Rana, the eco-warrior, was chosen by the ghosts to sing paeans

in praise of the pristine wilderness of the lush green Thar. And the

mini-cameras in Rana's eyes, recording the eco-plunderers'

enslavement and drudgery, served as a constant warning to the

corrupt humans about the imminent rigorous punishment for their

greedy destruction of forests.

96

14

The Treasure

and

The Alien Ship Part - II

By the end of the twenty first century, Earth was polluted so

extensively that man-made global warming and climate change

became an irreversible phenomenon. Thousands of animal and

plant species became extinct as a result. All those global climatic

events had such a terrible impact on humans that the world human

population had declined from seven hundred crores in 2015 A.D to

around seventy five crores by 2110 A.D! Humans were on the verge

of a self-extinction. And global warming, along with pollution (of

soil, air and water), produced new types of mutant species on Earth.

That was a defining moment in the history of the Earth.

97

One such mutant was a termite species that was capable of

destroying even the hardiest and the most resistant of woods. And it

was for that very reason that the saints, in 1844 A.D., had advised

Raja Dhaanya Bahadur to construct a Shiva temple with a buried

rosewood pillar supporting the Nandi. The saints had foreseen that

the resistant rosewood pillar would be destroyed only by those

mutant termites.

By 2120 A.D., humans have established full-fledged colonies on

Mars. And every year, around thousand super rich people were

transported to those human settlements. The poor wished to be

taken as slaves to Mars so as to escape the terrible effects of climate

change on the Earth. But their hopes were dashed as advanced

humanoid robots donned the role of tireless slaves, very effectively.

By 2125 A.D., two-thirds of the fossil fuel reserves on Earth,

including coal and petroleum, were used up for endless

industrialisation and extra-terrestrial transportation of humans to

Mars. The powerful oil and coal mining corporations lobbied hard

with the political class to perpetuate a so-called “cheap” fossil fuel

based economy. Little did humans know that they were unleashing

Lord Saturn's harmful rays into Earth's atmosphere by burning fossil

fuels!

98

Now...What has Lord Saturn got to do with fossil fuels? Is that

what you felt? If your answer is “yes”, you need to travel back in time

by 320 million years, long before the dawn of the dinosaurs on the

Earth. Yes... There you are... amidst the gigantic trees of those dense

forests...

After having failed in his endless efforts to send his radiation

through the magnetic field of the Earth, Saturn finally came up with

a brilliant idea. Since those protective layers of the Earth were

resistant only to his rays, he concentrated a huge amount of his rays

in some of the rocks of his concentric rings. He then released those

super radioactive rocks with such a tremendous force that those

meteors pierced Earth's protective layers and crashed into different

places all over the Earth. The vegetation in those areas of collision

was either burnt or got buried in the Earth's crust. As those

meteorites exploded on impact, Saturn's rays leaked out and rapidly

spread around the Earth.

Lord Brahma was taken aback at those unexpected events and

immediately informed Lord Vishnu of the spreading rays. Vishnu

immediately released his golden, disc shaped weapon, the Chakra.

The Vishnu Chakra cloned itself into a number of copies which

flew towards those places of collision at lightning speed. The

Chakras obstructed Saturn's rays from spreading further and

restricted those harmful radioactive rays to those places of collision

99

in the Earth's crust. The Chakras then sealed those areas to prevent

the leakage of those rays into the Earth's atmosphere.

Over time, those sealed up rays transformed the surrounding

buried vegetation into dark forms of energy, i.e., coal and

petroleum. And the Vishnu Chakras have guarded the Earth from

any such harmful meteorites from Saturn ever since. It was one of

those Chakras that protected the Syamantak diamond at

Sangrampur from Saturn's rays. It was those golden Vishnu Chakras

that appeared as blurred disc like objects which were often called

UFOs/alien ships by humans.

By 2125 A.D., Saturn's rays released from the burning of fossil

fuels increased to such an extent that the Syamantak diamond was

on the verge of losing its divine powers. That was the right time for

Lord Shiva to protect the diamond from destruction. Meanwhile,

the mutant termites became so powerful that they destroyed the

underground portion of the rosewood pillar which supported the

Nandi in the temple.

On a decisive night, the damaged underground portion of the

pillar was crushed suddenly under the weight of the massive Nandi.

All at once, the iron beam tilted towards the Nandi. That end of the

beam which supported the Shiva Linga was hence lifted up with a

tremendous force. The raised Linga hit the metallic roof of the

100

garbhagruha at a high speed and finally settled snugly into the

concave roof. The unified structure looked like a Shiva Linga with a

jatajutam at its top. The tremors caused by the impact produced a

spectacular phenomenon over the garbhagruha. The vimanam

which resembled the jatajutam unravelled into numerous huge

metallic strands that dangled in all directions. The impact also

produced a massive burst of mysterious, high frequency ultrasound

waves that spread around the globe rapidly.

As those inaudible sound waves propagated through the air

around the Earth, they influenced both the air and the soil in an

unusual manner. The sound waves compressed all the pollutants in

the Earth's atmosphere and concentrated them in the lower layers of

the atmosphere, with the help of the Vishnu Chakras, all over the

world. The upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere were thus freed

from pollutants. While travelling through the air, the sound waves

also transferred some of their energy to the soil underneath. This

energy purified some of the less polluted soil particles of the Earth

and made them float in the air against gravity!

The progression of the ultrasonic waves around the globe was

accompanied by thunderbolts and other atmospheric disturbances.

Meanwhile, American research sensors pinpointed the source of

those mysterious sound waves in Raja Dhaanya Bahadur’s fort at

Sangrampur in India. American Intelligence satellites also recorded

101

numerous blurred images of disc shaped UFOs all over the world.

None except the meditating saints of the Himalayas understood the

importance of those events.

The saints at once travelled to Sangrampur to collect the

Syamantak diamond. When they opened the chamber atop the

dhwaja stambha of the Shiva temple, they found that the diamond

had transformed into a small, rectangular, golden sheet with some

symbols and Sanskrit words on it. The symbols denoted numerous

locations covering all the major biogeographical regions of the

Earth. The message in Sanskrit read thus: “These specific locations

will preserve a huge collection of diverse plants and animals of the

Earth in the form of minute eggs. And these locations and the eggs

will remain invisible to humans till the Earth completely recovers

from the environmental destruction caused by them.”

The scientific community, funded by the superrich

Multinational Corporations, did not understand the mysterious

phenomena of floating soil particles and purified upper atmospheric

layers around the Earth. Anyway, they were less interested in Earth

because they had already established colonies on Mars, and left for

Mars in batches. They had absolutely no clue that the upper,

purified air layers would support life on the “Swachh Bhoomi” or

“The Hanging Heavens” that are to be created by the floating,

purified soil particles of the Earth, over the years to come.

102

15

The Hanging Heavens A New Home for Mankind

As the Earth heated up further due to man-made global

warming and climate change, the rich migrated to Mars in droves.

But Ashoka, a biotechnologist by profession, felt that the rich

industrialised nations, which were mainly responsible for global

warming, were abandoning Mother Earth mercilessly. “They are

making a beeline for Mars instead of implementing climate change

mitigation and adaptation strategies on the Earth. I have to do

something to salvage our lovely blue planet,” wrote Ashoka in his

personal diary.

One day, while he was conducting biochemical experiments on

bio-diesel yielding plants like Jatropha, he discovered a wonderful

phenomenon. Some of the seeds of Jatropha produced pure diesel

103

that was similar to the petroleum derived diesel! He identified the

trees that produced the seeds and confirmed that the oil produced

was indeed pure diesel. On keen observation, he discovered

something curious. All those diesel producing trees were border

trees adjacent to the solar fence that encircled the research farm.

After further research, he declared, “The electric power in the solar

fence produced some biochemical changes in the leaves touching

the fence, which finally resulted in the production of pure diesel in

the seeds of those border trees.”

Ashoka became an eco-warrior for discovering eco-friendly,

renewable biofuel that could replace non-renewable fossil fuels. He,

along with a few entrepreneurs, expanded the ecodiesel production

by supplying mild solar electric power to thousands of Jatropha trees

planted on protected farms. The ecodiesel so produced replaced

diesel in transportation systems in many countries in a few years.

But it was unable to reverse the global warming and its disasters

which had already reached a crescendo. The exodus of the rich to

Mars continued.

One day, on a stormy morning, as Ashoka walked through the

Jatropha farms, he observed many soil particles suspended in the air.

“The strong gale might have lifted these soil particles from the

ground.” Thinking so, he returned to his lab to protect himself from

104

the dusty winds and thunderbolts. Dark thunder clouds loomed

above the farms as he observed from the glass windows of his lab.

After a few minutes, the whole area appeared extremely bright

due to heavy lightning over the jatropha farms. An electric

explosion over the farms! After the gale subsided and the dust

settled, Ashoka entered the fields hesitantly. What a surprise!

Countless soil particles of different sizes were suspended in the air

at different heights! He collected some of those soil particles in a

glass bottle. To his amazement, the soil floated in the bottle instead

of settling at its bottom.

When he invited some of the renowned geophysicists to his

research farm, they were awestruck by that phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Ashoka learnt that the same phenomenon was being

observed in all the Jatropha fields where ecodiesel was being

produced by solar electric power. “This strange phenomenon may

be due to some unknown changes in the physical properties of the

soil particles. And this may be due to the concentrated discharge of

vast amounts of electricity on the jatropha farms, during the recent

lightning storm. As a result, the charged soil particles that have

mysteriously become lighter in weight, started defying Earth's

gravity, and hence floated in the air,” guessed one of the

geophysicists, with astonishment writ large on his face. But none

knew that it was all due to the mysterious, high frequency

105

ultrasound waves that were produced by the Linga of the Shiva

temple of Sangrampur. On further research, the scientists

discovered that those soil particles had the ability to attract each

other. And that the resulting soil aggregates floated higher in the air

than the individual particles!

As days passed by, scientists observed a strange phenomenon all

over the world. The floating soil particles were being produced not

only in the solar powered jatropha farms but also from the other

areas as well. The particles were gradually being transported by

winds and were getting accumulated in the sky, more often above

the oceans and the deserts. “These accumulating soil particles might

gradually form blocks of rocks and soil profiles over the years,”

guessed Ashoka. And hence, he collected thousands of such floating

soil particles, and brought them together forming soil aggregates of

different sizes. He also incorporated the seeds of many trees, grasses

and food crops into those soil aggregates in the hope that the seeds

too would be carried into the sky. Some of the seeds were supplied

to him by the saints of the Himalayas, who had been preserving the

seeds collected over centuries by various conservators like Raja

Dhaanya Bahadur of Sangrampur.

After two to three years of aerial accumulation of soil particles,

huge chunks of floating rocks of various sizes appeared in the sky,

about one to two kilometres above the ground. A huge number of

106

them were found particularly above the oceans and the deserts. The

most wonderful feature was the presence of trees, grasses and crops

on those floating rocks. That was due to the germination of the

seeds that were being transported in floating soil aggregates by

Ashoka. New moisture bearing winds that arose due to climate

change brought rainfall over those rocks.

An aerial view of those majestic floating rocks appeared so

wonderful that people instantly fell in love with that peaceful,

pristine and lush green wilderness. Hence, they were aptly named

“The Hanging Heavens” in tribute to the Lost Heaven, the Earth.

The “Greenpeace”, a famous international non-governmental

organisation with environmental protection as its motto, took

control of the Hanging Heavens with the support of the United

Nations Organisation (UNO). The UNO wanted it to be a neutral

zone free from environmental pollution. Ashoka became an active

member of the Greenpeace.

The Greenpeace gradually released many common and

endangered animals of the Earth into the unpolluted wilderness of

the Hanging Heavens, in a scientific manner. That was done to

protect the animals from extinction on Earth due to climate change.

Twenty years later, the Hanging Heavens turned into a hanging

107

paradise of virgin forests that brimmed with an enchanting

biodiversity.

108

Additional Stories

109

16

The Love Story

of

A Terrorist and A Lizard

Terec was a notorious international eco-terrorist who

masterminded terrorist activities like destroying dams using

explosives, initiating forest fires, etc. Those activities resulted in

enormous destruction due to sudden floods and uncontrollable

forest fires which killed many wild animals in those forests. Terec's

motive was to destabilise India and cause terror in the minds of the

people through eco-terrorism.

One day, Terec reached Hyderabad on a mission to destroy the

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. With the help of his fellow terrorists, he

rented a double bed room flat in a multi-storey building, located in

110

a crowded zone in the city. The other terrorists lived with him and

guarded him.

Terec never ventured out of the flat. The other terrorists

regularly went out, locking the room from outside, to recce the dam

and its surroundings. Terec either watched television on mute or

rested idly in his room. As the other terrorists arrived late in the

evening, every day, Terec got bored, and gradually became restless.

One day, as he was resting on the mattress on the floor, he

found a tiny, baby wall lizard nearby. Since he was tired of boredom,

the lizard became the sole object of his interest. As he observed it

keenly, the tiny, light brown lizard crawled towards him, and stared

at him with its raised head, on its upright forelegs. Terec tried in

vain to scare it away with sounds and hand movements. Its courage

surprised Terec and so he decided to touch its snout gently.

When he touched its snout, it moved its tail in various patterns

to indicate its affection towards him. Its light brown tail had white

bands at regular intervals unlike in the adult lizards which lacked

them. Terec was amused. “This tiny lizard might have mistaken me

for its mother.” He looked around and found a well-grown lizard on

the wall, which he thought was its mother. Since the baby lizard

looked cute, Terec named it “Cutie”.

111

One day, as he was playing with it, it turned its head suddenly,

and crawled towards a tiny fly which landed on the floor. Though

Cutie caught hold of the fly with its jaws, it was unable to ingest it

since the fly was larger than its tiny mouth. Cutie vigorously moved

its head left and right so as to tear the fly. In that struggle, it ripped

the wings apart and swallowed them. Cutie tried in vain to ingest

the body of the fly. Hence, Terec split the body of the fly carefully at

its narrow abdomen, into two parts. Cutie immediately gorged on

them, and wiped its snout and jaws repeatedly with its tongue. It

then stared at Terec and moved its tail as if in gratitude. Terec felt

very happy and was pleased to have found a new, wonderful friend

in his lonely flat.

Later, the other terrorists too were introduced to Cutie, which

befriended them instantly. Cutie soon became a darling of the

group. Most of the time, it stared at them from close range, wiping

its mouth with its tongue as if it was hungry. Gradually, Terec's

affection for Cutie increased. He fell in love with the tiny cute lizard

which eliminated his frustrating boredom. He felt elated and

experienced a strange, heavenly bliss during his interaction with that

lizard. “How much more beautiful Nature and its creations must

have been, if there is so much beauty in such a small creature like

this lizard? Oh, no! How stupid I was in my mindless destruction of

Mother Nature by eco-terrorism. I pity myself for not having realised

112

Nature’s beauty.” In that acute pain, he coined lovely poems in

praise of Nature and her beautiful forms.

Terec’s fellow terrorists were shocked at this sudden

transformation. His new-found love for Nature was in complete

conflict with their lunatic goal of eco-terrorism. When they tried to

remind him of their goal, Terec fiercely argued against eco-

terrorism. He also tried to convince them about the beauty of

Nature. He opened the back door of their flat to show them the

surrounding patches of greenery, birds and a distant water body, all

of which appeared even more beautiful in that concrete jungle of

crowded buildings.

As soon as he opened the door, some unidentified objects flew

above them at lightning speed into their room. Thick clouds of

smoke engulfed them instantly. Even before the terrorists

recollected themselves, a group of masked police commandos had

stormed into the room and arrested them. As Terec cried out for

the tiny lizard, a police officer frantically searched for the lizard and

rescued it.

People heaved a sigh of relief as the news of the arrest spread.

Terec pleaded guilty to the ecological crimes he had committed and

swore that he would never harm Nature again. He voluntarily

revealed secret information about many other eco-terrorist activities

113

that were being planned across the country. He even pleaded for

harsh punishments for eco-terrorists like him.

To his surprise, Terec was not subjected to any physical torture

which was usually meted out to dreaded terrorists like him. As part

of his rigorous imprisonment sentence, he was ordered to plant and

nurture trees in the dry land areas so as to improve the ecological

condition of those parched lands. He was also ordered to coin

poems and short stories in praise of Nature and her conservation.

Terec was more than happy to do such things in repentance for his

ecological sins. He also exhorted his co-prisoners to take part in tree

planting. He finally became a fierce advocate of Nature

conservation.

Despite such enthusiasm, Terec often felt depressed at the

thought of his first eco-love, Cutie, the lizard. He thought that it

might have died of suffocation caused by the smoke bombs, during

the police raid. The prison authorities understood Terec's agony and

gifted him the lizard, Cutie, to his pleasant surprise. Little did Terec

know that Cutie was in fact a bionic lizard developed by the

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) by

implanting miniature cameras in a lizard's eyes, and minute

antennas in its brain using highly sophisticated techniques, without

harming it. The bionic lizard so produced could receive coded

signals from the remote operators and respond accordingly. Since

114

the police were clueless about Terec's identity, they had deployed

the bionic lizard to secretly observe him and establish his identity

before arresting him in the apartment. The bionic lizard thus helped

in identifying the unsuspecting criminals by recording and

transmitting the images and conversations of the terrorists, in real

time, from close range.

The secret operation was a grand success and a win-win situation

for all the people involved in it. The police nabbed the terrorists;

Terec became a Nature lover; the DRDO successfully tested the

bionic technology; and finally, the people, who were already reeling

under the adverse effects of climate change, were spared of major

ecological disasters due to eco-terrorism.

115

17

Poornakumbha Cup of Eternal Joy

Mahavir Harin, who grew up watching the famous Hollywood

film series, 'Indiana Jones', always dreamt of procuring the Holy

Grail that was shown in the 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'

movie. The Holy Grail was a cup that was used by Jesus Christ. And

it was believed that the Grail had the power to grant eternal

happiness and immortality to anyone who drinks from it.

Years rolled on and Harin became a businessman engaged in

real estate business. His sharp business acumen made him a very

successful person within a short span of time. But his greatest

limitation was his utter disregard for Nature. He unscrupulously

encroached on and destroyed water bodies, natural rock formations

116

and green cover to expand his real estate construction business. His

other limitation was his impatience, getting irritated very easily.

As days passed by, one day, his business required him to travel

to a far-off place and stay there for about a fortnight. So, on his

friend's advice, he finally decided to stay at a run-down lodge, the

only one existing in that remote village. Feeling tired after a long

journey, he retired to bed very early that night.

After a while, some strange voices woke him up and guided him

through a thick jungle in that moon-lit night. Completely exhausted

and unable to walk further, he finally rested under a tree and

entered into a deep slumber. The chirping of the birds woke him up

the next morning. “Ah! My body feels rejuvenated after such a deep

sleep...” “Whew! How do these small birds chirp so loudly?” As he

was admiring those tiny birds, he suddenly felt floating in the air.

When he came back to his senses, he realised that it was the

pleasant, cool morning breeze that lifted his spirits.

The rustling of the leaves, the wavy movements of the branches,

the lovely squirrel hopping around, and the marching black lines of

ants further elevated his soul. A faint rumbling sound in the

background suddenly caught his attention. As he moved towards it,

the sound became louder. Finally, he emerged out of the forest and

entered a plain landscape with beautiful gardens and a magnificent

117

dome-shaped structure in the centre. Gorgeous scenery of hills with

a prominent rumbling waterfall in the background further elevated

the beauty of the landscape.

Harin was awestruck by the architectural grandeur of the dome-

shaped building as he strolled around it. He then went towards the

waterfall where he found a few monks bathing in a tank that was fed

by the waterfall. As he approached the monks, he heard a sudden

disgusting noise after which he vanished from the scene,

involuntarily!

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the lodge room

and realised that it was a dream, shattered by the incessant honks of

automobiles. “How pleasantly Nature wished me good morning in

the forest!” Harin wondered, as he recollected his beautiful dream.

Feeling nostalgic for that dream, he finally got ready for the day.

As he completed the day's work earlier than expected, he

returned to his lodge room early. He called his wife Roshni and

shared his experiences with her. After a while, he went around the

village to get an idea about the local culture and traditions. He then

had dinner and retired to bed early. He dreamt again of the same

forest, the hills with the waterfall, the dome and the monks. Harin

was clueless about the repetition of that dream. After a fortnight, he

returned to his home, and got drowned in his business as usual.

118

After a few days, Roshni observed a striking change in his

behaviour. “Harin, you spoke very pleasantly on the phone when

you stayed at the lodge. But now, at home, you are as usual,

impatient and irritable. What is the reason, Harin?” Roshni’s

observations made Harin introspective. “You are right, Roshni. I

was peaceful, energetic and efficient during my stay at that lodge. As

a result, I used to complete my work early and had spare time

everyday for interacting with you and my friends on the phone. Not

just that. I was even able to able to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of

Nature around me, which rejuvenated me every day,” Harin said

thoughtfully.

After a long introspection, he finally shouted, “Yes, I am now

sure that all that happiness and exuberance was because of the

Nature walk in that repetitive dream at that lodge. He immediately

called up his friend, Gautam, who recommended that lodge.

“Guatam, did you experience anything strange during your stay

in that lodge earlier?”

“Nothing strange excepting a curious repetitive dream every

night,” replied Gautam.

119

Unbelievable! Harin then decided to visit that lodge again to

unravel the significance of that dream. He travelled to that town the

next day, and landed in the same room in that lodge.

He keenly observed the room in minute detail. The racks

present in the room were supported by stone slabs which had

intricate floral patterns and a flower vase like design carved on

them. “Oh my God, these designs are similar to those present on

the slabs adorning the dome-shaped building that had regularly

appeared in my dream,” wondered Harin. He then approached the

owner of that lodge and enquired him of those slabs. “Are those

slabs supporting the racks in my room present elsewhere in this

lodge?” The owner replied, “Yes. Those slabs had been quarried

from some dilapidated structures abutting the nearby hills, during

the construction of this lodge.”

Harin immediately left for those nearby hills. On his way, he

realised that it was the same route that he took in his dreams. When

he finally reached the hills and the bushy plain land abutting them,

he found neither the building nor the waterfall he dreamt of. On

keen observation, he noticed a hazy outline of a huge mud mound

exactly in the place of the dome shaped building of his dreams. He

approached the mound and found some rocky edges protruding

here and there. He removed the dirt and bushes around one of

120

them, and finally excavated a stone slab with a flower vase carved on

it.

He then informed one of his friends, Chowsingha, an Assistant

Professor in History, about his discovery. Chowsingha, along with

Harin, reached the spot the next day. “Wow! This flower vase design

represents the ‘Poornakumbha’. This design which had adorned the

Buddhist stupas of ancient times symbolises prosperity and fullness

of life,” said Chowsingha, excitedly. Chowsingha surveyed the area

and immediately informed the archaeology department about it.

After three months of excavation, a large, partially destroyed

Buddhist stupa, along with some other ancient structures, belonging

to second century A.D., emerged from the mound. The whole area

became a major tourist spot and a cultural heritage site of

international importance.

Finally, Harin became a happy man. He realised that Nature,

including rocks, communicated with humans constantly, and

humans should listen to Nature and play a proactive role in

protecting her biodiversity and ecological balance. He amended his

real estate activities by employing the 3Rs principle of Reduce,

Reuse and Recycling of natural resources to minimise ecological

destruction. He also constructed green buildings that were in

harmony with Nature. All those activities were aimed at maintaining

121

ecological balance that was very important for peace, prosperity and

fullness of life. And that was aptly represented in the new logo of his

restructured company, “The Poornakumbha”.

122

18

The Temple Where Humans are Worshipped

Though this story was not directly related to me, I shall narrate it here,

since it was the only incident wherein animals built a temple to worship you

human beings! And that was in 2045 A.D…

A group of chimpanzees were moving lazily in the dense forests

of Central Africa.

“What is it?” one of them exclaimed, referring to the knocking

sound that was reverberating in the forest.

“I am afraid this sound is associated with human beings. Are

they back again?” said another chimpanzee with panic on her face.

123

On hearing the word “human being”, all the chimps in the herd

trembled. Such was their fear and hatred towards the most

dangerous creatures that had ever evolved on the Earth!

The chimps gathered their courage and walked cautiously

towards the trees where the sound was coming from. As they

approached the trees, the sound grew louder and their hearts

pounded with fear. Unable to control their fear, the chimps climbed

onto the dense treetops for safety.

From the treetops, they quickly scanned the area underneath.

To their utter surprise, they discovered a chimpanzee who was

striking a huge rock with a tool commonly used by human beings. A

range of emotions ran through their minds on seeing the human

tool.

“I have never seen a chimp working so skilfully with human

tools. Is he a human in the guise of a chimp?” wondered one of

them.

“No. His scent clearly indicates that he is a chimp,” said another

chimp.

After watching him for a while, one of the chimps in the herd

shouted from the treetop.

124

“Hey brother, who are you? We have not seen you here before.”

The chimp stopped working and lifted his head reflexively. He

scanned the green treetops that were dotted with the black chimp

herd looking suspiciously towards him. He was delighted at the sight

of those wild chimpanzees on the treetops, and he shouted back,

“Don't be afraid, brothers and sisters. My name is Sid. I am also a

chimp like you. Twenty years ago, when I was two months old,

humans had smuggled me out of this forest. And I was sold to a very

rich American man, who has raised me as one of his own kids.”

On hearing this, a chimp on the treetop exclaimed, “So, you are

a chimp with a human heart and mind!”

“No... Absolutely not. I can never be a human being. And I

don't want to be a human,” replied Sid instantly.

“But Sid, you have been brought up as one of his own kids. So

you are now more human than a chimp. You even walk and stand

like a human. You also use the human tools skilfully. We are really

scared of you,” said another chimp.

125

“Please don't be afraid. Trust me. I belong to you. Though I had

been brought up as a family by human beings, I was never satisfied

deep in my heart,” said an emotional Sid.

“Why, Sid?”

“That’s because man is a dangerous hypocrite. He calls himself

the most intelligent creature on the Earth,” said Sid before one of

the chimps interrupted him.

“Is he not intelligent?” asked the curious chimp.

“Of course, man is the most intelligent species. His intelligent

observations and ingenious research over the past ten thousand

years helped him acquire an extraordinary knowledge about Mother

Nature. He thoroughly understands the importance of

interdependence of plants and animals in maintaining the

ecological balance on Mother Earth. Yet, he destroys Mother Nature

and her biodiversity mercilessly, causing severe ecological imbalance

and natural catastrophes,” said Sid to the curious chimpanzees who

listened with rapt attention.

Sid continued, “On the one hand, a human being loves his kids

so much that he sacrifices many of his personal pleasures to keep his

kids happy. On the other hand, the same human being destroys

126

forests, hunts and kills wild animals, and pollutes soil, air and water,

indiscriminately. Despite his intelligence and personal experience,

he remains blind to the natural catastrophes that his kids would face

in the future because of his present environmental destruction.

“An intelligent stupid,” wondered another chimp.

“But Sid, why are humans not here these days? Did he forget

these dense forests of Central Africa that are rich in biodiversity?”

asked a chimp who was still sitting on the treetop.

“The human killer... Ebola! It was the deadly Ebola disease that

had originated in Central Africa that kept humans away from these

forests for decades. In the absence of humans, these forests have

recovered and are now brimming with biodiversity once again,” said

a happy Sid.

“But Sid, why are you striking this rock with those stone tools?”

asked an old, female chimp curiously.

“I am building a temple and I am carving the statue that should

be worshipped in this temple,” replied Sid.

“Whose statue is it? Is it Mother Earth's?” asked the old chimp.

127

“No. It is a human being's statue,” replied Sid.

“Have you gone mad, Sid?” thundered all the chimps that have

gathered around him.

“No. I am not mad. Humans worship God because they

consider God to be more powerful than them. They believe that

God shows mercy towards those who worship Him with a pure

heart. Now, I am building a temple to worship humans. One day, he

will certainly come here to exploit these precious forests. He will see

this temple and will shower his kindness upon these forests by not

destroying them,” replied Sid.

“So Sid, you have made man a God!” wondered the old chimp.

“No. Humans can't be GODs. Humans are neither Generators

nor Organisers of life on Earth. In fact, they pollute the

environment and destroy the biodiversity of Mother Earth,” replied

Sid.

“So man can only be represented by the letter 'D' (Destroyer) in

the word GOD,” said another chimp, with a smile on her face.

“No. In fact, the Lord of Destruction, Lord Shiva, destroys the

evil present in this universe. Thus, Shiva’s holy actions lead to

128

purification. On the other hand, the destruction of purity and

ecological balance of Mother Earth, by humans, produces only evil

and natural calamities,” replied Sid.

On hearing this, a smart baby chimp exclaimed, “Then humans

can be represented by the letter ‘D’ in Devil!”

All the chimps laughed heartily and caressed the baby chimp.

After a few months of collective hard work, half of the frontal

side of that huge rock was carved into a human face. The other half

had a few words of prayer etched into it.

“Where the biodiversity is naturally high

Where our Jumbos and Rhinos are not butchered

For tusks and horns

Where our brothers and sisters are not flayed

For skin and fur

Where our avians do not fly

In endless clouds of smoke

Where our aquatic fauna are not overexploited

Where pollutants are not dumped into our water bodies

Where the liveliness of water bodies

Is not buried into nothingness

Where roads and rails do not fragment our forests

129

Where noise pollution does not disturb our privacy

Where our forest homes are not destroyed

Where we are left alone

Where the wild is for us, of us, and by us

Into that heaven of blissful wilderness

O Human

Let me walk, play, sleep, breathe

And live peacefully FOR EVER...”