Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

38) Saugandhika Forest

"What made Yakshas believe in time travel?" Dushyant questioned the spiritual man, whose name he found out was Ananda Acharya.

"There are many secrets about the universe that the ancients had believed in; some of which we cannot even fathom."

"There must be some particular reason for them to have concluded that time travel was possible," Dushyant probed.

Ananda Acharya bestowed an enigmatic smile on Dushyant, "You are a persistent man. What do you think could have persuaded them to believe in time travel?"

"A wormhole maybe...."

The man laughed without restraint. His gaze seemed to weigh Dushyant with interest. "You have done enough research on this area. Haven't you?"

"So, is it true?" Dushyant persevered.

"And where do you think it was?"

"Yakshagni..."

Ananda Acharya regarded Dushyant with wonder and disbelief, "The river that has flown endlessly?"

"Endlessly?"

"Yes, without bothering about the changing times, it has flowed ceaselessly through the years. There is a story behind it. I will tell you later. First, I want to show you something. Come with me."

"Where?"

"Trust me, you will be surprised."

Dushyant followed the guru down the steps to a narrow path that led them to a dense trail. On their right side, they saw the range of mountains running parallel to them.

"See the peaks there? They were called Mandara Mountains in the olden days. Another tribe called Kinaras used to live there."

"I suppose the name Kinnaur originated from them..." Dushyant queried.

"I believe so..."

As they trekked deeper into the forests, the descending silence disconcerted Dushyant.

"Is this Saugandhika Forest?"

"Once upon a time, this was a forest where an exotic tribe, rare birds and primeval trees lived in great pride. The forest was so rich that other kingdoms fought over it. The Yaksha tribe that lived in the forest was loyal to the kingdom of Alaka. They adhered to the rules of the land and lived in peaceful harmony. But every paradise has a serpent. Here, a neighbouring king played foul. Not able to accept that his daughter was forsaken by the prince for a tribal girl, he ordered his people to set fire to the forest hoping that it would kill the tribal girl. What he hadn't expected was that his actions would be fatal to the prince too. As soon as the news reached the king of Alaka, he ordered the death of the other king; however, he had lost his son by then and the entire forest had been burnt down. In today's language, they would call it a failure of military intelligence. Anyway, coming back to this forest, let us go further."

In silence, they walked for some distance into the thicket. There was a stillness to the forest that was not common. Dushyant asked the Acharya, "Why is it so quiet? I mean forests do have their own cacophony of sounds. This forest seems frozen in time even though there are plenty of trees."

"It hasn't recovered from the tragedy that happened centuries ago. It lost almost all its children in the fire.  Days have flown, years have passed and centuries have rolled by but this forest is trapped in a time-warp."

"What do you mean by time-warp?"

"There hasn't been a single creature that has made this forest its home since the fire. They come and go but no one dwells here long. You know Dushyant... some wrongdoings are so colossal that there is no going back from it. This forest has been abused so badly that it has stopped being a home to any species. Look at the trees here. They are either taken over by weeds or they have stopped growing. Similarly, none of the birds or mammals or reptiles stay here long."