Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Madhavi S. Mahadevan
by CBT 1989
ISBN 81-7011-433-0
Published by Children's Book Trust, Nehru House,
4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi, and printed at
the Trust's press, the Indraprastha Press, New Delhi.
THE
EMERALD
LINGAM
By Madhavi S. Mahadevan
illustrated by
Sujasha Dasgupta
T h e morning was peaceful and sunny. But outside the village hospital a group of men talked in
tense whispers. Govinda was dying. At dawn, his
friend Chintamani, the village postmaster, had
discovered him, wounded and barely alive.
A police officer waited outside the patient's
room. "Doctor, will the patient recover?" he asked.
" H e is the only witness and the priest's evidence
is of vital importance in nabbing the culprits."
Dr. Srinivasan sighed. There was little hope,
although the doctor had done his very best.
Just then, Govinda opened his eyes.
5
Disguise
T h e news was prominently displayed on the
third page of the 'Goa Chronicle':
On trail
"Tr...ring!" T h e phone jangled noisily at the
local CBI headquarters. A tall, lean man
stretched to answer it.
"Alva, here."
" D ' C u n h a , sir," said the voice at the other end.
" O u r common friend just bought an air ticket for
Bangalore. Saturday. Noon flight."
"Any idea why?" asked Alva. D ' C u n h a told
him.
"Aunt!" snorted Alva. "I will bet you a bottle
o f f e n i (Goan drink made from cashew), there is
more to this...Thanks. Keep your eyes and ears
open."
Inspector Roderick Alva, better known as
'Sleepy' for his drowsy eyes, rolled a cigarette
thoughtfully. T he spires of St. C a j e t a n ' s Church
were visible from his office window. He gazed at
them while puffing at his cigarette.
A new office assistant with an armful of files
peeped in timidly. He sighed. Inspector Alva
seemed to be napping. But Sleepy was wide
awake and thinking hard.
9
Rajapuram
"Kartik! Wake up!" J a y a tugged at her elder
brother's sleeve. It was nearly seven a.m. and
they had promised to meet their friend Gowri,
early.
"Ten minutes," mumbled Kartik, turning over
10
14
The
Rathotsava
O t h e r shops selling incense sticks, kumkum (saffron), coconuts and fruits were doing a brisk
trade. " D o you two want to see the abhishekham
(ritual bath performed on idols)?" reminded Kartik.
"Let us h u r r y up. T h e crowd is getting bigger."
Racing up the steps, they reached the hilltop.
Tethering Chikki firmly at the entrance, the children went into the temple.
T h e crowd was large, and the noise intense.
T h e music reached a peak. In the sanctum
sanctorum a group of priests were performing the
abhishekham for the utsava murthi (idol taken around
in procession). T h e idol would later be taken out
in the temple car.
To the chanting of hymns, the idol was bathed
in milk, honey, sandalwood paste and holy water
in turn.
A curtain was d r a w n across while the idol was
dressed. Soon afterwards the nadaswaram began
reaching a crescendo. People swayed in ecstasy as
arati (waving of lit lamps) was performed for the
deity which was then carried to the decorated
temple car waiting at the foot of the hill.
T h e ratha, or temple car, was a replica of the
temple on wheels. Carved out of wood, it was
twenty feet high. T w o long, sturdy ropes were
attached to the front so that it could be towed
along.
A tourist bus from M a h a b a l i p u r a m had parked
nearby and the tourists were busy clicking photographs of the colourf ul scene.
"Look, the kavadi dancers!" Gowri pointed out
16
A ghost
R a j a p u r a m is a quaint village situated off the
beach road from Madras to Pondicherry. Centuries ago, it had been a minor port; now it is inhabited mainly by fisherfolk and farmers.
T h e streets are cobbled and narrow, flanked by
carved doorways of dwellings. Time has touched
R a j a p u r a m lightly. T h u s Murugesha's Hotel was
a striking contrast amidst such humble surroundings. Called Military, because the hotel served
non-vegetarian food, it was the village's only hotel
which boasted of lodgings and a modern decor.
T h e walls were bright blue, the floor red-tiled and
the tables and chairs painted a gay orange.
Murugesha, the fat proprietor, was a jovial
man with a penchant for wearing bright iungis
and listening to loud music.
"Ah...ha!" he grinned on seeing the three chil19
Murugesha grinned and winked at the children. " D o not get excited, grandfather," he said.
"It is not good at your age."
C h i n t a m a n i threw him a baleful look. He hated
any reference to his ninety years.
T h e retired postmaster was the oldest inhabitant of the village. Despite his age, he was a
sprightly fellow with a sharp tongue and a short
temper. However nobody was particularly scared
of him, and Murugesha always enjoyed these
altercations.
A black Fiat nosed past and came to a halt. A
man stepped out and looked at the signboard. "I
am looking for a room," he said, "for four days. Is
anything available?"
"Yes, of course, sir!" answered Murugesha
sensing a prospective customer. "A single room
with an attached bath . Meals served."
" T h a t will suit me," said the stranger.
" M a y I know your name, sir?" asked
Murugesha. "I have to enter it here."
"Shetty," said the man. "A.R. Shetty. I have
come from Bangalore. I am a freelance journalist
researching for an article on ancient temples in
this region."
"Ah...yes!" smiled Murugesha. "No doubt you
have come to see the Sundareswara temple which
is due to be reopened next week. T h e archaeologists are working on it. A team came all the way
from M a d r a s . "
Suddenly Chintamani, who had been staring
21
nately, a police constable h a d witnessed the accident and marched them both to the police station
to file a report.
In a fix
Inspector Alva was in trouble. It h a p p e n e d in
Bangalore, in the crowded Majestic area. Disguised in a brown wig, long moustache, dark glasses and a very colourful shirt, he passed easily for
a rich tourist. Sleepy was on N a t h a n ' s trail.
"Is the m a n mad?" he m u t t e r e d . His q u a r r y
was making a round of all the travel agencies in
the area. Apparently he was interested in a bus
tour of the South!
T h e crowd jostled Alva. C a r s honked, bicycle
bells rang furiously. Majestic was p a n d e m o n i u m
as usual.
N a t h a n had finally decided to eat lunch at the
crowded Elite Non-vegetarian Hotel, and Alva
who was famished, followed him in thankfully.
He chose a corner table behind a potted palm,
from where he could keep an eye on N a t h a n , a n d
ordered a feast of fried fish, m u t t o n biryani, chicken curry and naan. J u s t as he was polishing off a
dish of thick, sweet basundhi (a sweet dish m a d e of
milk), his quarry, N a t h a n , rose, paid the bill and
casually sauntered off.
Alva rose hurriedly and wiping his lips, m a d e
for the door.
"Just a minute!" yelled out the proprietor.
24
A lucky break
"Your man was last seen near K a n c h i p u r a m , "
said Inspector V a r a d a n at the CBI headquarters,
Madras. " T h e r e was a report of an accident
involving a car and a cyclist. T h e description of
the driver and the car's registration number are
the same."
At Inspector Alva's request an alert had been
26
At the temple
T h e children had decided to spend the day on
the beach. J a y a and Gowri were helping Ammachi
pack the picnic lunch into a cane basket.
" B a n a n a leaves, water bottles, squash, biscuits, p a p e r napkins..." reeled o f f j a y a . " C a n you
think of anything else, Gowri?"
" H e r e is the food," A m m a c h i came in with a
large tiffin carrier. "Idlis with chutney, t a m a r i n d
rice, coconut burfi and tomato sandwiches. Will it
do?"
" M o r e t h a n enough," J a y a assured her g r a n d mother.
" I n t h a t case don't come home at lunch time
saying t h a t you are h u n g r y , " warned A m m a c h i .
"I am a little busy today. Your g r a n d f a t h e r has
invited some guests for lunch."
Kartik came in with some tender coconuts. T h e
tops h a d been sliced off, a n d a small hole m a d e
for the straws to be inserted.
" I t is going to be very heavy," said J a y a as she
stuffed the coconuts into the basket.
"W ; e will take turns carrying it," said K a r t i k .
31
How old?
T h e S u n d a r e s w a r a temple, dedicated to Lord
Siva, stood on the edge of the p a l m grove. Built in
the South I n d i a n style, it was bounded by a high
wall, newly painted with vertical rust-coloured
and white stripes. A tall gopuram (tower) stood
over the m a i n gate which was m a d e of carved
wood.
Passing through the entrance, the children saw
a huge N a n d i (Siva's bull m o u n t ) carved in black
stone.
" I t is so life-like," exclaimed J a y a walking
round it
33
Midnight adventure
O n e by one, the lights of R a j a p u r a m went out
as homes settled down for the night. Downstairs,
Ammachi supervised the last of the household
chores, bolted the doors and went to her room.
Kartik was still awake, although very sleepy.
He turned over the last page of the book he was
reading and kept it on the bedside table.
It was then that he noticed it! He sat up. Suddenly, he got out of bed and searched in all the
usual places - but could not find it. There was no
doubt about it...it was missing. His watch!
T h e watch had been a birthday gift from his
parents. Its loss could be a serious matter.
Quickly, Kartik went over the day's events.
When had he last seen his watch? In the garden?
On the beach? In the temple?
Ah, yes! T h a t was it. He had left it on the ledge
of a pillar when he had entered the tank to pluck
those flowers. W h a t should He do now?
He made up his mind, quickly. With luck it
should still be there. Pulling on his jeans and
37
41
A sleuth
In the morning light, Kartik's adventure
seemed less mysterious. Indeed, he wondered
whether he had imagined it all. But, Gowri took a
different view.
" I t is a mystery," she exclaimed happily. "I bet
those men were after something. Maybe they had
a secret ritual in the temple, like the thugs used
to."
" O h Gowri! Take a rest," pleaded Kartik.
"Thuggery died out in the last century. I am sure
there is a perfectly simple explanation," he said.
"Next you will be saying that I am a thug as well."
"And the thugs worshipped Kali, not Siva,"
added J a y a .
"Well, so what?" retorted Gowri who was not
one to give up easily. "Perhaps they have murdered someone and hidden the body there," she
suggested.
" W h a t a bloodthirsty creature you are!" teased
Jaya.
"Well, you two are not coming up with any
ideas," complained Gowri. "I am the only one
who is doing any thinking."
J a y a and Kartik grinned at each other.
"Did I not tell you there was something strange
about that journalist?" said Gowri with an 'Itold-you-so' air.
"Just because you don't like his face is no
reason why he should be a murderer or a thug,"
commented Kartik.
42
More clues
Meanwhile, Nagesh alias N a t h a n alias Shetty
had carried out some investigations. Time was
running short.
He asked
the garrulous
Murugesha several questions about the temple,
particularly its last priest, Govinda.
47
On the back of the card something was scribbled with a black felt-tipped pen. It seemed like a
schedule.
October 7 - Bangalore
October 8 - Madras
October 9 - Rajapuram
October 10-,
October 11 - Emerald Lingam
October 1 2 October 13 - Pondicherry
October 14 - Madras
October 15 - Bombay
October 16 - Goa
49
Kartik's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He pushed the card back and got out of the
car locking the door after him.
Eavesdropping
"Gowri, come quickly," called out J a y a .
"I can't, I am helping A m m a in the kitchen,"
Gowri yelled back.
"Well, then, come as quickly as you can," so
saying J a y a went home.
A little while later Gowri arrived. " W h e r e is the
fire?" she asked. "I had a hard time thinking up a
good excuse to convince A m m a . "
" W h a t did you tell her?"
" T h a t you had invited me for lunch," said
Gowri with a mischievous grin. She loved eating
at J a y a and Kartik's house because their grandmother was an excellent cook.
"Fine, I will just go and inform A m m a c h i , "
J a y a got up. "Don't begin without me."
T h e three children sat in the shade of the jack
fruit tree and held a conference. Gowri's eyes
became as round as saucers when she heard about
how Kartik had unlocked the car and looked
inside.
"A proper pistol?" she asked. "Are you sure it
was not a toy one?"
"Of course I am sure," answered Kartik in
exasperation. "I felt it. It was heavy and the cartridges were real too."
50
Shetty, the journalist, had a profitable interview with Dr. Srinivasan. Under the pretext of
Collecting material for his article, he had turned
the conversation to the night of the theft, fifteen
years ago.
"Yes, I remember that morning when Chintamani brought old Govinda to my hospital," said
Dr. Srinivasan. " H e had a skull injury when he
hit the stone pillar."
"Did he recover consciousness?" asked Shetty.
"Did he mention anything, a name or a place?"
"You mean some clue to the culprit," said Dr.
52
A warning
Lunch was served in the cool, high-ceilinged
dining hall. Plantain leaves were placed before
each person by a servant. Ammachi began serving. She had surpassed herself, but none of the
three children were eating.
Between mouthfuls, Gowri eyed the guest. J a y a
nudged her, whispering, "Gowri! Don't stare!"
53
Outwitted
Nagesh had an uncomfortable feeling that trouble was brewing close at hand. T i m e was running
out and he was behind schedule.
Those pesky kids! How did they know that he
had visited the temple late at night? Was he being
followed? He had an uncanny instinct for sensing
danger...and now it was at work.
But the lingam had become an obsession. He
was desperate to possess it. He thought of the old
tale about it bringing bad luck...and laughed at
himself.
It was in the temple, hidden somewhere by old
Govinda. T h r o u g h his probing he had come to
know that Govinda had been rather worried
55
58
A traffic jam
T h e setting sun bathed the world in a golden
reddish light. T h e air was alive with the noise of
the birds returning home to roost.
T h e cowherds from the village were bringing
the cows home. There were at least two hundred
animals milling about on the road and raising a
storm of dust. It was a trafficjam!
"Beep...beep!" went the car horn.
"Moo!" a friendly cow pushed her head in and
bellowed into Shetty's ear.
"Get these wretched animals off the road!" he
yelled at the grinning cowherd.
Linga was in no hurry to do the m a n ' s bidding.
It was amusing to watch the m a n from the big city
caught in this unusual predicament.
"Moo!" another inquisitive cow looked in.
Shetty quickly rolled up the window, and waited,
fuming.
"Where are you off to?" asked Linga. "Are you
going away?"
"None of your business," snapped Shetty. "Just
get these animals off the road!"
The last of the stragglers among the cows went
past. He started the car, and drove away in a
hurry. Linga saw him take the turning towards
the Sundareswara temple and went home shaking
his head and laughing to himself.
*
59
Rescued
"Gowri, go and give the fodder to the cows,"
said Gowri's mother. T h e girl ran to do her bidding. T h e y had four cows - Kasturi, a brown cow;
Nandi, the belligerent one; R a d h a , a sly creature
who butted suddenly; and Mohini, a calf.
Chikki, stayed away from the cows, and bleated
outside in the yard. It was her mealtime, too.
Gowri liked feeding the cows. She pushed open
the door of the cowshed, h u m m i n g a tune softly.
"Ah...h!" T h e r e was a strange groaning sound.
It came again. "Ah...h!" followed by ' T h u m p !
Thump!'
Gowri peered inside a n d let out a scream.
"Aiyyol A m m a ! " In the darkest corner of the shed,
a m a n lay bound and gagged. He was hitting his
heels on the floor t h u m p . T h e girl went close.
" M m p h . . . m m p h ! " he tried to speak through
the cloth. T h e m a n rolled his eyes. It was N a n d u ,
61
63
Search ends
U n a w a r e that he had been followed, Shetty
prowled about in the sanctum sanctorum. He
tapped the walls for hollow sounds indicating a
cavity. After an hour or so he gave up.
A little distance away, Kartik crouched behind
a pillar. Shetty came out of the main shrine and
walked across the courtyard to one of the smaller
shrines. Kartik ran after him softly, and hid in the
shadow of the Nandi bull.
Inside the small Ganesha temple, Shetty ran
his torch along the wall.
'He has not found it,' thought Kartik. thankfully. He came around to the front and crouched
under the neck of the stone bull.
T h e stars were twinkling in the sky. A gentle
sea breeze rustled through the palms. Kartik shivered and pressed his knees closer, digging them
into the stone. Suddenly he felt the stone beneath
him shift. Some earth fell off. He looked down to
see the part of the pedestal beneath the forefeet
of Nandi had caved in. There was some sort of a
cavity. It struck him in a flash. T h e dying priest's
words came back to him.
Shetty came out of the small temple and looked
around. He had heard a scuffling sound that had
alerted him. A shadow shifted. Shetty swung
around suddenly and grabbed the boy hiding
behind Nandi.
"You!"
"Let go!" Kartik fought back.
64
J a y a had heard the gun shot. T h e sound of running feet came closer. She fell flat amongst the
66
The chase
T h e jeep bumped along the rugged track.
"Oof!" said Gowri wincing as she bounced up and
down. Breathless with excitement she held on to
her seat to avoid falling.
"Ma..aa..Ma..aa..." bleated Chikki who had
decided that she had had enough ofjeeps and that
she wanted to hop off.
"Did you have to bring that goat of yours?"
asked Inspector Alva in a pained voice.
"She follows me everywhere," explained
Gowri. "I hope we catch that crook."
67
E 222
ISBN 81-7011-433-0