On the
outskirts of that tiny kingdom of Regina, was an ancient shrine, on the top of
a steep hill. Rough steps had been hewn
into the hill-side on all the four sides of that hill. The shrine itself appeared tall, imposing and
darkly forbidding.
The exterior
walls were richly painted with the traditional paintings in vivid colors with
fine detailing. The dome gleamed with
pure gold and was visible for miles around as the sun glinted on it and
enhanced its luster. But it was rumored
that the interiors of the beautiful shrine were a study in stark contrast. Drab and uninspiring! But not so, for the seers who had bequeathed
their entire lives to their Master.
Theirs was supposed to be the strictest of Orders. Those who ever happened to set foot, even
accidentally inside, were bound to become disciples and remain celibate for the
rest of their lives. This rule was
obviously aimed at warning the trespassers, innocent or otherwise!
It was also
rumored that in its initial days, after being newly constructed, many curious
and gullible young men had ventured therein, with stupid bravado, never to
emerge again! Hence no one ever ventured
to even set foot on the steps of that ‘forbidden’ hill-cum-shrine.
The seers
inside the haloed yet dreaded walls of the shrine spent their time in prayers
and other religious rituals. They drank
the water of a perennial spring located in a corner of the shrine and ate the
delicious fruits of the evergreen trees that had been growing there even before
the shrine was built. The shrine had
been constructed around the greenery, without even remotely disturbing it.
Elders of the
Kingdom knowingly whispered to one another that whoever drank from the
perennial spring would never fall ill and never grow old. Hence he would live forever! For none had seen any funeral processions
emerging from the shrine! The elders
scoffed at the suggestion that the dead seers were probably cremated at the shrine
itself. “It’s a shrine for God’s sake,
not a cremation ground. The two can’t
obviously co-exist!”
******************************************************************************
At this point, Martha glanced at her
alarm clock. It was 8 p.m. She had been writing non-stop for 2
hours. But she wasn’t tired at all. She had skipped her dinner time. But she wasn’t hungry. In fact, she was eager to continue writing
her intriguing story.
The King and
his esteemed Minister had mutually decided that the test put before the
eligible bachelors would be one of endurance and perseverance. Thus they could determine whether the chosen
one had both physical and mental ability to lead the Kingdom into further
glory. They didn’t want any riff-raff or
coward to sully the name of their revered Kingdom.
The rules for
the rigorous test went as follows:
·
The man who is desirous of the fair Princess’ hand in
matrimony will climb the steps to the shrine, 100 in number, every day.
·
He will climb each flight of 100 stairs, totaling 4 in
number, one after the other continuously, clockwise east, south, west and north;
starting with the east in the morning at 4 a.m. daily.
·
He has to climb and descend a total of 5000 steps
daily. Those 5000 steps will include his
climbing on all the sides put together.
·
He has to complete each round (ESWN), an equal number
of times on each day.
·
He’ll be staying on the hill’s base in a hut that’ll
be specially constructed for him.
·
A guard will stand guard outside his hut, 24 hours a
day, to see that he doesn’t desert his task and try to escape.
·
A guard will stand at the foot of each flight of
stairs and also at the top of each flight of stairs to see that he doesn’t use
any unfair means to flout the rules. If
he attempts to, he’ll immediately be lashed with 50 lashes of the whip.
·
He can finish
his odyssey at 10 p.m. in the night, when he’ll be fed with a lavish meal of
his choice.
·
He may carry water and food, if he so desires, on his
odyssey, but if he falls ill in the bargain, it is entirely his look-out. The State will not be responsible for his
well-being or even unfortunate demise.
·
This odyssey will continue for a month, that is 30
days, non-stop.
·
On the 31st day, if that man is victorious,
he’ll be given a Prince’s welcome into the Palace where the fair Princess Sara
will be waiting for him with a garland of flowers. Then they will be married in a lavish
ceremony. Shortly thereafter, he’ll be
crowned the King-elect of the Kingdom of Regina. He’ll succeed the throne after the honorable
King’s demise.
·
The day before the odyssey is to begin he’ll be given
a glimpse of the fair Princess Sara and all her wealth to motivate him in his
Herculean endeavor.
************
To be continued.....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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