When Arunava reached the 'Chandannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital' at last it was 5:30 in the morning. Shivangi had gone into a coma, the doctors who attended her told Arunava. After admitting her he called up Upendra Ghosh. He was in Mumbai, attending a meeting. He'd be catching the next available flight to Kolkata, he said. He didn't seemed to be much worried about his wife, though he feigned it. It was everything Arunava could do at the moment. He knew his heart would bleed whenever he'd think of her. Would she survive this time? The doctors said chances were very rare. Arunava was upto his ears in work, otherwise he could've taken few days off and attended her. Though he knew his over-enthusisam would be unexplainable to Upendra and cause problems between the husband-wife again. It wasn't long that they had been reconciled. How could he allow himself to play gooseberry ? Arunava himself got fourteen stitches, ten at the back of his head, four on his side temple. CT scan showed all n

1st Century, 57 BCE: Forest area near Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, IndiaAs soon as Pataliputra's special regiment entered the forest a heavy storm broke-in. Soon water started pouring down through the canopy of branches and leaves of trees. Visibility got constrained to only occassional outbursts of lightening, with the raging of thunder. The army got scattered in no time. Suddenly the growl of a beast could be heard from a distance. In a matter of minutes the growl approached near, followed by splashing of water from puddles made into the clayey ground . The lightning showed tall grasses swaying in front of a soldier. The next moment something threw him down from the horse-seat and pulled him inside the bushes. A blood-curdling scream ran from one end of the forest to another. 'What was that? Hey can anyone hear me?' A soldier shouted.'Stay still wherever you are brother' .Someone shouted back from a distance.The animal was approaching them stealthily. Everyone took position with the

1st Century, 57 BCE: Shankha's hidden chamber, somewhere in Malwa, West-Central IndiaAt the time Vikram was busy combatting the undead near the Udaipur fort Shankha was watching the scene through his magic ball. As the creatures slaughtered Vikram's men one by one, a sadistic smile crossed his lips. 'So there you are my dear brother, a gladiator prince .. fighting ghouls .. entertaining people. I see you have become a hero. But Shankha has other plans, what can you do? Whenever the country is in turmoil your kshatriya blood starts boiling. But you don't understand the simple fact that to ascend government ranks one has to be politically motivated. A prince should imitate the qualities of a fox and lion. Just by living an austere life and practicing idealism can't make you the king of Pataliputra, even if you have been predicted to become so. Astrologers and priests had predicted the lives of men from times immemorial, but wise men have always won over ill-fate. Even to carry his fat

1st Century, 57 BCE: Shakaditya's secret chamber, Ujjain fort, Madhya Pradesh, India The first time Shakaditya set his eyes on Nandini he had been smitten by her beauty. Having heard about the wife of the governor of Malwa - once a territory of Shaka rule, Shakaditya died to catch a glimpse of her. Shakaditya had heard that Shankha despised her over his other wives, but even if it wasn't the case, he knew Shankha wouldn't object - so very ambitious he was of becoming a king and so worthless he was as a governor in his present role. A meeting was arranged through him. But as Indian women were not allowed to come outdoors and meet a male guest, except through a curtain placed between them - which offered restricted visibility, a new scheme was planned. It was decided that the visitor would be allowed to have a peek of the lady through the reflection in mirror, during the time she'd be taking her shower. A special location would be fixed for him in the royal mansion from where he'd have

Present Day: On a train from Kolkata bound for Goa, somewhere near Balasore, Orissa.There was blood, only blood around him. It seemed he had fallen inside a whirlpool of blood and was being sucked inside. The more he flailed his arms to raise himself, the more he got dragged inside. He remembered last time Shivangi to have gone through the same ordeal at her sister's flat. These hallucinatory experiences had started after he met Shivangi. Was he connected to her in her previous life too? The taste of metal and salt made him feel like retching. He could hear voices in his head .. war cries rising to the sound of clarions and drums .. silenced by the slash of metallic weapons. The sound of horses' hooves, running of feet, clash of swords continued unabated. Elephants roared, horses neighed, vultures swooped down on the dead, jackals and hyenas waited for their turn to claim their share of flesh. The river Shipra turned red with blood in no time. .A horse rider was storming through the