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Indatri Learns the Truth

Avara stopped to talk to one of the captains. Indatri knew her father had repeated her story to the captain because he came over, laughing, just as her father had.

“The last thing you should do, young lady, is to fret over these birds,” the captain said to her. “We treat them with the utmost care for there are times when these creatures are our lifeline.”

Indatri looked at him questioningly.

“We never sail without our birds on board,” continued the captain. “When a mist comes down at sea, or we lose sight of land, it can be frightening. We release one of our birds and it immediately flies towards the nearest land. If we follow the path of the bird we will always head safely home.”

Indatri smiled with relief. She now knew that these birds would eventually fly free.
 

Things Look Brighter

“Come, my daughter, we must return home,” Avara said. “My work is finished for today.”

Indatri began to see Balakot in a new light.

“Maybe this will not be such a bad place to live,” she thought. “It might even prove to be more interesting than Mohenjo-Daro.”

A terracotta amulet discovered by archaeologists in Mohenjo-Daro shows a representation of a ship together with "compass birds."

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