66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

messengers murmured a polite answer, and Bharatha, “How
is my brother, Rama?” And they repeated their polite
murmuring again, and said, “We bear an epistle for Your
Highness.” Bharatha received the sealed message (written
on palm leaf and wrapped in silk), opened it, and read: “Your
return to Ayodhya is urgently required in connection with
state affairs.” He ordered that the message bearers be
rewarded liberally and began immediate preparations for his
return to Ayodhya, without having the patience even to
consult the palace astrologer as to the propitious time for
starting on a long journey.
When they reached the outskirts of Ayodhya, Bharatha
asked his brother Sathrugna, “Do you notice any change in
the atmosphere?”
“No traffic of chariots or horse-riders, no spectacle of
people moving about in public squares and highways …”
“Streets and homes without any illumination.”
“No sound of music—no happy voices or songs or
instruments … What oppressive silence! So few to be seen
in the streets, and even the one or two we meet look up with
such un-smiling faces! What is wrong with them?”
Bharatha drove straight to Dasaratha’s palace, went up,
and burst into his chamber with words of greeting on his lips.
Not finding the King in his usual place, he paused,
wondering where he should seek him. Just then an inner
door opened, a maid appeared and said, “Your mother