Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
Ashwin saw the point in attending Ishwar Academy. The nice Sanskrit classes, the well-equipped Pustakalaya, the exciting Altars, the Bhojanalaya (the food hall) and the Shrishti Lake were simply great.
                          
Number one, he found out about the various Altars within the campus. He got to know that there were totally nine altars, Nava Sthanaha, or the Nine Sacred Altars. They belonged respectively to- Shiva in altar one, Durga in altar two, Brahma in altar three, Saraswati in altar four, Vishnu in altar five, Lakshmi in altar six, Ganesha in altar seven, Hanuman in altar eight, and Kartikeya in altar nine.  
                          
 These children, of course, had respective qualities. As Jasnoor and Swati were in Bhagwan Chatvasthav, or simply the Big Six, along with Nandita, Madhumita, Parvati, and Ashwin, they felt special. Nandita acted lonely, as though the Shiva Altar was boring. Swati excellently described the altar five.
                          
‘You know what? The Vishnu Altar is shaped like a serpent, and inside, we have a collection of seashells, conch horns, and we have a private aquarium! The long Ananthashayana posture of Pitashri is often seen at night! And, well, I am good at archery and Chakra throwing suddenly...’
                          
The Ishwar Academy’s students would never address their fathers and mothers by their name. They would often use Pitashri or Mata or Ambe. The students had to wake up at 6 in the morning, and, must have a compulsory set of activities in the morning, depending on their altar number.
                          
Swati did discus throwing, Nandita did meditation and penance, Madhumita did magic practice (Brahma’s children had compulsory creation classes where they would be taught to make objects appear out of thin air, like magic), Ashwin went for Sanskrit classes, Jasnoor went for arts and crafts, and Parvati went for challenges in the ocean.
                          
Ashwin had made one friend at the academy. A boy from altar seven was really friendly. His name was Vignesh. He always had vibhoodi smeared over his head, and he spoke faster than anyone could catch. 
                          
‘Hi! Ashwin, did you get the eighteenth translation for Sanskrit? I got it as “my mother is everything, though thy not know thou”. What did you get?’ he asked at top speed, and Ashwin took a second to interpret his words.
                          
‘Of course, the Sanskrit translation master had told us not to use old English words like thy and thou and shalt, but it’s your wish, to understand about the, you know concept.’
                          
The activities around were occupying, and took most of the students’ energy. The altars five and four were collaboratively preparing a ceremony, called the Annual RathSamorav Inauguration. They had planned a set of rules for the Raths, or the chariots, that there would be a five kilometre long track along Ishwaralayam Parvat, the nearby mountain, and the altar to come first will get a prize, a direct conversation with their human parents.
                          
The race inauguration was to be held on the Amavasya on the fifth day of Chaitra. The members would sign their names. The ceremony would have gone perfectly, except for the materialisation of a boy. A boy who was thin and spindly in a red uniform with the logo of Redwood School. This boy appeared in the YogMukta period.
                          
This boy was named as Gaurav, though Ashwin remembered him, he did not remember seeing him. A vague and old and tarnished memory is what he was...
                          
‘Hi everybody...um, I’m Gaurav, er, if you know that I was picked up by Narada in front of the school and...’ he mumbled.
                          
‘Of course, dear child! You are indeed Gaurav, the son of mighty Lord Kartikeya...’ Narada said, as a symbol of a Peacock appeared over Gaurav.
                          
Gaurav was looking unhealthy. He had, as far as Ashwin could tell, not eaten for days.
                          
‘Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam!’ said Narada.

                          
‘Jai Bhagwan Aham Priyam!!!’ exclaimed all.