42
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Even with sixteen jewellers assisting them, it was taking the audit team far longer to evaluate the contents of Vault A than they had imagined. The valuation process itself was extremely cumbersome. The jewellers would inspect every item in the vault, affix a value to it, wrap it in diamond paper, place it in a pouch and tag it appropriately.
Subhash was the first to protest. ‘At this pace, it will take over a year to value all of this! What happens to our businesses? I need to be back in Mumbai and then Gujarat for a day and then New York. If I don’t go my business will suffer.’
‘But this has to be done, too,’ Nirav reasoned.
‘Is there a way we can hand this over to someone else and exit this project? Or maybe get a bigger team to manage this?’
Nirav nodded. ‘There’s no harm in asking. Let’s chat with Vikram at dinner. This is not the right place to bring this up.’
The jewellers had moved to a heap of coins lying at the far end of the large attic. The coins would be easy to value. They just had to establish that they were made of gold and then weigh them. There were no precious stones to value in that mound.
Shortly after noon, the team came out of the vault for lunch. As usual, Kannan was waiting for them in the temple precinct. He saw Rajan and handed over his lunch. Rajan was very particular about eating lunch prepared at home. He had health issues and at his age he didn’t want outside food to complicate things for him. As it was the stress of the audit was getting to him.
‘It’s been a while and yet it looks like we have achieved nothing,’ Vikram Rai commented once they had settled.
‘Oh, you will feel the same a few weeks down the line,’ said Ranjit Dubey.
Vikram smiled and looked at the others. ‘The wealth is staggering. Isn’t it?’
Subhash immediately stopped poking around on his plate and looked up. ‘Oh yes. Must be worth over fifteen billion dollars, well over one lakh crore rupees. Maybe even significantly more than that.’
‘And we haven’t even finished work on one vault,’ Vikram added.
‘Precisely.’
‘Just imagine what the government could do with such wealth . . . the possibilities are endless.’ Nirav joined the conversation. ‘Kerala will soon become the most progressive state in the country.’
Ranjit nodded. ‘This is a huge sum of money for the people of Kerala. It could take care of almost all the development and infrastructure needs of the state for a decade.’
‘This is a huge sum of money even for the country. It exceeds the education outlay in this year’s budget. In fact, it is larger than the budget for most states in the nation,’ R. Dalawa, the chief secretary of the state of Kerala who was also on the audit team, said.
‘This money is not the government’s to take and spend!’ Rajan burst out. ‘Why should any government stake claim to this money? It belongs to the temple. It is the lord’s wealth. Neither the Kerala government nor the Central government should take it. Irrespective of how much it is.’
‘But you didn’t file this case to see the money rot here, did you?’ Ranjit Dubey questioned, surreptitiously rubbing his thighs together. The urge to pass urine was back. He had gone to the toilet on the vault level right before they had sat down to eat. It was too soon for him to have that urge in the normal course. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to Rajan.
‘You don’t understand,’ Rajan insisted. ‘I never wanted the wealth to be taken out of the temple. What I wanted was a clear, documented record of how much wealth is in the temple. That’s it.’ He looked around. No one spoke. They were clearly not in agreement. ‘This wealth is the temple’s. No one can touch it. Neither the king. Nor the government.’
An uncomfortable silence descended on the room. Everyone focused on finishing their food before they had to return to the vault. Vikram Rai excused himself as he had some calls to make. As always, Rajan handed over his lunch bag to Kannan and continued towards the vault.
‘Is this guy your man Friday?’ Nirav asked Rajan as Kannan left.
‘He has been with us for a really long time. His mother worked for my family for years. After his father died, my family took him in and looked after him. Now he helps us with small errands. He’s a very dependable soul.’
Nirav smiled. ‘You don’t get people like these, these days.’
‘Absolutely. He will even give his life for us should the need arise. He is that kind of person.’
‘Touch wood,’ said Nirav as he stepped inside the vault.
43
Kabir and Madhavan returned to the hotel after a long day’s work. At their insistence, Kerala Police had checked every single hotel in the city for Shreyasi Sinha, but was unable to trace her. While it was unlikely that the staff would remember everyone who had walked into their hotel, the investigators were not taking chances. They showed her photograph around but nobody could recognize her. Next, they scanned all the ID proofs the hotels had collected while checking in guests, to no avail. In the end they left photographs at every hotel reception with instructions to call the police control room the moment they saw the woman in the picture.
‘What makes you think she is still in Thiruvananthapuram?’ Madhavan asked as they walked into the coffee shop at the Lotus Pond.
‘We need to start somewhere. This is where she landed and airlines’ manifests show that she has not yet flown out of the city.’
‘She could have left by train or by road!’ Madhavan responded, stunned by Kabir’s apparent naivety.
Kabir let out a puff of air. ‘That’s a possibility,’ he agreed irritably. ‘If you have a better plan, we will go with that.’
Sensing his mood, Madhavan quietly walked ahead and pressed the button to summon the lift. He was hungry and wanted some food but was scared to even mention it to Kabir. A quiet meal in his room would be better than dinner in the hotel restaurant with an ill-tempered Kabir Khan.
The lift arrived with a bing sound and as soon as the doors opened a young couple stepped out. They looked around suspiciously and walked towards the coffee shop. Kabir turned. There was something fishy about them. He wanted to stop them. His hands even went to the picture in his shirt pocket to confirm if the girl was not Shreyasi. She couldn’t have been; Shreyasi was far older, in her early forties. The couple looked like they were in their twenties.
‘Don’t be paranoid!’ Madhavan scolded as the lift doors closed behind them
‘There was something odd about their behaviour. As if they didn’t want to be seen.’
‘Maybe they are lovers having a tryst in this hotel.’
‘If that were the case, they wouldn’t have come out together. They would make sure they were not seen with each other. It is something else,’ Kabir said thoughtfully.
‘Let’s not get distracted, Kabir,’ Madhavan reminded him. Kabir nodded reluctantly.
Back in his room, Kabir Khan spent some time reflecting on the case. What had begun as an isolated case of robbery at the Wafi Mall in Dubai had now blown up into a full-fledged investigation into an international case of stolen antiques. Temple loot, smuggling, frauds . . . this had become a lot bigger than anything he had imagined. His tweet to the prime minister and the Australian government’s subsequent response had caught the attention of the national media. Kabir needed a bigger team. He couldn’t just rely on Tamil Nadu Police for assistance. After weeks of investigation they had only one clue, one link in the entire racket. Shreyasi Sinha. Who seemed to have disappeared. How deep was her involvement? Only time would tell.
Kabir switched on the TV. He hated being in a silent room. From the room service menu he ordered some dal and veg fried rice—the safest north Indian meal in a Kerala hotel. Then he dialled Madhavan’s number and apologized for his paranoia. ‘If you are not in the mood to eat alone, you can join me for dinner,’ he suggested.
As he hung up the phone, the headline on the local edition of the Times of India lying on the
centre table caught his eye.
‘God’s will vs. Court Order: 48 hours to Devaprasnam’ it said.
44
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Nirav woke up with a start. He switched on the bedside lamp and looked at his phone. It was midnight, merely fifteen minutes since he had gone to sleep. Someone was at the door.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The banging persisted.
‘Who is it?’
There was no reply. The banging continued. How could the hotel allow such unruly people to simply walk up to people’s rooms! Especially on a floor with additional security.
‘Who is it?’ he asked again as he shuffled towards the door, the hotel slippers slowing him down. He peered through the peephole, but couldn’t see anything. There was something, possibly a hand, covering it. He panicked.
‘Who is it?’ he repeated. A little softly this time.
No response.
Slowly, after making sure that the safety chain was in place, he turned the latch and pulled the door open.
The temple was bustling with people even at midnight. The temple thantri and several other temple officials were making arrangements for the Devaprasnam that would begin in a little over thirty-six hours.
Through the complex astrological procedure of the Devaprasnam, the temple priests would determine the will of the reigning deity. The thantris of the temple would draw up two astrological charts, referred to as the Rasi Chakra. Each of its twelve cells denoted a particular planetary position which depended on the time and date of the construction of the temple and the installation of the deities as well as certain key happenings in the course of the temple’s existence. The puja would begin with the lighting of two lamps and prayers invoking the blessings of Dakshina Murthy, the god of astrology. A gold coin, called puthu panam, would be kept in the centre of the Rasi Chakra. Once the puja ended, the puthu panam would be given to a child less than seven years old and therefore uncorrupted by worldly desires. The child would then be asked to place the coin on one of the cells of the Rasi Chakra. Using the Vedic analysis of this and various divine signs—nimithams—the priests would arrive at their interpretation of the will of the deity.
The entire process would take three days. This was the first time that a Devaprasnam was being held in the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Public interest was at its peak. Hectic preparations were on to ensure that nothing went wrong with the prestigious event.
Vikram Rai and his team had neither sanctioned the event nor denied permission.
Nirav couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
‘H . . . how did you get here?’ he stammered, as he unhooked the safety chain and pulled the door open.
‘Happy birthday, Dad!’ Divya shouted gleefully and hugged Nirav. ‘Tell me,’ she said, ‘how many of your birthdays have I missed till date?’ And then without even waiting for him to answer, she volunteered, ‘None! Then how could I have missed this one?’
Aditya had been observing the reunion of father and daughter with a quiet smile. Now he stepped forward and wished Nirav.
‘Come in! Come in!’ Nirav said ushering them inside. He quickly dismissed the security guard who had accompanied Aditya and Divya with a nod and a muttered ‘thank you’.
‘When did you arrive?’ Nirav asked as soon as he shut the door.
‘This morning,’ said Divya. ‘You were at the temple when I came.’
‘I’m so glad you came! Such a wonderful surprise.’ Nirav was grinning from ear to ear.
‘How could I have not come, Dad? I thought you’d come back in the afternoon, but the manager told me that your team usually returns late at night. That’s when I coaxed Aditya into coming.’ She smiled at Aditya. ‘He landed in the evening.’
‘She wouldn’t have missed your special day for anything, sir.’
Nirav’s smile widened, and he pulled Divya into a hug. Suddenly, he turned to Aditya and, with narrowed eyes, demanded, ‘Where are you staying?’
‘Daaad! Come on!’ Divya exclaimed in mock anger before Aditya could respond. ‘In the same hotel,’ she said with a touch of defiance, her hands on her hips, head tilted to the right. After a pause she added, ‘In another room.’
‘That’s fine then.’ Nirav smiled and went back to hugging his daughter.
‘Do you realize that in the recent past, this is the longest that I have gone without seeing you? Particularly since Mom . . .’ Divya had tears in her eyes.
Bored with the waterworks and family drama, Aditya excused himself with a nod and returned to his room after a while.
That night Nirav slept well. He was happy to have met his daughter after so long. Divya stayed with him for some time and then went back to her room. She had initially planned to sleep in Nirav’s room, but the AC in his room was too cold for her comfort. The thermostat had blown and was not responding to their attempts at adjusting the temperature. Nirav was not too bothered. Divya called him ‘thick-skinned’ and left.
45
Back in her room, Divya picked up her phone to send Aditya a message. She opened her WhatsApp and saw that he was online. She wondered why he was still awake at that hour—it was almost 3 a.m. She went to her contacts and tapped on his name. Just as the phone was dialling his number, the screen blacked out and the phone turned off. It had run out of battery. Mumbling a curse, Divya connected it to the charger.
Rather than wait for the phone to charge, she picked up the hotel telephone and called Aditya’s room. The phone rang a few times, but there was no answer. ‘He’s probably turned off the ringer,’ she said to herself. She was about to give up and go to sleep when she remembered that she had one of the key cards for Aditya’s room. She pulled it out from her bag and hurried to room 704. She inserted the key card in the slot and the door opened with a click. She walked in.
There was no one in the room.
A shocked and worried Divya walked up to the hotel phone kept on the side table, next to the bed. She picked it up and was about to dial Aditya’s number when on a whim, she pressed another button. She looked at the screen of the phone, thought for a while, put down the receiver and walked out of the room.
Her eyes were red with unshed tears. She went back to her room, grabbed her phone and waited for the lift. When it stopped on her floor, she got in and pressed the button to go up to a higher floor.
46
Day of Devaprasnam
When the audit team arrived at the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple at 6 a.m., the place was buzzing with activity. The king, who normally greeted them every day, was in his room.
It was a large, lavishly appointed room—thirty feet in length and about the same in width. There was a separate lounge area where a massive ancient swing made of teak wood hung from the rafters. In front of it, in a semicircle, stood four ornate chairs, which were clearly a few centuries old. Beyond the swing was a wall made of rough grey blocks of stone.
‘You are early today?’ the king said as Vikram Rai and the team entered, and smiled.
‘So are you, Thirumanassu,’ Rajan replied, rather curtly.
‘Of course. It’s a great day for all of us. I came in because of the Ashtamangala Devaprasnam. Just to make sure that everything goes fine.’
‘And is it?’ Vikram asked. ‘Going fine, I mean.’
Dharmaraja Varma nodded. ‘All arrangements have been made. We are now waiting for the Daivajnas to arrive.’
‘Daivajnas?’
‘Vedic jyotishis. Astrologers,’ Rajan clarified. ‘They are the ones who will perform the Devaprasnam over the next three days and find out the Devahitam—the divine will of Lord Anantha Padmanabha Swamy.’
Ranjit Dubey twitched in his seat. His discomfort was mounting. He wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.
Vikram nodded and looked at the others.
‘Expecting a crowd?’ Nirav asked Rajan.
‘No,’ the king spoke up. ‘It is not a very public event. There will be a few people, but not many outsiders. The chief minister
and a few important people may drop by tomorrow.’
Suddenly a young boy, not more than sixteen years old, darted in. He stopped for a second, looked at the people in the room, and then at the king and said, ‘Brahmashree is here.’
‘I will be right there,’ replied the king and got up from his chair. ‘Excuse me, gentlemen. I will be back soon.’
The moment the king left the room, Vikram turned to Rajan. ‘Explain!’
‘Brahmashree Narayana Bhatt. He is the head of the Daivajnas. The one who controls the Devaprasnam.’
Ranjit Dubey squirmed again. It was time to go.
Outside, there was a fair bit of activity going on. A group of people was fussing over a child.
‘So this is the child through whom the lord will give his verdict?’ Nirav asked Rajan as they headed for the vault.
The latter didn’t like the tone of Nirav’s question. ‘Look,’ he said. ‘Faith is something which is inherent. I cannot teach you to believe. You either do or you don’t. You may not believe in the rituals that are being performed here. That is your choice. But don’t ridicule them.’
‘Oh no!’ Nirav was suddenly on the defensive. ‘I was just curious.’
Rajan didn’t labour the point. ‘Yes, based on the timing of the puja and the activities which the child does, the astrologers arrive at a conclusion. They claim this is science, not superstition.’
‘What do you think?’
‘Well, it is part science for sure. Part experience. I don’t know what you would call it. The proponents of this are specially trained and experienced astrologers.’ And he began explaining the concept of the Devaprasnam. Nirav stopped short of rolling his eyes; he was hearing it for the seventh time.
Ranjit Dubey was desperate now. It had been two hours since he last went to the bathroom and his bladder was about to burst. No one in the team was really bothered about it. There was no sympathy for him. How he hated his stint here! But there was no choice. He hurriedly turned back in search of a bathroom.
In the Name of God Page 11
