Kabir and the Inky Indigo Seas

By Vinita Srimal Garg

"Kabir in his possession has a magical emerald green prism. It was gifted to him by Mighty Maya, King of Tataal. 

Kabir gathers that the prism is no ordinary stone. Once white light enters the prism the light breaks in to seven distinctive colours. Each colour represents a different land.

The Inky Indigo gatekeeper, Neel tells K

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: Nov 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9789360492618

Book preview

The prism-keeper

K

abir lay on his bed, fiddling with the emerald green prism given to him by Mighty Maya, King of Tataal. He lay tossing and turning in bed. Recently he had started thinking even more about the adventures he had experienced last summer. He was holidaying with his mother in Rajasthan when he had come across a speaking silver spoon. What unfurled post that was incredible. Kabir found himself in a magical land called Jamwant, only to discover that in a previous lifetime he had been the prince of Jamwant.

Kabir ran his fingertips lightly on the emblem of the twin snakes engraved at the base of the prism. It seemed only yesterday that King Maya had given it to him. He could swear that the prism was behaving peculiarly these days. Why just last night, he was certain it was glowing in the dark. His dog Hingoliya leaped and grabbed the prism in his mouth. Kabir made a dash for him.

Hingoliya no, no fetch with this …

Hingoliya dropped the prism setting it spinning on the floor. And as soon as he did so, the two engraved snakes came alive! They slithered out of the prism and started going around it in circles.

Yikes, snakes … help, Kabir shrieked. He felt his entire body go cold. Kabir was certain he was close to passing out.

Thick green fumes began arising out of the prism.

Ugh, Kabir felt suffocated. And then thankfully the snakes slithered back into the prism, but the fumes didn’t stop.

The green smoke fumes formed a sort of screen before him. On it appeared King Maya. Unlike his usual self, he looked frail and weak today. He was lying on his bed, surrounded by Tataalis from all sides.

Salutations King! Kabir said, folding his hands.

Salutations… Maya coughed repeatedly to clear his throat. Salutations to you too Prince!

Kabir was still uncomfortable, not entirely used to being addressed in such a manner. Mighty Maya was the King of the powerful underworld Tataal. Old and venerated, he had ruled the kingdom for centuries. When Kabir had visited Tataal with his friends Latooriya and Nimki, Maya had looked invincible. But today he looked frail and fraught.

How are you King Maya? Kabir asked, concerned to see him thus.

Mighty Maya coughed repeated, as if making an attempt to clear his throat. His crown slipped to a side. A Tataali nobleman surrounding him was quick to fix it, while another rushed to give him a sip of water.

I don’t have much time, Prince, my end is near. I have something important to tell you. Listen carefully. You are the current prism-keeper and the days ahead may be filled with peril.

Prism-keeper? asked Kabir, staring at the green prism lying on the floor.

This, said Maya, is no ordinary prism. He broke into a bad bout of coughing and kept beating his chest to clear his throat. Kabir, when I had gifted it to you I did not want to scare you and was waiting for the stone to reveal itself to you. When the prism-keeper allows the first rays of the morning sun to fall on the prism, the white light of the sun breaks into seven different colours.

I know about this, said Kabir excitedly. We were taught this in science; white light breaks into seven colours when it enters a prism."

Maya nodded, and he continued with great difficulty. Each beam of light opens into a different world or loka. Only the prism-keeper can enter each of these worlds with ease. The prism-keeper, like a Chakravarti Raja, is all powerful. Usually every few years, one of the worlds will need his help. But if he decides to help and enters one world, it begins a series of activities. Each of the other worlds will throw a challenge and he has to accept it, and finally return the prism to the last world or the Land of Red. This can be dangerous, especially the Land of Red. I thought it best to warn you…

Warn me regarding what King? asked Kabir.

I had thought you would be older but alas, your journey seems to have started early. The Inky Indigo Seas will soon seek your help. If you want to refuse, you can … none of this … none of this is easy… I take your leave. We will not see each other again. I wish you wisdom and courage. God bless you Prince!

Kabir folded his hands. But even before he could say anything Mighty Maya and all his courtiers had disappeared with the green smoke.

Kabir couldn’t make much sense of any of this. The prism felt oddly cold as he held it in his hands. He wondered what to do next. And then it struck him. He sprang out of his bed and reached for the speaking silver spoon. The spoon had been by his side ever since he had returned from Tataal.

Dear spoon, help me. What is this talk of me as the prism-keeper? Why does the Inky Indigo Seas need my help?

The spoon shook slightly before the words appeared in a cursive writing.

Put the prism near your window and ask the prism to reveal itself to you, Master. Good luck!

Kabir took a deep steadying breath. He knew he was on the verge of something momentous. He kept the spoon carefully in his pocket. Next he placed the prism on his window sill and said:

Reveal yourself to me, prism. Reveal yourself to me.

And then before he could even gauge what was happening, a strong ray of white light fell on the prism. The light split as it entered the prism, and seven beams of light came out of it. Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red.

The Indigo beam of light got bigger and bigger as it enveloped Kabir’s entire room. And then before Kabir could gauge what was happening a gust of strong green wind blew from the prism. The prism increased in size as Kabir kept clinging to it. He felt as though he was being sucked in to a vortex. He started flying with the prism deep and deep into the indigo beam. Gusts of wind were blowing hard, and he held on to the prism for his dear life.

As he travelled at breakneck speed surrounded with the green fumes, he could hear several voices.

Welcome prism-keeper!

Maharaja Jai Singh of Jamwant … looks just like his father.

Zooming through the air, Kabir suddenly felt himself plunging into chilly waters. He kicked with both his legs, trying hard to break free. He felt himself going down and down into a bottomless blue ocean. He gulped water afraid of drowning, and then to his great relief the prism stopped flying. He landed gently on the ocean floor. To his amazement, Kabir realised he could breathe. He touched his skin and it was slippery like rubber.

Hello prism-keeper, welcome to the Inky Indigo Seas!

Kabir turned around sharply. Standing next to him was a man dressed in indigo coloured clothes – a kind of wizard hat and a floating gown. He looked older than anybody Kabir had seen. He had wrinkled skin, a long nose and white flowing hair. A pair of glasses was perched at the tip of his nose.

Who are you? Kabir blurted out. And he sounded rude even to his own ears. Greetings Sir, but who are you? And how am I being able to speak under water?

I am the gatekeeper of the Inky Indigo Seas. My name is Neel. We are in grave trouble and need the help of the prism-keeper. Don’t worry, your skin is now like an amphibians. You can speak and breathe easily in water during your stay here Prince.

Kabir was amazed that the gatekeeper knew about his identity. He himself had only lately discovered that he was the erstwhile prince of the Magical Kingdom of Jamwant.

Please call me Kabir. How can I help you?

The gatekeeper took off his hat to reveal a bald patch of head covered with a white scanty blob of hair. He wiped his face anxiously with the hat several times. He trembled slightly as he spoke, Let me show you.

The gatekeeper stretched both his hands out in the water in front of him and kept pulling them in the opposite direction to each other. He was also mumbling something under his breath. To Kabir’s surprise, suddenly, as he pulled the hands apart something started to appear. Like a screen in front of them. In deep sleep on the ocean floor lay a young girl. Kabir stared at the sleeping princess. She looked like a mermaid. Her long hair was covered with small pearls. Her body was encrusted with oysters and corals. Silverish white fins ran through her entire body. Her white saree moved gently like waves. Her eyes were shut and she appeared lifeless. Her hands and legs were