D R .

D U R G A D O S S

Table of Contents
Pages Author Notes Prologue Chapter 1: The Rewind Chapter 2: The Kingdom of Krishna Chapter 3: The Birth of the Trio Chapter 4: The Voyage Disaster Chapter 5: Cultural Echoes from the commoners Chapter 6: The bonds of matrimony Chapter 7: The Naming Ceremony Chapter 8: The Exile: A Stateless Status Chapter 9: The unending miseries Chapter 10: The Great Chase Chapter 11: Back to Dwarka: The Triplets Arrive Chapter 12: The Gurukul Bondage Chapter 13: Bravery sessions Chapter 14: Graduation & Beyond Chapter 15: The Love That Triggered Enmity Chapter 16: The operation: Rahasya Chapter 17: Wedding Bells Chapter 18: The War Begins: Tragedy Strikes Chapter 19: The Revenge Chapter 20: The Stunning Revelations- Myths Demystified Epilogue Research Archives Glossary of Terms (i) to (v) 1 3 38 44 58 88 124 148 155 165 187 203 216 231 252 269 284 304 313 343 360 374 378 384

Shackles of the Warrior

Prologue
26.11.2008 Mumbai Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Colaba It was 2:30 in the afternoon. Tidal waves of the Arabian Sea kissed the Mumbai shoreline with unceasing continuity. The passers-by were caressed by the gentle sea breeze. Rhythmic sounds of waves, loud chatter of tourists and a buzzing breeze created a kind of orchestra witnessed in the symphonies of a Budapest Festival. The Taj hotel, commanding an impressive view of the Gateway of India, set against the backdrop of the Arabian Sea and the harbour, was a delicious treat to the eye. When the Gateway of India was built, it symbolised the city's openness to visitors. The builders of the Gateway never realised that one day such openness would attract terrorists from an alien shore. Shivshankar Narayan had just attained extensive global visibility for his heroic deed of annihilating cyber terrorists who tried to destroy global networks. These terrorists were sending viruses through satellites around the planet. Shiv, at just 28, was the youngest and the most sought-after crisis management specialist for NASA. He alighted from his black limousine along with his colleague Mike Pedro. Shiv was a tall man with a well-toned physique and sharp facial features. Though he was very young, he had deep set eyes that exuded seriousness beyond his age. He was born in America to Indian parents who were well settled in Seattle for over 40 years. The dimples on his cheeks and chin shone when the late afternoon sunlight washed his face. He brushed aside a strand of silky hair that fell to his face, as the chilly sea breeze hit his face. He looked at his friend Mike. Mike was a Hispanic American and was nearly the same age as Shiv. Unlike Shiv, he was a short, white man with a boyish face that bubbled with energy and curiosity. His eyes shone with excitement, as he set foot on the land that he had heard so much about, but never had the chance to visit till that day.

Both Mike and Shiv were not just colleagues but thick friends who had developed an excellent bondage over the last five years. Mike was a part of the crisis management team at NASA, headed by the very young tech wizard Shiv. Shiv completed his Masters at Stanford University and displayed extraordinary creative sparks in the burgeoning field of Information technology during his project assignments with NASA. Given his academic credentials, it was a cakewalk for Shiv to land a plum position at NASA. Shiv and Mike were received at the entrance of the hotel by a reception team comprising of the general manager of Taj, Mr. Kanwar Singh and Kishore Rathod, the president of the Peace Lovers Association (PLA). PLA, an NGO, organised a felicitation function for Shiv on his recent heroic deed at NASA which saved the entire planet.

Chapter 1 The Rewind

Shivshankar Narayan and Mike Pedro have just arrived at the Taj in Mumbai and are welcomed with characteristic warmth. Both are livewire talents of NASA, and Shiv, just at 28 had attained extensive global visibility for his heroic deed of annihilating cyber terrorists who tried to destroy global networks. Shiv had become the youngest and the most sought-after crisis management specialist for NASA. Mike, who was not just a colleague but also a thick friend was a part of the crisis management team at NASA, headed by the very young tech wizard Shiv. After a reception team comprising the general manager of Taj, Mr. Kanwar Singh and Kishore Rathod, the president of the Peace Lovers Association (PLA). PLA, an NGO which was organizing a felicitation function for Shiv on his recent heroic deed at NASA which saved the entire planet, Shiv and Mike take a tour of the magnificent Taj Hotel after a nap and a shower. Both Kishore and Kanwar came to the room to receive Shiv and Mike. Without wasting time they proceeded to the lobby to start their tour. By the way, when was this hotel built? What is the history behind this hotel? enquired Mike. True to his pet name as 'walking encyclopedia', he was always keen to gather and store information at every possible instance. Oh, that is a long interesting story. I have been with this hotel for more than 15 years now. The story goes back to the 1890s. Security men denied J.N. Tata entry into the Royal Navy Yacht Club and pointed to a board that read, 'No Entry for Indians and Dogs'. At that moment, J.N. Tata decided that he had to create a world-class hotel in Bombay (now Mumbai). Taj hotel was his gift to the city that he loved so dearly; just as the Taj Mahal of Agra was Shah Jahan's memorial to the woman he loved. Back then, it cost Rs. 25 lakhs and was the first building of Bombay to have electricity supply. The day it was opened, it had a large staff of waiters but only seven guests. Can you believe it? Okay Mr. Kanwar, when this hotel was first constructed, there must barely have been any other good hotels in India. Isn't it?'

'Yes, you are right Mike. The hotels during those days were in a rundown condition and mostly overcrowded and dirty. Even the most decent hotel at that time 'Watsons Esplanade Hotel' was pretty old. This prompted Tata to announce grand plans of building the Taj Palace hotel in Bombay. Even as Kanwar zealously unfolded the glorious history of the Taj, the inquisitive Mike enquired, By the way, why is this Hotel building constructed the wrong way around? What should have been in the rear is in the front and vice versa? Well Mike, your observation is right. Tata was once asked this question, and he replied that the he wanted the majority of the hotel guests to have access to the breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea. No wonder the hotel attracted the Who's Who of the World. Various kings, presidents, legends, performers, religious heads and entertainers stayed here. Well known personalities including George Bernard Shaw, Irving Stone, Barbara Courtland, Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles, Bill Clinton, David Rockefeller, Duke Ellington and Lord Mountbatten have all stayed here. It is then the turn of Kanwar to get inquisitive and he enquires about the bright orange colour pen like instrument that Mike and Shiv hold in their shirt pockets. Mike looked down at his shirt pocket, beamed and said, Oh! This is a special gadget used by the crisis management group (CMG) at NASA. This is called the NASA VGN 009. With this device, we can communicate with all CMG members located across the world. We can intercept any frequency and crystallise the convergence of voice, data and image. Many times, in certain global territories, there is no access to communication towers. But this device operates on a private network and keeps us connected at all times. In fact, it is a hi-tech device that has separate buttons for film recording, voice interception, transmission and so on. In many ways, it is like the black box of an aircraft - it has a battery backup of two full weeks, it cannot be broken and if it is lost, it can be recovered by following the signal frequencies emitted. A thrilled Kanwar said, That's very nice, Mike. It looks like a modern day James Bond gadget!

At sharp 9:15 PM, Shiv and Mike reached the ballroom. The festive atmosphere had already set in. They could see the technology at its best in the room; stateof-the-art A/V systems waiting to commence at the click of a button. The eye-catchy digital banners, the high-tech podium and the exquisitely decorated stage were clearly indicative of the festive tone. The graceful arches, scalloped pillars and crystal chandeliers gave the banquet hall an air of regal elegance. Felicitation to the Cyber Hero declared the digital banners. The guests had started occupying their seats. A number of European Parliamentarians, who were at the Taj hotel that day for an International Trade Delegation, were also present among the audience. British Conservative Member of European Parliament, Social Democrat MEP, Spanish MEP, British Conservative MEP, Polish MEP, Hungarian MEP, Indian MP of Kerala, few of the top executives of the Hindustan Food Company and many captains of corporate India were already among the guests. The US ambassador of India and the Indian Ambassador to US were the chief guests of honour. All of them were eagerly waiting for the guests of honour. Sharp at 9:30 PM, all the guests had arrived and the function started. Kishore Rathod, President - Peace Lovers Association gave a quick welcome address. While welcoming the dignitaries, he paid floral tributes to Shiv and his Operation cyber cleaning. Hackers from the roguestate had obtained access to satellite controls and were on the verge of damaging various satellites and manipulating satellite transmission. Landsat 7 jointly managed by NASA and US geological survey had been their first targets. As Shiv walked up to the podium to collect his Award, the entire hall of 250 special guests gave a standing ovation. Immediately there was a video clipping of US President George Bush and India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who offered their appreciations and hearty congratulations to Shiv. Shiv looked at his watch once more. It was 10:15 PM. He took a deep breath and rose to deliver his speech, At the outset, let me thank you all for honouring me with this Award. After more clapping, he continued, Let me tell you something - One might think that in the 21st century, people must be sitting on a summit of happiness and are much happier than all their predecessors in human history. People of today have high income levels, high life expectancy and reduced infant mortality, but the reality is different.

At that moment, there were violent sounds of explosions outside the banquet hall. There was a whisper among the audience. They all thought it was the sound of the crackers from a wedding procession. As the sound subsided, everyone focused their attention back on the speaker and Shiv continued... While he was talking, two men entered the room and there was a sudden indiscriminate shooting and flurry of bullets from the AK-47 rifles that the men carried. Pandemonium broke out. Shiv ducked under the podium to escape the gunshots. When the bullets were being splashed all around the room, Madhuri, the banquet manager swiftly ran to the switch board and turned off the lights. The room was in complete darkness for ten long minutes. A flood of bullets and confusing noises followed. After that there was pin drop silence. The shocked and petrified crowd slowly realised that the two terrorists who spilled the bullets had left the hall. The banquet manager mustered courage and switched on the lights for a minute. My God, what a scene it was! Shiv could see 30 odd bullet riddled bodies. He could hardly recognise the bloody faces on the floor. Suddenly he closed his eyes when he discerned the body of Kishore Rathod, who lay dead near the stage. It was a vision of horror. . The next thought that came to Shiv's mind was Mike. A chill ran down his spine and he called out in a low, whispering voice, Mikeeey.... Mike slowly came out of the podium where he had been hiding. Shiv breathed a sigh of relief on seeing that his friend was safe. And then as Shiv ran with Thomas Kurien, a senior waiter down through a spiral staircase and neared the exit. Boom! There was a series of gunshots; Thomas Kurian and Shiv were the latest victims. The force of the gunshots had thrown them out of the open exit door. Shiv did not know what happened afterwards. NDTV Sarita Bhat reported on TV live from Breach Candy Hospital Mumbai..We have a flash news. Mr. alongside Taj Hotel senior waiter Thomas Kurian. The latter is dead, while Mr. Shiv has been admitted at Breach Candy Hospital with serious head injuries. At the ICU, the doctors are struggling hard to remove the bullets, buried deep in his skull. We will keep you posted as and when we receive further information.Shivshankar Narayan, the NASA scientist who destroyed the cyber terrorist network was shot today.

The domes of Taj hotel were burning and a third of the hotel staff had laid down their lives as a sacrifice to help 1200 guests escape from within the hotel. Two cyber-war heroes faced gruesome deaths. Mike Pedro lay dead in the backside of the hotel lobby, while Shivshankar Narayan was lying in a state of unconsciousness fighting death. The heroes who saved the planet from the cyber terrorists could not avoid succumbing to this physical terrorism. Why? Why? -Shiv's unconscious mind questioned. Memories from the time in coma were inexplicable. They were like a patch work quilt, with no apparent sequence nor temporal relationship to one another. The purest and the most extraordinary part of his journey commenced deep in his state of coma. In the midst of his coma, his cerebrum unleashed a quest for unravelling his past. Then all of a sudden, everything opened up. His mind went out navigated into a valley, so crisp and beautiful. He could see waterfalls, pools of water, and indescribable colours with arks of silver and gold light and beautiful hymns emanating from them. Boom!!! Suddenly the serene image shifted into images of war, weapons and weeping widows. He saw himself on the mast of a tall ship, he saw himself in a missile silo, and he saw himself on the watchtower of a mammoth fort and guiding the cannons of a great warship. And then he saw images of himself swiftly move out of the earth and then out of the universe. He had lost awareness of his physical body through this deep coma experience. In the process of this deep search, his mind realized many of his previous states, by breaking the shackles of all his earlier births. His mind was filled with the chorus of a great host of army crying out the name Sagar, Sagar, Sagar.. He was lying on the battlefield as a wounded solider with deep cuts inflicted by sharp weapons. It was bloodbath all around. He was holding back his last breath, waiting for his beloved wife and newly born son. It was the land of the battle between Kauravas and Pandavas, the land that was situated between the two rivers: Sarasvati and Drishadvati, the land where Manu wrote his Manusmriti and the land where the Rig and Sama vedas were compiled.

His calm mind resisted, this battleground is not the land of my birth or my beloved kingdom. This is not the place where I spent my joyful childhood. This is not the beautiful place where I come from. I need to trace the origin of my birth. His comatose mind continued to wander further into the past. It now flashed images of the spectacular city of his birth. The golden fort of this city threw a yellow glitter on the surrounding waters making it look like flames rising from the riverbed. There was a township with six sectors along the banks of the river. It was connected to the mainland by many floating bridges, which could be withdrawn whenever there was an attack from enemies. The floating bridges and the design of the city was truly a marvel.' Having identified his real birth city, he stumbled upon his colourful life in his first birth as Sagar, the great warrior of The Kingdom of Krishna in 3083 BC! *** ***

and unshackle the hero Sagar !

The untold mysteries...What are the Shackles? Society, caste, poverty, time, revenge ? Or Love, hate , destiny & disposition? Cyber Warrior or Chariot Warrior of 3100 BC? The unceasing questions?
This story has a plot that is worth a Hollywood Blockbuster - Mrs. Suhasini Maniratnam (Actor, Director, Writer) The vivid description of Chakravuha formations and secret commando missions have astonished even a long servicing Police Officer - Mr. R Natraj (IPS, Former DGP)
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Praise for

THE SHACKLES OF THE WARRIOR

The journey from 2008 AD to 3100 BC was never so exciting!!! The story with all its cliffhangers will keep you engrossed till the brilliant last page.
- Bhargav Diwanji, Manager - ICICI Bank

If you want a book that will give you sudden twists, turns, suspense, anxiety and hold your curiosity - then look no further. This is a story that has all the elements of a potboiler.
- Praneet Mungara, IIT - Stanford University

A terrorist group strikes the world by planting viruses into global computer systems from a satellite orbiting the earth. This act of cyber terrorism disrupts air traffic systems, interferes with the control system for water and electricity, blocks commercial communications, crashes various network systems, gains access to secret military information and defaces various websites. In light of this cyber attack, the world is facing a chaotic situation. Shiv, a young, celebrated NASA scientist destroys their moves and saves the earth from cyber attacks. To honor Shivs extraordinarily brave performance, a felicitation function was held at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai on the fateful day of 26th November 2008. Shiv, the cyber warrior, becomes a victim to a physical terrorist attack at the Taj Hotel. His mind flashed several images in a state of coma, in the ICU of a leading Hospital in Mumbai. The images of war, weapons and weeping widows flashed in his mind. What has he, the famous NASA scientist to do with a warrior of the 3100 BC era? The secrets buried in the silent chambers of his soul are unraveled..

ISBN 978-81-902679-8-4

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