M A L AY S I AS I N G A P O R EI N D I A

Notion Press

Old No. 38, New No. 6McNichols Road, Chetpet

Chennai - 600 031

First Published by Notion Press 2018Copyright © Madhumita 2018

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 978-1-64429-581-6

This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and

reviews.

Contents

About the Author � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � vii

Acknowledgements � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ix

Introduction � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � xiii

Chapter One: Knight of the Raven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter Two: Slave Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter Three: Indian Princess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Chapter Four: The Zippy Ceo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Chapter Five: Mood Swings like “Six Seasons” . . . . . . . . . . 195

Chapter Six: Takeaway-There is a silver lining! . . . . . . . . . . 227

Notes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 245

Index � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 251

CHAPTER I

Knight of the Raven

The knights were the most fascinating of the tribes in the medieval history of Europe; as fascinating as an image of a baby getting excited about touching a dragonfly for the first time. They always captured fantasies of writers and propelled them to write jaw-dropping stories. Who were these people and why they fascinated writers so much? The knights belonged to the fighter’s clan, who fought for their lord, and indirectly assisted the rulers of their land and lived in the late medieval period. The medieval period lasted from the 5th to 15th century in European history. Many interesting events occurred during this time. The medieval ages saw the collapse of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance period. This antique period was a transitional phase. Something like a sandwich era!

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Renaissance period saw splendiferous dawn. While the society was witnessing great religious movements during the Middle Ages, both politically and

The Invisible Me

2

socially, it was gradually converting to the drudgery of feudalism. Feudalism means a form of social system in which nobility or high aristocrats held land from the Crown in exchange for their military services. The peasants were contrived to work for the landlords and aristocrats in exchange for produce and military protection. The royalty was the highest of the socialclasses in the Middle Ages. It included kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Royals had complete power over the land, political and economic decisions during the Middle Ages. This part of history seemed like a piece of script from one of the great Hollywood movies El Cid. This slice of history would be incomplete without mentioning great medieval men like Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, King Arthur and women like Joan of Arc, Heloise. This period witnessed many famous wars like the—Hundred Years’ War, the Battle of Hastings, First Baron’s war. But at the centre stage was the war of the Armada.

The most chimerical battle among all the medieval wars was the ‘Spanish Armada’. The Spanish Armada was a fleet of130 ships which set sail in 1588 from La Coruna, Spain with the purpose of invading England to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I� King Phillip of Spain thought of invading England and overthrowing protestant religious belief. The war seemed a culmination of years of hostility between King Phillip and Queen Elizabeth I.

Initiation of the ArmadaRobert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” contains the famous line—“Good fences make good neighbors.” This saying implies that you emerge better neighbors if there are boundaries in between and that way you don’t end up fighting over petty property issues. The ‘good fence’ so created wards off potential conflicts. Here the ‘boundary’ was formed by the Bay of Biscay, a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean. It extends from the northern coast of

Madhumita

3

Spain to the North Sea. The two neighbors discussed here are none other than mighty Spain and colossal England. The irony of the fence philosophy tells about the reality. It’s still an unresolved mystery why neighbors’ fight so often instead of staying together peacefully. King Philip of Spain had reasons to lock his horns with Queen Elizabeth I. He was infuriated at Queen Elizabeth’s I refusal of marriage proposal sent by him after his wife’s Mary’s death. Also added to the discontent was queen’s constant support for Spanish protestant rebels in Netherland. This finally flagged off one of the most ambitious and disastrous military invasions in history. King Philip planned an ‘Armada’ of 130 ships for invasion.

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity even a greater. Adversity in the form of a war, born out of revenge, was lurking to happen. When the King of Spain was planning to invade England, the queen on the other side was thinking about the counterattack plans. For this purpose, Queen Elizabeth deputed her spies. Queen had a hunch that something fishy was going on the King Philip’s end. She entrusted several navigators as spies to search new places on the globe via the sea routes and in the process keep an eye on the war preparation. These navigators roamed fervently to find new business routes and reverted with accumulated intelligence data. A famous navigator and invader of this time, Sir Francis Drake*, influenced important sea routes. Queen Elizabeth had assigned few naval expeditions to him. In the garb of these naval expeditions, Drake accumulated information on the war preparation.

Drake’s biggest prize came in the March 1579, few years before the actual Armada war, when he seized the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señorade la Concepción and liberated a dozen chests of coins, pounds of gold, and silver. Francis Drake,

The Invisible Me

4

an outstanding leader of the past naval expeditions, was made commander of a fleet whose mission was to inspect the Spanish military preparations, intercept their supplies, and even attack their fleets. Drake, a cunning and tricky navigator, had plan chalked in his mind as for how to break the enemies’ backbone. These attacks and seizures were part of the plan.

Drake was an annoying eye pincher for the Spanish army. He was the one who raided their ships and passed down the plunder to fund rebellions. He soon became an eye-sore of the Spanish navy. But on the other side of the waters, at England, he was knighted by the queen for his daring feat of circumnavigating the globe. He was best known as Britain’s most feared ‘Sea Dog’, a nickname for ruthless privateers, who seized Spanish ships. Drake’s knighthood was a reward for daringly completing history’s second navigation of the globe. But there was something else behind bestowing this award of the knighthood. Historians speculate that he may have a secret agreement with Queen Elizabeth to raid Spanish ships on the way. After every siege, Drake would eventually return home as the worlds’ richest pirate.

Was the Spanish invasion plan successful? Did this war trigger an upheaval in the lead characters’ lives? What basket of secrets unravels after this war?

Keep these questions lingering in your mind. The war preparation kept simmering for a few years. Jealously, anger and hatred kept King Philip on the trail of the war preparation. The shreds of the Armada war will be joined later on. From here on, I suspend the story of the Armada war to introduce you to the lead character of the story;

Knight of the RavenPeyton Bigge was born in a village called Luss. It’s a beautiful village in Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. His childhood days

Madhumita

5

were not akin to the routine but filled with adventures. Peyton Bigge belonged to the class of pathfinders. Though born in a business family, he desired to ascend the throne of knighthood. His life experiences and role in the Armada war, especially aftermath it, will highlight some interesting, beguiling and compelling secrets of his life. These secrets will help readers to understand their own deep buried enigmas.

Few years prior to the Armada war, somewhere in the year 1565, a boy was born in a small village called Luss to a merchant family. Located on the western edge of Scotland’s magnificent Loch Lomond, Luss is a picturesque village. A beautiful place where one can easily connect to nature. The child born to the Bigge family was bestowed name—Peyton, by his mother. Peyton looked chubby and jolly, always ready to throw his hands and legs at excitement. It’s one of those divine feelings when you look at your child’s smiling face and search your own imprints. Life was jovial for the Bigge family. Initially Peyton’s parents were small-time merchants, but later on, their trade expanded. To share a glimpse of what made village life and people during that time period, especially to focus on Peyton’s upbringing, it’s important to understand the echelons prevalent. In the surrounding villages, the tradition was that the high-ranking nobles lived in the castles with their knights, ladies and retinues. Other villagers, who comprised of peasants, freemen and serfs, lived in the Manors. The medieval manor was an agricultural estate and comprised of large tracts of land. Inhabitants of the manor worked on that land. Near the village side, there was usually housed a mill, bakery and a blacksmith.

Manors had an informal collection of wood. Sometimes villagers need it for their rituals and celebrations. The manor hall served as meeting place for court discussions. In the course of time, these houses became stronger and started to get fortified. A designated land was kept to support the parish church, known

The Invisible Me

6

as the glebe. Manors were sometimes given to the knights as a way to support them as they served their king. They could also be owned outright by a nobleman or belong to the church. In the overwhelmingly agricultural economy of the Middle Ages, Manors were the backbone of the European life. Serene Manors’ were a beautiful piece of the world, a world in itself, self-sufficient and self-reliant.

Peyton’s parents belonged to the merchant class; a class which sufficed to a different culture during that era. Quite interestingly merchants were not considered a part of these three categorizations previously mentioned i.e. of the clergy, the peasants and the nobility (generally knights). The merchant class was considered self-centred people who dwelled to increase their wealth. Meanwhile, people of other strata increasingly depended on merchants for the distribution of goods and materials. Peyton’s parents traded in silk and spices. Spices were not readily available in Europe. Spices don’t grow in cold regions. And even in tropical regions, all spices are not found everywhere. Subsequently, the lure of enormous profits from the spice trades, along with a lust for gold and silver, were together the main motifs—the chief incentives for European overseas explorations and colonization from the late 15th to 17th centuries. This was the Golden Age of the English Laborer; in terms of foodstuffs and the purchasing power. The main consumers of spice were the wealthy, middle to upper-class members of the society.

Peyton’s parents worked diligently to establish their business. They wanted their sons to shoulder responsibility as they grew up. Peyton, who was second of the four siblings, was the naughtiest chap. Though Peyton’s mother never directly assisted her husband in business, she looked after the kids when he was away on long expeditions. She was a sensitive lady who knew that the boundaries of home demand sacrifices. From the very

Madhumita

7

young age, Peyton got the opportunity to hear adventures of the tradesmen, who explored far away destinations. Life of explorers is never easy. It seems that their life is full of adventures. They face insurmountable challenges. As the merchants crossed foreign boundaries, they would face resistance from the local rulers. Sometimes small crusades happen. It’s enthralling to know that some of the bloodiest wars of the Middle Ages were not just about religion, they were also about different groups of merchants seeking to gain control of the major trade routes� The local rulers would tax the goods that merchants traded within their territory. However, both the rulers and the merchants found a way out of this quagmire. The merchants would offer gifts to the local rulers or pay a fine. To show unity and fight against insecurities, a merchant ‘Guild’ was formed. These Guilds in a way controlled trade practices and helped merchants to do business safely. Merchant Diasporas contributed to the networks of kin, clientage, and the trade infrastructure. Peyton grew up hearing the nitty-gritty of the trade practices and adventure stories from his father.

Peyton was a curious child. Whenever he walked past the beautiful manor lanes, with blossoms on both the sides, he got thrilled with the beauty. Blossoms of blue Harebells on the edges elevated the mood. He admired the elite and their horses. His eyes opened wide on seeing beautiful horses. It seems they descended from heaven. He had a fascination towards horses. Though Peyton was born in a merchant family, he showed virtues of the aristocrats and the nobles. Fascination towards horse riding was one, and inclination to learn sword fighting was another. There was an incident that supported this ‘virtue theory’ and validated his inclination towards swords and fighter spirit. When Peyton was around seven years old, while playing with his elder brother in the courtyard, he saw a poisonous Adder snake coming towards them. Adders—the well-known snake is native to Britain

The Invisible Me

8

and is one of the serpents most often spotted by the public. As Peyton’s brother’s back was towards the snake, he couldn’t sense the coming danger.

Little time to think, Peyton whispered slowly to his brother, “Brother, run towards me fast, there’s a snake crawling behind you.”

His elder brother thought he was joking. He replied without turning his head, “A snake is crawling towards me! Oh, then let it bite me, dear.” Peyton murmured again, “Brother, I didn’t say butterfly, but a snake, ready to attack you.”

The Adder was making a sharp, jittery sound with its nostrils wide open hisss…sss. When Peyton’ brother got a sense of the situation, it was too late. Peyton kept constantly gazing at the creature. With little crunch time at his disposal as the snake reached quite an unsafe distance, Peyton jumped and grabbed a stick lying nearby and pounced over the snake. His elder brother stood petrified. After the kill, Peyton’s brother shrieked in horror. Peyton’s mother came running out on hearing the commotion. Till the time she reached, the game was over. She got teary-eyed after listening to her son’s heroic act. How a small boy managed to kill an Adder was beyond Prue, but that was certainly the least of her worries. After all, it was the first act of heroism for a little kiddo like him! She eulogized and exemplified the ‘snake-kill’ story to her husband when he returned from work.

With each passing day, Peyton’s propensity towards swords grew stronger. Peyton’s parents wished that one day he will join their family business. But destiny’s womb has something else stored for him. Peyton’s virtue or traits supported him to become something else. Somehow Peyton desires clashed with his parent’s ambition. He wanted to become a knight; and moreover a famous one. Since children belonging to the nobility were the preferred one for training into the knighthood. Breaking this tough glass

Madhumita

9

ceiling was not easy. Adding to Peyton’s woes, a challenging tradition of that time was in head-on confrontation to his career choice. The tradition involved that most children, who reach puberty, to shackle their cozy comfort of homes and work at a distant relatives place. It was common to send children away from home at about the age of puberty as servants to other people. A type of fosterage practice wherein the family takes care of a child not their own. This was reckoned to train and discipline them, give them patrons who could assist their careers, and relieve their parents of expense. Peyton wanted to get himself adept in the combat training. But this tradition was standing in between his dreams. Peyton always felt from the bottom of his heart that one day he will become a great knight; a confirm intuition�

To cater to the traditions and societal norms, Peyton’s parents sent their other two children to a distant relatives’ place. They genuflected at Peyton’s demand and allowed him and his elder brother to stay with them. His elder brother was a lenient guy who loved to assist in business work. Quite contrary to his brother, Peyton had a different level of skill set. Peyton’s determination to pursue knighthood was so strong that his parents finally gave up on the wish. It was way harder to become a medieval knight than you think. Peyton’s parents arranged a tutor who agreed to train him. This came at a hefty price monetarily. But there was a condition attached to the training. Peyton will have to become his tutor’s—‘page’. Don’t give wild wings to your thoughts. As a page, Peyton’s responsibilities included cleaning his tutor’s clothes and armor, serving his meals, and being his messenger. In return, his tutor will teach him chivalry and etiquette. The tutor will fine train him in combat exercises, and horse riding while wielding a weapon. The training used to be tough and rigorous. Finally, with a tutor at his side, Peyton’s dream took off wings.

The Invisible Me

10

One day, while training, Peyton’s eyes fell on a beautiful horse tied at a corner. His tutor had arranged that stallion for the training purpose. All of a sudden, Peyton’s thoughts wandered, ‘What good is knighthood, without a horse.’ A sultry thought of acquiring a personal horse came to Peyton’s mind. After his weekend training, he went to meet his parents. Convincingly, he put forward his demand for a private horse. Initially, his parents were reluctant but with Peyton’s ardent persuasion, they finally gave in one last time. It was their love and belief hidden beneath the cast of discord. Indeed it takes immense strength and conviction on the parents’ side to allow their kids to pursue their dreams. Peyton’s father agreed to give him a private horse on his 16th birthday. But the surprise came little early. On his 15th birthday itself, Peyton received a horse from the Percheron family as a birthday gift, a muscled and intelligent breed of that time. The horses from Perche family, ancestors of the Percheron, were smaller standing between fifteen and sixteen hands high and agile. Peyton named him ‘Bronco.’ Peyton was the happiest soul on this planet. Whenever Peyton got some free time from his training, he went to check on his new partner. He used to get up in the middle of the night to see his Perche; similar to a lover, who craves to meet his girlfriend. Young brains crave novelty.

In the medieval times, the fame of a knight’s horse and the knight were inseparable. Horses were generally trained to pull chariots, to be ridden as cavalry or to carry his master. But the much training part was required to overcome the horse’s natural instinct to flee from noise, the smell of blood, and the confusion of the combat. They were trained to sharpen their reflexes during actual combat and check sudden movements of humans. Horses used in close combat may have been taught, or at least permitted, to kick, strike, and even bite, thus becoming weapons themselves or for the warriors they carried. Indeed, a true combat friend.

Madhumita

11

During his leisure time, Peyton used to take Bronco on long rides. The rides acted as bonding time between the two. When Peyton rode on Bronco, he wished that the carpet of the earth never ended. He thoroughly enjoyed his harmony with his Perche friend.

On one such ride, Peyton snugly whispered in Bronco’s ear, “You’re kinda, sorta, always in my mind.” To his excitement, Bronco excitedly jumped in synchro. The bonding grew stronger as days passed and their friendship gave a sense of motivation to Peyton. On a few occasions, Peyton took his friend on a ride to his favorite hilltop. In Luss village, one can find eye catchy scenic beautiful hills and plenty of natural attractions. At the village edges, there are pronounced conical peaks, curving ridges, and steep, smooth slopes which are often cut by birch-filled gullies. They form a prominent backdrop to Helensburgh and the Loch Lomond basin and contribute to the dramatic scenery around the Loch. Peyton used to stand on one of his favorite hilltop, which locals called ‘Moody’, with his hands wide open while gentle breeze pat by. Peyton wished that time freeze these moments. Days drifted by and Peyton stood at the doorsteps of adulthood.

Peyton’s journey towards ‘Knighthood’After his combat training, Peyton achieved ferocity of a fighter. He grew up to a fair, tall, and muscular built with a commanding voice. On completion of his years’ of rigorous training, he took up a challenge. This was in exasperation to earn the knighthood fast. At the age of 21, Peyton decided to set his foot in one of the manly games’ of the medieval time; ‘the Joust’. This challenge will leave an everlasting footprint in his life. It was a devil’s game. The loser sometimes has to suffer huge damage; even life. Will Peyton emerge the winner and earn his knighthood?

The Invisible Me

12

Joust and Melee were the two tournaments of medieval Europe wherein the manliness of the participants’ was tested. These tournaments were generally sponsored by the kings or lords. Jousting is a type of martial game played between two horsemen wielding weapons of the joust, lances with blunted tips, against each other. This Joust sport is similar to a war simulation game, but for the daredevil ones. The primary aim is to copy a war-like scenario. Each opponent tries to strike the other while riding on a horse at a high speed. In the process, it is expected that each participant will aim at his opponents’ shield or jousting armor or just try unhorsing him. Jousting was more of a combat training between two knights’. The participants experienced forces close to three and a quarter times their body weight in g-forces, accelerative forces, when the weapons of joust collided with their armor and the consequences were broken bones and even death.

Melee, on the other hand, was more of a combat-like contest, between two groups of horsemen� It was more of a team event. It must be really spectacular to watch testosterone loaded men charging against each other. Spectators of these events used to be knights of the higher ranks, dignitaries and even commoners. The tournament area would be either cordoned off with a temporary fence or maybe just roped off. The nobles sat in the wooden stands while the commoners would sit in the fields nearby to watch this fierce war game. These tournaments were big events and people came from far-off places to watch them. Occasionally, a grandstand, called a ‘Berfrois’, was built above the ground level. This grandstand housed the ladies and other noble spectators. Pavilions were erected around the area of the medieval jousting tournaments. Pavilions were the name given to the bright, round medieval tents of alternating colours which housed the

Enjoyed reading this sample?

Purchase the whole copy at