The Dravidian

God's Own Tribe

Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala

Copyright, Kalyan C. Kankanala, 2017.

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Table of Contents

Prologue .............................................................................................................................. 5

Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 7

Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................. 8

Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 11

Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................... 12

Chapter 5 ........................................................................................................................... 15

Chapter 6 ........................................................................................................................... 17

Chapter 7 ........................................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 8 ........................................................................................................................... 21

Chapter 9 ........................................................................................................................... 23

Chapter 10 ......................................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 11 ......................................................................................................................... 28

Chapter 12 ......................................................................................................................... 30

Chapter 13 ......................................................................................................................... 34

Chapter 14 ......................................................................................................................... 35

Chapter 15 ......................................................................................................................... 39

Chapter 16 ......................................................................................................................... 41

Chapter 17 ......................................................................................................................... 43

Chapter 18 ......................................................................................................................... 45

Chapter 19 ......................................................................................................................... 47

Chapter 20 ......................................................................................................................... 49

Chapter 21 ......................................................................................................................... 51

Chapter 22 ......................................................................................................................... 54

Chapter 23 ......................................................................................................................... 56

Chapter 24 ......................................................................................................................... 57

Chapter 25 ......................................................................................................................... 59

Chapter 26 ......................................................................................................................... 61

Chapter 27 ......................................................................................................................... 63

Chapter 28 ......................................................................................................................... 64

Chapter 29 ......................................................................................................................... 65

Chapter 30 ......................................................................................................................... 66

Chapter 31 ......................................................................................................................... 68

Chapter 32 ......................................................................................................................... 70

Chapter 33 ......................................................................................................................... 73

Chapter 34 ......................................................................................................................... 74

Chapter 35 ......................................................................................................................... 76

Chapter 36 ......................................................................................................................... 78

Chapter 37 ......................................................................................................................... 81

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Chapter 38 ......................................................................................................................... 84

Chapter 39 ......................................................................................................................... 86

Chapter 40 ......................................................................................................................... 89

Chapter 41 ......................................................................................................................... 90

Chapter 42 ......................................................................................................................... 93

Chapter 43 ......................................................................................................................... 95

Chapter 44 ......................................................................................................................... 97

Chapter 45 ......................................................................................................................... 98

Chapter 46 ....................................................................................................................... 101

Chapter 47 ....................................................................................................................... 103

Chapter 48 ....................................................................................................................... 105

Chapter 49 ....................................................................................................................... 107

Chapter 50 ....................................................................................................................... 108

Chapter 51 ....................................................................................................................... 109

Chapter 52 ....................................................................................................................... 110

Chapter 53 ....................................................................................................................... 111

Chapter 54 ....................................................................................................................... 113

Chapter 55 ....................................................................................................................... 115

Chapter 56 ....................................................................................................................... 116

Chapter 57 ....................................................................................................................... 118

Chapter 58 ....................................................................................................................... 119

Chapter 59 ....................................................................................................................... 122

Chapter 60 ....................................................................................................................... 124

Chapter 61 ....................................................................................................................... 125

Chapter 62 ....................................................................................................................... 127

Chapter 63 ....................................................................................................................... 130

Chapter 64 ....................................................................................................................... 132

Chapter 65 ....................................................................................................................... 134

Chapter 66 ....................................................................................................................... 135

Epilogue .......................................................................................................................... 136

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**Prologue**

"I am relying on you. You have to save my brother," his master's words rang in HanuMan's head as he sped through the forest.

Whenever HanuMan's body asked for a break, the picture of Ram's brother Laxman lying in a pool of blood flashed before his eyes. Urging himself on, he slowed down for a few paces, took long breaths and continued his journey. It took HanuMan six arduous hours to reach his first destination, the Lankan coast.

HanuMan took his first break on the beach. He sat on the soft Lankan sand and planned the next leg of his journey, sipping the rejuvenating water from his pouch. He considered two options. Cross the sea by the bridge his master had constructed and cut across the land to the Ghats, or travel by the sea and reach the shore by the Ghats. After weighing his options, he chose the second route.

When he was ready to go, HanuMan stood up, left all his belongings on the shore, and walked into the warm saline water. When he was neck deep, he took a long breath and dove into the waves. The returning waves aided his cause, and he reached the depths quickly.

He then torpedoed through the ocean of water. HanuMan had mastered the extra-ordinary ability to hold his breath under water for more than an hour, an art he learned from the wise, supremely able Dravidians, the peace loving Dravidians, the medically advanced Dravidians, who held the key to saving Laxman's life.

Like a whale, HanuMan came up for breath after an hour and returned to the depths once again to continue his journey. Three hours later, his hands touched land, and he walked up the gentle slope to the beach. In the moonlit night, he was able to see the outline of the forest and Ghats beyond it. On seeing the mountains, HanuMan's fatigue vanished, and he was instantly re-energized. The forest was his home turf and he moved through it like a monkey, jumping from tree to tree. Unlike the Lankan forest, the trees in this forest clung to each other, enabling his movement on the top. The thick, impenetrable plant cover on the ground made no difference to his speedy progress.

Two hours later, he climbed the familiar Agastyamalai Hills towards the Dravidian settlement. The Dravidians welcomed HanuMan and led him to the Chief Physician (Maha Vaidya) as soon as they heard his story. The Maha Vaidya, a three hundred year old man, heard HanuMan intently, asked a few questions and prepared a small pouch of herbal extracts. He entrusted the pouch to his most experienced deputy (Upa Vaidya), and gave instructions about administering the medicine.

Thanking the Maha Vaidya profusely, HanuMan left with the Upa Vaidya for Lanka.

Before leaving the Dravidian settlement, they went to the secret garden, where the Upa Vaidya picked extracts of the life saving herb. Despite his vast knowledge of the forest, HanuMan had never seen anything like the secret garden earlier, and watched in awe as the Upa Vaidya picked stem parts, leaves and seeds to prepare the extract.

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Thanks to the energy inducing liquid carried by the Dravidian, HanuMan's return journey was quicker and less exhausting. Once HanuMan returned to his master's camp, the Upa Vaidya immediately started her treatment. With every dose of the potent medicine, Laxman's wounds healed quickly, and he was fit to fight within a week.

The Upa Vaidya did not leave immediately though. As the violent war raged, the number of grievously inflicted soldiers multiplied at an alarming pace, and she toiled day and night.

The Upa Vaidya treated warriors from both sides, and managed to pull many of them out of certain death. When the war was over, she quietly slipped out of the war zone, and HanuMan never got the opportunity to thank her.

"Thanks HanuMan. I am in your debt for saving my brother" Ram said, embracing HanuMan after the war.

"No master. That was not my work. All credit goes to the Dravidians."

"I know. I know very well. I will give anything for them. Even my life."

"My Lord, they do not expect anything from you. They represent true love and altruism.

The best we can do for them is to let them be. Let them live peacefully, and let them survive.

Since the Indus Valley War, they have been running continuously, and we must ensure that they do not need to run any more. Our ancestors have wronged them by displacing them from their homeland, and we must set that right."

HanuMan knelt and pleaded, "My Lord, can you please assure that they do not have to run anymore?"

"Yes HanuMan. You have my word. I will be their armour, their shield, and their defender."

From then, Ram and his successors protected the Dravidians. They were considered as the God's own tribe, and given utmost importance, respect and sanctity.

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**Chapter 1**

The pain was unbearable. Dr. Shashikanth Chandragiri did not experience anything like it in his sixty years of peaceful dwelling. The heart attack and the bypass surgery thereafter, was nothing compared to what he was going through at that moment.

Dr. Chandragiri tried to speak, but all he could manage was a soft croak. His throat was dry, his body burned, and bright flashes pervaded his vision. He tried to speak again, but his attempt was cut short by a gentle, calming hand.

"Easy. Try to relax.

Every second from now is a step towards recovery," she said softly.

Lifting him slowly, she administered a viscous liquid. The liquid felt cool, and soothed Dr.

Chandragiri's burning throat as it made its way into his stomach for ingestion. Within a few seconds, Dr. Chandragiri's pain eased, breathing slowed, and he once again lost consciousness.

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**Chapter 2**

"There are many birds outside," Jose said, looking out of the small, oval window.

"Which birds?" I asked, curiosity overriding my contemplations.

"Crows I think."

"Sir, those are not crows. They are eagles," the old man sitting by Jose said seriously, literally admonishing him.

Jose was saying something when the flight descended abruptly, transforming his response into a shriek.

"We are crashing," he yelled at the top of his voice, and followed it up with unintelligible screams of varying intensity.

Jose's response set off a chain reaction in the flight. Following Jose's lead, people in the flight went into panic mode and started screaming. The flight attendants tried hard to calm them down, but their not so polite requests only aggravated the situation. The cabin was panic stricken and cacophonic by the time the flight touched down.

Like my fellow travelers, I was also scared, very scared. I did not know what was happening, and the fear filled noises around me sent shivers through my spine. Though I also wanted to scream, I didn't. I managed to sit still, holding my seat tight.

As the flight slowed down and taxied on the runway, the yelling settled down into a buzz, and my tense muscles started to relax.

"Calm down ladies and gentlemen, and boys and girls. That was just a small jerk because of turbulence before landing. Nothing to worry. You are all safe."

Pausing here, the flight attendant continued dramatically, "As always, we are on time.

Ladies and Gentlemen on Indigo Standard Time. We wish you a pleasant stay in Chennai."

By the time the flight attendant finished her announcement, I was feeling much better.

"That was quite a landing," I said to Jose, who was mumbling his prayer to God for saving him.

Jose did not respond, but the old man seated by him said, "You can now open your eyes son. The danger has passed.

If you can please make way, I would like to visit the rest room."

"Sure Sir," Jose said, retracting his legs.

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The old man somehow managed to hop over both of us, but was stuck in the walkway.

Many people stood up as soon as the flight stopped, and were pulling out their bags from the storage cabinets.

"Please excuse me," the old man requested, but no one excused him.

"Why are these people in such a hurry? Why can't they let the gentleman pass?" Jose said, looking around.

My mind was occupied with the old man's predicament, and I did not respond to Jose. The voice of the old man slowly moved away from us, and I assumed that he was making progress in his mission.

"Arjun, the other day, someone was talking on television about 'Fight and Flight Response'

of humans," Jose continued.

"She said that fighting and running is a natural instinct of humans.

I think that is why everyone wants to fight their way ahead in the flight, and run out of it as soon as it lands."

Jose never ceased to surprise me with his disconnected parallels, and after twelve years of working together, I managed to master the art of dealing with his quirky theories.

"Jose, that is a very interesting way of looking at the concept of 'Fight and Flight Response,'" I said, smiling, and did not provide any fodder for further discussion.

None of the passing passengers bothered to comment on Jose's theory, and I changed the topic quickly.

"Did our seat mate make it to the loo?" I asked.

"I don't see him. I think he did," Jose said, standing up to see.

Ten minutes later, the cabin was empty, and it was time for us to leave.

"Sir, May I help you with your luggage?" a sweet voice asked when we stood up.

"No," I said.

"Yes Madam," Jose said.

"Don't worry Sir, our loader will take care of it," the air hostess told me, holding my hand warmly.

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The loader took the luggage, and I walked out of the flight, holding Jose's shoulder, wondering if she was beautiful. I did not ask Jose how she looked because he would surely add some spices and relay the news to my wife, Shreya.

"Have a wonderful stay in Chennai Sir," I heard the air hostess' last words as we climbed down the stairs onto the tarmac.

I involuntarily raised my hand and waved to her as we walked to the bus.

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**Chapter 3**

When Dr. Chandragiri opened his eyes again, he saw light, very bright light. Instinctively, he shut his eyes immediately. He tried to move his hands, but they were numb.

"At least the pain is bearable," he thought as he drifted off.

Two days later, he regained consciousness, and opened his eyes again. It was bright, but bearable. He blinked several times, and the tears that came brought comfort and clarity.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Dr. Chandragiri peered around. He saw four dark faces, devoid of hair on their heads, but lots of hair on their faces. He recognized one of them.

The man's deep set eyes and the curly mustache were unmistakable.

"Viran, how ...," he tried to speak, but words did not come.

He felt weak, very weak, and breathless.

Placing a hand on Dr. Chandragiri's shoulder, Viran Dravida said, "All is well Sir. Take it easy, and don't worry, you are in Chila's hands."

Dr. Chandragiri nodded smiling, but the smile vanished as soon as his mind recalled the dreadful series of events. Involuntarily, he started shivering and sweating. They called for Chila Dravida immediately, but her swift administration of herbs took time to stop the repeated play back of the frightful episode in Dr. Chandragiri's head.

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**Chapter 4**

The taxi sped off the Chennai International Airport towards The Raintree hotel at Teynampet, Anna Salai. As soon as we touched the main road, morning traffic caught up with us. The traffic was heavy, and our taxi made very slow progress. I sat back, and read the news on my IPAD. The Hindu was the only Indian news App that was access friendly for the blind, and I quickly perused through the headlines with the help of Daniel, my voice over assistant. When I came across news about a dance competition at the Music Academy, I remembered that I was supposed to call Shreya as soon as I landed.

"Hi handsome, how is Chennai treating you?" Shreya's bubbling voice crackled on my phone's ear piece.

"Not too well. We are stuck in traffic. What are you guys up to?" I asked, hearing Neo, our Labrador, bark.

"We came out for a walk. This guy is shouting at some tiny kids, who want to play with him. They ran away."

"His temper is on a short leash nowadays. What do you plan to do today?"

"Nothing much. I may go for a get together of the Malayali Samajam. They have been after my life to start a dance class in the apartments."

"Will you take it up?"

"No. I don't think I am teaching material.

Did you go through your arguments on the flight?"

"No. I didn't. Will do it once I reach the hotel if we have time.. The pace at which we are going, I don't think we will have time to even change."

"Why don't you go through your brief now?" Shreya suggested.

"I will try to do that. Will call you later then."

"All the very best my dear. DO NOT FORGET to call before you go to the Court," she ordered.

I heard Neo growling as I ended the call, and wondered why. I sat thinking about it for a minute, and decided to find out.

"Why was that fellow doing 'grr'?"

"Honey, you called to ask that?"

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"Yes."

"He wanted me to end the call, and continue the walk. He nudged me twice, and as I was not responding, he decided to threaten me."

"Oh. I better hang up before he gets upset again."

"Yes, that would be prudent. He is now looking at me angrily."

I disconnected without another word, and couldn't help wondering whom Shreya loved more.

"Neo? Or Me?" I asked myself for the nth time.

Reluctantly concluding that she loved Neo more, I turned my attention to the progress of the car, and was disappointed to note that we were merely inching forward. That did not seem to have any affect on the driver though.

The driver, who seemed to be no more than 18 years of age, was not bothered by the traffic at all. He was in fact enjoying it. He sat humming the music maestro, Ilayaraja's tune, playing on the radio.

"Which movie is this?" Jose asked him.

"Anjali," he said, humming, "Anjali Anjali Anjali ..."

Jose joined him, but I was in no mood to take part in the singing. I was now getting worried if we would make it in time for the case hearing.

"When will this metro construction get over?" Jose asked when the song changed.

"As soon as Amma is out of the hospital," the driver said confidently, referring to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, who was recuperating from a viral infection.

When we reached the last traffic signal to the hotel, we heard people singing slogans.

"What is going on?" I asked Jose.

"A group of people are passing the signal. They are holding placards. I think it is some kind of a protest.

They are singing some kind of slogans in an old Malayalam dialect about saving knowledge.

They look very interesting."

"Interesting? In what way?" I asked, curious.

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"They are all dressed in shining, white robes, and look alike. Their heads are bare, and all of them have long mustaches. Some of them are sporting beards as well. Their skin is very dark, almost black, but very smooth and shiny. They have large eyes, broad noses, and their lower lip is much thicker than the upper one, and protrudes forward.

They are passing in front of us now. One silver haired old man, wearing a suit, is walking with them. He is walking with the help of a cane."

"I have never seen any one like them before. Who are these people Sir?" the driver asked, looking at them open mouthed.

Jose did not answer.

"I will be right back," he said, bolting out of the car.

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**Chapter 5**

Dr. Chandragiri's scientific expedition started from the Bonaccord estate in the Peppara wild life sanctuary in Kerala. The journey from Trivandrum rattled his old bones, but Dr.

Chandragiri forgot all about it as soon as he entered the forest. The strain of sitting in a car that never seemed to go straight and the motion sickness the drive produced vanished as if a switch was turned off in the head.

Taking long deep breaths, and relishing the clean air, Dr. Chandragiri followed Viran Dravida, his forest guide. Accompanying him was his research student, Zara Agnes. She treaded cautiously, watching every step of the way.

"We have to move fast if we have to make it to the settlement before evening," Viran said, slowing down to walk by Dr. Chandragiri's side.

Dr. Chandragiri had no problem in understanding the Dravidian's dialect, but Zara spoke only Hindi, and could not understand even a word he was saying.

"Let us hurry up. We must make it to the tribal settlement before sun down. Else, it will not only be difficult for us to navigate, we may also have to risk the wild animals," Dr.

Chandragiri told her.

"Yes Sir. When do we start exploring and taking samples?" Zara asked, upping her pace.

"Once we reach the Dravidian village, we will talk to the traditional healers and acquire information about the herbs they use. They will take us to places where some of the medicinal plants grow, and help us collect some samples."

"How many times did you visit them earlier Sir?"

"A few times. But, I always feel I am visiting for the first time. There is something in this environment that transports your soul."

"Yes Sir. I can feel it too."

They walked quickly through the narrow forest path for an hour, before resting at a stream.

Viran was more vigilant than usual as they helped themselves to some cold, clear water.

Ahead of them lay the grasslands, enveloped by tall, thick foliage.

"We cannot afford to rest here," Viran said, looking at Zara, who was settling on a rock by the stream.

Zara did not understand, but Viran's gestures clearly indicated that he did not approve of her sitting down.

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"Forest animals come here to drink water. It is not safe to hang around for long," Dr.

Chandragiri explained, seeing the scowl on Zara's face.

Zara reluctantly stood up, and they got going immediately.

Leaving the deciduous forest behind, they made their way into the grasslands.

"King Cobras frequent this area. Watch your step," Viran warned as they treaded through the thick grass cover.

Dr. Chandragiri repeated the word of caution, and a shiver ran through Zara's spine. She hated snakes and was very scared of them. She involuntarily held Viran's hand and walked watching every step.

Taken by surprise, Viran involuntarily pulled his hand away. Zara quickly held it again, and Viran had to work hard to control the impulse of freeing his hand once again. Breathing deeply, he ignored Zara and returned his mind to the task on hand.

The short lapse of concentration proved costly for Viran. He missed the first bird call, and it was too late when he heard the second one. Viran did not return the call. He went still, and placed a finger on his mouth, his eyes demanding absolute silence.

Dr. Chandragiri understood and followed his instruction, but Zara broke the silence, and asked, "What is it?"

No answer was required. The sound that followed and the creature that appeared told the story.

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**Chapter 6**

"Pull over. We will wait for my friend," I said to the driver when the car started moving.

Once he passed the signal, the driver cut through the traffic from extreme right side of the road to the left before halting. Many honked in protest, and others stopped by to curse, but the driver ignored them. He simply increased the volume of the radio and started humming the song that was playing, which was from super star Rajinikanth's film 'Enthiran'.

Jose returned three Tamil songs later and took his seat by the driver. I was annoyed about the delay, but did not express it. I checked the time, and requested the driver to move fast.

"Thanks for waiting, and I am sorry for the delay," Jose said apologetically, touching my arm.

I simply shrugged and nodded curtly. My nerves were on edge, and I was well aware that losing temper would not take us any faster.

"How did you know we were here?" the driver asked Jose, breaking the silence.

"I have been with my boss for more than ten years now and can predict what he would do.

"Wow. You are a genius Sir."

"Thank you. Thank you," Jose acknowledged, patting the driver on his shoulder.

...

"What prompted you to get out of the car so suddenly?" I asked Jose when my temper settled down.

"Well, I saw my brother escorting that crowd and wanted to find out what he was up to."

"I did not know you had a brother."

"Actually, he is my cousin. We are very close. Much closer than real brothers.

He is a constable in the Kerala Reserve Police and is escorting those protestors."

"Did he tell you who they are?"

"Yes, he did.

Those people belong to an ancient tribe called 'Dravidian.' He told me that they are urging Tamil Nadu and Kerala Governments to save their traditional knowledge.

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Some guy called Chandragiri is with them and has joined the protest. He must be the suited man we saw."

"Is it Dr. Shashikanth Chandragiri?" I asked, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Yes, that is what my brother said."

I wondered what a scientist of Dr. Chandragiri's stature was doing with a tribe. He is well known for his path breaking work in plant Biochemistry, and I had read about him when he received the India Science Award, the most prestigious award for scientific excellence in the country. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize but had missed it very narrowly. I made a note in my mind, and decided to find out after my case hearing.

"Why don't you ask your brother to join us for dinner today?" I asked Jose.

"I asked, but he told me that he may not be able to come as his orders are to escort the Dravidians until they are safely back in the mountains."

"Do you belong to that tribe Sir?" the driver asked Jose, breaking into the conversation.

"No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

"You do look like them. But you have long hair unlike those men," the driver said laughing.

"Do I look like them?? May be, I do," Jose said contemplatively.

We reached the hotel five minutes later and rushed through the check in process. Once we freshened up, I had enough time to rehearse my arguments with Jose. On the way to the Court, I couldn't help wondering if we had any chance of winning against the aggressive, renowned lawyer representing the petitioner.

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**Chapter 7**

They did not hear the roar that popularly characterises the animal. The large, ominous head emerged from the foliage out of nowhere. One look at the enormous, hungry tiger was enough for Viran to realize that they were dead men. Pushing Zara away, he stood before the tiger, stick in one hand and a dagger in the other.

The golden, fiery eyes of the tiger briefly glanced at Dr. Chandragiri and Zara, who were scampering away, before pouncing on Viran. The warrior Dravidian was expecting this, and responded swiftly. He moved laterally, turned sideways and brought his stick down on the extended, left fore leg of the tiger. Everything happened in less than a micro second.

The stick broke, but only after breaking a bone.

The tiger landed on its legs, and roared in agony. The force of the landing, multiplied by its weight, broke the leg completely, and a piece of the bone protruded from its skin. It fell sideward and started rolling, wailing in unbearable pain.

Viran was by its side in a flash, and was about to deliver the killer blow to put it out of its misery, when a voice stopped him.

"No," Dr. Chandragiri shouted.

Viran stepped back, and looked at him with a raised brow.

"No need to kill. No harm will come from him now. I will take care of him," Dr.

Chandragiri explained.

Viran shrugged, lowered his dagger, and made way for Dr. Chandragiri, who rushed to the tiger, opening the medical kit as he went. Dr. Chandragiri gave the tiger morphine, and got to work as soon as it lost consciousness. His medical skills had rusted after he moved from the clinic to the research lab, but the fracture was clean and did not pose serious problems.

He placed flat branches on either side of the fracture, and tied up the leg as best as he could.

Viran helped Dr. Chandragiri, but Zara stood at a safe distance, watching them, still shaking with fear.

"You are a brave man Viran. Thanks for saving my life," Zara said to Viran when they got going after nursing the tiger.

Viran gazed at her beautiful face blankly and smiled cautiously when she placed her arm around his. He held her hand and guided her as they continued their journey. Dr.

Chandragiri noted their building relationship, and smiled as he walked behind them.

It was dusk when they reached the village. The Dravidian elder, Pramukha, greeted them warmly, and led them to their accommodation. The hut was well lit, warm and comfortable.

It led to a small enclosure at the back, which housed two buckets of hot water and bathing 19

powder in a bowl. After they freshened up, Dr. Chandragiri briefed Zara about the next leg of their expedition.

Half an hour later, Dr. Chandragiri and Zara sat by a fire along with the Dravidians, and had their dinner. They picked food from a plate that was passed around, and drank the traditional juice made of forest fruits and vegetables from a jug placed before them. No one spoke until they finished eating.

"Where is Viran?" Dr. Chandragiri asked the Pramukha when they were done with their meal.

"He has gone with a handful of his men to get the tiger. It is not safe to leave him there."

"Oh!" Dr Chandragiri was surprised.

His mind flashed back to the moment when Viran was about to kill the tiger.

"The tiger is one of us in the forest. We will nurse him, and let him go when he is alright.

He will no longer be a man-eater when he leaves us," the Pramukha explained, seeing Dr.

Chandragiri's expression.

Zara couldn't believe what she was hearing when Dr. Chandragiri told her what Viran was up to.

"The Dravidians never stop surprising me," Dr. Chandragiri commented to Zara.

"Please take rest. You have a long day tomorrow," Pramukha said, seeing them off at their huts.

20

**Chapter 8**

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was buzzing with activity when we entered. The special IP Court was filled with lawyers, journalists and observers in anticipation of the case hearing. Several newspapers had reported that the case is expected to lay down the law with respect to well-known trade marks in India, and to my surprise, all of them had something to say about me.

In one of its news reports, Economic Times stated, "... the trade mark battle between the renowned, word machine gun, Rekha Singh and the Ice Breaker, Arjun Mamidi, is expected to get intense."

The reporter mentioned about my exploits in the pharma patent, piracy and celebrity cases, but I was disappointed that the reporter still considered me an underdog. Not many people expected me to win a case, and I couldn't help wondering if that is because I am blind.

Shreya never let my thoughts wander in that direction, and always insisted that I will be an underdog all my life because I always manage to represent the weaker party. I must confide here that I get a kick from taking up challenging cases and fighting for lost causes, and Shreya's point about my choice of clients is much closer to the truth than I might ever admit. On hindsight, I think I never enjoyed a case that did not test my abilities and give me sleepless nights.

Immersed in my musings, I walked with Jose to the seats right in front of the bench of the judges, and sat down. While Jose extracted the written submissions, case notes and his notepad from our carry bag, I opened my IPad, went to IBooks and opened the document entitled, CUM ON. Daniel, my dedicated and ever ready voice over assistant, started reading the contents loudly as soon as the file opened.

"Arjun, lower the sound. Everyone will know our arguments," Jose whispered, concerned about something I would never consider.

"I am doing just that," I replied, breaking into a smile.

I was conscious that everyone was looking at me, but ignored the feeling and continued reading after lowering the volume a little bit. Off late, using headphones was causing ear pain and I decided to use them only after the hearing started.

"I do not understand anything your software is saying," a stern voice said, sitting by my side.

"Madam, he reads at the speed of 350 words per minute. I hear it every day, but do not understand as well," Jose explained, giving unnecessary information.

"Oh! is it? That is fast, very fast young man.

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You must be Arjun. I am Rekha. Will be dueling with you today. I represent KingCobra,"

Rekha Singh the owner of the voice said, extending her hand.

Jose nudged me, our little signal to shake hands, and I complied saying, "Madam, I consider it a privilege

We know you very well. I heard you talk at the inter-governmental conference on IP for Society. I completely agree with your views on intellectual asset famine in India to meet societal needs."

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation, and we stood up as Justice Raham Tulla walked in with the Technical Member, Anjali Rajendran. We sat down after the judges took their seats.

"Counsel, I see that you are on time today," Justice Raham Tulla said to Rekha Singh jovially.

"Did not want to keep your Lordship waiting. I understand that you are travelling to Geneva tomorrow to speak at the World Intellectual Property Conference."

"Yes, aren't we on the same panel?"

"We are Your Lordship, and I consider it a privilege to share the dais with you."

"Ok. Let us begin the proceedings," Justice Raham Tulla said, picking the case file placed before him by the Registrar.

"KingCobra v. Cum On, ORA2015/CHE/223," the Registrar announced.

"Counsel for KingCobra."

Rekha Singh stood up with her three juniors.

"Counsel for Cum On."

Jose and I stood up.

"Are you ready to argue the case today?"

"Yes Your Lordship," we said in unison.

"Alright, we shall begin the proceedings right away," Justice Raham Tulla said in an authoritative tone.

22

**Chapter 9**

Next Morning, Dr. Chandragiri and Zara set off with Viran and two Upa Vaidyas, the traditional healers of the Dravidian tribe. They trekked through the evergreen forests to the Agastyamalai Hills, the abode of the great Agastya sage, the founder of traditional siddha medicine. They walked the perilous steeps of the Agastyamalai peak, and made their way to the depths of the Biosphere reserve.

After six hours of labouring, they reached the valley of medicinal plants in the Reserve.

Viran led Dr. Chandragiri and Zara to the Dravidian huts on the gentle mountain slope.

They washed their feet in the pond by the dwellings, and entered the largest hut. Inside, they were happy to note that food was being served.

When their stomachs were filled, Viran led them to a garden where the Maha Vaidya, the Chief Physician was delivering a lecture to a group of attentive pupils. The man was lean, yet very fit and active. His face radiated wisdom and self-assurance as he spoke. Maha Vaidya looked at Dr. Chandragiri briefly when they entered his field of vision, nodded courteously, and continued his discourse. Dr. Chandragiri and Zara sat under a tree nearby, and waited for the Maha Vaidya to complete his class.

"Good Noon Doctor. Welcome back," the Maha Vaidya greeted Dr. Chandragiri after his students dispersed.

His thick lips broke into a broad smile, and his eyes lit up as he walked towards Dr.

Chandragiri. Unlike Viran, the Maha Vaidya and other Dravidian Vaidyas did not have a beard, but sported a thick mustache. Like Viran, their heads were also smooth and did not have any hair. Except for the beard, there was no other noticeable difference between the vaidyas, the Dravidian doctors, preservers of the ancient traditional knowledge, and the Dravidas, the Dravidian Warriors, protectors of the doctors and their knowledge.

"Thanks a lot for permitting me to visit again," Dr. Chandragiri said, putting his hands together and bowing slightly.

Returning his mark of respect, Maha Dravida said, "You have good intentions, and we are happy to assist an honest, sincere and dedicated man like you in your tireless efforts for the benefit of mankind.

Do you want to take some rest, or are you ready to start your work now?"

"We are ready when you are ready," Dr. Chandragiri responded eagerly.

"Let us go then.

We will visit my small garden, before going into the forest," Maha Vaidya said, waving at the sprawling herb garden amidst the mountains.

23

Dr. Chandragiri and Zara struggled to follow the Maha Vaidya, who hopped through the garden on nimble feet. The Maha Vaidya explained about each plant and its uses before handing samples to the Upa Vaidyas. Viran followed them at a distance, his eyes continuously searching the forest around for any signs of danger. He did not expect any trouble that day, but was nevertheless vigilant. He was the leader of the Dravidas, warriors chosen to protect the vaidyas and the traditional knowledge they held, and his senses were on high alert as the Maha Vaidya went close to the thick forest.

The people lurking in the forest were hidden from view, and did not move a muscle. They simply watched as the Dravidians, their abominable enemies, went about their tasks. They knew that the fierce and feared Dravida warriors were guarding the Vaidyas, and did not dare to attack during the day. They sat patiently amidst the branches, waiting for their general's command.

24

**Chapter 10**

"My Lord, as you are aware, this is a rectification petition for removal of the mark, KingCobra, from the trade mark register," Rekha Singh started her submissions.

"Why should it be removed?" Justice Raham Tulla asked, interrupting her as soon as she started.

"Your Lordship, it must be removed because the mark has been wrongfully and dishonestly registered by Cum On in India.

KingCobra is an age old, very famous trade mark of my client. Cum On has copied my client's trade mark, and registered it fraudulently and maliciously."

"Objection Your Honour. Respected Counsel is making unfounded and baseless statements," I said, standing up.

Rekha Singh was implying bad faith on my client's behalf, and my objection was driven more by instinct than logic. Though I couldn't see, I could feel Rekha Singh's flaring eyes slapping me on my face. I was wondering if that was a bad move when the technical member spoke up.

"Sit down Counsel. You will get your chance," Anjali said curtly.

"But ..."

"Be seated," Justice Raham Tulla said seriously, seeing me hesitate.

Making a show of it, I sat down bowing.

"One of Rekha Singh's juniors is glaring at me. She looks like a demon with shining, red lipstick and a double coating of makeup. I am scared Arjun, please don't object again,"

Jose whispered dramatically.

Despite the tension, I couldn't help smiling.

"Counsel, let me get this straight.

What is the petitioner's trade mark?" Justice Raham Tulla asked Rekha Singh.

"KingCobra My Lord."

"Ok. The company's name is KingCobra Limited, and the trade mark is KingCobra as well.

Am I right?"

25

"Yes, My Lord."

"What products does your client sell under the KingCobra mark?"

"Condoms and sex toys," Rekha Singh said as a matter of fact.

"Oh. Is it?"

Justice Raham Tulla was amused, and took some time to digest the information. I thought I heard him chuckle, but I couldn't be sure.

"If I may ask, why did your client choose KingCobra for those products? Is there any connection?" he asked.

"No, My Lord. There is no connection whatsoever. It was an arbitrary choice.

My client's great grandfather started this company in 1860 after he returned to England from India. I am told that he was a General attached to the East India Company, and while in India, he fell seriously ill after a King Cobra bit him. He decided to leave India after he recovered, and started KingCobra Company with the money he made in India."

"I knew there was a story behind this brand.

KingCobra for Condoms! What a mind blowing choice!" Justice Raham Tulla commented laughing aloud this time.

I knew where his thoughts were going, but held my serious expression.

"May I proceed My Lord?" Rekha Singh asked after a short, uncomfortable silence.

"No. Wait a minute.

Counsel, I think your company's name has been spelled wrongly," Justice Raham Tulla said to me.

"No, Your Honour.

That is the right spelling."

"Is your company's name seriously Cum On?"

"Yes Your Honour."

"What a name! It is very apt for a sex toys company though.

Don't you think it is scandalous?" he asked Anjali.

26

This took her by surprise, and her reaction was not immediate.

"It is. It is.

But, that is not the question before us," she stuttered.

"Right. You are right Madam. I digress.

Is your client also using the trade mark, KingCobra for condoms?" he asked me.

"Yes, Your Honour. My client has been selling KingCobra condoms in India for more than seven years," I said, bowing.

"But, that hardly matters. My client's brand is well known, very well known across the world," Rekha Singh said the moment I finished speaking.

"I don't think so. Your brand is not ..."

Justice Raham Tulla cut me off.

"Counsel, just wait. Let us hear her out first. We will hear you after that."

"Much Obliged, Your Honour," I said, bowed, and sat down.

Justice Raham Tulla was an unpredictable, short tempered judge, and I decided to go with the flow for the moment.

"Rekha Madam, please tell us why you believe that your mark, KingCobra, is famous with clear, supporting evidence.

If you do not have evidence on something, do not waste our time talking about it."

"Understood My Lord," Rekha Singh said, and got to the crux of the case.

27

**Chapter 11**

The Dravidians and the Kshasas were once great friends, but one event changed their peaceful co-existence forever. During one of their trips into the forest the Dravidians saw a Kshasa torturing a wolf cub. They accosted the Kshasa and requested him to stop, but he simply disregarded them and rudely waved them away.

"You mind your business. These bloody wolves killed two of our children," he said, slashing the cub's leg.

The baby animal cried in pain.

"But, he is just a cub. You must not hurt him. It is against the laws of the forest. Please let him go," the Dravidian captain pleaded.

"Do you know who I am? We make the law. Get lost."

"Please. Give him to us. He will cause no trouble. We will take care of that."

"You bloody moron, don't you understand what I am saying?

You better get out of here if you want to keep your head."

The Dravidians decided that they have had enough. They overpowered him, tied him to a tree and left, warning him of dire consequences if he tried such a thing again. They gave first aid to the wolf cub and took him with them.

That night, the wolves attacked the tied up Kshasa, and he was almost dead when he was found by his tribe. The Kshasas brought him to the Maha Vaidya immediately, but the Dravidian doctor could not save his life. Before dying, the Kshasa managed to extract some revenge. He told his people that the Dravidians were responsible for his fate, and put them on oath to avenge his death. The fact that he was the Kshasa Chieftain's eldest son did not help matters.

Enraged and apoplectic, the Kshasas attacked the Vaidyas and killed four of them. The Dravidas responded instantly, and killed the Chieftain and some of the attacking Kshasas.

The Kshasas fled and came back with a large force, and the Dravidians had no choice but to fight them. That way, the war between the tribes began and has been continuing for years.

The Kshasa general in hiding gave the command to attack late in the night. Except for a few sentries, the Dravidians were fast asleep when they struck. Though Viran and his warriors responded instantly, they were out numbered and were no match for the attackers.

As per protocol, Viran and his men secured the Maha Vaidya, three of his senior deputies, and their most treasured secret garden. Once that was done, Viran returned for their guests.

28

Dr. Chandragiri's hut was on fire, and he saw Zara run out of it, a Kshasa in hot pursuit.

Viran quickly disposed the Kshasa, and asked two of his men to take her to safety.

Viran then made his way into the hut. He cut down three Kshasas, who ran at him before entering the burning hut. Inside, he looked around for Dr. Chandragiri. Viran's heart sank when he spotted his revered guest.

29

**Chapter 12**

"My Lord, as I mentioned earlier, KingCobra brand was adopted by my client way back in 1860," Rekha Singh proceeded.

"Do you have proof to substantiate that claim?" Anjali asked.

"Yes Madam. We do.

I have submitted the partnership agreement, and the tax registration certificate. This agreement was signed between John Rutherford and his brother Ken Rutherford.

The partnership was registered in 1940. It was converted into a private limited company in 1999 and became a public limited company in 2010.

George Rutherford, grandson of John Rutherford, is the company's Managing Director and CEO."

"But, the documents you submitted are photocopies. They are not certified copies," Anjali said.

"My Lady, we will be happy to submit certified copies if you give us some time."

"But Counsel, the time for submission of evidence has passed. We are at the final hearing stage now, and I can't permit that," Justice Raham Tulla responded.

"But Your Lordship, the Counsel for Cum On hasn't raised any objection to this evidence in their pleadings, and you cannot reject the evidence just like that."

"Do you have any objections Counsel?" Justice Raham Tulla asked me.

I did not expect him to call on me, and I took a moment to respond.

"No," I finally said, overruling Jose's suggestion to object.

The formation of the company and its history had no direct bearing on the case, and some judges liked attorneys who did not object to anything and everything. This strategy always helped me enhance credibility of my submissions, and I hoped that it would work with Justice Raham Tulla as well.

"Are you sure?" Anjali asked.

"Yes Madam."

"Ok. You may proceed then," Justice Raham Tulla told Rekha Singh.

30

...

"KingCobra sells more than hundred million condoms every year. It is by far the highest selling condom brand in United Kingdom.

Over the years, many celebrities have endorsed KingCobra. We have submitted copies of advertisements showing endorsements by actors, cricketers, football players, and rock stars.

This is James Bond's most preferred brand My Lord, and the brand has appeared in many Bond movies."

"I see. What was your company's revenue last year?" Anjali asked.

"Fifty-five million pounds My Lady. You will find my client's certified financial reports in the case file," Rekha Singh said.

"Your Honour, Respected Counsel is trying to mislead this Honourable Court," I said loudly, standing up.

It was time to put forth the planned objection, and I made my move.

"What do you mean? Watch your words," Rekha Singh said incredulously.

Ignoring her, I said, "Your Honour, KingCobra's revenue and sales numbers do not match.

Counsel has stated that they sell hundred million condoms every year and their revenue is fifty million pounds. The average price of each KingCobra condom is one pound, and fifty million pounds account for only fifty million condoms.

Besides, other than the Counsel's claim, there is no evidence on record to prove the sales numbers."

"My Lord, Respected Counsel does not seem to have any knowledge about the nuances of business. Revenues and sales numbers never match because of discounting and free give aways of condoms. KingCobra supplies condoms to World Health Organisation at ten pence per condom.

This is a frivolous objection, and the Counsel may be advised to stay quiet until I finish my submissions."

"Be seated Counsel. Do not interrupt again," Justice Raham Tulla admonished me.

Having made my point, I sat down without putting forth any further resistance.

"My Lord, my client supplies condoms to the royal family, and we have a royal warrant to supply condoms to members of the family," Rekha Singh continued.

31

"What did you say?" Justice Raham Tulla asked, disbelief read all over his voice.

"Yes My Lord, the English Royal Family is KingCobra's customers. We have submitted the royal warrant to prove this."

I was on my feet again.

"I object Your Honour, this evidence is not valid."

"Why?" Justice Raham Tulla asked.

"They have submitted the Royal Warrant, but have not produced any evidence to prove that they have supplied condoms under the warrant.

Having a warrant does not mean that they have supplied products under the warrant.

To who have they supplied? King? Prince? Queen? Princess? Who are their customers?

How many condoms have they supplied? Do the royal family members actually use condoms?

Without this evidence, one cannot conclusively prove if King Cobra sold condoms to the royal family," I said dramatically, perhaps too dramatically.

Justice Raham Tulla did not like it.

"That is private information. How can we expect them to produce these details," he literally yelled at me.

"Your Honour, they can at least submit invoices proving that they supplied to the royal family. Can't they? If they truly supplied to the royal family?"

"No, we can't, because my client does not wish to make this information public.

This information is anyway not required to prove that my client's KingCobra mark is well known and famous across the world. KingCobra condoms are available in all European countries, China, United States and also, Russia. We have submitted trade mark registrations in these countries, and sales reports for the last three years."

I knew I had scored a point, and sat down as Rekha Singh presented other evidence on record to prove that her client's trade mark is famous.

...

"Based on the evidence on record, it is clear that KingCobra is an internationally famous trade mark of my client.

32

No one; no one except my client has rights over the trade mark, and Cum On's registration of the trade mark in India is nothing but illegal. The registration must be cancelled and the register rectified."

Justice Raham Tulla took his time to review the file after Rekha Singh sat down.

When he was done, he spoke quietly with Anjali, the technical member, before saying,

"We will break for lunch now.

Cum On's counsel can present his arguments after we return."

33

**Chapter 13**

Dr. Chandragiri was reading a book the Maha Vaidya had given when the Kshasas broke into the hut. The howling sound they made woke Zara, and she shrieked in terror. The eyes of the Kshasas lit up when they saw a woman in the hut, and all three of them went for her, ignoring Dr. Chandragiri.

"What the hell is going on," Dr. Chandragiri's thundering voice stopped them in their tracks.

They turned around, and saw an angry old man rushing at them. Torch in hand, Dr.

Chandragiri attacked the Kshasas like a mad man. Though the Kshasas were not seasoned fighters, age was on their side, and they tackled him easily. While two of them held him, their captain pulled the torch out of his hand and threw it away. The torch fell on an oil pot, spilling its contents. The oil led the fire to the walls, and within seconds, the hut was on fire.

"Run Zara, Run," Dr. Chandragiri shouted on top of his voice as he struggled to free himself.

His efforts were cut short by the captain, who stabbed him thrice in quick succession, taking the fight out of him. As soon as Dr. Chandragiri collapsed, the Kshasas pursued the fleeing Zara. But, to their misfortune, they encountered Viran, who put them out of action even before they understood what was happening.

Dr. Chandragiri was lying unconscious in a pool of blood when Viran got to him. Without a second thought, Viran gently lifted him, placed him on his shoulder and ran out of the hut, which was by now blazing. He ran straight for the Maha Vaidya.

When they inflicted enough damage to his satisfaction, the Kshasa general gave the command to retreat. The Kshasas were soon gone, leaving death and destruction in their wake. They did not carry their dead comrades with them. The dead could not fight and were of no value to them.

34

**Chapter 14**

The judges seemed convinced that the petitioner's KingCobra trade mark was well known internationally, and my defense was limited to just one important point of law. I decided to get to it without wasting time on needless arguments.

Bowing respectfully, I said, "Your Honour, Cum On is the first adopter and prior user of the trade mark, KingCobra, in India."

To my surprise, no one responded.

Pausing briefly, I repeated dramatically, "Cum On is the first adopter, first user and first registrant of KingCobra in India. It is the first to pass the pole, and the first to hoist its flag in India."

"So what?" Justice Raham Tulla asked.

"Your Honour, as you are well aware, the Honourable Supreme Court has held that a company that is the first to adopt and use a trade mark in India gets priority in the Indian market."

"Did the Supreme Court really say that?" Justice Raham Tulla asked, taking the judgment copy handed by Jose.

He was clearly not aware, and I decided to drive the advantage home. To my surprise, Rekha Singh was sitting quiet.

"Para 22 of the judgment clearly states ..," I read out the relevant portion of the judgment.

"My Lord that judgment does not apply to internationally famous trade marks" Rekha Singh started to speak, but I did not let her continue.

"It does," I said loudly.

"The judgment clearly states that it will not matter if a trade mark is well known in other countries. The company using the trade mark in India will always get priority under Indian Trade Mark law."

"No. That is not true.

The principle is applicable only in cases where the famous trade mark is not known to the general public in India," Rekha Singh responded, raising her voice.

"Yes, but your client's trade mark KingCobra is not even known in India, let alone being well known. Indian consumers only know Cum On's KingCobra condoms. Public associate 35

KingCobra with my client, and they do not know of any other company or product by that name," I said forcefully.

"Do you have evidence to prove that," Anjali asked.

"Yes Your Honour, we have submitted several documents to prove the use and fame of Cum On's King Cobra trade mark in India."

Jose took over at this point.

"We have submitted a certified copy of statement of revenues from the brand, KingCobra, for the last seven years. Our client has generated more than twenty crores from sales of KingCobra condoms. You will find the statement between pages 3 to 15 of the evidence section.

Our brand has been endorsed by the Indian Kabbadi team. The endorsement agreement is available at pages 32-34.

We have submitted some copies of KingCobra advertisements as well. You will find them between pages 71-93. ..."

Patiently, Jose took them through the ton of evidence we had submitted. He read out portions of the evidence to reiterate Cum On's extensive use and popularity of the KingCobra brand in India.

He shouted whenever Rekha Singh or her juniors objected and did not let them interrupt him.

"But, first mover principle does not apply to this case," Rekha Singh said when he was done.

"It very much applies," Jose responded.

"Why do you say so?" Justice Raham Tulla asked Rekha Singh.

"Because the principle of first mover in Indian market only applies when a famous mark is not known to the Indian public.

KingCobra is well known in India, and although Cum On is the first to sell products with that brand in India, my client's trademark rights will supercede those of Cum On.

This principle, Your Lordship, has been upheld in several Supreme Court cases.

Indian consumers associate KingCobra only with my client, and Cum On is free riding on its good will, and diluting KingCobra's reputation," Rekha Singh argued.

36

Rekha Singh's juniors handed the case laws to the judge as she argued.

"But, where is the evidence?" I responded.

It was time to drive my point home, and I ploughed forward forcefully.

"Your Honour, Respected Counsel has made a baseless statement. KingCobra UK has submitted no evidence whatsoever to prove that Indian public knows their brand.

How did the Indian public learn of their brand? Did they advertise to the Indian public?

Did their brand appear among publications accessible to the Indian public? Did they sell condoms to the Indian public?

No. How then is their trade mark known to the relevant public in India?

Can I order a KingCobra condom from UK?

No, I can't. But, I can buy plenty of KingCobra condoms sold by Cum On.

Do the public buy my client's KingCobra condoms because they know the UK Company?

No, they don't.

How then can the Respected Counsel conclude that the petitioner's KingCobra is known to the relevant public in India?

There is no basis whatsoever for the said conclusion except of course, the Counsel's misplaced belief."

Rekha Singh did not let that pass. She responded angrily.

"My Lord, many Indians visit UK, and the brand is in their face. How can he say that Indians do not know my client's products?

Their hoardings are all over the place, even in the airport.

Indians are not blind. Are they?" she asked, directing her voice towards me.

That was below the belt, and I knew that I had the case in my pocket.

Ignoring her comment about my blindness, I said, "But, where is the evidence Your Honour?

How many Indians visit the UK every year?

How many of them buy the KingCobra condoms in UK?

37

How many bring them back?

And most importantly, what portion of the relevant public in India do they constitute?

There is no evidence to prove anything Your Honour.

Respected Counsel is simply making unfounded statements, and drawing on her imagination and creativity, not facts and evidence.

I ..."

A loud burst followed by shouting stopped me in my tracks.

38

**Chapter 15**

Viran clicked on the rock fragments, and rearranged them when he heard a click. The rock before him slid open, and he quickly stepped inside.

"Close," he instructed the guard on duty as he hurried down the narrow, rocky path with Dr. Chandragiri on his shoulder.

He turned the bend in the path and took a sharp right instead of proceeding straight.

Nodding at the guards stationed at the turn, he walked briskly through a maze of pathways until he reached a large door. He tapped the code on the door, and inserted his access key.

Another key was inserted at almost the same time, and two clicks were heard when the lock disengaged. When he walked inside, the Maha Vaidya was chatting with his daughter Chila, a warrior and an emergency physician. Chila Dravida was one of the chosen few, who specialized in fighting as well as treating.

Chila took off from her seat and ran to her shelf as soon as she saw Dr. Chandragiri drenched in blood. She knew what to do and no exchange of words was required. As soon as Viran placed Dr. Chandragiri on the medical table, Maha Dravida checked his pulse and examined the wounds tearing open Dr. Chandragiri's shirt. He made some colour marks around the wounds with his brush and stepped back.

Chila and the Upa Vaidyas understood the instructions, and got going immediately. While two of them stopped the bleeding and closed the wounds, Chila started administering medicines, continuously giving instructions to her assistants about the medicines required by her. When Dr. Chandragiri was patched up, Chila administered the first dose of SanJeewani, the life giver.

For thousands of years, SanJeewani was known as the resurrection plant. Its extracts, if properly combined with other ingredients, have the potential to not only save, but also, bring life back under certain circumstances. The Dravidian tribe discovered the plant in 7000 BC when they lived in the Indus Valley. Over hundreds of years, they invented various compositions of SanJeewani's extracts to treat different diseases, and have been preserving the knowledge associated with the plant through extra-ordinary measures. The Dravidians are today the protectors and defenders of SanJeewani and its invaluable knowledge.

The Dravidian tribe was divided into three classes, the farmers and gatherers, Ryutu, the warriors, Dravida, and the doctors, Vaidya. Their population was small, and many of them played multiple roles, and classification was merely notional. They respected nature and its powers very highly, and gave their lives to protect the knowledge associated with natural resources. The Dravidian tribe believed that they existed for preserving, developing and defending products of nature and their associated knowledge for the benefit of mankind.

SanJeewani was one of their treasured possessions, and they did everything in their capacity to prevent it from falling into wrong hands. It was a commandment that was passed 39

on generation after generation, and they abided by it. The primitive SanJeewani was powerful, but not very potent. Through repeated selection and breeding in controlled environments, the Dravidian tribe developed potent varieties of SanJeewani. They continue to nurture and grow the plant in their secret garden within the bowels of the Agastyamalai mountain range, and the plant species is evolving on a daily basis under their care.

SanJeewani worked best in a composition of ingredients from traditional plants, which played the role of catalyzing and delivering the active ingredient in the appropriate form.

Once administered, the SanJeewani composition quickly travelled to the site of damage, and started its repair process. Sleep was the key to recovery, and Chila gave Dr. Chandragiri a strong sedative that worked in synergy with SanJeewani.

40

**Chapter 16**

They burst into the Courtroom, and started yelling slogans.

"Om Namo Naga Devaya.

Om Namo Naga Devaya ..," they chanted the Snake God prayer in unison.

"Who are these people?" I asked Jose, holding my cane tight.

"I don't know. One of them is holding a snake. Must be one of those rubber snakes.

Looks quite real though."

"Could they be Naga Rajas?"

"Naga Rajas? Who are they?" Jose asked curiously.

"They are a forest tribe who believe that Sarpam (snake) is the Supreme God. They protect, nurture and worship snakes, especially, King Cobras.

Cum On's Managing Director, Naga Murthy, hails from that tribe."

"Do you think he arranged this?"

"I cannot rule that out. He thinks diabolically and was not very confident about winning this case in the Court.

How do they look?" I asked as the shouting intensified.

"Naga Deva ki edi vaddu. Cobra God does not want this. ...," they shouted.

"They have changed their slogan," Jose said.

He had to shout to make himself heard above the noise.

"I know, I can hear that. Tell me what they are wearing."

"They are wearing nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"Technically, they are wearing something. A tiny loin strip.

There is ash all over their bodies, and I don't think they are into hair cutting or shaving.

41

They have long, unkempt hair all over their head and face."

"They are definitely Naga Rajas," I concluded.

"Arjun, let us move aside," Jose said, pulling me.

"Why did you do that?" I asked irritated, but I think I knew why before Jose responded.

I could hear the slogans moving towards us.

"They are coming towards the bench. Their leader is holding the snake up in the air," Jose had to yell to make himself heard.

They were ominously close, and I must confess that I was scared. Quickly folding my cane, I held it tight, ready to use it if required. It was not much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.

"Stop there," an authoritative voice commanded them from the back of the Court.

42

**Chapter 17**

Dr. Chandragiri woke up once again with a jolt, and was put back to sleep as earlier after a while. Every time he woke up, he was kept awake longer than earlier. He saw Chila every time he opened his eyes. Maha Vaidya and Viran came to meet him once in a while, and the frequency of their visits increased as he regained rationality.

All of them were by his bedside when Dr. Chandragiri was able to speak. The memories of the dreadful event were slowly moving into deeper parts of Dr. Chandragiri's brain, and they no longer created shock waves. The indomitable energy was returning, and the Maha Vaidya felt very positive about his progress.

"Is it hurting?" the Maha Vaidya asked, touching Dr. Chandragiri's chest gently.

"No! Don't. Yes, it is," Dr. Chandragiri yelled.

"Good, he can feel it," Maha Vaidya said, looking at Chila and smiling broadly despite Dr.

Chandragiri's agony.

Nodding, Chila touched another spot, but received no reaction whatsoever.

"We will continue the same dose of SanJeewani. I don't reckon the recovery will take too long from here," the Maha Vaidya said to Chila.

Chila nodded, and helped Dr. Chandragiri consume the medicine, which quickly put him to sleep once again.

As predicted, Dr. Chandragiri recovered fast. He was walking within five days, and running within ten days after that. Walking with Dr. Chandragiri one evening, Zara told him about how the Dravidians saved her from the Kshasas, and brought her to the cave, where she was shocked to see that they were operating on him, and did not think that he would survive.

She told Dr. Chandragiri about her tour with Chila to the secret garden, which housed SanJeewani.

"Sir, what happened to you was nothing but a miracle.

Your injuries were beyond repair, and I did not think you had a chance. I now believe what you used to say about the Dravidians.

They are very special people holding very very special medicinal knowledge. I read about SanJeewani in the Ramayana, but did not think it really existed. In my mind, it was nothing but fiction."

"There is so much we do not know in this world Zara. I consider myself fortunate to be attacked by the Kshasas"

43

Seeing the expression on Zara's face, he said smiling, "Yes, I mean it.

If not for that, I would not have gotten the opportunity to personally experience the effects of SanJeewani. I feel energetic and full of life.

In fact, I feel several years younger now."

"That is unbelievable Sir. I can see your energy in your face and your stride.

Sir, we must take samples of the SanJeewani plant and work on it in our lab. We must take this wonder medicine to the suffering and the needy," Zara said passionately.

Smiling, Dr. Chandragiri said, "What matters is not what we want to do, but what the Dravidians want to do with SanJeewani."

"But Sir, they hold you in very high regard, and if you ask for it, they will not refuse."

Dr. Chandragiri did not respond immediately.

"I am not sure if the world is ready for this Zara. ...," his voice trailed off.

They walked in silence for a while, and Dr. Chandragiri was about to say something when he heard Viran's voice.

"Sir, the Maha Vaidya asked me to fetch you if you are free."

"Of course," Dr. Chandragiri said, turning around with a broad smile.

Gesturing to Zara to wait for him, Viran escorted Dr. Chandragiri to the Maha Vaidya. Zara returned his gesture with a nod followed by a wink. He had saved her life twice, and how much ever she brushed the thought away, Zara knew that she had fallen for him.

44

**Chapter 18**

The noise stopped, and everything was quiet for a moment.

"That is the head of Court security," Jose whispered in my ear.

"I wonder what took them so long," I said, relaxing a little bit, rather prematurely.

"Arjun, this is very quick by his standards. But, he is standing still at the entrance, and looks shocked and afraid.

Let me signal him to get moving."

"Yes, do that. He should immediately get these people out of the Court."

Jose tried, but the security officer did not respond.

"I can't get his attention Arjun.

He is staring at the Naga Rajas wide eyed and open mouthed."

"Get out of my Court now," Justice Raham Tulla spoke up for the first time after the Naga Rajas entered the Court.

"What was he doing until now?" I said to Jose softly.

"He was terrified. I wish you could see his fearful face. It was quite a sight.

He seems to have gathered some courage after the security officer's entry," Jose responded, a bit too loudly for my liking.

"Judge, you must stop this farce immediately. Dismiss the case now," the leader of the Naga Rajas commanded.

He spoke with authority and had great command over English.

"How dare you speak like that to me? Who do you think you are?"

"We are the Naga Rajas, the defenders of the sacred King Cobra, the Supreme God.

By hearing this case, you are committing blasphemy. Stop it now if you want Naga to forgive you."

"You fool. Who do you think you are speaking to?

Justice Raham Tulla is ..."

45

The Naga Raja did not let Rekha Singh finish.

"Shut your gob you bloody bitch. Can't you see that we men are speaking?

I will teach you a ..."

Rekha Singh did not let him finish.

"You unruly barbarian, mind your words. I have seen many dogs like you, and know how to ..."

Rekha Singh couldn't complete her response. She shrieked in mid sentence, and kept shrieking.

"What happened?" I asked.

"That guy hurled the snake at Rekha Singh."

"What?"

"Yes."

"Where is the security officer?"

"Gone."

"Arjun, the snake is..."

46

**Chapter 19**

"The Kshasa attacks have become more frequent, and I am worried Dr. Chandragiri.

Worried for my people and the knowledge we hold."

Dr. Chandragiri heard the Maha Vaidya silently as he spoke. A fire kept them warm in the cave, and they were seated on comfortable wooden chairs. Dr. Chandragiri could feel the Maha Vaidya's emotion as he went on.

"My ancestors always wanted our medicinal knowledge and its benefits to reach all living beings. Over the years, we trained thousands of outsiders, but many of them did not stand up to our ideals and fell prey to desires. In 2000BC, we were continuously under attack by the Aryans, and our very existence was in question.

Faced with extinction, our ancestors decided to go underground, and stopped sharing knowledge with outsiders. Utmost secrecy was maintained, and we continue to keep it that way even today. However, our intention has always been to open our knowledge for the benefit of all life forms on earth at some point of time, and I think that point has come now.

I think it is time to give wings to the true wishes of our Dravidian ancestors, the original discoverers of this knowledge. We wish to place this knowledge in the right hands, and ensure that it is used for the benefit of one and all.

Would you be interested in helping us with this?"

"Yes, it will be my utmost privilege. I owe my life to you.

Will consider it a special honour to be a part of your selfless cause. I promise to do everything in my capacity to help you achieve your goal."

"Thank you. Thank you very much. That means a lot to us," the Maha Vaidya said, holding Dr. Chandragiri's hands gratefully.

"All we want is to take this medicinal knowledge far and wide for everyone's benefit. We do not want it to fall in wrong hands, and that is where I need your help the most.

The world outside this forest has changed a lot, and I don't know what to do. I will be grateful if you can advise me how to go about this."

Dr. Chandragiri contemplated for a while before saying, "This is a huge responsibility, and I must confess that it is daunting. But, I will take it up.

Frankly, I don't know what and how much I can accomplish, but I am sure about one thing: I will give my life to achieve your ends."

...

47

Dr. Chandragiri took the Maha Vaidya's leave, promising to return with some thoughts on how they may proceed.

A week later, Dr. Chandragiri met the Maha Vaidya again, and explained his plan. The Maha Vaidya liked it instantly and was very happy that Dr. Chandragiri's proposal included the Dravidian tribe's welfare and future as well. After a comprehensive discussion on how they would go about the plan, the Maha Vaidya led Dr. Chandragiri to the secret garden.

48

**Chapter 20**

Jose uttered a high pitched, piercing sound in my ear, and my head started ringing.

"Stop it Jose. Just stop it," I yelled, shaking him.

He stopped.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"Arjun, it is a real snake, not a fake one. It is moving.

Let us get out of here."

Rekha Singh and her juniors were utterly shocked and fear stricken. Their frantic cries for help went unheeded, and the chaos in the Court was now absolute. Angry shouting, fearful wailing, cries for help and several other baffled expressions filled the Courtroom.

"What is going on?" I asked Jose as he literally pulled me towards the visitors seating.

"Stop. Turn around, the wretched snake is heading this way.

Rekha Singh and her juniors some how got rid of it," Jose said, reversing our direction.

Pulling me roughly, Jose rushed towards the bench. I some how managed to scamper with him.

"Climb the chair," he ordered as soon as we reached the Judges' bench.

"Why?"

"Just do it," he yelled.

I complied without further comment.

"Now, get on the bench," he said, placing my hand on the bench.

"The bench?"

"Yes, the bench."

I got on, and Jose was by my side on the bench in a flash.

"Realizing that we are out of reach, the snake is now heading back to the visitors gallery. I think we managed to escape its pangs by a whisker."

49

"Really?"

"Yes, I just cleverly saved your life Arjun.

By the way, Rekha Singh and her juniors are by our side, on the bench. They climbed it before us."

"Hi. Hello," we greeted them, and they responded.

They sounded quite relaxed now.

"Are you sure that snake cannot climb this bench?" Rekha Singh asked her junior, ignoring us.

"Yes, Madam. Snakes cannot climb benches."

"That is not true. Snakes climb trees, walls, and even tables," Jose corrected her.

"Oh. Is it? Let us get out of here."

We stepped onto the judges' chairs, which were now empty, climbed down and rushed out of the Courtroom. Standing outside, Justice Raham Tulla urged us to hurry up. As soon as every one got out, he shut the door. I heard the Naga Rajas singing some kind of a revolutionary song just before the door closed.

50

**Chapter 21**

Dr. Chandragiri had seen a lot in his sixty years, but nothing came close to the secret garden he was witnessing. As Maha Vaidya led him through a series of tunnels to the secret garden, he walked with him looking around in utter disbelief.

"Did you make these tunnels?"

"Yes, they were made by our ancestors hundreds of years ago. We have been improving them over the years."

"I can breathe fresh air though these tunnels are deep down in the mountains. I don't see any vents here. Where does this air come from?"

"We have several plants and microorganisms, which use carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, and several other substances and release oxygen.

Those plants over there are some examples. This dark patch is a repository of microorganisms, which also performs the same function."

Dr. Chandragiri was awe struck, and ambled by Maha Dravida, stopping once in a while to observe the sophisticated biological systems the Dravidians had developed. Dravidian guards were posted at every bend, and they greeted Maha Vaidya and Dr. Chandragiri as they passed them. After about half an hour, they reached a large cave, which opened to a plateau. It was surrounded by dense forest and protruding rocks and was hidden away amidst the mountain ranges.

"Welcome Sir," Chila greeted them as soon as they entered the secret garden.

Giving quick instructions to the Upa Vaidyas working with her, she climbed down the large tree in the cave, washed her hands in the flowing river, and came towards them. Her round, beautiful face radiated positive energy, and her intelligent eyes were full of life. She brushed away a strand of silky hair that escaped from the well tied bun on her head as she hugged her father.

"Chila, why don't you take Dr. Chandragiri for a tour of the secret garden?" the Maha Vaidya said, sitting down to study a sapling for traits he had been working on.

"It will be my pleasure father. Please come this way Sir," she said leading Dr. Chandragiri to the plateau.

"Here, we grow only SanJeewani. We have twenty-three potent varieties of SanJeewani being grown in different environments. Some grow on water, others on rocks and others on soil prepared for the purpose," Chila said pointing at a lake with plant cover, large rock formations and neatly organized pastures.

51

She explained about each variety of the plant, taking him to different parts of the garden.

The secret garden had a lake with a large land mass in the centre, surrounded by tracts of neatly maintained plantations. Two bridges on either side led to the central land and stone paths went to the plantations. A view from the top would show a central circular land, surrounded by water with a circular pathway around it, and stone paths in the form of spokes from the pathway. The SanJeewani plants within the formation would look like jewels sprayed irregularly across the contours of the seemingly well planned garden.

However, no one except birds perched on the trees around the garden could get a glimpse of the artistic garden as it was well hidden away from all fields of vision.

"What are those?" Dr. Chandragiri asked, looking at a tree.

"Some varieties grow on trees. They have a symbiotic relationship. This tree here is at least ten thousand years old and hosts four varieties of SanJeewani."

Dr. Chandragiri walked around, looking at the Dravidians engrossed in work, and asking questions about different varieties of SanJeewani and their uses.

"We have several manuals, which contain knowledge we have accumulated over the years.

Those are kept at another location.

Father plans to take you there tomorrow."

"Where do you grow other ingredients for your compositions?" Dr. Chandragiri asked.

"Those are grown in the garden by the huts. We have a few other gardens as well. They are maintained by our farmers."

"Was this river always there?" Dr. Chandragiri asked when they returned to the cave.

"Yes, it is as old as the mountains, and flows downstream to join the Godavari River."

...

Dr. Chandragiri sat by the Maha Vaidya imbibing everything he had learned. The Maha Vaidya was still engrossed in his study of the sapling, and did not seem to notice him.

...

Next day, the Maha Vaidya took Dr. Chandragiri through a different set of tunnels to a series of caves that hosted writings on rocks.

"How many such caves are there?" Dr. Chandragiri asked, looking around in disbelief.

52

"One hundred and seven as of now," the Maha Vaidya responded, explaining the contents of each cave from the first to the last. They were numbered, and a tabloid contained details of information in the caves, like table of contents in a book.

The writings were in a script Dr. Chandragiri couldn't understand, and paid attention to every word Maha Vaidya said.

...

Fifteen days later, Dr. Chandragiri left for Trivandrum, and from there, for Bangalore, where his lab was located. He carried several samples with him, and many were brought by the Dravidians. Zara was with him and she helped him carefully label and store the samples.

Dr. Chandragiri was a well known professor and scientist at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, and it did not take him long to get funding from the Government for the work he had in mind. When funds were in place, Dr.

Chandragiri hand picked some young, sharp minds for the research and development project.

Three months later, Dr. Chandragiri was in an update meeting when Zara burst into the room.

"We have a problem," she said without preamble.

53

**Chapter 22**

Justice Raham Tulla invited us to his chamber, but I respectfully declined, and took his leave. Rekha Singh and her juniors were already in the chamber, and I could hear some one sobbing loudly. Eager to get away from the intense emotions, Jose and I walked down the hallway towards the waiting area outside the Court.

"Arjun, that snake is a King Cobra," Jose said to me as we sat down on a tattered sofa.

"Really?

How do you know?" I asked.

"This is a great story for the news guys, if any one is still around. They can write a nice story with the headline, King Cobra attends the KingCobra Case," he said thoughtfully.

"Yes, that would be an interesting title.

But, how do you know that it is a King Cobra?" I repeated my question.

"Arjun, it is a beautiful snake. Looks very good you know."

He was now teasing.

"Beautiful? Tell me how you decided that it is a King Cobra," I asked again, pinching him on his thigh.

"Ouch.

I will tell you. Spare me," Jose said, shoving my hand off.

I was now completely relaxed, and couldn't help wondering if Jose was pricking my curiosity on purpose.

"You better start immediately. Else ...," I said, positioning my hand by his thigh.

Holding my hand tight, Jose explained, "It is black in colour, and has yellow stripes on its body.

When we were leaving, its hood was majestically open, and it was standing up.

It is definitely a King Cobra."

"Hmm. Do all King Cobras have those stripes? I know that they have large hoods."

54

"Yes, they do.

Hey Arjun, these guys are leaving."

"Who?"

"The Naga Rajas."

"Have they been apprehended by the guards?"

"No. The security guards are following them at a safe distance.

They are happily walking out freely and fearlessly."

"Are they taking the snake with them?"

"Yes. They are holding it up for everyone to see."

"Arjun, that guy winked at me."

"Who?"

"One of the Naga Rajas.

Do you think Cum On's CEO arranged this thing?"

"Possible. I can't rule it out.

Didn't he say that he would do something to take care of this case?"

"I can't believe this."

"Quiet now. We do not want anyone to overhear us."

55

**Chapter 23**

"Sir, something absurd is going on," Zara said, when Dr. Chandragiri led her to his office, excusing himself from the meeting.

"What are you talking about?"

"None of the SanJeewani ingredients are showing any results independently. They are also not showing results in any of the combinations you had suggested."

"That simply means that we are not able to identify the active ingredient. Isn't it?

Let us keep trying."

"Sir, I am afraid we tried everything possible. We isolated all ingredients we could and tried them separately. We also tried many combinations. None of them show any ability to repair injured or dead cells.

But, the SanJeewani plant extract continues to work magic. It not only repairs but also revives dead cells.

I think the ingredients work together and produce results only in their natural form."

"Don't act stupid Zara. How is that scientifically possible?

We must be missing something."

Zara did not respond. This was beyond her abilities, and had nothing to say.

"Send me all your lab notebooks. I will review them and try some experiments on my own."

Following several months of experimentation and re-experimentation, Dr. Chandragiri identified the active ingredient of SanJeewani. He also discovered that it worked only in combination with five other ingredients. Even if one was absent, the active ingredient showed no results. Once that was done, Dr. Chandragiri set his mind to making compositions for treating specific diseases and disorders.

Dr. Chandragiri was at home when the post man dropped a letter. After seeing the sender's name, Dr. Chandragiri eagerly tore it open. His heart sank as he read the contents of the letter.

56

**Chapter 24**

The Court's environs were very quiet for a while after the NagaRajas left.

"Shall we have lunch?" Jose asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes," I said without a second thought.

We stepped out of the Court, and walked to the Amma Canteen nearby. The canteen was very busy, and we had to wait for half an hour to get seats. The wait was worth it because the delicious sambar that was served with rice satiated both my tongue and stomach. Our bodies felt heavy, and the Pan that ended the meal did not help matters much. We lethargically made our way back to the Court, and were surprised to find one of Rekha Singh's juniors waiting for us.

"Sir, Madam wishes to have a word with you," she said, walking up to us.

"Why? About What?" Jose asked her.

"I don't know Sir. She said it is urgent and important."

"Where can we meet her? Is she still in Justice Raham Tulla's chamber?" I asked.

"No Sir, Madam is in the Courtroom. I can take you there."

We made our way to the Courtroom, squeezing through the police men, who had just arrived.

"These guys are always late," Jose commented as we entered the Court.

"A snake charmer is looking for the snake, or may be, its remnants. Too sad that he will have nothing to catch today," he observed, laughing aloud.

Rekha Singh and her juniors were huddled in the front of the Court, and we walked to them.

Rekha Singh greeted me warmly when she saw us. She did not show any signs of the distress she had been through, and the fact that she was standing in the Court after the terrifying incident told me a lot about her strength and ability to bounce back.

"Thanks for coming over Arjun.

You argued well, very well," she said, patting me on my back.

"Thanks Madam. Did you want to speak with me about the case?" I asked, wondering why she was being extra friendly.

57

"Yes Arjun. We are planning to withdraw the petition. I just spoke to my client, and he agreed to withdraw."

"That is your right Madam. You do not need my permission for that," I said smiling.

"But, we want an undertaking from you that you will sell only condoms under the brand, KingCobra, in India."

"We will give no such undertaking Madam," I responded instantly.

"But, you have no guarantee that you will win the case, and that we will not go on appeal even if you win here. That will be too much trouble and expense for your client. Also, we have lot of influence and pull in this Court you know."

"I am willing to take my chances Madam. If we are done, I would like to take your leave,"

I said curtly, turning to go.

"Wait.

I have one small request. ..."

I heard intently as she put forth her proposal.

58

**Chapter 25**

The letter from Government stated,

" ... We are sorry to inform you that we cannot fund your idea of taking your research findings to the market. That is a commercial activity, best taken up by private enterprises.

We wish you all the very best. ..."

Dr. Chandragiri was thoroughly disappointed with the Indian Government's attitude, but bounced back quickly. He revised his strategy and pursued another course of action. He did not consider starting a manufacturing and marketing company by himself as the plan he had in mind required large scale funding and efforts, and time was not on his side.

Instead, he decided to go with pharma companies that had the interest, funds, and ability to quickly take new products to the market.

Dr. Chandragiri shortlisted two companies to take SanJeewani forward. Though he had identified the active ingredient of SanJeewani, workable combinations and some compositions for treating specific disorders, there was a lot more to be done, and he needed cash heavy, profit-driven companies to take this up after the Government's rejection. The plan was to get drug approvals with respect to some SanJeewani combinations and compositions, commercialize the drugs in as many forms as possible, and ensure that benefits of such commercialization flow to the Dravidian tribe.

The first company, Alaya Pharma, specialized in productizing traditional medicines, and Dr. Chandragiri chose it to take plant extract based products to the market. He selected the second company, Ox Pharma, for its international reach in selling modern medicines. The company's job was to conduct clinical studies and trials, optimize the drug and compositions, and acquire drug approvals, before taking it to the market in the form of tablets, injectibles and syrups. Both companies agreed enthusiastically and took materials, data and information about SanJeewani from Dr. Chandragiri eagerly. Zara was deputed to transfer knowledge, work with them and keep an eye on their progress. Dr. Chandragiri played the role of an advisor and stayed away from day to day affairs.

Initially, Dr. Chandragiri received regular reports about the progress of the work of the companies, but after a few months, the updates dwindled, and finally died away. Dr.

Chandragiri did not take the lapses seriously at the beginning, but after a while, he started getting worried and tried contacting the companies. He received no replies to his emails, and his phone calls never went to the right people. He even went to the offices of the companies, but could meet only junior personnel, who gave him clipped, unsatisfactory responses.

One morning, Dr. Chandragiri was reading the newspaper, when he came across an advertisement by Alaya Pharma. He had given the company the benefit of doubt, and was excited to see information about products based on SanJeewani. But, he felt dizzy when he 59

read the article that followed. As he went through the article, an unbearable weight enveloped his chest.

60

**Chapter 26**

The police left after half an hour, and Justice Raham Tulla got back to the Court.

"You may proceed," he said as soon as he sat down.

He did not comment on what happened, and his voice was authoritative as usual.

"We have an important development to report," Rekha Singh spoke up.

"My Lord, we decided to settle the case. Counsel for the Respondent has agreed, and if you permit, we will proceed."

"Are you doing this because of what happened earlier?"

"No. Not at all Your Lordship."

"Ok. What are the terms of the settlement?"

"My Lord, we will not be proceeding with the rectification petition, and Cum On can use KingCobra in India. The company will not adopt any of our other trade marks."

"That sounds more like a withdrawal than a settlement," Anjali commented.

"Whatever it is, our job is done. File a formal application and we will approve it," Justice Raham Tulla stated, closed the proceedings and left.

"Why did you agree to that settlement Arjun? Why should we not adopt any of their marks?"

Jose asked me when we stepped out.

"My Dear Jose, I agreed to not use any of their registered trade marks in India. As of date, they have no trade mark registrations, and our client is under no restriction in adopting any trade mark it wishes."

"Are you saying that this restriction does not apply to any future trade marks of our client?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying."

"Do you think the snake in the Court scared her to this settlement?"

"I don't think so Jose.

I think she knew that this was a lost battle right from the beginning."

"Why do you think she proposed a settlement? She could have simply withdrawn her petition to cancel our trade mark right?"

61

"To save her face Jose.

Technically, she has not lost the case now. She simply settled it."

"But, why did you agree to that Arjun? A victory against Rekha Singh would have gone a long way in enhancing your stature."

"Yes, but now, we are saving lot of time, and ruling out any chance of failure.

Aren't we?"

62

**Chapter 27**

When Dr. Chandragiri opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor. The long arms of the chair he had inherited from his grand father loomed over him. His chest felt heavy and arms felt weak, very weak, but he managed to haul himself onto the easy chair. The newspaper he was reading was on the floor by the chair, and he did not understand why he was on the floor.

Dr. Chandragiri's mind was blank for a while, but everything came back within minutes, and he felt panic building up all over again. He missed his wife very badly, and wondered what she would have done under the circumstances. His wife was an animal rights advocate, who had made a telling impact in her short life. Two years after they fell in love and got married, Dr. Chandragiri went to receive her at the Bangalore International Airport, when he was informed that the flight from New York crashed. He collapsed on hearing the news, and had to be hospitalized for a few days.

That day, Dr. Chandragiri fell into a deep depression and had never completely recovered from it. To make matters worse, he did not get his wife's remains, and it was as if she had vanished into thin air. Like an automaton, he buried himself in work and made the Lab his home. He made path breaking discoveries and was conferred many awards for his contributions to science, but none of those mattered to him. For the first time after many years, he felt a sense of satisfaction when he worked with the Dravidians on the SanJeewani project. He knew that his work with the ancient tribe would have made his wife proud, and put his heart and soul into the project.

As he sat there thinking about his wife and his predicament with SanJeewani, tears flowed out of his eyes in a rush. The long standing dam broke, and he sobbed like a child.

It took him a full day to regain some semblance of composure, and think sanely.

"If you want to make a difference, you must fight for it, fight without giving up, fight against all odds, fight until the end," his wife's inspiring words came back to him, and he knew what to do.

Disregarding his physical discomfort, Dr. Chandragiri changed into his work attire and strode out of his house purposefully.

63

**Chapter 28**

The Dravidians trusted Dr. Chandragiri completely and did not need much convincing. But transporting them to Chennai posed several problems. Dr. Chandragiri took Viran and a handful of Dravidians with him. Though Maha Vaidya and Chila wanted to come along, he strongly advised them against it.

"You never know what may go wrong Maha Vaidya. You must be here, and take care of your people and knowledge," he said sternly.

The train journey from Trivandrum to Chennai with the Dravidians was very eventful for Dr. Chandragiri. Their companions on the train did not limit themselves to gawking at the funnily dressed forest dwellers. They went to the extent of disturbing and annoying them.

Dr. Chandragiri had to hold Viran back and pacify the Dravidians whilst keeping the intruders away.

They managed to reach Chennai in one piece, and started their protest from the Railway Station. Their destination was Hotel Grand Chola, where the Prime Minister was hosting a conference of South Indian Chief Ministers to promote the Digital India program. They held banners and walked through the traffic, singing their traditional hymns. The banners had two simple slogans:

'Make Traditional India'

'Save Our Knowledge.'

"You must keep your message simple if you want to make an impact," Dr. Chandragiri's wife used to say, and he stuck to that principle.

Dr. Chandragiri informed the police about their protest, and a constable was assigned to escort them. The protest started well, and they had the attention of every one on the road.

People were clicking photos on their phones and sharing, and Dr. Chandragiri felt positive about achieving his objective.

Dr. Chandragiri had learned the trick from his wife, who used protests as an effective tool to lobby for animal rights and protection. In line with his wife's approach as an activist, Dr. Chandragiri's aim was to somehow get the attention of the Prime Minister and put pressure on the companies. He wrote emails to the Prime Minister's Office, Twitted, and tried contacting him on various forums, but he was unsuccessful. If the Prime Minister noticed them and gave them an audience, Dr. Chandragiri was confident that justice would be done. His hope was driven by the news stories he had read about the Prime Minister taking special interest in traditional knowledge and coming to the rescue of people in need.

The Dravidian march was uneventful until they reached the Grand Chola hotel. Two other groups were protesting with banners, and trouble started as soon as the Dravidians got there.

64

**Chapter 29**

Both the groups were shouting slogans about de-monetization and were quite aggressive.

Their hatred for each other was evident from their banners, slogans and actions.

The group wearing white shirts held banners, which displayed messages:

\- 'Modi Bin Tughlaq!'

'Mad Modi; Bad Government.'

'We want de-Moditization.'

They were shouting, 'Modi, Down Down'.

The other group held banners stating:

'Namo Modi. Namo Robin hood.'

'Kill Black Money, Kill Terrorism.'

'MODIfy India.'

They were yelling, "Modi Zindabad ..."

A scuffle broke out between the groups as soon as the Dravidians found a place by the roadside and sat down. There slogans, "Save Knowledge, Save India," were lost in the violence that followed. What started as an altercation turned into a fist fight, which turned into a blood bath when both groups produced knives. The police soon joined the fray, and it turned into uncontrollable mayhem.

Dr. Chandragiri and Viran tried hard to keep the Dravidians out of harm's way, but were not completely successful. They squeezed out of the area with some injuries, but to Dr.

Chandragiri's relief none of them were very serious. Just when they thought they were out of trouble, the Dravidians came face to face with an angry police contingent. Dr.

Chandragiri tried to explain, but the police men were not in a mood to listen. The constable accompanying them was missing, and things went from bad to worse for Dr. Chandragiri.

65

**Chapter 30**

"Why? Tell me, why?" Jose asked the general manager of the Rain Tree Hotel angrily.

"I am sorry Sir. We don't stock brands like Mansion House," the General Manager responded unapologetically.

"Why not?" Jose was persistent.

"We can serve Hennessey, Remy Martin or Martell brandy Sir. Which would you prefer?"

The General Manager's rough voice crackled on the phone.

I had enough of Jose's insistence and decided to take matters into my own hands.

"Give me the phone," I pulled the receiver from Jose before he could protest.

"May I know your name," I asked the General Manager.

"Muthu Sir, Sabari Muthu."

"Mr. Muthu, can you arrange for a bottle of Scotch?" I asked courteously.

"Of Course Sir. Which one would you prefer?" he asked, his voice transformed and respectful.

"Do you have Blue Label?"

"Yes, we definitely do."

"One bottle of Blue Label, and please ask someone from the room service to give us a call.

It has been a long day, and we are starving."

"Sure Sir. Consider it done."

We just won the King Cobra case, and it was time for a small party. In line with the social protocol in India, I decided that getting drunk was the way to celebrate.

"This is tasteless, and I don't get a kick like I do, when I drink Mansion House. And why the hell is this colourless? I feel as if I am drinking water," Jose said angrily.

"Don't worry Jose. We will celebrate with Mansion House when we return," I said in an attempt to pacify him.

"Yes Arjun. We must have a real party when we get back to Hyderabad. This is fake drinking."

66

We were almost sloshed when Jose decided to switch the television on.

"A group of people, who call themselves, 'Dravidian Tribe' have been arrested ...," the news reporter was saying when Jose changed the channel to a Telugu film.

That caught my attention, and I wanted to learn more.

"Go back to that channel," I said, sitting up from my lying position.

Jose went back, but the news was gone. It took fifteen minutes of channel surfing before we found a report on another channel.

"Call your constable brother and find out what happened," I told Jose, referring to the police man escorting the Dravidians in the morning.

Jose tried calling, but there was no answer.

"He must be sleeping," Jose said, disconnecting after the second attempt.

"Let us go to the police station and get them out," I said, standing up.

I don't recall why I was doing that, and what exactly was going through my head, but I do not repent the decision at all. It was an impulsive move, but I am happy I made it.

"Yes Sir," Jose responded, saluting.

He was as excited as I was.

We dressed up and brushed before stumbling out of the room. We booked a cab through the reception desk, had a strong coffee and left for the police station.

67

**Chapter 31**

We reached the Guindy Police Station within fifteen minutes. The compound was buzzing with activity, and we zig-zagged our way through the throng into the station house. Inside, a radio was on high volume, and it sounded more like a late night pub than the office of the police force.

"What is going on?" I asked Jose, confused.

"Let us wait here. They are having dinner," he said, squeezing my hand to halt.

"Who?"

Taking a while to survey the surroundings, Jose said, "There are police men and also civilians. They are sitting down and eating."

"Why are you here?" a policeman standing near us asked, overhearing us.

He sounded rude, but I was too drunk to care.

"I am Arjun Mamidi, Advocate. Why are you holding my men here?" I asked, raising my voice.

He was one of those cops, who succumbed when you sound authoritative, and asked in an immediately subdued voice, "Which party are you representing Sir?"

"The Dravidian Tribe. Are you the Station House Officer?" I asked.

It was clear from the way he responded that he did not understand whom I was representing.

He was expecting me to belong to one of the political parties, and I did not fit into his equation.

"Dravidian? Just a minute Sir," he said, and disappeared into the crowd.

I think he thought I was referring to one of the regional political parties in Tamil Nadu instead of BJP or Congress, whose members were arrested that morning. It did not matter what he understood because the Station House Officer was standing before us within a minute.

"Please release the Dravidians officer. They have been wrongfully arrested. I will let this go as a genuine mistake," I said to him respectfully, yet sternly.

"Are you referring to those men?" he asked, pointing to Dr. Chandragiri and his men, who were huddled in a corner.

"Yes," Jose approved.

68

"Can you sign for them Sir?" the Station House Officer asked after a bit of contemplation.

After completing the formalities, we walked out with the Dravidians.

"What do we do now?" Jose asked me when we reached the road.

"Take me to Dr. Chandragiri," I instructed him.

"Sir, my name is Arjun. I am a lawyer ...," I explained how we got to the police station, and got them out.

"Thanks for your help young man," he said sincerely and gratefully.

He then told me that they were booked to return by the evening train, which they missed, and that he did not know what to do at that late hour.

"We will go to the Railway Station and check if we can book tickets in a train for tomorrow.

Thanks a lot Mr. Arjun. We are very grateful for your kind help.

If you can give me your phone number and address, I will send your fee as soon as I reach Bangalore," he said, holding my hand.

"I did not do this for a fee Sir. You are not going anywhere now," I said sternly, holding his hand.

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**Chapter 32**

"We need six rooms. Give me the keys quickly. We are all tired," Jose ordered the front desk executive.

"Very sorry Sir, we don't have rooms available," the sleepy man said, gazing suspiciously at the tattered Dravidians.

"Is Mr. Muthu available now?" I asked, stepping to the desk.

"Yes Sir, he is in the Hotel, but he will be asleep now. It is 2AM, too late to disturb him."

"Wake him. I need to talk to him," I said sternly.

"But Sir ..."

I cut him off.

"He knows me well. Don't worry, he will not mind it."

The receptionist dialed a number, and placed the receiver in my hand. A sleepy voice came online after the fourth ring.

"Mr. Muthu, this is Arjun Mamidi. You arranged Blue Label for us in the evening."

"Yes Sir, what can I do for you now?"

Ignoring the circumspection in his voice, I said, "I need six rooms for my clients. Your boy here is saying that there are no rooms.

They participated in a daylong conference and are tired."

"Sir, we are full today. The Andhra Pradesh Government booked our Hotel for all their Ministers and bureaucrats."

"Is it for the Chief Ministers meet?"

"Yes Sir."

"My clients came for the same event. They had a problem with their booking at Savera, and were denied rooms based on something called 'No Show.'

We will be initiating legal proceedings against the Hotel shortly.

I assured them that they wouldn't face any issue here, and that you would be accommodative."

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My explanation had several gaps, and I hoped that his sleepy mind wouldn't catch them.

"But Sir ..."

"Please, Mr. Muthu. I promised them that you would certainly help," I requested.

There was silence on the phone, and I wondered if he had hung up.

After a minute, he said, "Would a dorm do?"

"Yes, it will," I said without hesitation.

"Also, please arrange a first aid kit. Actually, two kits."

"Sure Sir, that is not a problem. How many beds will you need Sir?"

"Twelve.

Please bill this to my room."

The Dravidians were given a good dorm with comfortable beds to sleep, and I breathed a sigh of relief after they settled down in the large room. To my surprise, they refused the first aid kits.

"Why don't you clean up your injuries?" Jose asked.

"We will, but this will not be required," Viran told Jose.

I was about to insist when Dr. Chandragiri told me that he would explain later. I used that as an alibi to convince Dr. Chandragiri to stay with us, and asked for an extra bed. We did not speak much that night as Dr. Chandragiri went to sleep as soon as he lay on my bed.

Overruling Jose, I slept on the extra bed. The sleep was peaceful and refreshing after a very long time. There was no tossing and turning that night. I was a very contented and happy man.

Next morning, we had breakfast with the Dravidians. The environment was uncomfortable for them, but they were hungry and ate whatever they could from the buffet spread. Dr.

Chandragiri briefed me about why they had come to Chennai while we were having coffee.

The story about SanJeewani's power was unbelievable, but I had no doubt that it was true.

Men like Dr. Chandragiri did not say something unless there was a scientific basis.

Despite my stubborn refusal, Dr. Chandragiri insisted that he will be paying for the Hotel expenses and told me that he would send a checque as soon as he returned to Bangalore.

71

Jose managed to get hold of his constable brother over the phone. He came over to the hotel, and escorted the Dravidians to the railway station. He told us that he was separated from the group in the melee, and that he had been searching for them all night.

Ten days later, Shreya found Dr. Chandragiri's cheque in my letter box, and I was not surprised at all. A letter accompanied the cheque, which put my idling brain to work.

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**Chapter 33**

Three Months Later

The CEO of Alaya Pharma, Diya Nambudiri, was on fire that morning.

"Are you going to wait until the shit hits the fan, and falls on my face?" she flared at the small gathering in the conference hall.

"No Madam. Actually...," Alaya's Legal Head wanted to explain, but Diya was in no mood to listen.

"Shut up Puneet. You are incompetence personified.

Don't you agree Zara?"

Zara did not know what to say. She sat quietly, waiting for the next phase of the storm.

"Why don't you have the guts to speak up Zara? You are the Chief Scientific Officer of this company for God's sake. Didn't you see this coming?"

"No Diya. I didn't. As you know, I am neither God, nor a Patent Attorney," she retorted, unable to hold back and take blame for no one's fault.

"But, you are in charge of patent strategy of Alaya, and you told me just two days back that everything is going as per plan. Didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, but ..."

"But, but, but. 'But' is not the answer for everything.

What is wrong with you guys?"

The Chief Financial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of the company prudently decided against joining the conversation, and watched the proceedings silently.

"We spent millions to come this far, and no one can take that away from us. Do something and resolve this issue," Diya yelled, throwing the document at Zara.

Then, she stood up and stormed out of the room. Once Diya left, others slowly got up and left the conference hall. Zara sat alone, hand on her head, wondering why she had gotten herself into this.

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**Chapter 34**

The board room at Ox Pharma was much more civil than that of Alaya Pharma. It was a long standing Multi-National Company and had seen many complex issues over the years.

They also knew how the patent game was played, and their surprise was not boundless.

"How would you want to handle this?" the CEO of Ox Pharma, Feroz Irani, asked his in-house IP Counsel.

"The strategy is quite straight forward actually. We will contest the pre-grant patent oppositions filed jointly by Jawaharlal Nehru Centre and the Dravidians," Padmini Rani said.

"Will this affect our product launch in any way?"

"No. It won't."

"Good. Who will be handling the case?" Feroz asked, smiling awkwardly.

"The same attorney, who is handling our patent applications," Padmini replied evasively.

"Natasha D'Silva?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Yes," Padmini said, blushing slightly.

Natasha was Padmini's girlfriend, and she felt very uncomfortable whenever someone alluded to their relationship, directly or indirectly.

"Do you know if Alaya Pharma's patents have also been opposed?" Feroz asked, changing the topic.

"Yes. I am told that they are facing two oppositions and one revocation."

"Who is representing the opponents?"

"Arjun Mamidi."

"Who is this guy?

Is he any good?"

"Yes. Damn Good I heard."

"Better than Natasha?" Feroz asked, smiling cynically.

"I hope not," Padmini said, looking away.

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She knew her partner was good, very good, but had heard too much about Arjun's exploits to refrain circumspection from creeping into her head. When she returned to her desk, there was an unopened envelope waiting for her. She knew what it was from the sender's address, and wondered if Feroz had made the right decision in buying the information about SanJeewani from Zara. Logically, she felt nothing could go terribly wrong, but the butterflies in her stomach told another story.

Padmini had no clue what aces Arjun had up his sleeve and hoped that Natasha was good enough to fend them.

75

**Chapter 35**

"Patent and Biodiversity filings are out of the way. What next?" Jose asked.

"Wonderful. Let us file some trade mark oppositions and cancellations as per plan," I said smiling.

"But, how are trademarks relevant to our case?" my wife, Shreya, who was helping us with the case asked.

"They are not relevant, but we will nevertheless file."

"Why would you do that?" Shreya said irritably.

"To put pressure on the companies to come to the table."

"That is not fair. You must fight the case honestly and fairly."

"They have not been fair to us, and we do not need to be fair to them.

What is fair anyway? It is all in your mind.

Don't you remember what Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth? – "Fair is Foul, Foul is fair.""

I was being smart, and Shreya cut through it.

"I don't care what Shakespeare said. I just don't want my husband to do something that is not right."

I knew where this was heading and decided to reconcile for the time being.

"Alright, we will decide about this later.

I hope you don't have any problem with filing a misappropriation suit against Zara and the pharma companies for stealing valuable trade secrets," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

"What trade secrets? What misappropriation?" Jose asked.

"Misappropriation of SanJeewani Trade Secrets, Confidential Information and Proprietary Information developed by Dr. Chandragiri, and maintained secret by the Dravidians for hundreds of years. We will add breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment also to the pool for the way in which Ox Pharma and Alaya Pharma stole the information.

But only if Respected Shreya agrees."

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She caught my sarcasm, but decided to ignore it. That meant I would get my dues some time later, and decided to drop the irony.

"That is fine. You have a valid reason there.

Zara is liable for breaching Dr. Chandragiri's trust and misappropriating his confidential information, and she must face the consequences," Shreya said seriously.

"But, we will not take the trade mark route," she added ominously.

"What if they have filed trade mark applications for the words 'SanJeewani' and 'Jeewani'?"

I asked.

"In that scenario, we have a cause of action. Did they do that?"

"Yes, Alaya Pharma filed trade mark applications for Jeewani and different permutations and combinations of the word. Ox Pharma has also filed a couple of trade mark applications for similar brands. When they copy, they copy completely. They are perfectionists," Jose commented, laughing loudly.

It was a decent joke by Jose's standards, and we laughed with him.

"What are our chances," Shreya asked as we walked out of the conference room as Jose packed up.

"Biodiversity Act is a toothless tiger. That is why we are taking a multi-pronged strategy.

We will attack them aggressively, and see what happens."

"What do you want me to do now?" Shreya asked, holding my hand.

"Give me a kiss to start with," I said, taking her into my arms.

"Jose is right here," she said, pushing me away.

I didn't let her go. My head was fuming, and I really needed a long kiss to cool it down.

77

**Chapter 36**

Natasha D'Silva sat on the tarmac with her camera. She was sweating profusely, and her water bottle was empty. But she neither spoke, nor complained about the extreme discomfort. She simply sat waiting for her watcher to give the signal.

The Flight Spotters Club had special access to the runway to click pictures, but the restrictions were stringent. Once they entered, they were not allowed to leave the allotted area for six hours. There were six of them that day, and all of them held state of the art, DSLR cameras.

"Here it comes," the watcher said, pointing his finger at the arriving flight.

Natasha was swiftly on her feet, focusing her camera on the bird. Though it was late evening, she knew on first look that it was an Air India flight. The cream and red on the flight and the unmistakable palace window design made it obvious to her, and the swan with the chakra confirmed it. She clicked several pictures until the flight landed and made its way to the parking station.

When she was done, Natasha quickly checked her work. She was satisfied, but not delighted. She had captured the flight well, but did not get a spectacular shot. Her photography standards were very high, and she rarely met them.

"Time to go," the watcher said, checking his watch.

They carefully traversed the runway, and made it to the waiting area in ten minutes.

"How about a drink," the watcher asked Natasha as they walked out of the airport towards the parking lot.

He was tall and handsome and had been asking her out for almost a year now.

"Just move on man. I don't like men," she wanted to scream, but did not.

"No Gab, I am tired," she said instead.

"How about tomorrow?" he persisted.

"Sorry Gab. I am not interested," Natasha said, looking into Gabriel's deep brown eyes.

...

As she drove from the Bangalore International Airport to her home at Jaya Nagar, Natasha thought about Padmini. They had planned to go pub hopping that night, and a smile crept into her face when she thought about the fun ahead. Natasha wanted to and needed to go 78

haywire before the tough case began. Once the case started, Natasha knew that she would hardly have time to breathe.

"I love you," Padmini said, giving Natasha a tight hug when she reached home.

"I love you too. Let me take a quick shower, I stink of sweat," Natasha said, kissing Padmini on her lips.

"We received the petition filed by the Dravidians," Padmini said, giving Natasha a cup of hot coffee next morning.

Despite the late night party, Padmini woke up early and was ready to go to work.

"Did we?"

"Yes, they want a big share of every rupee we make from commercialization of SanJeewani patents."

"Do they?"

"Yes. Our CEO finds their demand very unreasonable."

"Does he? This coffee is heavenly honey," Natasha said, taking a long sip.

"Arjun Mamidi is representing them," Padmini ploughed forward.

"I know."

"What is wrong with you Natasha?

This is serious, and I would like you to take it seriously."

"Who said I am not," Natasha said, standing up and pulling Padmini's cheek.

"Why don't you take it easy and go to work. I will take care of this."

"But ..."

"No buts. Trust me, I am on it," Natasha said, taking Padmini into her arms and kissing her deeply.

That helped Padmini relax, but did not help her take her mind off the case.

Two hours later, Natasha was in her cozy office, giving instructions to her juniors.

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" ... Arjun Mamidi is a clever lawyer, and his dancer wife, Shreya, is working with him. I studied with Shreya, and her research is top notch. She is a combination of beauty and intellect, and her husband is among the most intelligent and crafty advocates I have ever met in my life so far.

We cannot afford to relax even a little bit. If we do, they will bury us.

Now, get going, get on your jobs, and don't stop until you get everything I want," Natasha told her team.

When everyone left, Natasha sat back and thought about the case and her opponents. The only way she could win the case she knew was if she took a diabolical approach. The challenge was inviting, and she put the devious part of her mind to work.

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## Chapter 37

"Why the fuck does this bitch shout like that?" Varun asked Fahran after the telecon with Diya, the CEO of Alaya Pharma.

Varun Bhagawat and Fahran Akram were senior partners in Arya and Dara, a leading IP

law firm in India. Varun specialized in privacy, trade secrets and employment matters, while Fahran specialized in patents, trade marks and related matters.

"Yah, Diya is hyper about everything. She is even more aggressive and vocal in bed,"

Fahran said, smiling.

"What are you saying man?

Did you sleep with her?"

"Just once, and it was the best fuck I had in my life so far. I can now die a happy man, but before I kick the bucket, I must have her once more."

"How did you manage it Fahran?" Varun asked, jealousy read all over his voice.

"We travelled to Singapore to negotiate a deal, and Diya was so happy with my performance at the negotiation that she decided to test my performance in bed."

"Was she happy with that performance as well?"

"Alaya Pharma continues to be our client, and I think she was quite satisfied.

I must point out here that Diya expects very high standards, and it was like running ten marathons after I was done."

"Wow. Looks like you got a great deal.

Pleasure and exercise at the same time."

"Yes, you may also get a chance if you win the trade secret matter. Didn't she say she has a lot of perqs in store for us if we pull this off?"

"Can I pass the money and ask for Diya sessions as my fee?" Varun said smugly.

"Trust me Varun; you will not repent that decision. But I don't think Amin will like that very much," Fahran said laughing, referring to the Managing Partner of the firm.

"That bastard talks only money all the time.

81

We better get going before he catches us goofing around."

They walked out of the conference hall and made their way to their cabins. It was winter time in Delhi, and it was bitterly cold outside. They were happy that they were in the controlled confines of their plush office at Noida, and not out there on the streets experiencing the terrible weather, breathing polluted air.

"Who is working with you on this case?" Varun asked Fahran when they reached his office.

"Mallika Roy. She has expertise in biology, patents and plant varieties.

Also, she is great to work with."

"Does she offer special services like Diya?"

"No, No. Not a chance

She will give you sleepless nights in another way. Mallika is the best devil's advocate I have worked with so far. With her around, you will have very little surprises during the trial."

"Good. All the very best Fahran.

You have a lot to do. Let me know if you need any assistance.

As you know, I am a frog in the well and can only handle civil Court proceedings like trade secrets.

However, if there is anything I can help with, I will be happy to assist."

Bidding good bye to his long time law school friend, Fahran walked to his office at the end of the corridor. He thought about all the shocks and twists in the Alaya Pharma case so far.

First revocation petitions asking the Court to cancel his client's patents and trade marks, then a misappropriation suit claiming that his client stole trade secrets, and now, a benefit sharing claim asking for a share in his client's revenue and profits. It was quite a ride, and he couldn't help smiling about all the money he would be making from the litigation.

Like any other case, Fahran wanted to win this case also very badly. That would pitch him for a position on the firm's board, load his bank account, and hopefully, give him some pleasurable nights with Diya. Money, position and pleasure, Fahran had every reason to put all his energy, time and effort in the case.

A surprise was waiting for Fahran when he reached his office. Mallika was waiting for him with some hot news.

"You won't believe this Fahran. We will be fighting the benefit sharing case first, and some one from the Authority called just now," she said, swiveling around to face him.

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"That is hardly surprising Mallika. If we sort the benefit sharing claim first, the rest will fall in place. Didn't we discuss that yesterday?"

"That is not the hot news.

The Authority changed the seat of hearing from Chennai."

"What do you mean?"

83

**Chapter 38**

"Neo, where are you?" I said checking under the bed with my hands.

I could hear his breathing, and knew exactly where he was, but I was not going to spoil the fun for him. I walked away into the hall calling for him as I went. Like he always did, Neo followed me quietly. Well, quietly, according to him, because I could smell him and hear him breathing behind me.

"OK. I give up. You win," I said, feigning exhaustion.

Neo quietly nudged my leg from behind, and I turned around saying, "Here you are! Clever fellow!"

"Where did you hide this time?" I asked him sitting down by his side He licked my face to his content, and jumped in joy. When I had enough and my face was completely wet, I stood up and walked to the table. Neo waited anxiously as I opened a box and took out a banana. He snatched it from me before I could peel it, and went away to his corner to eat it in peace.

I don't know how and when we started playing hide and seek, but this has now become my daily routine at home. I wake up, brush, go for a walk with my Labrador Retriever, Neo, drink my tea and play hide and seek with him before taking a shower. The game has become a habit, and it has almost the same pattern every single day, but it continues to entertain and amuse both my dog and myself. We eagerly look forward to it every single morning.

The bell rang, and Neo was at the door in a flash. He knew who was on the other side, but I could only guess.

"Good morning Neo," Shreya said enthusiastically as soon as I opened the door, and hugged him.

"Hai handsome. Why is your phone switched off?" she asked me, granting me only a small peck on the cheek.

"Is it switched off?" I asked, giving life to my acting skills.

"Yes, Jose just called me. He couldn't reach you on your cell phone.

We are going to Kerala."

"Kerala? Now? I have an important case going on. I can't come."

"No My Dear, you have to come. You have no choice in the matter."

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"Why?"

"Because the case cannot proceed without you."

"Are you saying that our request has been accepted?"

"Yes, I am saying exactly that. Congratulations," Shreya said, kissing me on my cheek.

I was ecstatic and hugged her tightly. It was the first time the Authority had agreed to such a request, and I was making history.

85

**Chapter 39**

The cool, fresh breeze felt good, very good on my face. Standing at the brow of the mountain with Neo, I enjoyed the rejuvenating environment. Shreya and Chila stood by our side, engrossed in deep conversation.

"This is really artistic. Do you know when this place was made?" Shreya asked, referring to the Court behind us.

"Our ancestors made this thousands of years ago. We have been maintaining it since then.

We meet here to make all important decisions relating to the welfare of the tribe," Chila responded.

The Court of the Dravidians extended from one side of the mountain to the other. They had somehow cut through the rocks to make a large hall, which housed semi-circular wooden seating, facing seats of the arbiters in the centre. Unlike in modern Courts, the arbiters'

seats were lower than those of the audience. They have to sit on flat wooden panels, literally on the floor.

"Why do your elders sit on the floor?" Shreya asked curiously.

"We believe that judges of disputes are mere instruments of justice. They are subservient to the will of people and laws of nature.

The seating arrangement reflects our philosophy. We do not give them any special importance because of their position."

Though the Court was amidst treacherous mountains and thick forest cover, the place was nice and warm inside and well ventilated. Shreya told me during our tour of the place that it was well illuminated and very well designed to protect people from forces of nature.

"Can you reach this place by any other route? This small piece of land on almost the top of the mountain seems inaccessible to me."

"No Madam, no one can come here by another route. As you can see, this flat piece of land is small and drops into a deep ravine from there. The terrain around is mountainous and impenetrable in all directions.

The only way we can come to the Court is through the cave adjoining the SanJeewani secret garden."

"Please call me Shreya, not Madam. Can't someone climb over those mountains and come here?"

"No Shreya, I don't think that is humanly possible," Chila said.

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For some reason, Neo was quite meditative and contemplative that morning. He sat quietly, observing the natural surroundings, and probably, filing away as much information as he could. I tried moving him from his position, but he just didn't budge. I think this was a welcome change for him from his city life.

...

"There he is," Jose's familiar voice announced, walking towards me.

Unlike earlier, he was no longer scared of Neo and patted him lightly before speaking to me.

"Arjun, we just made a list of all pieces of evidence and planned the order in which we would be presenting them.

Dr. Chandragiri and Maha Vaidya wanted to discuss the plan with you. They have come along."

"Why did you trouble them? Didn't I tell you to come for me once you finish your job?" I rebuked Jose.

"Sorry Arjun, he brought us here only after we insisted. Very sorry about the inconvenience," Dr. Chandragiri said apologetically.

"No Sir, please don't apologize. I would have come there myself instead of you coming here.

This is unnecessary trouble for you."

"That is kind of you, but this is no trouble for us at all. It in fact gives us great happiness.

Also, I wanted to personally inform you that all guests are on their way. Viran is bringing them personally," the Maha Vaidya said, holding my hand with both his hands.

The members of the National Biodiversity Authority had decided to conduct proceedings at the Dravidian settlement, and I was happy to learn news of their arrival. As most evidence could not be moved and properly presented, I had petitioned the Court to visit personally and see for themselves, and to my surprise, they agreed to not only visit, but to conduct the entire hearing at the location. Lawyers for Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma argued that appointing a commission to collect evidence and prepare a report would serve the purpose, but the Authority did not agree with them.

"This is the first time a Court in India has agreed to move out of the Courtroom to the place of dispute. We are creating history here," Jose observed.

87

"This has happened earlier, but this is definitely the first in a case relating to IP and Traditional knowledge," Shreya said to Jose.

"Are they walking all the way?" Dr. Chandragiri asked.

"No. They have been dropped at a clearing in the forest by helicopters, and from there, my people are bringing them," the Maha Vaidya said.

"It is a very short walk from the clearing," Chila added.

...

Five minutes later, we were in the Court, going through the evidence. Shreya and Chila also joined the discussion. I had to literally pull Neo out of his relaxed position and drag him into the Court. When we were entering the Court, he turned around and started barking aggressively. I had to shout at the top of my voice to make him stop, and later, had to hold his leash tight to prevent him from running out. He struggled for a while, but realizing the futility of his effort, he finally gave up and sat down growling.

If we had investigated the reason for his sudden aggression at that point, things would have probably turned out differently.

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**Chapter 40**

The Kshasa's arrow struck the mountain goat in its abdomen. He cursed for missing the head, and watched in despair as the goat took flight and tumbled into the ravine below. He considered himself a great climber, but the way down looked precarious and impossible.

He could see the dead, bleeding goat from the ledge, and contemplated for a while before making up his mind. It was a big animal, and his first, decent kill after several hunting days.

He had not eaten decent food for quite a while, and he decided to go for it.

Two arduous and testing hours later, the Kshasa reached the goat's limp body. He rested on a rock for a while, tied it securely on his shoulder and was about to leave when something caught his attention. Instead of getting back to the top, the Kshasa followed his instincts, which nudged him to investigate. He quietly made his way until the tree line, hid himself amidst the foliage and surveyed the area.

The Kshasa saw the two women first. From the white, traditional clothes she wore, he knew that one of them was a Dravidian. His eyes widened, and he involuntarily licked his lips as soon as he saw the second woman. She was wearing some kind of a dress he had never seen before, and she looked stunning and inviting. Gazing at the woman stirred his sexual desires, and he had to help himself to get his mind back on the job.

A few feet from the women, the Kshasa saw a similarly dressed, tall man holding a cane standing with a dog. The dog was not very big, but looked intelligent and sharp. For a moment, he worried that the dog might catch his scent, but the direction of the wind assuaged his fear. He watched them for a while and was about to leave when he saw the Maha Vaidya, their most hated enemy walk to the man with a few others. He wanted to put an arrow through the man's heart and finish him off, but he had only one arrow, and the odds were against him. The Dravidians had no guard on duty on this side of the mountain, and he reckoned that the Kshasas could catch them off guard if he returned with a force.

The Kshasa stood still, watching them talk and made his move only when they turned their backs to go. By then, the wind almost stopped and he was so excited with his find that he did not bother to maintain absolute silence. He was at the foot of the mountain when he heard the dog bark. He hid himself behind a rock and emerged only when the dog went silent, and stayed silent.

When he felt that he was safe, the Kshasa quickly climbed the mountain, and was on the top within three hours. He was excited with his discovery, and the weight of the goat did not slow him down at all. Once he was on the top, the Kshasa sat for a short while on a rock to catch his breath before he got going. By evening, he reached his village and headed straight to the chieftain.

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**Chapter 41**

The proceedings began early next morning.

"Mr. Chairperson, this is not acceptable," Fahran shouted at the top of his voice.

"Mr. Arjun is not only disrespecting the Authority by bringing his dog with him, but also committing an illegal act," Mallika supplemented feverishly.

Just before Arjun arrived, they had picked seats on the right side of the judges and were happily seated. Their peaceful disposition changed as soon as Arjun walked in with Jose, Neo tailing them. They were now on their feet, shocked and agitated to see Neo sit with Arjun right in front of the seats of the judges.

"What is their problem? He is a cute fellow and doesn't look ferocious at all," Natasha said to Padmini softly.

She was seated with Padmini on the left side and looked very happy to be there.

"But, isn't it wrong to bring a dog into the Court?" Padmini said, not sharing Natasha's opinion.

She was scared of dogs and involuntarily held Natasha's hand as soon as she saw Neo.

"Your Honour, I disagree with the Respected Counsels for Alaya Pharma. It seems that they are unaware of the new regulations issued under Rights of People with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The regulations state clearly that blind persons can take their guide dogs to all public places, including hotels, transport vehicles, parks, government offices and Courts.

Neo is my guide dog, and I have every right to bring him here," Arjun responded calmly.

"He will not harm any honest person," Jose added, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Fahran was about to launch into an altercation, when Jose cut him off.

"Take it easy man. I was just joking," Jose said laughing loudly.

"This is a formal proceeding, and I would like you to follow professional etiquette," the Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority, Spandana Rao, rebuked Jose.

Sitting by his side in the centre of the Court were Shiva Prasad, Mark Orwell and Arundati Nayak, members of the Biodiversity Authority, who would be taking part in the proceedings along with the Chairperson. An officer of the Authority sat by their side to 90

assist them and record the proceedings. Two constables stood at the back of the hall as security for the Biodiversity Authority members.

Dr. Chandragiri, Maha Vaidya and Chila sat by Arjun, and Viran stood at the back with three of his warriors. Natasha and Padmini were representing Ox Pharma, but except the lawyers, Fahran and Mallika, Alaya Pharma did not send any of its officers to the proceedings.

"I apologize Your Honour," Jose responded, bowing.

"Do you have a copy of the regulations that permit dogs?" Mark asked.

"Yes we do," Jose responded, handing a document.

Neo sat by Arjun's side, totally disinterested in the proceedings. He made a purring sound whenever he changed position to make himself more comfortable. Arjun reached out and patted him as the members of the Biodiversity Authority reviewed the document handed by Jose.

"We have no objection," the Chairperson finally said after a short discussion with his colleagues.

"Ox Pharma has no objection as well," Natasha said, standing up.

"But, what is the proof that this dog is a 'Guide Dog?' Shouldn't it be certified as one?

This dog doesn't look like a guide dog to me.

Unless proof is adduced, this dog cannot be permitted to stay here," Fahran submitted after reading a note handed by Mallika.

"Mr. Fahran," Arjun said seriously, "Neo is my Guide Dog, and I will not produce any evidence to prove it. You will have to take my word for it.

If you disagree, the burden is on you to prove why he should not be considered as a 'Guide Dog.'"

Arjun's strong and stern response took Fahran and Mallika by surprise, and they discussed among themselves for a while. Arms folded, Arjun waited patiently for their response.

"We are fine with the dog," Mallika finally said.

"Let us begin the proceedings then. This is how we will go about the hearing," the Chairperson set out the ground rules.

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Before the lawyers made their arguments, members of the Biodiversity Authority decided to visit the Dravidian gardens, caves and medicine preparation rooms, which hosted most of the traditional knowledge in question.

"Mr. Chairperson, I think the Biodiversity Authority is wasting its time here," Fahran said after they returned from the guided tour of the secret garden and the caves with inscriptions.

"What do you mean?" the Chairperson asked curtly.

"I don't think we are dealing with traditional knowledge here. Dravidians live in Tamil Nadu and adjoining states, and these people are not Dravidians.

How dare they call themselves the Dravidian Tribe? Do they even know what "Dravidian"

means?

No. They don't.

They are a despicable bunch of illiterate forest people with no morals and standards. They don't even know how to live cleanly.

Mr. Chairperson, I request you to please stop this traditional knowledge circus. They barely know how to dress respectfully; what knowledge can they possess?"

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## Chapter 42

The Kshasa Chieftain, Raa Kshasa, divided his men into three groups. Each group had around hundred men led by an experienced general. One group was to attack the Dravidian settlement in the forest beyond the mountains and burn them down. The other two groups would proceed by different routes to the home of the Dravidian Vaidyas in the mountains.

When they reached there, they would launch a simultaneous attack, and kill every single Dravidian.

The plan was simple, eliminate all Dravidians and any one else present, and destroy the gardens completely along with all materials. Raa Kshasa personally led the group that would assault the Dravidians through the seemingly impenetrable mountain cover. His group was constituted by the best fighters adept at mountain climbing. The young Kshasa, who discovered the mountain route to the Dravidian Court walked by Raa Kshasa's side, guiding his Chieftain through rarely treaded animal paths.

The Kshasa fighters walked quietly, yet purposefully through the forest. As their Chieftain had informed them, they would go down into history as the Kshasa fighters, who destroyed their mortal enemies completely. Their names would be etched on trees and rocks, and the forest people would talk about them for generations. They also had a lot to gain, more gifts, beautiful women and control over the forests.

The Chieftain smiled when he saw the mountains that surrounded the Dravidian Court. He involuntarily increased his pace, but stopped within a few seconds, raising his hand. All his men stopped immediately and stood still. They knew the signal well.

"Chief, it is the dreaded Dravidians on patrol duty. There are three of them," the young Kshasa reported quietly, after a quick reconnaissance.

"Call the captains," the Chieftain commanded softly, smiling in his head for the opportunity.

"You three will take your men and surround the Dravidians. You will attack simultaneously on my signal.

Finish them before they send out the alarm call."

The captains nodded and set of in different directions. Their teams moved like jungle cats on the prowl. When they emerged through the foliage into the clearing, they found the Dravidians seated on logs, chatting.

The Dravidians reacted as soon as they saw the Kshasas.

Noting that they were surrounded from all sides, the leader of the three said, "Arrow Head."

In under a second, they got into their well practiced arrow formation, the leader in the centre facing straight, and the others a little behind on his flanks at an outward angle. They 93

held a knife in each hand and moved ahead. The plan was to break out of the ambush, and escape. They would fight only if they had no choice. Those were Viran's instructions, and they would follow them to the word.

The Kshasas knew the tactic well,and were ready for them.

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**Chapter 43**

I was taken aback by Fahran's outburst and did not know how to respond. So, I did what I normally do under the circumstances, buy some time.

"What do you mean?

How can you even say such a thing?" I said dramatically.

Fahran fell for it and launched into an explanation of what he meant.

"Dravidians are people, who speak South Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. It is estimated that there are more than 200 million Dravidian people. They are spread across many countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan, and so on.

These tribals are not Dravidians. In fact there is no tribe called 'Dravidian Tribe.' That is a mere figment of great imagination and original creativity by this ignorant lot.

... "

I shut off and was thinking about how to handle this when Shreya entered. True to his loyalty, Neo jumped to his feet and dashed to her. I tried to hold him when he got up, but he moved very fast and I couldn't get to his leash in time.

"Hay Neo!" Shreya greeted him adorably.

She petted him for a while and was lost in her world until I intervened.

"Shreya, the Court is in session," I said when Jose told me what was happening.

"I am so sorry. Sorry, Sorry," she apologized several times, before taking a seat by my side.

The Chairperson was a dog lover, and did not mind the intrusion, but the other members were not happy at all.

"Keep your Guide Dog under control," Shiva said.

"This is very unprofessional," Mark added.

Fahran got his chance again, and he launched into his dog argument before I could speak.

"Mr. Chairperson, I am telling you. This is not a 'Guide Dog.'

See how it ran and played with her. It lacks discipline and is a great danger to all of us here.

You must take steps to restrain it."

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"Yes, that is right," Padmini supplemented.

"I think that is a reasonable request Mr. Chairperson," Arundati the third member on the panel said.

"I agree.

Counsel, why don't you tie up your Guide Dog to that pillar over there?"

"But, Your Honour ..."

"He will be right here, and you may take him along when we are done.

That is fair for every one. Don't you think so?"

The Chairperson almost pleaded, and I couldn't object. Neo had a lot to object though. He was annoyed, and he expressed it by initially growling and later squealing when we tied his leash to the pole. But, he fell silent when Shreya patted him and said something in an unintelligible language, which he seemed to understand.

Fahran got going as soon as we returned to our seats.

" ... Everyone knows the SanJeewani plants Mr. Chairperson. They are found through out the forest range.

The knowledge associated with these plants is not traditional knowledge and is not exclusively associated with these forest people. They are trying to claim something that is common knowledge among all forest dwellers as their knowledge. They must be prosecuted for this fraud."

"Stop that nonsense," the Maha Vaidya literally yelled, losing his temper at that moment.

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**Chapter 44**

Clubs, axes, and swords drawn, the Kshasas converged on the Dravidians. They quickly formed a strong shield of men in the path of the Dravidian arrow formation. Their plan was to pounce on them as soon as they were within arm's distance.

Understanding the Kshasa tactic, the seasoned Dravidian leader gave a command when they reached the Kshasa cordon, and the arrow formation changed direction instantly. They spontaneously reversed their direction, and swerved to the right, where the Kshasa barrier was the weakest. Slashing and hacking, the Dravidians broke through the Kshasa ranks and were soon out of the ambush. When they were out of danger, they broke the formation and dashed away.

The Kshasas started chasing, but the Dravidians were too quick for them. They swiftly ran through the forest path and were at a fork when the unexpected happened.

"Disperse," the Dravidian leader had barely uttered the command to split when a bullet hit him in the head.

The force of the bullet smashed his head, and his lifeless body fell into the foliage like a log. The two Dravidians started to diverge when bullets hit them as well. The sudden kills scattered the pursuing Kshasas, who either took flight, fell flat on the floor, or hid behind trees. It took the Chieftain an hour to re-group all of them and continue his journey to the mountains again.

The two men in military fatigues followed the Kshasas at a distance, placing their sniper rifles on their shoulders. They had just climbed down the trees they were perched on after ascertaining that their bullets had hit their marks, and the Dravidians were dead for good.

They spoke to the Kshasa Chieftain briefly before continuing their walk to the Dravidian settlement along with the Kshasas.

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**Chapter 45**

"The SanJeewani plant is a sacred plant of the Dravidian Tribe. Many of my tribe's men have given their lives to protect this plant, and the knowledge associated with it.

Since the Indus valley days, our ancestors have always considered the SanJeewani plant as the most important treasure of the tribe. It was originally grown in the Himalayas, and our ancestors brought it here when the Aryans were persecuting us. They had destroyed and killed every one except a small, elite group, which fled from Harappa.

They travelled through the jungles, and were constantly harassed by the aggressive jungle folk. They ran and kept running until Lord Ram agreed to defend us. It was only after Lord Ram and HanuMan's assurance that we decided to settle down here.

This is the official seal of Harappa, and it is being passed from generation to generation over thousands of years," the Maha Vaidya said, handing it to the judges.

While the judges studied the seal and passed it around, Dr. Chandragiri spoke up, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Maha Vaidya gave me an artifact made of the same material. I took it to my research institute, which all of you know is known for its advanced scientific research.

My colleagues experimented with the material, but have not been able to find what it is made of.

It is not made of elements we know, and some of my colleagues are still working on it.

I have some research reports here."

Dr. Chandragiri handed over reports of his colleagues at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research to the judges.

Maha Vaidya had not shown this seal to me earlier, but I could understand his circumspection. I got the seal after every one studied it and passed it on. It felt warm and heavy, and its surface had several points. Though I was curious about many things relating to the seal, I did not ask the Maha Vaidya at that point. Thinking it prudent to satisfy my curiosity later, I simply handed it to Jose, who returned it to the Maha Vaidya.

The Courtroom was silent until Dr. Chandragiri spoke again.

"The SanJeewani plant variety developed by the Dravidians is not found anywhere in this forest, or in any other forest. I have been on several scientific expeditions across the world, and have not seen or heard of such a plant earlier.

The wild relatives of this plant may exist somewhere, but no one knows about them. Even if they do exist, they do not exist in the form known, preserved and developed by the Dravidians. The Dravidians not only know these varieties, but have also developed various mixtures combined with other plant extracts, which produce astonishing results.

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The plant has anti-ageing, cell repair and rejuvenating effects unlike any other known plant. ..."

"But, we don't have anything other than your word to prove your fascinating theory,"

Fahran interrupted Dr. Chandragiri.

I have had enough of it, and decided to hit back.

"What the hell are you saying Mr. Fahran?

You saw the Sanjeewani garden, you saw the caves, you saw their dwellings, and you have now heard two accomplished men. And their affidavits are part of the record.

What more do you need? Holders of traditional knowledge pass their knowledge by word of mouth, and you cannot expect any documentary evidence. Whatever has been produced is more than enough to prove that the Dravidian Tribe is an ancient tribe, and holds precious traditional knowledge.

Your argument holds no water, and is utterly baseless.

Tell me, if this is common knowledge,

Why are there no publications about the plant so far?

Why is it that no one is aware of its medicinal properties?

Why are there no traditional or non-traditional medicines including the SanJeewani plant extracts?

Why is it that only the Dravidian Tribe is breeding different varieties of the plant, and only they know how to use it?"

I paused here for effect, and said, "It is simply because SanJeewani Plant, its extracts, uses and benefits are known only to the sacred Dravidian Tribe. It is because it is their traditional knowledge, and they have been passing it from generation to generation from thousands of years.

Do you get it, or is your dumb brain unable to appreciate this simple explanation?" I asked sarcastically.

That sent Fahran into a fit of rage, and if Neo had not warned me in time, he would have hit me. Realizing that something was happening, I moved aside and missed his blow by a whisker. Viran and the constables caught him before he attacked me again and forced him to his seat.

99

"You bloody blind idiot. How dare you speak like that to me?" he was shouting, when the loud voice of the Chairperson interrupted him.

"What is going on here?

Stop this nonsense, and get your acts together," he thundered.

The Chairperson gave us a short break to let us cool down before initiating the proceedings again. I went out with Jose, and stood facing the wind, taking long breaths to calm myself down. Shreya joined us with Neo, who was happy to step out of the Court.

"The wind is very strong today," she said, holding my hand.

"These are winds of change," Jose commented.

"Jose, you must stop reading that book of quotes while you are here," I said, laughing.

But, on hind sight, I think he was spot on with that statement. If not for that wind, I wouldn't be there to tell this tale today.

Natasha, Ox Pharma's Counsel, spoke when we returned to the Court.

"We agree with the Counsel for the Dravidians.

We don't agree with Alaya Pharma's contentions."

I was surprised to hear that.

"Why is Natasha siding with us? What is the catch?" I couldn't help wondering.

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## Chapter 46

"Aren't we out of range?" Sundarangan, the lead sniper asked Teja, the second sniper.

"Yes, we are. I am just using the telescope," Teja responded, scanning the area.

"What do you see?" Sundarangan asked, opening his bag.

"Lots of rocks, plants, and couple of streams ... Here is something different," his voice trailed off.

"What is it?"

"Some people just walked out of what looks like a cave opening. There is a guy holding a stick, with a dog. Ladies wearing modern clothes are standing to his left. ... "

"They are our primary targets," Sundarangan said, peering through his telescope.

"Bloody hell, there is no signal here.

Boss wanted an hourly update," he added, checking his phone.

"We lost signal long back Sundi.

Why don't you send a pigeon? Kabutar JA, Kabutar JA," Teja said, laughing at his own joke.

Sundarangan was not listening. He was looking at the Kshasas open mouthed. Unlike them, the Kshasas did not need ropes to climb the mountain. They were literally jumping from rock to rock like monitor lizards.

"Shall we climb down," the Kshasa chieftain asked Sundarangan as soon as he climbed to the top, pointing at the ravine on the other side.

"Where did you learn to climb like that?" Sundarangan asked, ignoring the Chieftain's question.

"We know this skill from several generations. Every child in our tribe learns how to climb before he is seven. These are some of the best climbers in our tribe."

"Wow."

"Shall we go?"

"No. Not yet. We will go when all is clear.

101

There are people out there."

The group of Kshasas climbed up, and hid themselves behind rock protrusions, waiting for the signal from their Chieftain to climb down.

102

**Chapter 47**

"We are not here to question the deposition of a great man like Dr. Chandragiri. We hold him in very high regard, and do not wish to contradict his testimony," Natasha said respectfully when the Court resumed.

I was impressed. Unlike most lawyers, Natasha was not denying everything mindlessly, and was agreeing with Dr. Chandragiri's testimony. But, I couldn't help wondering why she was doing that.

"Are you saying that you will not be contesting the source of your patents?

Your written statements state otherwise."

"Yes My Lord, we confirm that the source of Ox Pharma's patent filings in question is based on the Dravidian Traditional Knowledge.

We will be withdrawing those contentions."

"Good, that resolves the first issue in your case.

I am overruling Alaya Pharma's objections about the Dravidian Tribe, and their traditional knowledge. The documentation clearly indicates that their two patents are based on Dr.

Chandragiri's research, which is based on the Dravidian traditional knowledge relating to SanJeewani."

"We disagree," Fahran protested.

"This is not traditional knowledge and even if it is traditional knowledge, our patents are not based on it.

Dr. Zara Agnes is the inventor of those patents. Unfortunately, she could not make it for the hearing. We have submitted her affidavit for the Court's perusal."

"But Dr. Zara was Dr. Chandragiri's research student and came into possession of information about SanJeewani when she was researching with him. She in fact accompanied him during Dr. Chandragiri's last expedition.

We have submitted several documents to prove this. Those include permission to visit, issued by the State Biodiversity Board, laboratory note books, research thesis and academic records," I said getting up.

"But, these patents were filed much later, after she joined Alaya Pharma. Once Dr. Zara left Jawaharlal Nehru Centre, she joined the Research and Development team of my client, and invented the formulations and compositions covered in the patents at Alaya Pharma.

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We have submitted the employment agreement, lab notes, patent documents and other experiment related documents to prove this."

"That may be true, but that does not mean that those patents are not based on the traditional knowledge of the Dravidians.

The fact that those patent compositions include ingredients from SanJeewani plant extracts combined with Dr. Zara's association with Dr. Chandragiri is enough proof that they are based on the Dravidian Traditional Knowledge."

"Where is Dr. Zara? Why is she not here to testify?" Shiva asked.

Fahran did not respond immediately. Fahran and Mallika looked at each other, and the Court was silent for a while.

104

**Chapter 48**

Diya and Zara were on their feet as soon as the flight touched down at Washington DC.

"Get ready to run," Diya told Zara, pulling out her bag from the cabin as soon as she stood up.

"Yes Madam," Zara said softly, amused with her boss' sense of urgency.

They stood anxiously at the cabin door for half an hour, and hurried out as soon as the air hostess let them pass. They entered a bus, and to their dismay were pushed to its end as other passengers trickled in. The bus started when it was full, and stopped at the terminal.

Cursing the airline staff, they stepped out of the bus after every one left, and hurriedly made their way to immigration.

At the immigration check point, Diya and Zara found themselves at the end of a long queue.

Diya tried to speak with the security guard and cut the line, but he wouldn't allow them.

They waited impatiently in the slow moving queue for three hours before reaching the counter.

"Why are you here?" the immigration officer asked a fidgety Zara suspiciously after Diya completed the formalities and went ahead.

"On business," Zara said nervously.

"What business?"

"Pharma business."

"What does that mean?"

"She is assisting me with a pharma patent deal," Diya said, returning to the counter.

The security alarm blared as soon as Diya reversed her path, and three burly security guards surrounded her, held her arms behind her back and led her into a windowless room.

Bewildered with what was happening, Zara tried to reason, but the immigration officer was not in a mood to listen. He pressed the alarm, and passed Zara also to his superior for interrogation. The senior officer reviewed Zara's documents, asked her several uncomfortable questions, and let her go after independently verifying the veracity of her statements.

Diya was not so lucky though. She was made to sit in the cold room for an hour before two officers arrived and asked her to strip. They then carried out an uncomfortable bodily examination before taking her to another room for tests. Once that was done, Diya was 105

unceremoniously interrogated by several officers, who asked her many uncomfortable questions before releasing her.

Diya found Zara sleeping on a chair when she came out of the interrogation room, very angry, disgusted and annoyed. She shook Zara roughly, and started walking without a word.

Zara scrambled to her feet and followed her out of the Dulles International Airport into the snowing, chilly night.

"What about our meeting?" Zara asked as they waited for the cab.

Diya glared at her, animosity read all over her face.

"If not for your stupidity, we wouldn't be in this position," she said ominously.

"What did I do?" Zara asked, unable to hold back.

"Shut the fuck up."

Diya placed a call when they got into the cab. Like her mood, the news from the other side was also not too good, but she did not give up.

106

**Chapter 49**

When all was clear, Sundarangan gave the signal. The Kshasas climbed down in groups of five. Two hours later, all of them stood at the foot of the mountain watching Sundarangan and Teja struggle downwards. The contract killers were not seasoned mountain climbers like the Kshasas and took a long time to touch down.

The Kshasa Chieftain wanted to get going as soon as they reached, but Sundarangan and Teja were in no position to move. They rested for a while, drank the energy drink they carried with them, and ate some dry fruits before continuing. They made their way through the forest cover as quietly as they could until they reached the ravine at the bottom of the Dravidian mountain.

They waited there for a short while, and surveyed the mountain for signs of danger before starting the steep climb. Sundarangan and Teja decided to go first, and instructed the Kshasas to follow them when they reached the top. They were half way through when Teja's rope lost grip and slipped. A loud scream followed, and Teja fell backwards. He fell on two Kshasas, who were getting ready to climb in his foot steps. The scream tripled and persisted for a couple of seconds before everything went quiet, absolutely quiet.

Bewildered, the Kshasa Chieftain looked at the still bodies first, and then at Sundarangan, who was staring down with very wide eyes.

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**Chapter 50**

They took a break for lunch and the proceedings resumed after the members of the Biodiversity Authority deliberated about the submissions made by the lawyers until that point. To the authority's question about Dr. Zara's presence, Fahran and Mallika answered that Dr. Zara tried her best, but could not make it because the venue was remote, and because she had to travel out of the country at short notice.

"We have considered all your submissions, and do not think that there is any basis for doubting if the Dravidian Tribe holds traditional knowledge with respect to the SanJeewani plant. We are of the opinion that the plant, its several varieties, its medical uses and methods of use is knowledge exclusively associated with the Dravidian Tribe.

Whether they can call themselves The Dravidian Tribe or by some other name is not relevant to these proceedings. It is clear that they possess unique knowledge with respect to a biological resource known only to them, and we do not see the need to delve into whether SanJeewani's traditional knowledge is associated with them or not," the Chairperson said with an element of finality, leaving no scope for objection.

"But ...," Mallika tried to protest, but the Chairperson cut her off with a dismissive gesture.

"Let me complete Ms. Mallika.

Ox Pharma agrees with the conclusion, and only you have problems with it. Submit whatever you want to say in writing, and we will consider it.

Right now, we would like to discuss only what benefits you must share with the Dravidian Tribe, and nothing else," he added sternly.

"Much Obliged," Natasha and I said in unison, while Fahran and Mallika stood quiet.

"You may make your submissions on benefit sharing now Mr. Arjun," the Chairperson said to me.

One important phase of the proceeding was over, and I was happy about the result. The Biodiversity Authority had accepted without much trouble and effort that the Dravidian Tribe is an indigenous community and that they hold traditional knowledge. As far as I was concerned, the case had tilted in our favour. However, the case was fully won only when benefits reach the Dravidians, and I continued my submissions confidently.

Smiling, I started to speak when three things happened at the same time. We heard what sounded like a scream, Neo broke free and ran out, barking as he went and Shreya grasped my hand tightly, making my sound stop in its tracks.

What followed thereafter was utter confusion, chaos and carnage.

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**Chapter 51**

"Leave him. Let us keep going," Sundarangan told the Kshasa Chieftain.

Even the hardened Kshasa Chieftain paused briefly before leaving his men behind, and giving the order. Ignoring Teja and the two unmoving warriors, the Kshasas got going.

They deftly climbed up, using protruding rocks and crevices as hand and foot holds. They were soon on the top, swarming towards the meeting Court, where the Authority proceedings were in progress. Quickly scanning the area, Sundarangan picked a large rock on the mountain side, scaled it and set up his rifle.

Neo was the first resistance the Kshasas encountered. All the Kshasas stopped in their tracks when they saw the well built, growling dog running at them. Though it was small compared to the wolves they hunted, its aggression gave them pause. Also, they were not carrying their arrows and couldn't take the dog out unless they got close to him. They threw knives and stones at Neo, but he managed to dodge them very easily.

Noting the confusion Neo was causing, Sundarangan decided to finish him before getting to the others. Ignoring the constables guarding the Authority members, who just emerged with their guns drawn, Sundarangan focused on the dog. Fixing his vision on the constantly moving dog, he took a long, deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

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**Chapter 52**

A glance was enough for Viran to comprehend what was happening. Cursing himself for not placing guards on that side of the mountain, he gave the alarm call to his archers, and rushed to get the guests out of there. The judges and the lawyers did not need much convincing and Viran's warrior Dravidians quickly led them out of the Court, through the cave pathways.

Dr. Chandragiri left after some persuasion by the Maha Vaidya, but Arjun and Shreya refused to move without Neo. Chila stood by Shreya's side as she frantically called Neo to return to the Court.

"They will not move an inch without the dog," Jose told Viran, who was blocking them from stepping out.

"Neo. Neo. Come back. Come," Shreya was yelling.

Voices of Arjun and the others drowned under her unusually loud, panic stricken voice.

Neo, who was running madly at the Kshasas glanced briefly backwards when he heard Shreya calling. The bullet from the sniper missed his head and fizzed by his ear when he turned.

Taking another long breath, the sniper decided to focus on the dog's abdomen for the second shot, but to his utter surprise, the dog turned around, sprung off the ground and was gone in a flash.

To every one's surprise, Neo decided to leave the Kshasas alone and responded to Arjun's command as soon as he heard it.

"U Jump; U Jump, ... " Arjun kept repeating the command at the top of his voice.

Arjun had been training Neo to turn and jump for an upcoming dog show, and hoped that Neo would follow his command. As soon as he heard Arjun, Neo's involuntary responses got activated. He turned around, and sprang, sailing into the meeting Court over the heads of every one gathered at the entrance.

"All back to base.

Block the entry," Viran ordered, but the rock did not close as expected.

110

**Chapter 53**

Sundarangan took down the two constables first. They were sitting ducks and easy pickings for him. He then focused on the two Dravidians, who were trying to close the entrance to the meeting Court. They were well concealed, and he had to work hard to get a shot at them.

The first opportunity came when a Dravidian peeped out. He got a bullet in his head for his curiosity. Sundarangan shot the second Dravidian when he moved from one side of the entrance to the other. He was fast, but not fast enough for a marksman of Sundarangan's abilities.

With the Constables and Dravidians down, hurdles at the entry point were out of the way, and the Kshasas launched an attack on the fleeing adversaries.

"Take them to the Rahasya Margam. I will stop these buffoons with my men," Viran advised Chila.

Chila, who was fighting the Kshasas alongside Viran couldn't believe what she was hearing.

There were more than twenty Kshasas, and only four Dravidians including Viran and Chila to stop them. She blinked in surprise before making her move.

"Go. Go. Quick," Viran commanded, spurring her on.

Chila sped to Arjun and Jose, who were clumsily fending off a couple of Kshasas with Arjun's walking stick and a piece of wood. Shreya was standing behind them, and Neo was growling at a Kshasa, who was trying to get to her. The Kshasas did not see Chila coming, and she disposed them off without much trouble.

Once they were out of danger, Chila led them in a tight group into the cave passage. She took a sharp right and a left as soon as they entered. When they reached a dead end, she clicked on the rocks and re-arranged some rock fragments. A rock slid open without a rumble and she led them inside. At the first bend in the dark path that followed, she hurriedly gave them directions.

"Go and keep going until you are in the forest.

Take alternate right and left turns. The pattern changes every two cycles. Do not forget, every two cycles.

Remember, right, left; right, left; and left, right; left, right;...

I will join you as soon as I can."

Chila gave instructions and left in a flash.

"What will happen if we miss a turn Madam?" Jose asked, but she was gone.

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They heard the rock door close as they started their journey through the passage. Arjun and Neo had an advantage in the dark, and they took lead. Arjun used his cane and Neo, his nose to best effect. Arjun held Neo's leash, Shreya held Arjun's arm, and Jose held Shreya's shoulder. They progressed slowly and cautiously.

When Chila reached the meeting Court, all the Dravidian warriors except Viran were down.

Viran was completely surrounded by the Kshasas and fighting for his life. Daggers in hand, the Kshasas were converging on him, and Chila's heart fell. She knew that she was late, too late to save the man she adored the most after her father.

112

**Chapter 54**

His concentration enhanced as more and more Kshasas came at him. There was a never ending flow of them, and the fight went on and on. He ducked, dodged, swayed and feigned, before striking well placed blows. Some Kshasas fell with one blow, and others fought for a while before succumbing, but they kept coming. He could hear their Chieftain urging them on as he fought.

"Finish the bastard," Viran heard the Kshasa Chieftain shout, which was followed by a piercing pain in his back.

Realizing that his end might be nearing, Viran slashed in a circle, cutting a few Kshasas on the way and scaring a few away from him.

Chila made her move as soon as she saw the Kshasas converge on Viran. She went for the Kshasas, who were attacking Viran from behind and went about eliminating them methodically. She was quick, but not quick enough to stop a Kshasa from plunging his knife into Viran's back.

The response from Viran was totally unexpected, and she had to jump back to stay out of the way of his fast moving knife. As soon as he was stabbed, Viran took a quick circle slashing and cutting as he went. When Viran finished a round, Chila swiftly took a position behind his back, and said just one word.

"Venakaki."

Viran understood the strategy, and responded immediately. They moved in unison, clearing the Kshasas in their path as they went. They took one step at a time, Chila forward and Viran backward. They were soon at the entrance of the cave passage.

Once they entered the passage, Chila took the responsibility of fending off the Kshasas while Viran worked on the rock code to close the entrance.

"Back," Viran shouted, when the rock started rolling.

Chila jumped back, and the rock door slid close in a hurry.

...

"Where are the guests?" Viran asked as Chila tried to stem the bleeding on his back with a strip of cloth.

"They went through the Rahasya Margam."

"Alone?"

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"Yes."

"Why did you leave them?"

"For you."

Viran did not let her finish.

"Didn't I specifically instruct you to accompany them? Did you forget that if they take a wrong turn, we will not see them again?"

As if to confirm his prediction, Arjun and his group took a wrong turn at that very moment.

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**Chapter 55**

"We have to take this left here," Jose said confidently.

"No, I think we must take the extreme right. Remember, Chila said that the pattern changes every two rounds," Shreya said.

"We must take this left Shreya, trust me," I said, hitting my cane on the wall of another passage.

I have been leading them in line with Chila's instructions, and they followed me without question until that point. We had only two options at every intersection until then, and I took the appropriate left or right turn whenever my cane hit the wall in the front at what seemed like T junctions. Like true disciples, every one, including Neo, followed me without question until that moment. I knew as soon as my cane touched an oddly shaped wall instead of a relatively flat, blocking wall that the junction was different from the earlier ones.

With a simple, quick examination of the surroundings, I knew that we had four options at that junction instead of two. We were at a point where we had four paths, instead of two to choose from. Two to the right, and two to the left.

I was confused, and asked Shreya and Jose for advice. Their conflicting responses confused me even further. To make matters worse for me, Shreya and Jose were even disputing whether we should be taking a left or a right, and whether two turns had passed after the last cycle.

To add to my confusion, Neo started pulling me in another direction at that moment. From his enhanced sniffing and excitement, I couldn't help wondering what was peeking his interest. After a bit of contemplation, I decided that Neo's direction would be most prudent for us. I expected resistance from Shreya and Jose, but they did not object. To my surprise, they readily agreed. All of us trusted Neo more than ourselves, and went by his option.

We took the turn, and proceeded slowly and cautiously. The path was uneven and progress was slow, but we kept going. After an hour, we reached a large cave, which seemed to open to the world outside.

"This place smells," Jose said, looking around curiously.

"Oh My God. I can't believe this," Shreya said, scared and incredulous.

I stopped walking, and held my cane tight, anticipating danger.

115

**Chapter 56**

Neo barked, and kept barking. The larger among the two tigers raised its head and gave Neo a bemused look. The second tiger was facing them and did not move even an inch. It lazily opened its eyes to see the intruders, and its sleepy expression did not change at all.

A half eaten, unmoving wild buffalo lay by its side.

"Shut up Neo. You are too small for them," Jose reprimanded, but Neo was in no mood to listen to him.

He did not move from his place, but kept barking loudly.

"What is Neo barking at?" Arjun asked, holding Neo's leash tightly.

"Tigers! Let us get the hell out of here," Shreya said, pulling Arjun and Neo towards the cave's exit.

"Did you just say tigers?" Arjun asked.

"Yes.. Run now."

In response to Neo's barking, one of the tigers emitted something that sounded like a combination of a roar and a growl that sent them scurrying. They ran out of the cave into the forest, and kept running. They stopped only when they made good distance, and reached a clearing. They rested briefly on some wooden logs to catch their breath before setting off again.

From the clearing, they took an animal path that looked larger than the others. Neo walked ahead, sniffing and guiding them as he went.

"I am scared. Won't they chase us?" Jose asked, shivering as he walked.

"No. They won't. Don't worry," Arjun said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Shreya asked curiously.

She was also scared, but not as scared as Jose.

"For two reasons. They are not man-eaters, and they don't eat unless they are hungry.

They wouldn't have let us go if they were man-eaters and were hungry."

"Really? I saw a half eaten buffalo in the cave.

To our good luck, I think they just had their lunch. Else, they would have given us a serious thought," Jose said, laughing nervously.

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"How do you know all this?" Shreya asked.

"I learned these from Jim Corbett's books when I was a kid."

"From books? What if the author is wrong?"

"I don't think old Jim is wrong. He had enough tiger hunting experience, and I trust him."

"You talk as if he is your friend."

"He would have made a great friend if he was alive."

Something caught Neo's interest at that moment and he increased his pace. Following him, they walked fast for a few paces before freezing in fear and shock all over again.

"What is the problem?" Arjun asked.

"There is a body here. Looks like a Dravidian," Jose said, trembling.

"What do we do now?" Shreya asked, holding Arjun's hand.

"Blow the whistle," Jose said, taking out the whistle he always carried with him.

He blew it several times before they could react to his proposal.

"Stop it," Shreya yelled, snatching it from him.

"You may attract unwanted attention."

As soon as Jose blew the whistle, Neo turned to his left and started barking. Few seconds later, they heard something coming their way through the thick foliage.

117

**Chapter 57**

"Are you in love with Mr. Andrew?" Zara asked Diya as the cab raced through the empty, early morning roads.

"Hell No. He is just a sleeping partner.

Andrew invested in Alaya, and we enjoy casual sex whenever we meet."

"Really! Don't you like him?"

"Yes, I do. But only in bed, and not beyond that.

Besides, he is married and off love limits."

"I admire your approach to life," Zara said as the car screeched to a halt.

"Good to know that.

You follow the script now, and everything will be alright. Andrew had to pull several strings to fix this meeting again, and we don't want to screw this up.

As you know, time is of essence in this transaction. We must make our money before the Dravidians and the Biodiversity Authority realize what we are doing."

"Sure, I will do my best."

"I want everything, not just your best," Diya said as they stepped into the plush Washington office of TheraPlanz, the leading BioPharma Company in United States.

"I will give you fifteen minutes to convince me," the CEO of TheraPlanz, Steve Gates said tersely as soon as he entered the conference room.

"Sure. I am grateful for your time," Diya responded, bringing forth her charming, seductive smile that had helped her strike many deals in the past.

118

**Chapter 58**

"The SanJeewani Patents you hold look promising, but your financial terms are very unusual.

You are asking me to pay you hundred million dollars for transferring patent rights across the world except India. The amount does not seem unreasonable, but there is a process for acquiring patents in our company.

The patents dove tail well into our product portfolio, but we must carry out appropriate due diligence, valuation and several other steps before we acquire these patents.

It can't happen in fifteen days."

"Sir, we have received drug approval for two of these products, and have independent reports from renowned patent and consulting firms about the value of our patents.

We have patent search reports, Freedom to Operate reports, market assessment reports, and even valuation reports in here," Zara said, handing over a large file to Andrew.

"You will note that these reports have been prepared by the firms you work with, KPMG, Invenomics and Boston IP Group," Diya added.

"I am impressed. We will need some time to review and verify these documents," Andrew said, handing over the file to his IP Counsel.

Fourteen hours later, Andrew returned to the conference hall again. After receiving inputs from his IP Counsel and strategy team, he cancelled his appointments for the day. Andrew was a shrewd business man, and caught opportunities with both hands when they knocked on his door.

"I will take your offer on one condition," Andrew said without preamble.

"You must give me indemnity for validity of these patents. You will return my money and pay for my losses and expenses with interest if there are any issues with these patents.

Also, you will place your company's shares as security for the transaction."

"Agreed. But, on one condition," Diya said, smiling sheepishly.

"What is it?"

"Can we sign the deal today itself?"

"Yes, that is what we want as well. But, it will take a week to transfer the funds."

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"That is not a problem.

I will leave the holding company's Swiss Bank account details with your finance team."

"That was easy," Diya said when they walked out.

"Yes. You planned this well.

What if the Dravidians win the case? Don't we have to share these funds with them?"

"No. We will not need to do that.

The holding company, which currently holds the priority patents, is in Florida, out of bounds of the Indian law. They can't enforce their order on that company easily.

Besides, the money in the Swiss Bank account cannot be touched."

"But, what if the Court holds the transfer of patents from the Indian company to the holding company invalid?"

"That is hardly a problem because we never transferred anything from the Indian company.

We did it the other way around. Our holding company is the owner of all patents.

Alaya Pharma in India holds only Indian Patents as of now. I am happy to let those patents go, if it comes to that. But, I don't think it will come to that.

Indian officials can be persuaded to toe our line in many different ways. I have asked my team to take one of the easier, cost effective and error free methods to persuade the Biodiversity Authority members and silence the Dravidians. By now, they would have done the job."

"Great. When can I expect my share of the money?"

"All in good time. All in good time," Diya said, picking her phone to place a call to Andrew.

They had accomplished the impossible, and it was now time for some unrestricted pleasure.

The task of dispensing with Zara remained, but Diya decided to deal with that later.

"Would you like to join us tonight?" Diya asked Zara conspiratorially after her call with Andrew.

"I ... am not ..."

"Come on Zara. Don't be a spoil sport.

You must let go once in a while. It is time for three of us to get together, and celebrate."

120

121

**Chapter 59**

"Run guys. Run," Jose said, turning around and taking flight.

Neo was pulling Arjun in the opposite direction, and he found it very difficult to control him. Shreya had to come to his rescue to hold Neo back. Grasping Neo's leash tight, they stayed where they were, and did not follow the running Jose.

Jose had barely covered fifty metres when they emerged onto the pathway. They surrounded him and blocked his way completely. All of them were armed to the teeth, and wore a serious expression.

"Sir, you must come with us," the leader of the group said to a panting Jose.

"Yes. Please get us out of this dreaded forest," Jose said to the Dravidian warrior, relaxing.

Jose was relieved to see the Dravidians instead of the Kshasas. He had not seen the leader earlier, but felt confident about trusting them. Their eyes carried concern and sincerity, and the mention of Dr. Chandraagiri and the Maha Vaidya was enough to clear any lingering doubts from his mind.

"My friends are over there," he said, pointing in Arjun's direction.

The Dravidians whisked them away to safety immediately. It was not easy to keep Neo quiet as they traversed through a maze of animal paths, but they managed to reach the Dravidian safe house without incident.

"I hope all of you are alright," the Maha Vaidya said as soon as he saw them enter the cave.

"Yes Sir. We escaped without a scratch," Jose said happily.

"How about the others Sir. Are they safe?" Arjun asked.

"Yes, all the judges and lawyers are here. They are disturbed with what happened, but are now out of shock. They are taking rest.

I am glad to see that you are fine," Dr. Chandragiri said, holding Arjun's hand.

"How about Chila and the other Dravidians?" Shreya asked, sitting down on a wooden platform.

Neo settled down by her side and started licking her feet.

"The Kshasas attacked us from different directions. We managed to fend them off, but lost many of our men.

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Viran is grievously injured, and Chila is tending to him," the Maha Vaidya responded ruefully.

"Will he be alright?"

"I hope so," the Maha Vaidya said uncertainly.

Then, changing the topic, he said, "You people do not have to worry any more. This cave is fortified from all directions, and our warriors are keeping strict vigil.

Please pardon me for letting you down. We failed in our duty of protecting you.

It will not happen again. We ..."

A loud, flapping sound interrupted the Maha Vaidya, and every one in the cave went silent.

"Danger is coming our way.

We are closing the cave. Please do not step out until we give the signal," a Dravidian warrior instructed before rushing out.

As soon as he left, another Dravidian shut the rock entrance, leaving no sign of their presence for the outside world.

123

**Chapter 60**

The Kshasas lost many lives, and their Chieftain was grievously injured, but they did not give up.

"Break that bloody wall," Sundarangan ordered, taking command of them.

The Kshasas tried pushing, breaking and everything they could, but the rock blocking the passage did not budge. All they could accomplish after an hour's hard work was chip the rock surface slightly. Frustrated, Sundarangan aimed and shot continuously at the centre of the rock. One of the bullets ricocheted off the rock and hit a Kshasa, killing him instantly.

The Kshasas protested and requested him to stop, but Sundarangan just shoved them away.

He kept shooting and stopped only when one of the rebounding bullets came dangerously close to his head.

After all their efforts failed, Sundarangan and the Kshasas gave up their pursuit of the Dravidians, and slowly made their way out of the meeting Court to the brow of the mountain. They were preparing to climb down to leave when the Dravidians struck.

The specially skilled group of Dravidian warriors responded instantly to Viran's emergency call for help. They were stationed on the other side of the mountains and had to climb vertically to approach the meeting Court. Following the tough climb, the Dravidian group was on its way down the mountain when they spotted the Kshasas coming out of the meeting Court.

"Arrows.

Leave no one," the Dravidian captain gave the command as soon as he saw the Kshasas.

The Dravidians positioned their bows and let loose. The arrows flew, and within a minute, all Kshasas, including Sundarangan, were dead men. Ten minutes later, the Dravidians reached the area and reviewed the carnage. No one was breathing, and the leader gave the order to dispense. They picked Sundarangan's gun and other gadgets before getting to the corpses.

Then, they flung the bodies into the ravine unceremoniously. In line with their custom, the dead Kshasas would be fodder for the wolves and vultures. While the Dravidians were disposing the bodies, the captain surveyed the meeting Court and gave the all clear signal for them to enter.

124

**Chapter 61**

Unable to spot anything other than rocks, the helicopter hovered over the mountain for a long while. The pilot was getting a strong signal, but couldn't pin point the location of his targets. He took a circle around the mountain, but found no sign of them. He asked his co-pilot to send a coded message and waited, circling the mountain.

To his utter surprise, a rock opened on the side of the mountain, and people emerged from what looked like a cave. His co-pilot confirmed that they were their subjects, and the pilot looked for a place to land. Narrowing on a clearing nearby, he descended slowly and expertly into the forest.

The Dravidians led their guests to the clearing, and loaded them onto the helicopter. The Biodiversity Authority members and the lawyers left in the bird, but Arjun and the others did not go. The pilot refused to accommodate Neo, and after a short altercation, Arjun and Shreya decided to stay back with him. Though Jose wanted to stay with them, Arjun convinced him to go with the Authority members and complete reporting and other procedural formalities.

"You take care Arjun. If I don't see you in Trivandrum in two days, I will return for you,"

were Jose's last words as the helicopter took off.

Arjun, Shreya and Neo did not return in two days. They stayed with the Dravidians for seventeen days. Though the Dravidians lost some of their best men, they did not lose their spirit. They bade farewell to their comrades respectfully, and returned to their routines.

Viran recovered quickly under Chila's care, and was soon fit to fight.

When it was time to go, Viran and Chila escorted Arjun, Shreya and Neo to the village outside the forest.

"Thank you very much Sir. We are grateful for your kind help.

Please forgive us for all the trouble you had to go through," Viran said to them when they reached the road to Trivandrum.

"Please visit us again, and we promise to take better care of you next time," Chila added.

"Don't be silly Chila. Your hospitality was excellent.

I had the best time of my life during the last two weeks. We will come and trouble you until you are fed up with us," Shreya responded, hugging Chila affectionately.

Shreya had spent lot of time with Chila helping her care for Viran, and they had become good friends.

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"You are very welcome. I will look forward to your next visit," Chila said, patting Neo, who had stepped between them.

"Bring this nut also."

"Of course, we are not going anywhere without Neo."

"Thanks for every thing my friends," Arjun said before they got into the car and left.

126

**Chapter 62**

This case was not like any other IP case I had fought before. A judgment in my client's favour did not mean the end of the case. I realized only later that it was just the beginning of a long arduous battle. Before I get there though, I will take a couple of steps backwards to narrate what transpired after that disastrous day when the Kshasas attacked us and drove us out of the meeting Court.

The National Biodiversity Authority was a committed organisation, but not committed enough to risk its members' lives. The Authority therefore heard the rest of the case at its seat in Chennai. Not surprisingly, my adversaries, lawyers of Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma, did not put up much resistance with respect to validity of the Dravidian Tribe, or their traditional knowledge relating to SanJeewani. I think they had nothing much to object after the Dravidians saved their lives by placing themselves before the Kshasas. Also, the ownership of Dravidian SanJeewani knowledge was irrefutable, and they knew better than to object on that count.

Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma however contested the IP ownership and royalty sharing proposal put forth by us.

"Your Lordships," Fahran argued, "SanJeewani is a plant, a naturally existing plant, a product of nature, which is not eligible for patent protection. My client, Alaya Pharma, is not claiming patent rights over the plant; it is claiming patents with respect to active ingredients, compositions, formulations and combinations of different active and inactive ingredients of SanJeewani. A team of more than hundred scientists worked round the clock to arrive at these inventive treatments for diseases like AIDS, cancer, diabetes and Hypothyroidism. The Dravidian Tribe knows nothing about these medicines; their knowledge is limited to only the SanJeewani plant and its varieties.

...

The patents Alaya Pharma filed are the result of efforts of Alaya Pharma's inventive activity, and it holds the patents exclusively. The Dravidians cannot claim any rights over these patents simply because they have not invented anything claimed in the patents."

Natasha from Ox Pharma also presented very forceful arguments about the ownership of its patents.

" ... My Lord, if you take an extract of the SanJeewani plant to the laboratory and break it down, you will find that it has one thousand and twenty-three ingredients. Which one of these ingredients works, and among those which actually work, which of the ingredients are useful to treat a particular disease? The answer to these questions requires ingenious selection, inventive experimentation and extensive studies.

My Lord, Ox Pharma's Research and Development team found the answers and accomplished the impossible. They not only found specific ingredients and their 127

combinations that work for certain viral infections and nerve disorders, but also prepared compositions and combinations with other novel compounds to produce enhanced, synergistic effect. In other words, Your Lordship, my client's team has developed medicines that are beyond recognition by the Dravidians, and that are several leaps ahead of the Dravidian knowledge and also, Dr. Chandragiri's research work on SanJeewani.

Asking for patent ownership over Ox Pharma's patents is nothing but asking this Honourable Authority to exploit, pilfer and pillage hard-earned property of some one else. ..."

The Authority seemed convinced with their arguments, and I had to use all my skill to rebut them. I responded strongly, emotionally and philosophically to turn the Authority members to my side.

Standing up, I said emphatically, "We have had enough of these cut throat, exploitative tactics Your Honour. Biodiversity law, like many other similar laws, has been promulgated to preserve life, diversity of life; not just human life, but also plant and animal life.

Respect, Your Honour, Respect is the key to preserve life. Respect for nature, Respect for beings and Respect for knowledge. Everything we need is out there Your Honour, it is there in nature. Solutions to all problems and cure for all diseases and disorders are out there in nature. But, we do not know how to unlock it."

I had their attention, and I ploughed forward aggressively.

Pausing for effect, I continued, "Your Honour, every bit of knowledge we unlock is precious. It is precious because it unravels the world around us, it helps us take a step into the unknown, it moves us a step closer to nature.

The Dravidians have not only unlocked a precious piece of knowledge that can revolutionize medical science, but are also willing to share every bit of knowledge they possess for the benefit of one and all.

What are they asking in return Your Honour?

Nothing. Nothing for themselves."

Once again, I stopped to let this sink in before proceeding.

"All they are asking for is a system that ensures that the knowledge is used for altruistic, and not selfish ends. They want to ensure that their knowledge is put to good use for benefit of all.

Is that wrong? Is that unreasonable? Is that impossible?

No. Not at all," I said loudly and dramatically.

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No one spoke. There was pin drop silence in the room.

"Your Honour, The Dravidian knowledge Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma wish to capitalize on is just the tip of the ice berg Your Honour. The Dravidians are in possession of a lot more knowledge than you can imagine. The garden you have seen and caves you visited are mere representations of what they hold.

If what little they have shared can produce such astounding results for many untreatable diseases, imagine what the entire knowledge they hold can offer to human kind.

This case is not about a bunch of patents and their ownership, it is about unlocking knowledge held by the Dravidians, and using it for the benefit of all life on earth. To accomplish that, this Authority must see beyond the present, it must see beyond one instance, it must see beyond the patents. It must establish a sustainable mechanism that will utilize the Dravidian knowledge for hundreds of years for the benefit of all forms of life.

This Authority must set an example that will form the benchmark for the future of traditional knowledge and will pave the path for traditional knowledge law and management across the world. The world must stand up and applaud this Authority's decision Your Honour."

Now, I played on their emotions before getting to what I had in mind.

"The Dravidians are selfless people Your Honour. They are always ready to give their lives for others. All of you saw that for yourselves.

They saved our lives, all our lives. Several Dravidians died in the fight, but we are still alive. We are alive because they saved us.

All I am asking for is to give them an opportunity to save more lives by putting their knowledge to good use."

"What do you propose Mr. Arjun?" the chairperson asked.

"Your Honour, I propose ..."

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**Chapter 63**

The Authority heard me patiently, and initiated the process of negotiation. They ruled that the patents must he jointly owned by Dravidians and the pharma companies, which helped our bargaining position substantially and forced Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma to negotiate a deal. The negotiation was long drawn and tough, but Shreya, Jose and I finally managed to get, what I feel is a good deal for the Dravidians. As per the deal, they would not only get commercial benefits from intellectual property relating to SanJeewani, but will also be able to control its use and commercialization.

After several meetings, Alaya Pharma and Ox Pharma agreed to set up a joint venture, which would include all stake holders to commercialize the Dravidian knowledge, and we agreed to withdraw all patent and trade mark revocation petitions after the entity was established. Within a month, a joint venture in the name of 'Dravidian TK', which will hold SanJeewani IP and commercialize it, was set up. Between the Dravidians and Dr.

Chandragiri, my clients hold sixty percent of the company's shares, the other share holders at present being OX Pharma and Alaya Pharma. All patents, trade marks and other intellectual property have been transferred to Dravidian TK, and we already have license deals, which are generating revenue for the company. The money as Dr. Chandragiri promised is now being used for the welfare of the Dravidians and preservation/development of Dravidian knowledge, culture and heritage.

Maha Vaidya is very happy that his people and the human race are being benefitted from the knowledge, and that the ultimate goal of the Dravidians is being furthered. To my surprise, he asked us to apportion a share of the benefits to the Kshasas also.

"They are our brothers, and we want to help them," were his words.

I cannot understand what this man is made of. The Kshasas continue to harass them, but he wants to help them. There is something about these Dravidians that perplexes my modest mind. They see life differently, and I continue to be pleasantly surprised by their ways.

Dr. Chandragiri is very happy with the arrangement. With his share of funds from Dravidian TK, he has set up a state of the art lab in the forest, close to the Dravidian village.

He is currently living with them, and happily chipping away at the Dravidian Knowledge in his lab.

"It is just a matter of time before we have the next set of SanJeewani products," he told me when I visited him last.

Viran has recovered completely, and I was not just happy, but also thrilled and excited to receive an invite for his union with Chila. They had no ceremonies, no rituals, no exchanges, their marriage was a simple hand holding before the guests. Shreya and myself enjoyed the feast that followed their union, and we are glad that the Dravidians consider us as family now.

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The end is not completely happy though. I was having my breakfast with Shreya and Neo when I received a call from Jose.

"Bad news. We got a notice," he said.

"What notice?" I asked.

I couldn't believe his words until I read the notice and did some research on my own.

131

**Chapter 64**

Natasha and Padmini were waiting when the CEO of Ox Pharma walked into the conference room.

"How are you ladies faring?" he asked, winking.

"Very well," Natasha said, standing up to shake his hand and returning his wink.

Padmini shook his hand, but kept her eyes down as she did so. She hated references to her relationship with Natasha during professional interactions, and consciously stayed away from any conversations relating to it.

"What damning news do you ladies carry?" he asked when they sat down.

"Firstly, Dravidian TK is doing well. Much better than expected," Natasha said, opening a file.

"I know that.

Do they have any new patents we can license and commercialize?"

"Yes, they do.

Dr. Chandragiri has filed three patents on SanJeewani compositions for treating diabetes."

"Excellent. There is great market potential there.

Did your firm file those patents?"

"No, we didn't.

They are working with BananaIP."

"BananaIP!

What kind of a name is that? What kind of psycho calls a law firm 'Banana?'"

"Well, they are damn good at what they do, and they are different from all those formal, uptight firms," Padmini said, looking at Natasha for support.

"How are they different?" the CEO asked condescendingly.

"They are one of the few honest and sincere bunch of IP lawyers. They are very selective with who they work with, and for some reason, financial gain is last on their list when they take up a project."

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"Interesting. How do they survive? On air?"

"No. They lead a simple, uncomplicated life.

They just don't run after money."

"Oh. That is an odd trait in lawyers. I thought they are meant to behave like sharks and not dolphins."

Natasha was now fuming.

"Enough of your BananaIP promotion," she chided Padmini before getting to the next item on her agenda.

"I have something interesting to report," she said.

"What is it?"

"We just received a patent infringement notice with respect to our SanJeewani products in USA."

"What? From Whom?"

"TheraPlanz."

133

**Chapter 65**

"What is the use of paying you so much money when you cannot accomplish a simple task?" Diya demanded, fuming.

"There is nothing any one can do about this," Fahran protested stiffly.

Zara and Mallika looked at each other as Diya's outburst continued, and Mallika knew from Zara's look that she wouldn't be able to come to their rescue.

"What do you mean you can't do anything about it?

You never felt the need to mention this when you were pushing for a hefty retainer. That day, you told me that your firm would take care of everything."

"But, the US Patent Office records every assignment of patent rights and makes the information available on its database for public access. The law requires assignments to be recorded and made available for public reference.

You assigned Alaya Pharma's patents to TheraPlanz and the US Patent Office made it available online. The Dravidian lawyer accessed the information from there.

How are we responsible for this?"

"That transaction was over before the Biodiversity Authority gave its order. How is that relevant now?" Diya asked, ignoring his explanation.

"Yes, that is true. But, you gave a representation in your settlement agreement and joint venture documents that the SanJeewani Patent rights have not been transferred to any one else, and that there are no encumbrances to the patent rights.

The Dravidian Counsel is saying that you misrepresented and that you are liable to not only pay the hundred million dollars you received to Dravidian TK, but also, pay the legal expenses.

We will contest it, but we have a weak case here."

"Don't give me that shit. Do something and make it strong.

I don't want to pay even a rupee. That is my hard earned money.

It is time to show some value for all the money I have been paying you so far."

Fahran did not respond. He did not know what to say. He sat quietly, nodding as Diya yelled at the top of her voice.

134

**Chapter 66**

I was not really surprised when Ox Pharma got a patent infringement notice from TheraPlanz for selling SanJeewani products in the United States. It took me just ten minutes to review the patent history of TheraPlanz's patents and learn that Alaya Pharma was the first owner of those patents. The company sold those patents to TheraPlanz while the National Biodiversity Authority was hearing the case.

"Did they think they could get away with this fraud?" I couldn't help wondering.

I sent a legal notice, but received no response from Alaya Pharma. Jose tried talking to their lawyers, but couldn't get in touch. We withheld Alaya Pharma's share of profit from Dravidian TK, and tried everything we could to resolve the issue before filing a case against them. Left with no other option, we finally filed a civil suit and also, a criminal complaint for their fraudulent actions.

Alaya Pharma's lawyers were experts at dodging these actions and responded swiftly to both the proceedings. Not surprisingly, they denied all our allegations.

"What do you think we should do?" Jose asked one evening, thoroughly frustrated.

"Nothing," I said after a bit of contemplation.

"Nothing? Why?"

"This is going to take a long time, and there is no point in taking any action now.

We are now in the bowels of the Indian legal system, and if Alaya Pharma wishes to adopt dilatory tactics, we can do nothing to close the cases fast. All we can do is fight it as it comes."

"It will take several years from here then."

"Yes, I am afraid it will, and I am certain that is what Alaya Pharma wants.

The longer they delay, the longer they will not need to pay Dravidian TK. Also, it will not be easy for us to navigate through the corrupt system."

"I can't believe we are letting them get away with this."

"No, we are not. They will finally pay for everything.

I guarantee that."

135

**Epilogue**

Three Years Later

The turning point came during a visit to the Dravidian settlement.

"We found these in one of our storage boxes. I was wondering if they may be of some use to you," Viran said, handing over a gun and a cell phone to Jose.

"This gun is of no use to me. I will not be able to shoot even if you point a gun to my head,"

Jose said, laughing.

All of us laughed with him.

"But, this cell phone may be of some use.

It is a Samsung model, which they do not make any more. Let me power it up.

Shreya, can you give me your charger?"

"Yes, only if you promise to return it. You have flicked three of my chargers so far," Shreya said, opening her hand bag.

Shreya's hand bag was like a storage unit with several zips and pockets, and she often forgot where she kept what. She had to perform an extensive search for ten minutes to find the charger.

"Please let me know if you find my pen drive during your quest," I requested her, smiling.

Shreya had taken my pen drive, and had been refusing to return it to me on the alibi that it was somewhere in the bag, and that she is unable to find it. She finally found the charger, but did not find the pen drive she had appropriated.

Though the phone was inactive for three years, it started up. The phone had shocking, invaluable information.

...

"Am I speaking with Ms. Diya Nambudiri?" I asked when the CEO of Alaya Pharma came online.

"Yes, what do you want now? Are you not happy with all the money we are paying the Dravidians for no good reason?" she asked curtly.

"No. That is not enough.

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You must pay up our share of the hundred million dollars you received from TheraPlanz within two days from today.

My colleague, Jose, will send you the bank details shortly."

"What hundred million dollars?

Are you out of your mind? You can go fuck yourself."

"Sure, I will be happy to do that.

But, only after handing over the evidence to the police. You will soon be charged for murder.

The contract killers you hired left a lot behind, and we can get you convicted hundred times with that evidence."

The line was silent for a while.

"What do you have?" she finally asked, her voice falling by several decibels.

I told her what I had, and much more than what I had. As proof, I sent her a couple of audio files.

Two days later, Diya called back.

"I received the bank account details. We will deposit five million dollars today, and the rest within a few months."

"Sorry Madam, all the money must be transferred today itself," I said sternly.

That evening, hundred million dollars was transferred into the account of Dravidian TK.

Money does not repay everything Diya had done to the Dravidians, and I didn't let her go that easily. Using our bargaining position, I forced Alaya into doing much more for the Dravidians. Alaya Pharma is today a friend of the Dravidians, willing to go out of the way for them.

Zara did not get anything from Alaya Pharma for her efforts and is now working with Dr.

Chandragiri again. Like the Maha Vaidya, he is another man I cannot easily understand. I couldn't believe that he was willing to take her back into his team despite her prior betrayal.

I am humbled, and continue to be humbled by Dr. Chandragiri and the Dravidians. I wouldn't be doing justice to my story if I do not admit before I close that this case changed my life forever, and I am today a much better person. I don't particularly recall why I decided to fight the Dravidian case, but I do not repent the decision one bit.

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