Chanakya's Chant ( Prologue )

Monitors beeped numbers and flashed graphs, measuring his vital signs.

Monitors beeped numbers and flashed graphs, measuring his vital signs.

Monitors beeped numbers and flashed graphs, measuring his vital signs.

Monitors beeped numbers and flashed graphs, measuring his vital signs.

His frail arms had been punctured with an endless number of needles and a tube ran through his mouth into his lungs.

His frail arms had been punctured with an endless number of needles and a tube ran through his mouth into his lungs.

His frail arms had been punctured with an endless number of needles and a tube ran through his mouth into his lungs.

He knew that life was ebbing from his body but had prayed to Shakti to allow him to live long enough to savour the moment he had been waiting for.

He knew that life was ebbing from his body but had prayed to Shakti to allow him to live long enough to savour the moment he had been waiting for.

The room was dark, blackout curtains having been drawn to block out the sunlight, except for the psychedelic illumination produced by the moving images on television.

The room was dark, blackout curtains having been drawn to block out the sunlight, except for the psychedelic illumination produced by the moving images on television.

The duty nurse sat on a chair beside his steel bed, dozing off intermittently.

Light from the television sparkled in the octogenarian's eyes as he watched the eighteenth prime minister of India take the oath of office.

Light from the television sparkled in the octogenarian's eyes as he watched the eighteenth prime minister of India take the oath of office.

Light from the television sparkled in the octogenarian's eyes as he watched the eighteenth prime minister of India take the oath of office.

Light from the television sparkled in the octogenarian's eyes as he watched the eighteenth prime minister of India take the oath of office.

Light from the television sparkled in the octogenarian's eyes as he watched the eighteenth prime minister of India take the oath of office.

The incessant buzzing of his three mobile phones brought his personal assistant, Menon, scurrying in.

The incessant buzzing of his three mobile phones brought his personal assistant, Menon, scurrying in.

The incessant buzzing of his three mobile phones brought his personal assistant, Menon, scurrying in.

The incessant buzzing of his three mobile phones brought his personal assistant, Menon, scurrying in.

The incessant buzzing of his three mobile phones brought his personal assistant, Menon, scurrying in.

The patient in the adjoining room was complaining that the relentless ringing was disturbing him.

The patient in the adjoining room was complaining that the relentless ringing was disturbing him.

The patient in the adjoining room was complaining that the relentless ringing was disturbing him.

The patient in the adjoining room was complaining that the relentless ringing was disturbing him.

The patient in the adjoining room was complaining that the relentless ringing was disturbing him.

The fifty-something secretary peeped into the room to see his employer lying on the utilitarian bed, his gaze transfixed on the images flashed from New Delhi.

The fifty-something secretary peeped into the room to see his employer lying on the utilitarian bed, his gaze transfixed on the images flashed from New Delhi.

The fifty-something secretary peeped into the room to see his employer lying on the utilitarian bed, his gaze transfixed on the images flashed from New Delhi.

The fifty-something secretary peeped into the room to see his employer lying on the utilitarian bed, his gaze transfixed on the images flashed from New Delhi.

The fifty-something secretary peeped into the room to see his employer lying on the utilitarian bed, his gaze transfixed on the images flashed from New Delhi.

He was oblivious to the cacophony of phones.

He was oblivious to the cacophony of phones.

He had waited thirty long years for this moment and was not about to let it be obstructed by phone calls.

Menon had suggested that the phones be turned off but he had refused.

Menon had suggested that the phones be turned off but he had refused.

I'm not ready to allow anything—including my own life—to be switched off before I've go meet his maker from his own abode and on his own terms.

I'm not ready to allow anything—including my own life—to be switched off before I've go meet his maker from his own abode and on his own terms.

I'm not ready to allow anything—including my own life—to be switched off before I've go meet his maker from his own abode and on his own terms.

The President was administering the oath of office to the charismatic woman.

The President was administering the oath of office to the charismatic woman.

She was dressed in her usual off-white cotton saree, trimmed with a pale gold border, and wore no jewellery except for a pair of simple solitaire diamond earrings.

She was dressed in her usual off-white cotton saree, trimmed with a pale gold border, and wore no jewellery except for a pair of simple solitaire diamond earrings.

She quite obviously had the text of the oath before her on a single sheet of paper but did not seem to need it.

She quite obviously had the text of the oath before her on a single sheet of paper but did not seem to need it.

It was almost as if she had spent her entire life preparing for the occasion.

It was almost as if she had spent her entire life preparing for the occasion.

It was almost as if she had spent her entire life preparing for the occasion.

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

With a crisp Oxonian accent she was saying, ‘I, Chandini Gupta, do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as prime minister and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.’

The doyen smiled.

It was not possible to be prime minister without any of these, and she bloody knew it.

It was only his opinion, though.

But then, the wily Machiavelli had always believed that any clod could have the facts—having an opinion was an art.

He chuckled and the result was a rasping cough, a reminder of his mortality, and the cancer that plagued his lungs.

He chuckled and the result was a rasping cough, a reminder of his mortality, and the cancer that plagued his lungs.

He chuckled and the result was a rasping cough, a reminder of his mortality, and the cancer that plagued his lungs.

He chuckled and the result was a rasping cough, a reminder of his mortality, and the cancer that plagued his lungs.

The secret service detail standing outside his room heard him cough.

They wondered whom they were protecting him from.

They wondered whom they were protecting him from.

A thin film of perspiration coated his head, the baldness of which was accentuated by two tufts of shocking white hair on either side.

A thin film of perspiration coated his head, the baldness of which was accentuated by two tufts of shocking white hair on either side.

He followed her movements with his deep, penetrating, all-seeing eyes—little video cameras that had seen and stored away the very worst of human behaviour in the gigabytes of his brain's hard disk.

He followed her movements with his deep, penetrating, all-seeing eyes—little video cameras that had seen and stored away the very worst of human behaviour in the gigabytes of his brain's hard disk.

He followed her movements with his deep, penetrating, all-seeing eyes—little video cameras that had seen and stored away the very worst of human behaviour in the gigabytes of his brain's hard disk.

He followed her movements with his deep, penetrating, all-seeing eyes—little video cameras that had seen and stored away the very worst of human behaviour in the gigabytes of his brain's hard disk.

His thin lips quivered as he gasped for breath, his hooked nose struggling to suck in life-giving oxygen in spite of the tube.

His thin lips quivered as he gasped for breath, his hooked nose struggling to suck in life-giving oxygen in spite of the tube.

His thin lips quivered as he gasped for breath, his hooked nose struggling to suck in life-giving oxygen in spite of the tube.

His skin had a pale translucent hue, like a rare parchment in a museum, and his thin frame occupied very little of the bed.

His skin had a pale translucent hue, like a rare parchment in a museum, and his thin frame occupied very little of the bed.

His skin had a pale translucent hue, like a rare parchment in a museum, and his thin frame occupied very little of the bed.

His skin had a pale translucent hue, like a rare parchment in a museum, and his thin frame occupied very little of the bed.

His skin had a pale translucent hue, like a rare parchment in a museum, and his thin frame occupied very little of the bed.

How could this diminutive little man be so powerful?

In the lobby outside his room stood a posse of political associates.

In the lobby outside his room stood a posse of political associates.

In the lobby outside his room stood a posse of political associates.

In the lobby outside his room stood a posse of political associates.

In his world of politics there were only enemies.

A clutch of newspaper hounds hobnobbed with the politicians outside hoping to get the inside scoop on Mishra's death before his death.

A clutch of newspaper hounds hobnobbed with the politicians outside hoping to get the inside scoop on Mishra's death before his death.

A clutch of newspaper hounds hobnobbed with the politicians outside hoping to get the inside scoop on Mishra's death before his death.

The old man seemed to be mumbling something, a laboured effort to get the words out.

It said, ‘ Primal Shakti, I bow to thee; all-encompassing Shakti, I bow to thee; that through which God creates, I bow to thee; creative power of the Kundalini; mother of all, to thee I bow.

It said, ‘ Primal Shakti, I bow to thee; all-encompassing Shakti, I bow to thee; that through which God creates, I bow to thee; creative power of the Kundalini; mother of all, to thee I bow.

It said, ‘ Primal Shakti, I bow to thee; all-encompassing Shakti, I bow to thee; that through which God creates, I bow to thee; creative power of the Kundalini; mother of all, to thee I bow.

It said, ‘ Primal Shakti, I bow to thee; all-encompassing Shakti, I bow to thee; that through which God creates, I bow to thee; creative power of the Kundalini; mother of all, to thee I bow.

’ He looked at his protégé—now sworn in as PM—fold her hands together in a humble gesture of acknowledgement to the television cameras... and then stumble backwards.

’ He looked at his protégé—now sworn in as PM—fold her hands together in a humble gesture of acknowledgement to the television cameras... and then stumble backwards.

’ He looked at his protégé—now sworn in as PM—fold her hands together in a humble gesture of acknowledgement to the television cameras... and then stumble backwards.

’ He looked at his protégé—now sworn in as PM—fold her hands together in a humble gesture of acknowledgement to the television cameras... and then stumble backwards.