"Hello." " Shankar..." "The new station master." "Glad to meet you Shankar." "I'm Mubiru." "Uganda Railways." "Jabari and Akbar." " Hello, Sir." "Hello." "So... how long have you been in Africa?" "" " Well couple of days only." "Why?" "I mean is it the... your job?" "Or the jungle?" "Both in my case." "I love Africa." "Beware of Africa." "Sorry?" "Nothing." "It's just a Swahili joke." "Oh." "I see." "Okay, I must move on." "I'll see you tomorrow." "Good day." " Good luck." "Thank you." "Bye Jabari." "Bye Akbar." "Be careful, Sir." "Beware of the snake and the lion!" "Shut up!" "Dear Mother," "I've come back to an inhabited area from the jungles again." "Shankar has come back to the civilized world from the jungle again." "At present he is staying at a hotel in the Rhodesian city, Salisbury." "He has grown older but he remains our wayward Shankar." "Did you get hurt?" "Hurt you hard?" "Why?" "You've only tickled me, a pleasant feeling." "Come on get up." "Shankar yearns for the twittering of the birds back in his Keutia's dusk." "Purushottam Paramatma." " Babel(father)..." "Yes son." "See what I've got." " What is it?" "Living-stone's diary." "Found it in the library of the Friend's Association." " Very good." "See!" "Ma(mother)." "Oh Ma." " What is it?" "Aren't you past the age to go swimming, climb trees, learn to tame horses?" "You're well aware of your Baba's health." "Deteriorating everyday." "This house is all we have for a property." "And some tiny pieces of land." "We're loaded in debts." "How can this go on son?" "It can't." "You've passed the FA." "Played around enough." "It's time you got hold of Atin and got yourself a job at the Shyamnagar jute mil" "I have spoken to his wife." "Ma." "Have you... ever heard of John Cabot?" "Famous navigator." "He was poorer than us." "But by working at a fish factory he made the ship of his dreams" "and set out to America." "It is important to have the drive to set out, Ma." "If you have the drive, you'll find a way." "Shankar never understood the worth of his homeland when he was back home." "Today he does." "He misses his neighbors and friends back at Keutia all the time." "You home?" "Who is it?" "Your luck's changed!" "There's good news!" "Look!" "My son-in-law has sent a letter to Bhadreshwar's house." "Is that so?" "" " Yes." "Please come in!" "" " Yes, sure." "My son-in-law has replied." "Probably Shankar had asked him to look for a job." "About seven months ago." "Job?" "" "Yes!" "Your son-in-law's letter?" "" " Yes!" "You can be assured that your son has found a job." "My son-in-law writes that he has spoken to his department already." "See!" "" " Prasad?" "At long last!" "God has finally blessed us!" "" " Yes." "May God bless Prasad." "Where does your son-in-law live?" "Africa." "Mombasa!" "British Africa!" "Africa?" "That is far far away." "Foreign land." "Will he be able to manage?" "Yes." "Sure I will, Ma." "Mr. Prasad's appointment letter that arrived from Mombasa... changed the very purpose of Shankar's life." "A clerical job at the Shyamnagar jute mill could've easily faded away his dreams." "Thank you, brother." " I am an experienced jeweler." "Inhabitant of Kimberly." "I know about diamonds, Shankar." "Come." "Abdu will take you to Nakuru station, alright?" "Okay." " Shankar..." "Here." "On his way to Victoria Nwanza through Kisumu in North Kenya" "Shankar saw his dreams coming true." "Habari za asubuhi Africa." "Good morning, Africa." "This is Athi river." "Full of hippos and crocs." "Careful Shankar." "We call kiboko, mamba in Swahili." "Mount Longonot... the 'Mountain of Spurs'." "Africans say... 'ooolongonot." "Africans call it, 'Iron Snake'." "Uganda Railways." "Habari ya asubuhi, Mr. Patel." "Badala yako imefika." "What does that mean?" "This will wake him up if he is still alive." "I said, your reliever has come." "Yes, Namaste (hello), Mr. Choudhury." "Dinesh Patel here." "Shankar." "Nice to meet you Mr. Patel." "Were you keen on taking up abstinence?" "That too at this age?" "No." "I love globe-trotting." "The spirit?" "Good." "I just want to go home now." "Here, Mr. Choudhury." "Your new home." "One train a day." "No work." "Come." "Your palace." "Your scepter." "And your kingdom." "Goodbye Mr. Choudhury." "Thank you Mr. Patel." "Kwaheri, Africa!" "'Kwaheri' means 'farewell'." "Plenteous salary." "The work was only to day-dream." "At every day's end only one train trotted that path." "Why then did Patel, give up on this dream job?" "A few days later, the only train of the day had left Shankar behind in the evening." "Hey!" "Come on." "Steady!" "Is there anything wrong, Mr. Choudhury?" "Long night I suppose." "Is everything in order?" "I hurt my knee." "Rocks or mosquitoes ?" "Lion." "You didn't tell me Mubiru." "Where's your horse?" "He ran away." "I lost him." "So you're going to quit your job?" "Like the other station masters." "No." "You help me out." "Well, what do you need?" "Protection?" "Gewehr 88 Bolt Action Rifle." "And an Irish field hunter horse" "There is an old Massai saying." "Foolishness first." "'Wisdom later." "His battled raged from dawn to dusk." "Severe scarcity of water." "But this was exactly the life Shankar wanted." "These unpeopled horizons." "These mysterious nights." "Skies studded with billions of stars." "The aroma of danger." "Now that is life!" "Uganda Railways?" "Ken ya." "What a country!" "I always said there was a mole on your foot." "Were you ever fated to family life?" "Listen, you must not discourage our son." "This is his age to wander, to make adventures, to see the world." "Highlands of British East Africa!" "Dark continent!" "But even in that land the moon illuminates the sky." "'Olapa'!" "The Massais call it the Goddess of Moon!" "She lights up the entire subcontinent!" "Have you read that book, Baba?" "'Man eaters of Tune'?" "" "Yes!" "I've read it, have you?" "Yes!" "These ill-omened myths!" "Coffee." " Thank you." "A Black Mamba!" "I told you." "Beware of the snake!" "Beware of snakes, Sir." "Got it." "Earlier too, two station masters have been killed by the Black Mamba." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Our job, sir." "Job." "They will throw us out if we tell." "Nyoka ni takatifu." "'Snakes are holy, men are not'." "Scared?" "Snakes are holy." "Not men." "I'm scared of you Mubiru." "Don't be." "Gewehr." "Bolt Action Rifle." "Here." "Don't worry, I'll show you how it works." "I appreciate this." "The field hunter horse!" "Stallion Mustang!" "The Bahati Escarpments, few miles from here." "We have supervisors there." "Friends." "Somalis, Swahilis, Indians, Massais." "I will send them to help you fight the snakes." "And lions." "You will enjoy the Massai dancing." "The next day, when he went to get water near Bahati, he heard a thrilling sound." "Piercing through the heart of the primitive jungle approached the Jihadi sound of the Massai people's Adamu dance." "Yes?" "Namaste Mr. Choudhury." "Shankan" "Tirumal Appa." "I'm from Madurai." "At the service of the British Empire." "Nice to see someone from home." "It is a real priviledge for me too Mr. Choudhury." "And..." "Carbolic acid" "You mentioned." "I'm from the Bahati Escarpment." "Heard about you." "You fought the lion." "Alone?" "I managed to escape." "'Sana Jasiri." "Very brave." "In Swahili language, a true Massai." "That's flattering." "We need to fence the station with Acacia." "The Massai trick to fight the lions." "And remember, don't leave the cabin unarmed." "The Africans say 'mwindaji au kuomba'." "Either you're a predator or a prey." "Result of a big forest fire." "It happens often around this time." "In another three months I'll be back home." "India." "And your job?" "I've applied for one in Madras." "It has been awhile since I've seen my family." "My fiancee." "She's gorgeous." "Yes." "I am going to get married this year." "And Africa?" "I'm closing that chapter." "I didn't come to Africa only for work." "I came here for adventure." "I'm done with it." "I've had enough." "Now you're going back to India." "That too not for the job." "For the girl." ""Ism?" "I too miss Ma a lot." "Everyday I wonder... you see those stars?" "That moonlight." "They get to see my mother everyday from Keutia." "But I can't." "Massais say, 'Olapa'." "The Goddess of Moon." "She's watching everyone." "From the onset of the project" "Uganda Railways is facing trouble." "Such as?" "Prohibitive cost, hostile tribes, man-eating lions." "The Massais, the Nandis, they have always fought against the white men." "In Kedong, the Massais attacked a railway worker's caravan." "Killed around... five hundred white men." "But why?" "Because two tribal girls were violated and brutally killed." "Such things are happening in India too." "Yes." "The geography varies." "But the colonial rule doesn't." "The colour of the skin, unimportant." "I'm done with my beer." "Would you like to have one?" "" " No thanks." "Wait, let me get a beer for you." "Tirumal." "Tirumal." "Hey, you left your rifle in the cabin." "Tirumal." "How can you leave your rifle?" ""Tirumal, where are..." ""Tirumal, where are you?" ""Tirumal, where are you?" "Get me Matiera!" "Fast!" "Shankar knew that the Massais hunt in herds." "They call it 'Olamayio'." "But he had never even dreamed that he'd become one of them." "He felt like an 'Empika' that day." "' Empika' means warrior." "They searched the entire day." "But could not find "Tirumal anywhere." "Within the laps of Africa's dense forests a young man from our India was lost for ever." "Shankar's only friend in this country, "Tirumal Appa." "Shankar could not control himself anymore." "Shankar could not control himself anymore." "He used himself as the bait, just like the Massais." "You're a true Massai." "The locket Matiera gave him, stayed with him forever." "The best gift Africa gave him." "After this his days in Nakuru station went by peacefully." "But in a few days Shankar realized 'peace' was not the inherent nature of his life." "Hey man." "What's your name?" "What were you doing in the velds?" "Alvarez." "Diego Alvarez." "Are you okay?" "How are you feeling?" "It was nearly impossible to find a friend in that lonely station." "So Alvarez's presence had rather made him happy." "He believed that this Portuguese man would gradually recover." "Who are you?" "But he hadn't expected that Diego Alvarez would change the very purpose and pace of his life." "I am from Bengal." "India." "Don't understand your language." " I say, you are a gift from God." " Why?" "I know." "Umm..anjo... an angel from Bengal." "Do you know Bengal?" "(Bengali) May God bless you." "What!" "Have you heard of Chinsura?" "Yes, why won't I." "Chuchura." "Hooghly district" "That's where" "I grew up." "Really'?" "My great grandfather was a clergyman there." "He believed in the church." "Is that so?" "" " Yes." "Portuguese men, they settled there in 1537." "They built an idol of Mother Mary and the church there." "What are you saying!" "Then the great anarchy came and the Mughals arrested them and" "Emperor Shah Jahan resettled them down by the river." "And then?" "" " My family... went back to Portugal." "To the city of Evora." "I decided to come to Africa." "Procura de ouro diamantes" "Gold and diamonds?" "Yes." "I set out for the 'Mountain of the Moon'." "Chander Pahar." "I found a friend in Rhodesia." "Jim Carter." "He had a map." "Carter and I... we set out... to explore the Richtersveld." "Do you still have the map?" "Yes." "Are you... mad for diamonds?" "" " No!" "I want to explore Africa!" "I want to see... the entire world!" "I want to explore it." "Like Livingstone!" "Our aim was... by the way... where did you get this map?" "Mubiru." "Our aim was..." "Orange river." "That was where Carter had once found a chunk of silver." "Coming to the plains from Drakensberg, the river flowed towards the Atlantic crossing Africa's Kimberly, Upington." "After traveling for four months by the river we entered a Zulu village." "Why is she crying?" "Her daughter's unwell." "She pleads with the doctor for help - lnyanga." "The doctor gives her a 'White muthi' - traditional." "I carry medicines." "I could be of help." "Who are you?" "I am Jim Carter, he is Diego Alvarez." "We're explorers." "I know a medicine." "King Beza is very happy with you." "Your medicine cured her." "King Beza calls you tomorrow." "Thank you very much" "Pleasure." " For saving life." "Intombi." "Bekhifa, give that to me." "Take this." "Thank you your highness." "This is a gift." "You our guest." "Village... you stay back." "Thank you so much." "We both need to go." "Where to?" "" " We go." "Where do you go'?" "Where did you get this?" "Mountain of Moon." "Richtersveld." "We go to the Mountain of Moon." "No one goes to Mountain of Moon!" "Ingozi." "Very dangerous." "What!" "What danger?" "No one comes back from Mountain of Moon!" "Why is he afraid?" "His Highness warns you." "Everyone gets killed by the Bunyip." "Bunyip?" "" "He protects the diamonds." "In spite of the warning we set out for the Richtersveld." "We had been maddened by our obsession for diamonds." "None of them agreed to come along." "What about Bunyip?" "Bunyip." "The one who protects the diamonds." "And then?" "A morte veio aproxim ando-se" "We faced the inevitable death." "Patience Diego." "Patience." "But we have no food." "We have no bullets!" "We have not a bit of energy left in our body." "But we stand so close to success." "We could make a fortune!" "Can we Jimmy?" "Could we?" "The Zulu people, they've told us, they've showed us the diamonds." "No, they also warned us Jim." "They warned us." "So what do you suggest uh?" "A glorious retreat!" "For the time being." "We'll come back with resources." "We'll start afresh." "For twenty days now we've been trying to find away." "It's like chasing a wild goose Jim ." "Yes!" "Chasing a dream Diego." "I have dreamt about this all my life." "Bunyip." "I did not go further." "I..." "I buried Carter there and..." "I returned to the Zulu village." "The Zulu chief Bekhifa had gifted this locket to Carter." "It is for the one who loves Africa." "It is for the one who lives on the edge." "Can't we explore it again?" "Explore what?" "The Mountain of Moon." "Shankar was up thinking that entire night." "He couldn't sleep." "The next morning he ran to the Uganda Railways office with his resignation." "Richtersveld?" "I won't stop you Shankar." "Security security is a superstition." "Whether the path be known or unknown in reality, through your failures you're discovering your own self, Shankar." "In African they say, 'Kuona Tena'" "See you again." "Thank you Prasad." "Kuona Tena." "They say we are civilized... because we have guns." "But the jungle is uncivilized." "Even if... you carry fire arms..." "The dance of primitive man around fire." "It's a prey" predator relationship." "The ancient trees on their eternal vigil." "Africa is calling us Shankar!" "Can you hear the call?" "Yes." "Mountain of the Moon." "The Mountain of the Moon is calling out to us." "Are you ready?" "Let's go!" "From Kisumu they crossed the Victoria lake to reach Nayanza." "Their journey began." "Then they reached Tabaro from the port of Meyanza." "Nights came and passed by." "They lost count of the days." "They keep proceeding through the spine of Africa." "The journey seemed eternal." "Mount Kilimanjaro, now German East African territory." "That peak over there smoke coming out of it..." "that is dormant volcano." "Peak Kibo." "It can erupt any moment." "Kilimanjaro has two other volcanoes." "Shira and Mawenzi." "They're both dead." "Come." "Let's get going." "Lake Tanganyka." "Second largest in the world, I had read it in Geography." "And very very deep as well." "You know what 'fossil water' is?" "Water, so deep, that even oxygen does not reach there." "From this port of Ujiji we begin our journey on water." "Tanganyka's lion is man-eater." "But the people of Kabalo are far more dangerous." "Gamblers." "Drunkards." "Full of rowdy Portuguese and Belgians." "Navigators?" "You could say so." "This is more like how do say it... pirates." "But they have got the map of Rhodesia." "I bought some food from Albertville." "That should suffice for a few days." "Sailing through river Lukaga from Tanganyka, they reached the port of river Congo, Kabalo." "That's where they faced the first danger." "Grande!" "You from East Indies?" "Yes." "You know me?" "No." "I'm Albuquerque." "I rule Kabalo!" "You me..." "Poker huh?" "Sorry." "No gambling." "No?" "I said I don't gamble." "You don't say no to me." "You understand?" "Nobody says no to me!" "I call you to a duel." "I don't kill men without reason." "But you'll have to kill me." "Duel or poker." "What do you choose?" "Come on!" "Tell me!" "Stop, stay where you are." "Everyone, stop right there!" "A Portuguese?" "Yes." "And a crack shot too." "Now leave him alone." "Leave him alone!" "No duels!" "No poker!" "We want your help." "And we will pay for it." "Money." "We'll give you money." "Okay?" "Okay?" "Okay?" "Money?" "What for?" "Richtersveld." "Yes ." " You crazy?" "You mad?" "To some extent, of course." "Okay." "But now you eat." "Now eat." "Taste sardines." "Tastes good." "Comes from Tanganyika." "Taste it." "Tastes good!" "Good!" "" " Thank you." "Okay?" "No duel." "No poker." "Why the Richtersveld?" "Passion." "We love Africa." "We love exploring land." "Okay, I am safe now." "You guys are crazy." "Now he really believes we're mad?" "You are surely crazy!" "You need maps?" "" " We do." "Accurate maps." "You've come to the right place." "I'll give you." "You be careful." "Very very careful." "Your route to the Richtersveld." "Sankini." "From there we start walking." "We will reach Marius's bungalow." "Who's Marius?" "He is an Afrikaans hunter." "Jacobus Marius." "He lives alone by the forest." "Once we cross Marius's bungalow we lose all contact with civilization." "As instructed by Albuquerque they sailed from Kabalo through river Congo to reach Sankini." "From Sankini they started to walk." "The goal was to reach the island of Rhodesia, located further south in Africa." "The route through the jungle starts after we cross river Zambezi." "We will be able to see the Victoria falls on our way." "Sera grande." "Portuguese!" "Sounds good." " Picked up some words." "Mosi-oa-Tunya, Its real name." "David Livingstone had named it ...Victoria falls." " I've read about it." "Which means right now we're near river Zambezi." "We're about to enter Rhodesia." "We will spend the night here." "In the dark of the night, the Victoria Falls creates a ' Moon bow' ." "What is that?" "Created through the moonlight a rainbow of the night." "Mosi-oa-Tunya, the Smoke that Thunders." "Come on." "Now Richtersveld." "Welcome to Rhodesia, Diego!" "" " Long time!" "I see you've survived that dusty road." "Riolino Cavalkanti Gatti, know him?" "Oh yes, the famous Italian sailor." "Ah!" "Very good!" "Yes, one of his descendants, ...now he explored the Richtersveld." "Must be thirty years back." "He was a learned man, held degrees from the Universities of London and Pisa." "He became a globe trotter." "Good God!" ", That's grande!" "Yes, very much so." "You know he became a sailor too." "They were voyaging for the Dutch Indies Islands." "A voyage"- ...that was to end in a shipwreck off the West African coast lands." "Only seven among the sailors survived and made it to the coast of Africa." "They took refuge in the in the villages inhabited by the Zulu nation." "From the tribal people they learnt about the diamonds in the Richtersveld." "So all the seven of the sailors headed by Gatti set out for the velds." "And finally after confronting all nature's resistance got into the cave." "And supposedly they found the diamonds." "Supposedly." "Oh yes." "It's all a Zulu myth." "They say Gatti discovered the cave!" "Whoa!" "The cave through which three rivulets flow." "It's holy for the Zulus." "And then?" "And then?" "Some of the survivors were killed by the Bunyip." "Some of the survivors were killed by the Bunyip." "Gatti had led the expedition back to the Chimanimani range across the Kalahari." " Thank you." "But why did they not retrace their steps?" "Ah!" "Lord Buddha, ...said, an evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast." "I drink to that." "Now Gatti and his comrades had the diamonds." "The diamonds caused a fight between the four survivors and three of the cursed sailors killed each other." "And Gatti?" "Nobody knows what happened to Gatti." "He never came back." "Have you ever met Gatti?" "Oh yes." "Oh... before they set out for the velds I gifted him the holy cross." "One similar to this one." "But you know the Bunyip could've killed long before..." "The Bunyip doesn't actually kill." "Greed kills humans." "Humans are the killers." "Humans are the sinners." "Not the beasts." "Shankar had seen the dense jungle from Jacobus Marius's bunglow." "Following that jungle trail began the long journey." "On foot." "After walking through the jungles for about two months," "Shankar and Alvarez reached the grasslands of the hills." "That's where they set up their tents." "Que vista!" "What a sight!" "Shankar!" "Come up!" "Good morning." "Put these over your eyes." "Cover your eyes, Shankar." "What is going on?" "Open your eyes." "Africa has a pleasant surprise for you!" "It is still forty miles away." "The 'Mountain of the Moon'." "'Chander Pahar'!" "Goodbye civilization." "Adios civilization." "What are you thinking?" "" " I'm thinking even a few days ago I was a jobless youngster in Keutia." "Came to Mombasa looking for a job." "Station master of Nakuru." "You know I've seen death up close." "I've understood one thing," "It's not important how long you live before death, how long you live after death," "that matters." "It is not the length of my life that matters, it's the depth of my life." "You think we'll ever find diamonds?" "God knows." "I've not found any as yet." "But I could not surrender." "Only running after diamonds." "Not running after diamonds only running after the passion to find something huge." "Something huge!" "Come on." "We set out early at dawn tomorrow." "Who are you?" "" " Don't shoot!" "We're not hunting." " Call the others!" "Come here." "Have some food." " Thank you." "They're saying thank you." " Coffee for you." "I know Bekhifa, the chief." "You know Bekhifa?" "Hail Bekhifa!" "Our chief!" "Its very nice to meet you too." "We're going to Richtersveld." "Don't go there!" "Would you like to come with us?" "The Mountain of the Moon." "Very dangerous." "The Bunyip will kill you." "Hey Diego can we stop over here for sometime?" "Why?" "Are you tired?" "Need to drink some water." "Let's start after that?" "Water looks clear." "No, maybe for tea or maybe some coffee." "Why?" "I've tasted this water, it's acidic, no good for the health." "You Europeans should drink some fresh water instead of coffee and beer." "You'll feel good." "Let's go." "Yes." "The jungle trail ends in the river bed." "That spring." "We've to reach there and then we start climbing." "This is our steps of stairs to freedom!" "Hence, they started climbing the mountains." "It seemed Alvarez was an adept mountaineer." "All the experience Shankar had was climbing trees." "Shankar!" "Hold on, Shankar!" "After another two days of walking they reached a height of 7500 feet." "The surroundings had gone quiet." "Like a natural conspiracy." "The food is over Shankar." "Now when?" "Not a bird in sight to kill." "Then?" "We have two choices." "Either we eat less and carry on or we head back to Rhodesia." "Weld to fate." "Simple." "Anyway, I eat less and you have coffee." "That's the spirit." "I spotted two springbok deer there." "They're notoriously difficult." "I'll go." "Be careful, don't lose your way." " Don't worry." "The Portuguese man saved Shankar's life." "Initially Alvarez thought Shankar had fainted because of Malaria or snake bite." "But his experience of the jungle guided him." "How long have I been sleeping?" "" " Almost sixteen hours." "The lboga tree has an attractive fragrance." "I remember." "Fragrance of a sweet flower." "If you breathe in the aroma you're bound to fall asleep." "Mosi of the people die of muscle paralysis." "Thank you." " For what?" "For saving my life." "Here, coffee." "You know Shankar," "I owe you my life." "You brought me back to the expedition." "Now this is one of the most ancient forests in the world." " Home for Jurassic reptiles?" "Possible." "But even at this height we didn't find the saddle." "Now this is our way to the core regions of the Richtersveld." "What does the map say?" "Your Sir Filippo de Filppi?" "No, he is only confusing us." "He only climbed the Ferdinando Po peak in Portuguese West Africa." "He never went to Richtersveld." "Then?" "No!" "Don't move!" "We must not pull the fire." "We must not go outside." "You must keep your rifle loaded." "God save us!" "The next morning Shankar found the foot marks of the creature that had visited them." "They reminded him of Zulu chief, Bekhifa's warning and Jim Carter's death." "They had set foot on a territory which the Bunyip had been silently ruling." "The Richtersveld is 8000 sq.miles." "That is why I marked a tree over there." "Or else you get lost." "Let's go my friend." "The rain and thunder led Shankar to ask himself for the first time, why Africa?" "Let's go back home." "But there was no point saying that to the group leader Diego, at the trek." "So he kept walking." "Shankar, wake up!" "Shankar!" "It is the Bunyip again." "The Bunyip?" "Yes." "Don't!" "He's outside the tent." "Let's chase him ." " No." "We'll finish him off." " No!" "Not now!" "I'll make some coffee for the night." "And you?" "I can't sleep." "Insomnia." "Diego." "Drum beats." "Can you hear that?" "Those are apes... beating their chests." "Gorillas?" "Give me your hand." "Grande!" "What a joy!" "What is it?" "I think we've finally found the saddle." "We've spotted it." "The diamond mine is not so far Shankar." "Let's go." "Careful." "Have we finally found the river?" "What do you think?" "We've to check." "Look for yellow stones." "If this river passes through the cave we're looking for there must some trace of a diamond." "This river carries yellow silt!" "But there's no stone." "That yellow silt... is nothing but gold my son." "Gold!" "This river must have flown down touching a gold mine." "Yes !" "Which means if we look inside this sand, our fortunes may change?" "No Shankar, spend all day but you won't gather more than 3 ounces of gold here." "Africa is full of rivers like this." "I think... we should go back to Salisbury." "Come." "Let's go back." "What for?" "We're out of our resources." "And we need a new map." "We draw the new map son." "That's the rule of expedition." "As you say." "Is this an earthquake?" "It is a seismic zone." "Prone to... earthquakes." "Come, let's go back to the tent." "Another earthquake?" "No, I smell sulphur." " You mean to say we're standing on a highly seismic zone!" "I think it's worse than that, remember I asked you not to drink the water of that lake?" "Yes... but..." "It's sour." "It's sour." "It's acidic." "All I know is, Shankar, a mountain with innumerable cracks, a hot spring flowing through it," "which tastes acidic." "Have you ever read about Vesuvius?" "Have you?" "Yes, I have." "Move!" "What's happening?" "" " Watch out Diego!" "Shankar, take him!" "Oh God!" "Come on Shankar!" "It's a volcano." "Can't believe this!" "It's pyroclastic ash." "It follows any volcanic eruption." "But you know... nobody mentioned an active volcano here, in the Richtersveld." "And we discovered it." " Yes, we did." "Maybe it has been dorm ant." "Who knows." "The Zulus believed... this mountain belongs to the 'God of fire'." "God of fire." "Hurt your knee?" "It's nothing." "What we proposed" "nature disposed." "Here's where our journey ends." "Says who?" "Your God of fire." "The volcano has changed our destiny." "The diamond quest ends here." "Cheer up Shankar." "This mountain might have opened the gates of heaven for us." "That night's volcanic eruption had taken away their little shelters too." "But still that natural calamity could not daunt the brave Alvarez." "Trekking uphill and downhill through Richtersveld they kept progressing in search of the unknown caves and the river." "Looking for something?" "" " No." "There was one thing Alvarez hadn't told Shankar." "Before they reached the river, after 3 months they had come back to the same tree Alvarez had marked with his initials." "In the jungle it's called a Death Circle." "We've to stop here for tonight, Shankar." "Get some fire wood and start the fire up." "I will." "Diego... what are you thinking?" "Looking worried." "Wondering... contemplating the future." "Are you afraid?" "Somewhat." "The starch art says... we've not yet been able to break out of the Death Circle." "And that's unfortunate." "The evening is falling." "Let me light the fire up." "Look Shankar, it's a canopy full of stars." "They will guide us." "The Sirius" "The Canopus." "The Alpha centauri." "The Milky Way!" "Will you teach me how to use the sextant?" "Sure." "You need to learn." "I learnt the use of compass from my dad." "There's an explorer inside you, Shankar." "Keep him alive." "It is better to travel well than to arrive." "Take rest." "I'll get onto that hillock." "Yes." "Wish me luck." "Boa sorte." "Boa sorte?" "Eureka!" "I got it my son." "I've spotted the location." "The diamond cave!" "We're closer than we think." "Oh my God!" "Shankar!" "Diego!" "Damn it Diego fire!" "Diego!" "Diego!" "Diego!" "Adios..." "Goodbye my friend." "Diego... you'll be okay!" "After losing Alvarez Shankar had stopped looking for the treasure." "Now his goal was to go back to Rhodesia." "He could not learn how to use a sextant from Alvarez." "The com pass wasn't working too." "So getting lost in this vast, unknown land was inevitable." "Seeing the Zulu paintings, Shankar entered the cave of death." "This was probably the cave Marius and the Zulu chief had mentioned." "So dark!" "Dark!" "I can hear water!" "I hear water!" "Water!" "Water!" "I can hear it!" "I want water!" "I want water." "I'm hungry" "Sunlight!" "The sound is coming from this side." "I can hear water." "Water!" "Shankar was trapped." "Though he did find water after a lot of foraging, there was not one animal in that cave that could be hunted and eaten." "Water!" "Hence he desperately tried to look for a way out." "In the lap of the dark death, it is easy to get delusioned, by a little ray of hope." "Shankar never figured out how many days he had been trapped in the cave." "Gradually Shankar was losing the physical and mental power to go on." "I can't lose." "I can't lose." "I can't give up." "Here it is." "Here's the way." "But in this while, Shankar had learnt a lot." "So he recalled Alvarez's instruction at the right time." "It is important to leave road markers on the way if there is a chance of losing way." "Alvarez had told him so." "So he picked up some stones and pebbles from the cave to use them as road markers." "Alvarez's death was haunting Shankar." "When he reached the jungle from the cave" "Shankar came across the signs of the Bunyip's presence." "After slaying the demon he began his journey towards Rhodesia." "But not through the jungle anymore." "He put the memento he picked up from the cave into his pocket and set out on another unknown route." "Now, Kalahari." "Maybe Shankar had inherited Alvarez's courage." "But had not learned the use of a sextant." "From the com pass." "He wasn't capable of finding out the true north from the magnetic north" "So, losing his way and goal in the land of eternal desert was inevitable." "How much more?" "How much more?" "How much more?" "I want water." "No water." "Food was over." "He realized he had lost his way." "He was walking 30 miles north from the map." "It's chilling!" "It's chilling!" "Water!" "Water!" "He had lost it in him to get into another cave again." "But the lions of the desert and the chilling wind of the night were scarier." "So he risked it and went into the cave." "From Marius' holy cross Shankar recognized Gatti, who got lost 30 years ago." ""I am a sailor,I am Attillio Gatti." "I discovered the diamond cave at the Richtersveld mountains." "But my companions betrayed me so I took refuge in this cave." "My death is inevitable." "If anyone finds my body, kindly bury it." "I am leaving five diamonds in my boot for you."" "But that Shankar too had found the treasure in the cursed cave of Richtersveld... the structure of the pebbles he had picked up made it clear." "Actually, Shankar had never seen a raw diamond in his life." "Which is why greed spared him even when he was trapped in that cave." "There are two ways to reach Salisbury, Rhodesia, crossing the Chimanimani mountain." "That's what Alvarez told him." "Either he'd have to walk around 25 miles at the foothills or he'd have to walk uphill and downhill." "Shankar made the mistake of climbing up the mountain." "Inspite of being so close to civilization he failed to touch it." "When the aeroplane flew towards the Kruger mountain the last proof of life, disappeared." "Water was over." "Only two bullets in hand." "How long does the dew drop sparkle on a grass?" "Does it sparkle forever" "We all know that the drop of dew" "trickles down the leaf" "Come." "Come." "Come." "Baba?" "Come, Shankar, come see!" "The Goddess of Moon..." "Olapa." "You know who Morans are?" "Warriors!" "Their life is to fight!" "Come." "Come here!" "The primitive man's dance around fire!" "'Eunoto'!" "It's just the beginning today!" "Africa!" "That's a foreign land." "You're not scared of going to Africa?" "The Bunyip doesn't actually kill." "Greed kills humans." "Humans are the sinners." "Not the beasts." "There's an explorer inside you, Shankar." "Keep him alive." "Go to sleep son." "Go, sleep." "It's pretty late." "Food." "Food." "Food." "Food." "Food." "Jim Carter." "Diego Alvarez." "Richtersveld." "Why?" "Because security is a..." ""superstition." "Jim Carter failed." "Diego Alvarez no, he failed too." "Atlilio Gatti he died too." "You too shall die son of Bengal." "You too shall die." "But... as the brave?" "Or as the coward?" "Who decides?" "Shankar's foot hurt too much for him to walk." "Shankar's story could've ended at Chimanimani mountain." "His only saving, one bullet." "But the danger was countless." "So he spent quite some time, deciding." "Death was approaching him, slowly." "Shankar thought the other two firings were an illusion." "But then he thought what if that sound was proof of human existence!" "In this land of lifelessness, who's existence was being declared here?" "Get the stretcher." "Come!" "Quick!" "Hold him!" "He's got a fever." "Bacteremia." "We need to get him to Salisbury, urgently." "The conservators of Kruger park had saved Shankar." "They had left for Cape Town from Kimberly on a caterpillar vehicle." "They rescued Shankar." "From the hospital he went to the office of Salisbury chronicles." "He narrated his experience to them." "They printed his story along with a photograph." "Their only discovery in the expedition, the volcano, was mentioned in the write-up." "Shankar named the volcanic peak as Mount Alvarez." "But he did not mention about the diamonds." "He went to shop of the Memon's and sold four of those six diamonds." "He earned quite some amount." "He put aside two of the biggest diamonds for his mother." "His mother had struggled all her life." "He is sending the diamonds with this letter." "One of them is to be sold so his father could have the money." "It'll be of help in difficult times for villagers and neighbours." "And Shankar has bought a steamer boat from the rest of the diamonds." "For now, he is sailing to the port of Beira." "Welcome aboard sir, sunny day!" "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Set sail Captain." "Destination, sir?" "Mountain of the Moon." "Let's set sail then!"