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he Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other from 1027 BC to 221 BC. A historical chronicle of the time attributes the period 770 BC to 476 BC as the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou dynasty when the Zhou court was sacked in 771 BC and the ruler killed by the invading barbarians. His loyalists kept the body in a coffin duly embalmed and waited for an opportunity to bury it with the rituals it deserved until the disturbances ceased and the barbarians were driven out of the place. There is evidence from the royal tombs that indicate the burial of the royal personages along with articles of value that they may use in their afterlife. There is also evidence that these burials were accompanied by the bodies of their slaves who were buried alive alongside the royals to assist the souls as they ascended to the heavens. This practice continued well into the year 480 BC, dwindling gradually as the teachings of Confucius took deep roots in the minds of the populace. Xio Xiu (read as Zou-Zoo) inadvertently got entrapped into the cycle of adventure he least expected to. He was a simple village boy looking out for a change of scene in a stormy weather rather than into something that was life threatening. When Xio Xiu finished his meal and felt satiated he looked around in order to thank his provider and found none around. He did not know what his next step ought to be and all he could think of was to find a way to return home to his mother and the little brother. He knew his father would scold him for his indiscretion in going out in a stormy weather in the first place. He got up from the bench and sauntered across to the fence to try locate the gate that would give him an exit to the outer world. Unfortunately for him there was no fence and there was no gate. It surprised him quite a bit and he sat down once again on the bench to reflect at this situation. Taking a stock of the surroundings he remembered his horse and the hunting implements he was carrying. He remembered he had left the horse at the entry to the woods but whatever happened to his axe and the spear he carried he did not remember. The sun continued to shine bright and the heat of the day with a full meal in his stomach gave him an uneasy feeling. He needed fresh air but felt no movement of air within the confines of the garden he was trapped in. It was a long time when finally an evil looking man approached him and said something in a dialect that he did not understand. Xio Xiu was trussed up with a rope that cut into his skin and his ankles were loosely tied so that he could just walk and no way he could run. He was being led out through a passage that had miraculously opened up along one side of the garden where he last remembered eating his meal. The passage was dark and dreadful and he faltered at every step. The escort kept pushing him onward and mouthed some dirty words that he did not follow but recognized its tenor. Was he being pushed onward into the same tunnel through which he had come earlier, he did not know. But a long time later he felt the presence of a human form alongside with the escort walking ahead. He wanted to ask a lot of questions to all these people but words failed him and he walked along silently instead. Well within the confines of the cave they soon reached a fork where the escort led Xio Xiu into a kind of a chamber. A couple of people stood alongside a coffin and noticed the boy being led inside. Xio Xiu soon found out that a grave was being dug there where the coffin was likely to be interned. Looking at the scene he felt a tremor of shivers that coursed down his body. As the grave was readied to receive the coffin it dawned on Xio Xiu that he was the one who would be buried along side as the conversation between the three guards indicated. He suddenly felt his nerves on edge and an intense feeling of nausea overpowered him. An instant desire to escape aroused in his mind. He tried to reason with the guards about their intention, but failed to reach them as they were speaking a different language. Soon a sudden flare of light awakened him and he saw the three guards fall flat on their backs. Then he noticed the shadowy form by his side turn into the monk who directed him to move on towards the exit. As he followed the monk he realized that his binding ropes were no longer in place and he could walk without restraint. The monk was talking to him and this time he paid attention to his savior. It was the monk who informed him about the intention of these murderers to bury him along with the body of their rebel king who was killed in battle two days ago. The practice was almost non-existent now but the rebels continued with it nonetheless. They walked for a long time and finally Xio Xiu heard voices that indicated a large gathering of people. He could not see them but soon clearly heard a language that he now understood. The monk motioned him to be quiet and they approached the exit to the cave from where he could see the daylight filtering in. Sometime later he found himself at the mouth of the cave and a beautiful valley right in front with melting snows on the ground. He felt surprised at the change of scene from a sunlit garden with flowers and green foliage to a snow covered valley and asked the monk what was happening. The monk told him that he had traversed a long tunnel under the mountain ranges from one part of the country to another part that had different climatic patterns, one part being in the north and the other in the south. He was amazed when he learnt that the tunnel under the mountain had been dug by the cavemen almost 2000 years ago and that it had taken them almost as many years to build it in the past. It was not for a reason to connect the North and the South but to enlarge their residential holding. They found it safe to escape the harsh weather and the wild animals that were abundant in the region at that time. The tunnel was almost 50 miles long and not really straight, having multiple entry and exit points. There was a large assembly of people in an open enclosure ahead and some kind of a leader was addressing them. He soon found out that this was a workforce that was being readied to work on some construction at a site close by and instructions were being given to them by the leader. The monk asked him to enroll for the work and join the multitude and he would soon come back. Saying so the monk hurriedly left the place leaving Xio Xiu behind. He felt uncertain of his position but soon realized that he had no option but to follow the instructions of the monk who had saved his life once again. There was a wall being built by a very large workforce whom Xio Xiu joined and he continued to work over a number of days and in return received his rations at the end of the day and a place to rest his tired body. Xio Xiu wondered as to how long he had to continue like this and that his mother would be worried about him and his little brother looking out for him everywhere. He prayed for the return of the monk who now directed his life and he had become dependent on his dictates. He very much wanted to opt out of this harsh labor that he found tiring and point blank tell the monk that he wanted to return home to his parents and to his sibling. He was very much perturbed about the whereabouts of his horse and wanted to know how it was doing after being left alone at the entry to the woods tied to a tree stump and what became of him all these days. In desolation he sat down and quietly shed tears in remembrance of his loved ones. Back in his home village at Xiang life was now returning to normal with the spring season coming in to cheer up the residents who prepared for the cultivation of their lands after the winter snows were clear of their fields. The trees were already displaying new leaves and some spring flowers were in full bloom. The Yellow river flowed majestically with waters clear and fresh that would soon irrigate the fields. There was the family of Xio Xiu who had outlived the loss of their son who, they believed, had been taken by the grizzly bear as he hunted in the woods. His horse had been recovered a day after the disappearance of Xio Xiu as his father scouted the whole village when he did not return from his outing. Little brother Lin continued to pester his parents about the whereabouts of his elder brother Xio Xiu and often cried for him. It did surprise the mother, though, that with all the search procedure they still had not recovered the hunting implements that Xio Xiu had carried with him. She was sure there was reason enough to believe that Xio Xiu was well and alive and would show up any time. Xio Xiu squinted at the bright sun that hindered his sighting the large building right in front of him. There were at least a hundred pillars that supported the base on which it stood, majestic and magical at the same time. He had seen no such thing in his village and none anywhere else. The crescent shaped base carried an enormous edifice two stories tall that was the seat of the government. A huge open space in front of the building could carry a standing congregation of at least a quarter million people and he saw them arriving in drones at the front lawns. It appeared there was some kind of a demonstration being held there. He had arrived in the capital city the previous night after traveling nearly a hundred miles over ten days from the construction site where he had ceaselessly worked for four months and longed to get away to do something that he prayed should not be too tiresome. He had met a boy named Ho-Jun almost his age who worked alongside with him at the wall and both decided that enough was enough and they would escape from the site. They had both witnessed death of many a people working on the wall, mostly old, whose bodies were laid to rest within the walls under construction. He learned with great disbelief that this was the usual practice to disposed off the dead in order to avoid concerns of the relatives who would be told that their kin had disappeared. Time ticked away as people from all over descended into the open space and an ominous hum of voices drowned any conversation between two people. Both Xio Xiu and Ho-Jun watched the proceedings with bated breath as tempers began to rise from amongst the masses. It was around noon when someone appeared at the balcony on the second floor to announce that the king would appear shortly to address them. A calm descended on the gathering of about fifty thousand as the king appeared a while later at the balcony. Among other officials he was flanked by a figure on his left whom Xio Xiu instantly recognized. It was the monk who had influenced his life over some time now. He did not know how to react to his appearance at the scene and if he should meet him now in view of his having deserted the construction site where he had placed him. He kept his thoughts to himself as the king started to speak to his subjects. The people listened with rapt attention until some disturbance was noticed at the rear end. Before anyone could assess the happening a clatter of horse hoofs thundered and about a hundred riders marched towards the building with swords drawn and spears raised. It appeared that a war had broken out for which the king was apparently not prepared. He was taken unawares and even his ground defense was outnumbered. The people dispersed in all directions causing a stampede that further worsened the situation. As the commotion on ground diverted the attention of the king and his associates, a quivering arrow left its bow at the far end of the crescent shaped building on the same floor about a hundred feet away on to the left. It sped up with a whooshing sound and rushed straight towards the king's assembly, found its mark and hit the king in his head, right on his temple. His fall to the ground was arrested by the monk on his side who saw the arrow hitting the king and just in time was able to hold him. No one had noticed the assassin who soon disappeared. It was in fact a pillar of the building that had hidden the assailant from view of any observer and the crescent shape that permitted a free flight of the arrow inward towards its mark. An injured Xio Xiu himself did not remember anything after he was caught in the stampede. He was not the only one in the great hall of the palace where many more wounded like him were being treated. There were blood splattered bodies everywhere that were being cleaned and bandaged. His long staff in his hand, the monk was one busy person visiting every wounded and entreating everyone to be calm in this grave situation. It was the rebels who had declared war on the state and they were helped by a few Mongols who had also supplied them with swords and spears and the horses on whom they made good their escape. When he finally confronted the monk Xio Xiu was surprised that he did not receive any reprimand for leaving the construction site without his permission. It appeared that the monk was in fact pleased to see him and he made sure that Xio Xiu got the best possible attention in his treatment. It took almost two weeks for the wounds to heal and he wondered what had become of his friend Ho-Jun who was a partner in his escapade. He was now lodged at another place along with thirty others where he had been shifted and there was a nurse in attendance who changed the bandages everyday. At the end of two weeks he felt better and was in a position to move around in the courtyard of the building and he ate well to regain his strength. Taking stock of his situation Xio Xiu decided that it was time to move on with his life and leave the place before the monk would reappear and direct him to do something that he was not prepared for. He put his meager belongings in a bag and waited for an appropriate moment to leave. He expected to at least head home after finding out the directions from some source. It rained heavily that night and the storm was intense. Flashes of lightening accompanied the storm and no one was seen out in the open. Xio Xiu was the only one on the road as he had started early evening on his way back home. He had ascertained the route to his village and had hopes to reach his destination, due west, 30 days later. The fearful weather scared him and for a while he thought of abandoning the effort and return to his shelter. To his good luck he found a dilapidated hut just off the road. He decided to take advantage of the facility and entered the hut. The roof was badly leaking but he could manage to keep himself clear of the harsh rain that had battered his body. He wished he could light a fire but he had neither flint stones nor any dry twigs. He had only managed to steal a knife and some bread from the shelter that he thought may come handy during travel. He sat on a bench he found in the hut and waited for the rain to stop. He removed his wet clothes and opened the bag for a change and found the other set equally wet. He started to eat the bread that had now turned soggy, not that he was hungry but because he had nothing else to do. To his amazement the sky suddenly cleared and light filtered in, though it was only the weak fading light of dusk. Suddenly he saw a figure standing at the door with a face staring at him boldly, and he screamed out loud with fear. To be continued: |
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B. L. Dhar was born and educated at Srinagar. Did Master's degree in Mathematics. Took up appointment with the Civil Aviation Sector of the G.O.I. as a gazzetted officer and later joined the PSU, Airports Authority of India (AAI) from where he retired as General Manager in 2000. At present residing at Delhi with frequent visits to the US and Europe where his kith and kin reside. Has interest in writing. |
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