CHAPTER 14

I was right. When the ettukettu was demolished that portion was not removed completely. I have a feeling only a little portion was removed, which is why it looks so bulky for a nalukettu. Now what I have to do is to eliminate those rooms from the sketch we got, and draw a fresh sketch, and what then? Let's see what happens then. l have taken out the copper chess plate from the drawer. Vananda had brought it along without fail.

When I told her about my dialogue with Muthassari, Vandana said.

"Right you are, Dad. We'll draw a fresh sketch, but then we need the computer. We should have brought that with us. I could easily draw it in the pc."

"I'll bring it tomorrow itself." I said. "If I go in the morning I can be back by evening. I can't bring the UPS. It's mighty heavy."

"Doesn't matter, I'll save it every five minutes. Now, what will you do when the sketch is ready?"

"Tell you frankly, dear. I have absolutely no idea what to do next. Whatever I do, I am doing with a sudden impulse, with a feeling that we will reach somewhere. I had this feeling right from my childhood. Mother used to say it is God, and I would tell her that it was fate. I don't know if there is a third element that works on me."

"If I ask you a question will you give me true answer?"

"What's that, dear?"

That writing box you saw on the attic. Mom said she could open it once when she went with you. Was it true? Could Mom really open it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Now tell me."

"Mom is under the impression that she could open it," I said, "but the truth is that she couldn't do it."

When I explained to her what exactly happened on that day, how I pushed the lid without her knowing it, she said.

"Even I couldn't open it!"

"So you went up to the attic? With whom did you go?"

"I went there this Wednesday, alone."

I was dumbfounded. That blasted attic has become the most dreaded place for me. It was there that this fifteen year old ventured alone! Seeing that I am not speaking, she asked.

"Are you angry with me, Dad?"

"Not angry, dear. Somehow I have a feeling that it is not a place to visit, which is why I have decided to dispose of this house. I wanted to make a last attempt before selling it off. Now if this also doesn't work, let it go."

Vandana fell silent.

"It is okay dear. Now don't go to the attic alone. If there is company at least you could call out for help."

She nodded.

"I'll go get a Photostat copy of this sketch. Whatever we find missing from the building can be cut off in the sketch. Then we'll take it downstairs once again and try to compare the sketch with the building layout. You can then put it in your PC."

"Dad, you do one thing. When you go to get the PC you can scan a copy of this sketch, so you need not carry the scanner. If it is scanned my work will be easier."

"Done."

The photocopy of the sketch looked clearer. Since I have blown up the size to A3 even the corridors and the small rooms in between are clear. If you scan it, it will still be clearer. You can zoom in any portion to have a good look, as if we look through a magnifying glass.

Sitting in the bus I was thinking. What's the matter with me? Am I crazy? I have a good job and am comfortable with my family. In between I am running after all these mad ideas. I am doing all these just because some eccentric ancestor had created an etching of a chess board. And I don't find any meaning to that blasted board. When I try to brush aside the whole affair as a silly interlude, something crops up that you cannot brush aside as meaningless. Some incidences I cannot ignore as madness. Let someone explain the meaning of those eerie incidences, and I will stop all these, pack up my family and go home quietly. I can sell off this huge structure that's neither a nalukettu nor an ettukettu at any price and live peacefully. But those incidences were inexplicable. Since it happens to more than one person I cannot treat it as my illusions or imaginations. So I am sure that some power behind me is forcing me to do what I am doing right now. What for?

It was 8 O'clock when I reached home. Luckily for us there was current. In this god forsaken corner electricity is a rarity. It can snap any time, and once it goes in the night time you will have to wait until next day. Some ten years back when I did the wiring and got electric connection I have covered only this room on the first floor. Even on the ground floor I have taken connection only in those rooms we use. What use wiring all the locked rooms?

In the absence of UPS the computer was connected through a spike arrester. When booted Windows opened its eyes and started smiling like a good boy. Vandana let out a sign of relief. Her only tension and worry was about the demise of her PC, since she is not in the habit of backing up her files. If the hard disk fails she will lose all that she has done for the last few months. Perhaps her first prayer reaching the temple would for the health of her computer.

There was noolpittu for breakfast. I liked it for its rarity. It’s sort of noodles but much thinner and made of rice powder made to a smooth dough by mixing boiling water. Even if there is no curry I can devour it dipping in sweetened milk. Today the curry was good, boiled egg in coconut milk with onion sautéed coconut oil with spices. After breakfast me and Vandana took the sketch and started our exploration and survey. We started taking measurement of each and every room, corridor, since this is needed to find out if there are any hidden rooms in between. I also had an intention to prepare a dimensioned sketch to present to prospective buyers. I think I should ask Vandana to prepare a foolproof drawing of the whole building later on. That can wait.

The rooms are as expected dimly lit and we had to use torchlight to take measurements. Many of the rooms were littered with furniture and other household articles, bed, table and chairs, cloth hangers, pictures and photos on the walls. There were rice grains littered on the floor of some rooms, probably because they were used to store paddy. The smell of antiquity hung on every room.

We had spent the whole day, except the one hour spent for lunch, mapping, and by evening we got almost all the information we needed to create the dimensioned sketch. Now we will have to analyze the information and create the sketch. Looking at the tired face of her daughter at dinner time Indira said.

"Look at the madness of this father and his daughter!"

It was surprising. Indira who had shown so much interest in the matter doesn't even ask us anything about it. In a way it was good. If she also enters the arena we would all be starving. We were talking about today's exploration. Listening to it she seems interested. There should be one person to cook!

After a good night's sleep we got up thinking about today's plans. We should take measurements from outside. Outside all walls are not the symmetrical. There are nichés and indentations, but all matched with the sketches. We marked all dimensions in the sketch. Now when you actually draw the sketch with these measurements some problems would crop up.

Since the plan was scanned Vandana could create a sketch easily in the computer. One room after another the whole of the ground floor developed on the screen. She is creating wonders with the Google Sketchup software. When she draws some three or four rooms she would make a 3D version and show me the same in different angles. When I sit by her side wondering at the possibilities of 3D animation, she would coolly continue sketching. She knew that her Dad is sitting wonderstruck, but she would pretend not to have noticed it. That's part of her childish behavior.

As the sketch progressed a problem cropped up. She said.

"Dad, how come I'm not getting this portion correctly?"

"What's the problem dear?"

"Look, I can't draw these two rooms properly. There is a gap in between. Haven't we taken the measurements properly?"

Something in me started boiling and spilling out. At last could it be that my guess was correct? Without showing my excitement I coolly said.

"Come on let’s take the measurement once again. We have marked numbers on the doors of all the rooms we have measured. Now we only have to check those two rooms, right? Since you've given the same number in your sketch it is easy. They are 8 and 9, isn't it?"

We got hold of the tape and copy of the sketch and climbed down. The room number 9 is the room where we got the bundles of documents. When I am nearing the place my mind boils with excitement. We opened the room and took measurement. The width of the room is 12 ft, same as we had measured yesterday. Then we opened the next room and took measurement. That too is 12 ft. wide, exactly as it is mentioned in our sketch. But when we measured the rooms from outside wall these measurements don't match. The length is more. This means there is a gap of nearly 6 ft. between these two rooms. Deducting the thickness of the walls we still get 5 ft. We again measured from inside the space from the door to the wall on both the rooms and compared it with the outside measurement. Yes, there is a room 5 ft. wide hidden between these two rooms!

Suddenly it occurred to me that this is the room where I had seen the illusion of a flight of stairs coming down! So that must be the staircase room. But why was it hidden from view?

Now Vandana is excited too. She is inspecting the outside wall for signs of a possible patch up. If it is the staircase room there ought to be a door to the corridor. If they had closed it there must be some signs of it.

There was nothing to indicate that the wall was redone there. Every inch of it is as smooth as other spots on the wall. Now what?

The only thing that we can do is to break the wall on either side of the room to enter it. We'll wait until dark for that, so said Indira too. Only when we showed and explained the sketch did Indira realize that there is something to it.

"The problem now is..." I told Vandana, "We have one more person to share the treasure with!"

"I don't know if anybody else also will come with a claim." Vandana said with a smile.

"I don't want your treasure." Indira in a gesture to prolong the fun said. "If you want expert opinion, please consult me, anytime, anywhere. I am at your disposal."

"Leave us alone!"

"Devi is asking....." Indira said. "Why are they taking measurement and all? I said they are looking for a treasure."

"Did you really tell her that? Now it will be talk of the town in no time."

"Are you crazy? Will I ever tell her? I was kidding. I told her that they are taking the measurements of the building to create a sketch. I don't know if she is satisfied with my answer. She must be thinking why all of a sudden this father and daughter are taking so much trouble to draw sketch and all. It doesn't matter whatever she thinks."

That night we took a long wire plugged in the dining room to get light to that room. I brought pick axe and spade and started work. The work was hard, since I have no experience in this sort of hard work, and secondly the excitement is telling on me. You never know what you are going to see in that hidden room. Skeletons? It could be anything. Once we have removed three four bricks I took the torch and checked up inside the room. There was nothing in it. I entered the room followed by Vandana. It was just a room like any other one. The floor is cemented with red oxide. The ceiling is wooden only. I lighted the torch to the ceiling to check for any possible joints where the opening of a staircase was closed. There was nothing to indicate that there was an opening. It was a normal wooden ceiling as in any other room.

"Dad, could it be under the floor somewhere?"

I taped the floor with the handle of the spade. The same hard sound everywhere, no indication of a room or hollow space under the floor.

"Why don't you come out? It is enough." Indira said peeping through the hole.

"Right she is, let's get out of here."

I was starting to suffocate in that room without ventilation. This room, apart from being a new enigma, proves nothing. The old man has decided to try me hard.