Nepal, Oct. 18 -- The doors to the teacher's lounge were almost entirely shut except for a tiny sliver of an opening. Behind that opening, Eklavya, coiling his body into the smallest shape possible, sat with bated breath and listened.

Four men were inside. Three of them were standing, with one seated on the sofa. Those three men had been yelling at the lone seated man, the only one whom Eklavya recognised. It was his class teacher and mentor, Dronacharya. He had no idea who the other three men were, but he had heard his name, and curiosity had got the better of him. So now, he hid and listened.

"I don't understand what's going through your head, Drona," one of them, the tallest one, shouted. "How could you nominate that villager (what's...