RESONANCE (24 page)

Sardar Sarovar

The Joint Secretary,
overseeing the operation at Sardar Sarovar, rang up Siddhartha, "We have checked the entire dam but have not found anything that indicates sabotage or a terror operation. I think we should wind up the operation."

"Please ask the team to check all the dams on the upstream of the Narmada River and also the dams in the adjoining area. We absolutely have to be on guard."

"It's going to be the small hours. We can start it only after daybreak. In fact, I'm not even sure if we have any time left, if you say that the date is today, the 14
th
of April, because that day is already here."

"I'm dead sure about the date. But, the place can be any dam of Gujarat, if it is not the Sardar Sarovar."

When the talk ended, Aban, who was listening, asked Siddhartha, "How did you deduce the date and place?"

Siddhartha told him about the conversation among the four men in the yacht that had sailed from Dubai. One of the men, still unidentified, had said that the date of ultimate destruction would be the one when the great philosopher-saint Ramana Maharishi died. He also alluded to another great saint, who took
samadhi
in water to attain the ultimate nirvana."

"How did you zero in on Sardar Sarovar on the basis of this information?"

"Well, we had some more information. We learnt about the plans to assassinate the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Then, a consignment of semtex was dispatched from Egypt to the small village of Garudeshwar, which is only a few miles away from Sardar Sarovar. At this place, the famous Saint Vasudevanand Saraswati took
samadhi
."

"Did Saint Vasudevanand Saraswati undertake
samadhi
in the Narmada River?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because the unknown man in the yacht talked about
samadhi
in water."

"Now that you mention it, Vasudevanand Saraswati didn't take
samadhi
in the Narmada River. Oh my god! How could I have overlooked such a vital point?"The horror of the sudden realization struck Siddhartha like a lightening bolt.

"I know about a Saint, who took
samadhi
in the Bhagirathi River."Aban said.

"Who is that?"

"Swami Ram Tirtha."

"How do you know about him?"

"My father studied in Foreman Christian College in Lahore. Swamiji was a mathematics scholar and a professor in his college. He was a member of the Undergraduate Mathematics society. The society and all its members still revere Swamiji."

"So?"

"Even my father, who was a devout Muslim respected Swamiji for his mathematical genius. There is still a photograph of Swamiji in his study. He told me that Swamiji once met Swami Vivekananda in Lahore and was so impressed with the latter's philosophy that he decided to become a
sannyasi.
Swami Ram Tirtha went to a small town, where he attained enlightenment on the banks of the Bhagirathi. Swamiji also wrote a book on practical Vedanta, which won great acclaim. The people of the Himalayas loved to listen to his discourses and would throng around him every day until one day Swamiji withdrew completely from public life. He moved to the foothills and began to spend all his time in solitary meditation. A few years later, on the day of
Deepawali
, he gave up his body in the Ganges. In other words, he undertook water
samadhi
."

Siddhartha had been listening to the story intently. He continued to gape at Aban even after he had finished. He pondered for a long time. "What images are we using as the password to unlock the file Túpac Amaru II?"

"All three image passwords show catastrophes caused by unbridled water. The first image is that of the Banqiao Reservoir of China, the failure of which had caused more casualties than ever recorded in history due to water. The second is the image of a breaking St. Francis Dam of the USA. The last image is that of the deluge called Johnson Flood, created by the failure of the South Fork dam.

"Interesting! The first image shows a reservoir, the second a dam and the third a deluge, but all three speak of unprecedented devastation and all are caused by the force of water."

Aban waited.

"Dear god, Aban. Both of us have missed something that has been staring us in the face for a long time and is of such utmost importance that it can spell life or death. The fourth image that will crack open the file,"Siddhartha leaned forward and said, "… is the image, which adorns the wall of your father's study. It is Swami Ram Tirtha."

"Oh my god!"Aban held his head in his hands and ran his finger through his hair in exasperation, "I have lost count of the number of times I've gone into my father's study in search of a clue to explain the Mumbai attacks and his mysterious death. Every time I've glanced at Swamiji's photo, I have missed its import."A wisp of doubt crossed Aban's mind. Did his father really intend such unprecedented destruction of human life or did he at the bottom of his heart want to save the very same people he was killing, if he got what he really wanted?

Aban pressed the enter button of his laptop, which flickered into life out of its sleep mode. He searched for an image file of Swami Ram Tirtha on the Internet and selected one with 480X 360 dimensions. It had also the required size of thirty-three kilobytes. With a few manipulations in the Aperture software, he matched the colour, contrast, definition, hue, resolution, shadow, sharpness, saturation, tint, temperature and exact RGB numerical value of the new picture with the other three image files. The image with a perfect matching histogram was saved in the hard disk of his laptop.

Aban opened the mysterious Túpac Amaru II file and placed the three pre-identified image passwords on to the grid. With trembling hands, he dragged the last image on to the grid.

Open Sesame!

The flash player started showing an animation of a huge reservoir behind a dam. The dam collapsed and the resulting deluge surged and drowned everything in its path. As soon as the film ended, the mysterious Amaru opened up.

The details of the deadly plan of Tupac-II were now available in front of the two men. Everything starting from its initiation inside the mountain cave of Chitral, the film developed in the film studio of Mumbai, the procurement and dispatch of semtex, the diver from Plymouth and the submarine from Russia -- everything was as clear as day. The black hearts of the AIG, Somashekhar, Parag and Sundaram Iyer lay exposed for everybody to see.

Both Siddhartha and Aban had somewhat guessed the place where Tupac-II would unleash its fury, but they were walking a tightrope, which left no room for error. Their conjecture, although intelligent, was something, which was too little and had come too late.

Time was running out… …

PTV

A tragic travesty
comes up every time Western Intelligence reports establish a link between terrorist activities and Pakistan. Pakistan throws up her hands helplessly or sits down in complete denial.

One such incident was that of American born Adam Pearlman, who had inherited both Christianity and Judaism. However, in the late '90s, he converted to Islam at a mosque in California with a lot of fanfare and rechristened himself as Adam Yahiye Gadahn.

He also denounced Christianity. According to him, the apocalyptic ramblings of Evangelical Christianity were paranoid and hollow. Fed up with American liberal society, he moved to Pakistan and married an Afghan refugee girl. However, he maintained contact with his parents for a few years. He lied to them that he was a journalist in the Pakistani media.

Impressed with the ideology of al Qaeda, Adam Yahiye Gadahn became their propagandist. He wrote profusely in blogs, claiming to be a cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the al Qaeda.

A few months earlier, he had released a video, entitled 'A Call to Arms', asking Muslims to be prepared to play their due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam. "
Choose high-value targets, such as military installments and mass transportation systems, as well as symbols of capitalism whose ruin could cripple their economy. Rise up to the occasion and take action to clinch this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reap the rewards of jihad and martyrdom. So, unsheathe your sword and rush to take your rightful place among the defiant champions of Islam.
"

The anchor of the Pakistan Television Corporation News channel was also indoctrinated into the ways of Jihad. Adam Yahiye Gadahn had rewarded him handsomely with two hundred thousand U.S. dollars and an assurance from a top Air Force official that the government, including the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, would not touch him. All that the anchor needed to do was to relay a breaking-news at 08:15 am on the appointed date.

In the early morning hours of 14
th
April, the TV anchor received the expected phone call from Adam Yahiye Gadahn. "I've uploaded two video files to your media-server. The first is my message. Run it half an hour before the final show. The final show has a cipher key, which I'll provide fifteen seconds before it starts."

"I'll do it. Can I see your message before running it?"

"Why not?"

When the phone disconnected, the anchor ran the file.

Adam Yahiye Gadahn, with his cold look, started to speak softly, "My dear fellow Islamic brothers, recall what Mohammed ibn Abdullah preached to us. His call of duty reminds us to do everything possible to slay the non-believer…"His speech continued for ten minutes. The real tone and tenor of his tirade were reserved for the last few minutes, "So, dear friends, we have finally launched our holy plan to slay the
'Kafirs'
'the
Hindustāni
. The satanic
Hindustāni
Government will attack our country of Pakistan in retaliation and our coward government will turn a blind eye to their unpardonable crime. They are scared of
Hindustān
. So, you all have to rise up in arms and wipe out the enemy, using every resource that you have. My last and final call is to our valiant army. Brothers, you alone can save our motherland. So, roar like the lion and devour these goats…"

The message stopped.

Samadhi

"Swami Ram Tirtha
took
samadhi
in the Bhagirathi River,"Siddhartha thought for a long time. He rang up the office of the Deputy Commandant of Tehri.

Shalim Amār Khan answered the phone, "Yes sir, as per the instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, we have deployed the 108 RAF Alpha platoon at sensitive locations and secured a few more sensitive places by redeploying the security officials of my CISF unit."

"Anything unusual?"

"Nothing, sir. Everything is fine."

"Report to me immediately in case you find anything suspicious."

"Sir."The line went dead.

Aban overheard the entire conversation. He asked Siddhartha, "Does the date 14
th
April have some special significance?"

"Yes. Today is the
Mesha Sankranti,
a very important date for Hindus."

"What do they do?"

"They bathe in the holy rivers and offer
puja
to deities."

"Would you expect a big congregation of devotees or long queues of people at particular places?"

"Yes. We do. The Haridwar Puja Officer is expecting more than ten million devotees to visit the place during the day."

"Ten million!"Aban was surprised with the number. "Is it that important an occasion?"

"Yes. It's one of the most important days of the 2010
Kumbh
. It is said that bathing during this particular time will absolve the devotee of all sins and the devotee will then attain salvation."Siddhartha explained everything about the
Kumbh
to Aban. He asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. But ten million people gathered at the banks of one river and the location of Tehri Dam in the upstream of the same river seem to be somewhat connected."

"I just talked to the Deputy Commandant of Tehri. He is satisfied as there is nothing unusual at the dam site."

"I'm not sure, but let me access the simulation of my father's program again. I would like to compare the dam in the simulation with images of the Tehri Dam, the reservoir and the contours of the hills to find out if the two are the same."

"There is one more thing. We have another file named 'Their Mad Life' from the FBI. But it talks only about some surveillance of a dam and about some Simple Harmonic Motion of the Lake."

"Could you please repeat the name of the file?"

"Their Mad Life."

"Their Mad Life,"Aban repeated the name many times in his mind, trying to find some method in the madness. "Oh my god! Just rearrange every word. Life become File, Mad become Dam and lastly 'Their' is nothing but Tehri. So, 'Their Mad Life' is an anagram of 'Tehri Dam File'."

Siddhartha was shocked as the rearranged 'Tehri Dam File' mocked at him. He turned to Aban, "Dear god! Time has truly run out for us."

"Just wait a second."Aban once again reached the Tupac-II file and closed it. He double clicked the file to reopen it and dragged all four-image passwords on to the grid. The flash player started showing the collapse of a dam, followed by a Megaflood. He compared the flash image of the Tehri reservoir, Tehri Dam and the downstream of the Bhagirathi River with the Google Earth images of the same.

"Their target is Tehri. It is nothing else, but Tehri."

Aban immediately superimposed the simulation data with MBT, the Main Boundary Thrust in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap and other rupture lines of the mighty Himalayan Range. He did a few quick calculations and shut down his MacBook. He got up in one swift movement, "Let's go."

"Not you, Aban. I can't risk your life anymore."

"I have nothing to lose, Siddhartha and in any case, the issue here is much bigger than either you or me."

"What about Juhi?"

"We haven't been in touch for the last several months."

Aban's cell phone rang. "Aban? Juhi here. I have to come to you. We need to talk."

"I'm in Delhi. But I'm going somewhere,"Aban was too dazed by the events that had just unfolded to say anything more than that.

"I'm dying to see you, darling, but it will be sometime before we can reunite. My father and I are on our way to Haridwar to immerse my mother's ashes..."

Before Juhi could utter other word, Aban screamed into the phone, "Where are you right now?"

"About to reach Har-ki-pauri."

"Juhi, Leave the place immediately and go right away to Dehradun. Climb up the Himalayas as fast as you can and reach Mussoorie."

"What's got into you? Why do you sound so paranoid? And why on earth should I climb up the Himalayas?"

When Juhi did not seem to understand, Aban blurted out, "If Tupac-II materializes, nothing will remain in Haridwar."

"Did you have a bad dream? Will you please explain what you are talking about?"

"Go away. Run for your life."

"Aban, you are scaring me now! Are the LeT after your life and mine? I'm here to immerse my mother's ashes and I won't go anywhere unless I have done that."

"It's Tehri, Juhi. Listen to what I'm trying to tell you. It's Tehri Dam. The dam may not withstand the most devious conspiracy ever hatched in human history."Aban explained everything briefly.

"Are you in Tehri?"Juhi sounded worried.

"No. But I'm going there."

"Do you remember you asked me many times about what I wished for at Ajmer Sharif Dargāh? I declined each time since I believe that a
mannat
is never told to the person, who is dearest to one. But the time has come when I should tell you. I prayed to Salim Chisti Ji to bless me that even if I did not get you in this life, I would wait for you in the lives to come. I do not fear death as long as you are with me. I'm coming to Tehri."

"No. You won't. The water wall will wash everyone away, before they can reach even the doorstep of Tehri."

"Who cares when dad has permitted me to chase you till the edge of the world! I'm willing to follow you in the yonder world too."