That Week in April (The Final Part)

The two days pass by quickly enough, and 5^th April arrived…

It’s the morning of 5^th April. We’ll have to be very careful not to get caught by those men. There’s a possibility that they could bring arms, but will they? That would invite big trouble to them as The Park is a defence colony. Still all four of us plan to bring sticks, bats whatever- just in case we need them. We also keep a torch, which could be handy in case we are unable to use our phones.

Who knows what danger lied ahead for the four of us, and what mystery would be unfolded tonight at the Gunpowder House. Yet we were determined to see the end of it and know what those men were after.

Time crawls past like a tired snail for the rest of the morning. Evening finally arrives, and the sun starts sinking…. The sky is getting darker…Our anxiety increases as well. I do a conference call with Anuraag and Siddharth, and tell them to keep their cycles near our school, so that they are not seen. We would meet there at 8:00 P.M.

At around 8:00 P.M., I and Srijan arrive near the school. I look at my watch worriedly. Anuraag and Siddharth hadn’t arrived by then. But no, there they were- racing down at top speed!! 

We hide our cycles near the open ground outside the school and walk briskly towards the Gunpowder House. By any means, we have to reach before those men, so that we can hide appropriately. The Park Guest House is only a 2 minutes’ walk from the school, and on reaching there, we have a quick glance at the annex of the Gunpowder House.

Not a soul in sight. The place is dark, sinister and super-quiet as usual. I tell Anuraag to go to the Riverside Park first and wait for the men to arrive. Then he would text us about which of the two routes they were coming from and he would take the other route to the Gunpowder House and join us.

We wish him luck and part ways. After reaching the premises of the Gunpowder House, we scan the area and it seems nobody was there before us. I close the backyard gate behind me carefully.

I hide besides the Phansi Ghar, while Siddharth positions himself near the conical warehouse used for storing gunpowder. Srijan lies in the open lawn just behind the Gunpowder House, and scatters some leaves near him. I check my inbox, if there’s any message from Anuraag, making sure that the screen’s brightness is low enough. I only hope Anuraag is safe there.

Fifteen minutes pass… Fifteen awfully long minutes… mosquitoes were biting and we start doubting if those men would ever come back. Suddenly a beep sound. I open my cellphone and read the message from Anuraag.

“Two boats approaching the Riverside… ”

And within a couple of minutes, another series of messages from Anuraag.

“Boats arrived…”

“Five men taking left turn towards GPH…”

“Be careful… I am on my way.”

 “Hurry up, man.”- I reply.

I whistle and signal Srijan and Siddharth to be ready.

Gosh! We better get ready… They would be there anytime soon… I look up at the night sky… In the dim moonlight, I wonder what would happen tonight at 9 P.M.

For a split second, I get an eerie feeling that someone just entered the backyard. I’m alerted by, I don’t know, a dry leaf getting crushed or maybe just a change in the air currents. I close my eyes and listen carefully. I feel a slight shift in the rather rhythmic sounds accompanying the area. Quick footsteps follow and I distinctly hear the sound of dry leaves getting crushed. The sound stops and then it’s all quiet. Very quiet…

Thoughts race down my mind… So they didn’t use the backyard gate and instead came from the front side! But there Srijan was hidden, and with the least amount of cover. Anuraag had told that the men were coming from the backside, so why the sound from the lawn?

Unless, unless someone else was behind this too!

Shit! I hope Srijan doesn’t get caught. Then in a minute, a loud creaking sound makes me nearly jump and drop my torch. The men had arrived!

So what was that noise before? Doesn’t matter now, ‘cause we can’t just escape now.

I quietly crouch further into the dense bushes and hide myself well. The men take some steps, turn right and then enter the annex of the Gunpowder House. I can barely make out their location as they were using low intensity torches. Again, the same scraping sound I and Srijan heard few days back.

All of a sudden, baring few street lights everything blacks out. I check my watch. It’s 9 P.M. sharp. Complete darkness… I think of turning the torch on, but that could make matters worse so I abandon that idea. I strain my eyes to see what was happening, but nothing except the occasional scraping and hammering sound could be heard.

Suddenly, the sound stops… And there’s complete silence. A dim light remains fixated on the last arch of the annex.

Out of curiosity, I move a couple of feet forward. I could hear whispers in fast succession.

“Mil gaya!”- Someone exclaims and then a series of “Ssh” sounds.

I got puzzled. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I crawl on the ground and start moving towards the sound. Only a shovel doesn’t knock me off!!-I hope. Suddenly I hear crumbling of leaves ...They were dead close to me! In the faint moonlight, I see two shadowy figures cross me and take the left turn.

Oh my God! My face turns pale when I realize that’s exactly where Srijan was hiding!

A loud thud, and then lots of sounds and shrieks started. Sensing something was wrong, I and Siddharth rush towards Srijan’s hiding spot with our flashlights on. Through the stream of light, I see Srijan and a thin man next to him getting up from his fall.

Impulsively, I shout-“Catch him guys!! Don’t let him escape at any cost!” Out of nowhere, the bright light brings Anuraag in the field of view. He smacks a punch to the man and the man tumbles down again. Anuraag rushes and holds him again. Both engage in a fist-fight near the front gate.

At the same time, Siddharth shouts-“Hey, they are escaping from there!”

I turn and focus my torch to where Siddharth was pointing, and see the silhouettes of four men getting away from the backyard gate. I make a dash for them, but three of them had already gone outside. As bad luck would have it, the last man trips over something and falls down. I jump over him and pin him down. In the meantime Siddharth and Srijan arrive, and we manage to hold him firmly from escaping.

 “It’s no use, the man got away.”-Anuraag says, running short of breath. We surround the man and ask him what he and his group were doing in a defence area. He trembled, and begged to leave him. He says-“Babu, hame jane do. Hamne kuch nahi kiya…”

I cut him off and ask-“Whom do you work for? Jaldi bolo nahi to security aur police ko bulayenge.”

He shakily says-“Babu, ham boss ko kabhi nahi dekhe. Hame unke ek assistant ne order diya tha ki yaha kuch important chiz khojkar Boss ke pas lekar jana hain. Lekin mujhe jane dijiye, hamne kuch nahi kiya. Police mat bulaiye...”

We take him near the annex, and ask him to answer our questions fast.

“Aur yaha kya kar  rahe the?”- I ask.

The man seems to have calmed down a bit. He replies-“Iske pehle bhi aap logo ne hame dekha tha. Us din bhi ham log ek box dhund rahe the. Tab pata nahi tha, yeh upar mein chupa hua tha.”- pointing towards the arch, which was now partly broken.

“Pehle ham logo ne zameen mein khoda tha. Badme pata chala ki zameen mein nahi, shayad wo upar mein tha. Aaj assistant ne hame upar khojne ke liye bola. Shayd usko malum tha ki box upar tha.”

“What’s in the box and where is it?”- I ask impatiently.

The man said that he had no idea about it’s contents as he had handed over the small box to the assistant, who had fled away.

Anuraag recollects that he saw something drop from the man’s hand when he was trying to catch hold of him. He exclaims-“I think the box fell somewhere near the front gate when he was fighting me. Let’s have a look.”

We take the man near the front gate and all of us scout the area. Soon enough, we see a dusty box lying over some bushes.

Anuraag picks it up and tries to break it open, but it doesn’t. I warn him not to do so because whatever in it could get damaged. He agrees, and we quickly decide to open it at home.

As for the man we caught, he seemed innocent. We got the box. And calling the security would compel us to answer lots of unwanted questions as we were roaming around too during the lockdown. Anuraag tells me to leave him. I nod. We let him go, and he runs for dear life.

We briskly walk to the Riverside Park, but there were no boats to be seen. They had all fled, and the last man must have hidden himself somewhere in the colony.

On the way, I ask Anuraag how and when he came back. He laughs and says-“I came from the front side, and there were lots of bushes and dry leaves while I was trying to reach inside. I thought I almost blew my cover. I only got to know that the men had arrived when there was that creaking sound from the backside. And some time later, I heard Srijan cry for help... That’s when I saw one of the men hurtling towards me. I tried my best to catch hold of him. I punched him straight in the face and I thought he was done for. I tried to hold him down but he managed to slip away.”

So that cleared it. I ask Srijan if he was hurt. He only giggled and said-“Dada, it was great fun! I should be awarded the M.V.P!”

We reach at home. And our faces flush with excitement and exhilaration, to see the treasure inside. “Come in, let’s break open the box now…I am bringing a tool or two from the garage.”

Anuraag says-“Whatever in it would be priceless, I hope…”

“Less talk and more action!” I burst out. “Just give it a whack and see.”

Srijan, Anuraag and Siddharth wait in the living room while I bring a wrench.  Without much effort, Anuraag breaks open the box but to his dismay, it seems just a tarnished gold ring at first sight with a tear-drop stone shaped over it.

Anuraag passes the ring to Srijan and Siddharth. They have a quick look before passing it on to me. I polish the ring and look at it through various angles. 

The ring was pretty heavy. It was beautifully crafted, with minute details all across. It was an excellent example of fine craftsmanship, and the tear-drop stone was covered with a two-layer design pattern all across it.

I notice a reddish tint on the tear-drop stone. I toss the ring up in the air and catch it. It makes a beautiful crimson arc halfway into it’s flight.

 “No Anuraag, don’t be disappointed. This ring is indeed special. Have a look again.”- I say, beaming with excitement.

I bring a steel knife and before anyone is able to say anything, I try to scratch the tear-drop with it.

 They feel relieved on seeing that I hadn’t cut my finger. I tell everyone to have a look at the ring.

“Not even a mark!”- Siddharth exclaims.

“Yes, exactly. It is probably a gemstone.”- I reply.

I draw out the sharp edge of the knife across the tear-drop and scratch it again.

The ring fills the room with an intense crimson colour and a red glow. It was as if the stone had come back to life. I toss the ring up and all of us try to catch it, laughing our hearts out. We finally succeeded!!

Dad comes on hearing the commotion in the living room. He remains spellbound for a moment, then he takes the ring and examines it carefully. Mom arrives too, and being excited to know the story she brings some snacks and cold drinks for us and sits down to listen.

Dad asks all of us to sit down and explain everything. He calls up Anuraag’s and Siddharth’s parents and tells them not to worry about them as they were here.

 “Where did you get this ring from? And this is ...it is probably ruby…a very rare one..”- pointing to the tear-drop.

We take turns explaining the various events briefly, me adding some points when something’s left out.

Mom scolds me for risking our lives in this adventure by not informing her and for taking my cousin Srijan.

“But all’s well that ends well, isn’t it?”- Srijan comes to my rescue. “And it was great fun! I will never forget this summer.”

“Well done kids!! Hmmm…But it hasn’t ended yet. Although you all found this beautiful ring, this is Government Property, and we can’t keep it. So let the right people handle this matter. I’ll call up Mr. Roy and the police and inform them about this discovery so that they can take appropriate actions”- saying this, Dad hands me the ring and goes outside to call Uncle Roy.

“Dada, this looks so much like the Soul Stone. And just when we find it, we have to hand it over. This is bad.”-Srijan exclaims.

“Yeah, kudos to you. We wouldn’t have found this if it were not for you.”- I say, realizing that our week-long adventure was finally coming to an end.

“Mr. Roy will come tomorrow along with the police. Please come to see the end of this adventure you all pulled off, Siddharth and Anuraag.”- Dad says.

It’s already 11 P.M… I bid Anuraag and Siddharth goodnight and tell them to come tomorrow in the morning. Back at home, I spend the night explaining to Dad about various questions and doubts regarding our adventure.

Next day, everything was full of activity. Anuraag and Siddharth had already arrived. We were discussing about various games, the online classes and just random stuff.

 Uncle Roy, along with a policeman from the local police station and one of his colleague from the Archaeological Survey came at about 10. Uncle Roy has a quick chat with Dad, before meeting us.

Uncle Roy asks us-“Great job, the four of you! It was a pleasant surprise to know that you found something I couldn’t during my research over here. I always had an apprehension that there are important historical artifacts and stuff hidden in and around the colony, and of course- The Gunpowder House. Now then, before you explain your story, I would like to have a look at the ring first.”

We hand over the ever glowing ring to Uncle Roy. It takes him some time to register this surprise, before he asks us to explain about our little adventure.

“Tuhin, I’m impatient to hear about the entire adventure. Please go on..”

I take the lead in setting up the atmosphere and explaining the turn of events.

As soon as I mention the word “chit”, Srijan jumps up and exclaims-

“But Dada, that was just a grocery bill!”

“Not just an ordinary bill…It had lines and numberings all over it. It took me some time to deduce it, but I finally succeeded. Have a look.”- I pause, showing the chit to Uncle Roy.

“Those three numbers 50, 30 and 50,” pointing to the three numbers, “actually represent the approximate footsteps denoting the distances from the annex to the three gates. That cross probably means the gate is locked. That rectangular block is basically the annex.”

“And where exactly did you find it?”- Uncle Roy asks.

“During our second encounter, I saw a torch light hovering over the upper portions of the annex. Next day, I took multiple photographs of the annex from various angles. I had a hunch that there was something fishy about the annex.

Think about it. After all, when there are poisonous snakes around, and you don’t want to come across one of them, you should probably use the torch to check the ground near you.

So while I was scrolling through the photographs, one of them caught my attention.” – And then I show the photographs.

Everyone crowds around me, and looks at the pictures.

“If you observe carefully, all the arches in the annex have perfect symmetry except for the last one. It seemed as if the arch covered with a secondary layer of bricks. This was the back side view. When I went in through it and came out on the front side, I saw the narrow pathway leading to the front gate. 

And, some portion of the arch was broken on the front side.”- I say.

“You didn’t tell us this, bro.”- I hear Anuraag and Siddharth murmur.

“So that accounts for the place. But as soon as you knew about this, why didn’t you dig out the ring before them? Why wait for them and risk your lives?”- Uncle Roy asks.

“Well, we had the least idea of what they were upto. And since we were more interested in finding out what happened, we thought to hold back and watch.”- I reply.

“And what about the D’day? How did you deduce the fact that were coming on 5^th April?”- Uncle Roy asks grimly.

“During our second encounter, I and Srijan heard the man speaking to someone. He said something like- Ha saab, jagah mark kar liye hain. Park wale to ghar mein  … diya jalainge…...

Judging by the words he spoke, it seemed as if he was a marksman. So in a way, I was relieved. That we still had one last shot at finding out what they were searching for.

Regarding the date when they would arrive, I didn’t do anything much. That night, during dinner I watched the news. That’s when I heard about switching off all lights on 5^th April and lighting diyas, candles etc.

It made sense that 5^th April was the best chance to sneak into the sinister place again.”- I reply.

“Sure it makes sense”, Uncle Roy agrees. “That was smart of you to guess this.”

I take a glass of water and then resume explaining the rest.

Just as I finish, the police officer immediately asks me regarding those men.

“How did they know about the ring? Who were they working for?”

Everyone looks at me, but I put my head down in disappointment.

Uncle Roy shares his thoughts-“Probably these guys are hired persons and their boss must be some antique dealer or smuggler. It’s about a decade back when I was doing research on this place… I did receive many calls enquiring about the reason of selecting this place. 

Even I got a call from Mr. Subhash Kapoor- a renowned international antique dealer. I am pretty sure that the boss of this gang must be an antique dealer. I suppose you boys have done a wonderful work. Its now upto the Police Dept. to find out further truth.”

The Police Officer nodded…… “Yeah, we will do that.”

“Uncle, apart from the gemstone, is there anything unique about the ring, or let’s say- it’s origin?”-Asks Siddharth.

“Just look at the ring carefully…” - Uncle Roy replies calmly, while minutely brushing the ring.

“I can guess. See, the ring has two motifs sort of, just supporting the stone on both the sides.

 It symbolizes the head of a tiger.”-says the ASI Officer and continues. 

“Mr. Roy, you may recollect that in 2014, a gold ring was auctioned in London and was sold ten times more than the estimate. The ring belonged to Tipu Sultan and it was inscribed with the name of the Hindu God ‘RAM’ in Devnagari script. This ring also has similar motifs of tiger head just beside the gems.”

“You mean…You mean to say, this ring belonged to Tipu Sultan!”- says Uncle Roy, exclaiming.

“But then how did it come to Ishapore from Mysore?” asks Anuraag in utter surprise.

“I guess, on defeating Tipu Sultan in the Third Anglo-Mysore War… Lord Cornwallis and his East India Company received huge sum of wealth and money, as per the Treaty of Srirangpatnam as a War cost settlement in 1792, mostly in the form of gems and jewellery. 

Few of them were kept by Lord Cornwallis as personal treasures- a symbol of his big victory in India. You all know that Lord Cornwallis had an office here at Ishapore just 100 meters from the place where this ring was found. 

As it was his personal treasure, he probably carried it with him most of the time. And obviously, he wouldn’t hide his prized treasures himself for no reason. So that leaves behind one option.. That his close associates, or persons working under him had stolen it. If not stolen, they might have got it in a misplaced condition. Nevertheless, the British were ruthless, and the consequences could be terrible. 

Therefore, the ring was safely hidden somewhere that dint attract much attention- The Gunpowder House.

But whoever hid it, didn’t dare to retrieve it due to fear of being caught. But the story must have been passed on, generations after generation about something being hidden there.

And perhaps, this story was heard by many, including artifact collectors.”-says Uncle Roy.

“Yes, that seems the most logical explanation.”- nods the ASI officer.

After our hour- long interactive conversation, we eat the tasty snacks that Mom had made. Time to time we look at the ring again, and marvel at it’s intricate design and the ever-glowing ruby.

“Uncle, wouldn’t this ring fetch a handsome amount of money?”-Srijan asks curiously.

“See Srijan, money is not everything that matters. It’s more about the history the ring carries with itself. Imagine it being a ray of hope for Tipu Sultan during his brave battles. India has a rich history, and this is a small part of it.”- Uncle replies.

“And the tear drop, it’s made of ruby, right?”- Anuraag asks.

“Most likely, it is ruby…Look at how it shines, even after two hundred years. Two hundred years, and it still dazzles with that red glow…”

The police officer looks at his watch and says-“Mr.Roy, I think it’s getting late. We should visit the site now.”

Uncle Roy replies hastily-“Oh yes, yes. I totally forgot about the time. Tuhin, I think we must get going.”

“Uncle, should we accompany you?”- I ask.

“Relax, you all have done a lot already. I’m well acquainted of the Gunpowder House. And by the way, you explained it so well, I won’t have any trouble at all. You guys had a rough night yesterday. You should rather have some rest. We will manage everything. And don’t forget, the lockdown is still going on!”- Uncle says with a hearty laugh.

We laugh too, and Srijan giggles.

“So goodbye boys, for now!”- He says, moving towards the car.

Before getting into the car, Uncle Roy turns and tells us-

“Well done boys! And Srijan, a remarkable feat you pulled off! You know, Tuhin, the colony you are living in right now- that itself is more than two centuries old. Even this bungalow is 115 years old. You never know, you might find something historically invaluable right over the ground you stand now. So next time, I’m counting on you guys to find something interesting again…”

The car zooms ahead, and we watch it take the left turn towards the Gunpowder House. To the place where we pulled off an amazing adventure and one we won’t forget anytime soon.

Eventually, the four of us get over it. We learn to keep ourselves busy at home. And playing CSGO occasionally. We stay at home, have video calls and have fun recollecting how accidentally we found the ring. We nearly forgot we were in lockdown!!

                                                                     ------X-----
Special thanks to my college buddy Sourashis who supported me!

Thanks for reading the entire story. I am very excited about this story and I hope whoever reads it likes it too. Please comment, so that I get your most precious thoughts and valuable suggestions on this story.
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