unable to, because the writing was smudged from the sweat of his palms.
On a television screen in the secretary’s room, Radhika Singh was sitting and watching Saini enter Chhedi’s office. The camera microphone was also activated and every word of the conversation was being recorded. She watched Saini and Priya settle down in the visitors’ chairs opposite Chhedi’s at the desk. Chhedi was saying, ‘I have tried my best to keep the police out of my personal office. Please talk freely and tell me everything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.’ Radhika smiled. It had been a great idea to occupy the secretary’s office because it was equipped with a camera and recording device. Chhedi often liked his meetings to be recorded so that his secretary could minute them later.
‘Do you have the fourth seal?’ asked Saini. Chhedi nodded and took out something from his desk drawer. He passed it to Saini who opened the envelope and carefully extract,’ replied Sir Khan a on the ed the seal. He felt a tingle of excitement when he saw that the fourth seal was almost identical to the other three and definitely part of a set.
‘Our school buddy—Varshney—had four such seals,’ explained Saini. ‘As of date, one is with the police, and two are missing. I have brought along with me photographs of the three others. Would you mind if we place them on your desk and try to make some sense of them?’
‘Isn’t this seal the equivalent of Krishna’s passport system?’ asked Chhedi.
‘Yes,’ said Saini. ‘The Harivamsa says Mudrayaasah gacchantu rajno ye gantumipsavah; Na chamudra praveshtavyo dwaarpaalasya pashyatah… it’s a directive that every citizen of Dwarka should carry a mudra—or seal—as a mark of identification and that it is the duty of the guards to see that every citizen carries the seal and that none without a seal are allowed to enter.’
‘And what is the relevance of the three animals that are depicted on the seal?’ asked Chhedi.
‘These are motifs of a bull, unicorn and goat. They’re considered to be representations of Vishnu. There are references to a very prominent unicorn in the Mahabharata called the “Ekashringa”—literally, the one-horned,’ explained Saini.
‘And, if you bring these seals together, what should they tell you?’ asked Chhedi. ‘In fact, what makes you believe that these four seals are not simply four isolated artefacts?’
‘Because they’re virtually identical—except for minor variations. The position of the three-headed animal appears slightly differently on each seal, but the faces are not even slightly at variance to one another, Dumpy. Varshney himself told me that they even had a base plate that was later lodged in atemple built by Raja Man Singh in the sixteenth century,’ said Saini. ‘Do you have a pair of scissors that I could borrow?’
Chhedi plucked scissors from the leather box on his desk and offered it to Saini.
‘Now could I request you to access my web mail on your computer and take a printout of the photographs that Varshney had sent me of the four seals?’ asked Saini. Chhedi obliged and soon Saini had all four photographs before him. He compared Chhedi’s actual seal with the fourth photograph just to be sure that the photographs were indeed of the very same artefacts.
Saini then took the photographs that Chhedi had printed out and cut them into squares so that they resembled the actual seals. Taking the four photographs, he started shuffling them around on the table, almostas though he were solving a child’s jigsaw puzzle. A few minutes later, a smile appeared on his face.
‘Do you see what I see?’ he asked Chhedi and Priya. Priya caught on immediately. It was impossible not to be stunned by the symbolism of the swastika that lay before them.
The Chandal Chaukdi — the devious foursome consisting of Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Shakuni and Karana — decided to attack the Pandavas in the forest and finish them off ,’
On a television screen in the secretary’s room, Radhika Singh was sitting and watching Saini enter Chhedi’s office. The camera microphone was also activated and every word of the conversation was being recorded. She watched Saini and Priya settle down in the visitors’ chairs opposite Chhedi’s at the desk. Chhedi was saying, ‘I have tried my best to keep the police out of my personal office. Please talk freely and tell me everything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.’ Radhika smiled. It had been a great idea to occupy the secretary’s office because it was equipped with a camera and recording device. Chhedi often liked his meetings to be recorded so that his secretary could minute them later.
‘Do you have the fourth seal?’ asked Saini. Chhedi nodded and took out something from his desk drawer. He passed it to Saini who opened the envelope and carefully extract,’ replied Sir Khan a on the ed the seal. He felt a tingle of excitement when he saw that the fourth seal was almost identical to the other three and definitely part of a set.
‘Our school buddy—Varshney—had four such seals,’ explained Saini. ‘As of date, one is with the police, and two are missing. I have brought along with me photographs of the three others. Would you mind if we place them on your desk and try to make some sense of them?’
‘Isn’t this seal the equivalent of Krishna’s passport system?’ asked Chhedi.
‘Yes,’ said Saini. ‘The Harivamsa says Mudrayaasah gacchantu rajno ye gantumipsavah; Na chamudra praveshtavyo dwaarpaalasya pashyatah… it’s a directive that every citizen of Dwarka should carry a mudra—or seal—as a mark of identification and that it is the duty of the guards to see that every citizen carries the seal and that none without a seal are allowed to enter.’
‘And what is the relevance of the three animals that are depicted on the seal?’ asked Chhedi.
‘These are motifs of a bull, unicorn and goat. They’re considered to be representations of Vishnu. There are references to a very prominent unicorn in the Mahabharata called the “Ekashringa”—literally, the one-horned,’ explained Saini.
‘And, if you bring these seals together, what should they tell you?’ asked Chhedi. ‘In fact, what makes you believe that these four seals are not simply four isolated artefacts?’
‘Because they’re virtually identical—except for minor variations. The position of the three-headed animal appears slightly differently on each seal, but the faces are not even slightly at variance to one another, Dumpy. Varshney himself told me that they even had a base plate that was later lodged in atemple built by Raja Man Singh in the sixteenth century,’ said Saini. ‘Do you have a pair of scissors that I could borrow?’
Chhedi plucked scissors from the leather box on his desk and offered it to Saini.
‘Now could I request you to access my web mail on your computer and take a printout of the photographs that Varshney had sent me of the four seals?’ asked Saini. Chhedi obliged and soon Saini had all four photographs before him. He compared Chhedi’s actual seal with the fourth photograph just to be sure that the photographs were indeed of the very same artefacts.
Saini then took the photographs that Chhedi had printed out and cut them into squares so that they resembled the actual seals. Taking the four photographs, he started shuffling them around on the table, almostas though he were solving a child’s jigsaw puzzle. A few minutes later, a smile appeared on his face.
‘Do you see what I see?’ he asked Chhedi and Priya. Priya caught on immediately. It was impossible not to be stunned by the symbolism of the swastika that lay before them.
The Chandal Chaukdi — the devious foursome consisting of Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Shakuni and Karana — decided to attack the Pandavas in the forest and finish them off ,’
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