by Satyajit Ray
‘Yes, you’re right,’ Feluda said. ‘Somebody is trying to threaten him. He thinks his life is in danger. Can you tell us who is doing this?’
Dr Vaidya closed his eyes. He opened them a few seconds later and stared out of the window absently. ‘Agent,’ he said.
‘Agent?’
‘Yes. A man must be punished for his sins. Sometimes he is punished by the Almighty. At other times, God sends His agents out to do this job.’
‘Enough!’ shouted Mr Sarkar. His voice shook. ‘I don’t want to hear any more.’
Dr Vaidya smiled again. ‘I am saying all this only because your friend asked me. If you can learn something yourself, there’s no need to go looking for a teacher. But one thing I must tell you. If you wish to live, you will have to tread most carefully.’
‘What does that mean?’ asked Mr Sarkar.
‘I can’t say anything more than that.’
The tea arrived. Helmut poured it out and passed the cups around.
‘I believe you met Mr Shelvankar,’ said Feluda, sipping his tea. ‘Yes. It’s all very sad. I did warn him about a rough patch he might have to go through. But death? No, that’s a different matter altogether, and no one has any control over it.’
No one spoke after this. We drank our tea in silence. Helmut sorted a few papers out on his table. Mr Sarkar stared absently into space, apparently unaware that his tea was getting cold. Only Feluda seemed totally at ease, happily finishing the biscuits that had arrived with the tea. After a while, Helmut rose to switch on a light. Daylight had almost gone by this time. But it turned out that there was a power cut. ‘I’ll get some candles,’ said Helmut and went out to look for the bearer.
Feluda turned to Dr Vaidya again. ‘Do you really believe Mr Shelvankar’s death was accidental?’
Dr Vaidya took a moment to reply. Then he said, ‘Only one person knows the answer to that question.’
‘Who?’
‘The person who died. Only he knows the truth. We who are living look upon this world and this life through eyes that take in every irrelevant and unnecessary detail. Just look out of that window. All those mountains and trees and rivers are irrelevant. They stand as a screen between ourselves and the truth. But death opens an inner eye that sees nothing but what is real and of true significance.’
Most of this speech went over my head, but I was sure Feluda had understood every word. ‘You mean it is only Mr Shelvankar who could tell how he died?’ Feluda asked.
‘Yes. He couldn’t have known the truth when he died. But now . . . yes, now he knows exactly what happened.’
I shivered suddenly. There was something eerie in the atmosphere, in so much talk about death, and the way Dr Vaidya smiled in the dark. It gave me goose-pimples.
The bearer came in at this moment. He cleared the table and placed a candle on it. Feluda took out a packet of Charminar, offered it to everyone else in the room, then lit one himself. ‘It may be a good idea to consult Mr Shelvankar and see what he thinks,’ he remarked, blowing out a smoke ring. I knew he had read a lot on seances and most things supernatural. He kept an open mind on every subject, never hesitating to read or hear about other people’s views, even if he didn’t believe in something himself.
Dr Vaidya closed his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them and said, ‘Shut the door and windows.’ There was something authoritative in his tone. Mr Sarkar got up like a man hypnotized and obeyed silently. We were left sitting around the table in the faint flickering light of the candle. On my right was Dr Vaidya. On my left sat Feluda. Mr Sarkar sat next to him. Helmut finished the circle.
‘Place your hands, palms down, on this table. Your fingers must touch your neighbour’s,’ commanded Dr Vaidya. We did as we were told. Dr Vaidya placed his own hands between mine and Helmut’s, and said, ‘Look straight at that candle and think of the death of Shelvankar.’
The candle was burning steadily. A few drops of wax had fallen on the table. A small insect, trapped in the room, began buzzing around the flame. God knows how long we sat in silence. I did cast a few sidelong glances at Dr Vaidya, but he couldn’t have seen me for his own eyes were closed.
After a long time, he spoke. His voice sounded very faint as though he was speaking from a great distance. ‘What do you want to know?’ he asked. Feluda answered him. ‘Did Mr Shelvankar die in an accident?’
‘No,’ said that faint, strange voice.
‘How did he die?’
Silence. All of us were now gazing at Dr Vaidya. He was leaning back in his chair. His eyes were shut tight. Lightning flashed outside, lighting up our room for a second. Feluda’s question was answered the same instant.
‘Murder,’ said Dr Vaidya.
‘Mu-h-h-u-rder?’ Mr Sarkar gasped.
‘Who killed him?’ Feluda wanted to know. He was staring at Dr Vaidya’s hands. Dr Vaidya sighed. Then he began breathing hard, as though the act of breathing was causing him a great deal of pain. ‘Virendra!’ he finally whispered. Virendra? Who was he? Feluda started to speak, but Dr Vaidya opened his eyes unexpectedly and said, ‘A glass of water, please.’
Helmut rose and poured him water from his flask. Feluda waited until Dr Vaidya had finished drinking it. Then he asked, ‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of finding out who this Virendra is?’
Helmut answered him this time. ‘Virendra is Mr Shelvankar’s son. He told me about him.’
It was now time for us to leave. All of us stood up. Helmut opened the door and windows. The power came back a second later.
‘You get nervous rather easily, don’t you?’ said Dr Vaidya, placing a hand on Mr Sarkar’s shoulder. Mr Sarkar tried to smile. ‘Anyway, I don’t think you are in any danger now,’ Dr Vaidya told him reassuringly. This time, Mr Sarkar smiled more naturally, looking visibly relieved.
‘How long are you here for?’ Feluda asked Dr Vaidya.
‘I’d like to go to Pemiangchi tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain. I’ve heard they’ve got some ancient valuable manuscripts in the monastery there.’
‘Are you making a study of Tibet and the Tibetan culture?’
‘Yes, you might call it that. It’s the only ancient civilization that’s left in the world. Egypt, Iraq, Mesopotamia . . . each one of those got destroyed. But for that matter, what is left in India, tell me? It’s all a great hotch-potch. It’s only Tibet that’s managed to retain most of what it had. Luckily, some of the old monasteries in Sikkim have got pieces of their art and culture, so one doesn’t have to go all the way to Tibet to find them.’
We came out, to find that the sky was covered by thick, dark clouds, being frequently ripped by lightning. It was certain that it would start raining again.
‘Why don’t you go to Pemiangchi as well?’ Dr Vaidya asked. ‘Yes, we might do that. I’ve heard a lot about the place.’
‘If you do, don’t forget to take a bag of salt with you.’
‘Salt? Whatever for?’
‘Leeches. There’s nothing like salt to get rid of them.’
Eight
Feluda, Mr Sarkar and I were back in our hotel, sitting down to our dinner. Although the hotel was pretty average in many ways, it had an excellent cook.
‘A most decent fellow, I must say,’ remarked Mr Sarkar, trying to get the marrow out of a bone. A delicious lamb curry was on the menu tonight.
‘Who? You mean Dr Vaidya?’
‘Yes. What a remarkably gifted man, too. He seemed to know everything.’
‘Yes, you should be pleased,’ Feluda said, laughing. ‘Didn’t he tell you you were no longer in danger?’
‘Why, didn’t you believe what he said?’
‘If what he said turns out to be true, then of course I shall believe him. But, right now, I think we should be careful in what or whom we believe. There are so many cheats in this line.’ Feluda was frowning again. Something was obviously bothering him a great deal. I wish I knew what it was.
‘Do you believe what he said about the murder?’ Mr Sarkar
persisted.
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Really? Why?’
‘There is a reason.’ Feluda refused to say anything more.
The two of us went out after dinner again to buy paan. It hadn’t yet started to rain, but there was virtually no breeze. Feluda put a paan in his mouth and began pacing. After only a few minutes, however, he stopped and said, ‘I’m only wasting my time like this. Tell you what, Topshe, why don’t you go for a walk for half an hour? I’d like to work alone in our room, undisturbed.’
I agreed, and Feluda walked away. I ambled across to the opposite pavement and made my way slowly down the road that led to the main town. All the shops were closed. A few men were sitting in a circle in front of a shop and gambling. I heard someone rattle the dice, which was followed by a great shout and loud laughter.
The street lights were dim, but even so I didn’t fail to notice the figure of a man coming from the opposite direction, walking very fast. As he came closer, I realized it was Helmut. Something stopped me from calling out to him. But he was so preoccupied that even when he passed me by, he didn’t seem to notice me at all. I stared foolishly at his receding back, until it vanished from sight. Then I looked at my watch and returned to the hotel.
Feluda was lying flat on his back, resting his notebook on his chest.
‘I brought the list of suspects up to date,’ he told me as I came in. ‘Well, Virendra Shelvankar was already a suspect, wasn’t he? It’s just that we didn’t know his name. Have you added Dr Vaidya’s name to your list?’
Feluda grinned. ‘The man put up a jolly good show, I must admit. Yet, the whole thing could be genuine, who knows? But we mustn’t forget that he and Shelvankar had talked to each other. There’s no way of making sure whether Dr Vaidya is a fraud or not unless we can find out what exactly the two had discussed.’
‘But he was right about Mr Sarkar, wasn’t he?’
‘That was easy enough. Mr Sarkar was biting his nails constantly. Anyone could have guessed he was tense.’
‘And what about the murder?’
‘He may have said that only to create an effect. A natural death, or death by a real accident, is too tame. Call it a murder, and it sounds so much more dramatic.’
‘So who’s on your list of suspects?’
‘Everyone, as always.’
‘Everyone including Dr Vaidya?’
‘Yes. He may have known about the statue of Yamantak.’
‘And Helmut? He walked past me just now, but didn’t seem to see me.’
This did not appear to surprise Feluda. ‘Helmut struck me as a mysterious character right from the start. He’s supposed to be taking photographs for a book on Sikkim, and yet he didn’t know about the Lama dance in Rumtek. That’s reason enough to feel suspicious about him.’
‘Why? What can it mean?’
‘It can mean that he hasn’t told us the real reason why he is here in Sikkim.’ I began to feel quite confused, so I stopped asking questions. Feluda went back to scribbling in his notebook.
At a quarter to eleven, Mr Sarkar knocked on our door to say good-night. I tried to read a book after that, but couldn’t concentrate. Feluda spent his time either sitting silently or studying the entries in his notebook. I do not know when I fell asleep. When I woke, the mountains outside were bright with sunshine.
Feluda was not in the room. Perhaps he was having a shower. I noticed a piece of paper on his bed, placed under an ashtray. Had he left a message for me? I picked it up and found a Tibetan word staring at me. I knew what it meant.
Death.
Nine
Feluda was not in the bathroom. I learnt later that he had risen early that morning to make a trunk call to Bombay. When I came down for breakfast, I found him speaking to someone on the telephone.
‘I couldn’t get Mr Bose,’ he told me, putting the receiver down. ‘He left very early this morning. Perhaps he got my telegram.’
We ordered breakfast. ‘I’ll have to conduct an experiment today,’ Feluda revealed a few minutes later. ‘I think I made a mistake somewhere. I have to make sure.’
‘Where will you carry out this experiment?’
‘I need a quiet spot.’
‘You mean an empty room?’
‘No, no, you idiot. I could use our hotel room if that’s what I needed. I have to be out on the road, but I must not be seen. If anyone saw me, they’d definitely think I was mad. Let’s go towards Nathula Road after breakfast.’ We hadn’t yet seen any of the other large streets of Gangtok. The prospect of doing a little more exploration on foot was quite exciting.
We ran into Dr Vaidya as we came out of the hotel. He was wearing sunglasses today. ‘Where are you off to?’ he asked.
‘Just for a walk. We haven’t really seen much of the city. We were thinking of going towards the palace.’
‘I see. I am going to look for a jeep. It’s a good day to make that trip to Pemiangchi. If you don’t go there, you really will miss a lot.’
‘We do intend going there one day.’
‘Try to make it while I’m there. Gangtok isn’t a very safe place, particularly for you.’
Dr Vaidya left with a smile and a friendly wave.
‘Why did he say that?’ he asked.
‘He’s a very clever man. He wanted to startle us, that’s all. Clearly he’s seen I am involved in a complex matter, so he decided to say something odd for more effect.’
‘But you really have been threatened, haven’t you? I saw that piece of paper.’
‘That’s nothing new, is it?’
‘No, but—’
‘But nothing. If you think I’ll give up now simply because someone wrote a Tibetan word on a piece of paper, you don’t know me at all.’
I didn’t say anything, but thought to myself how well I did know him. Hadn’t I seen him work wonders in the case of the Emperor’s ring in Lucknow, despite being showered with threats and warnings?
We had been walking uphill and had now reached a point where the road spread out, almost like the Mall in Darjeeling. There was a small roundabout with yellow roadsigns. The one pointing right said ‘Palace’. There was a large, heavily decorated gate at the end of this road, which was obviously the gate of the palace. The sign on the left said ‘Nathula Road’. It seemed a quiet enough road. The few people we could see all appeared to be tourists, heading for the palace. ‘Let’s take this left turn. Quick!’ Feluda said.
We turned left and took the road that led to the Chinese border. There was no one in sight. Feluda kept looking up at the hills through which the road had been built. We had now come to the eastern side of Gangtok. Kanchenjunga was on the west. I couldn’t see any of the snow-capped peaks from here, but what I could see was a ropeway.
It seemed so interesting that I stopped and stared at it, losing all track of time. I had to look up with a start a few minutes later, when I heard Feluda calling out to me. While I had been gazing at the busy ropeway, Feluda had climbed up the side of a hill, and was shouting from several feet above the road. ‘Hey, Topshe, come here!’
I left the road and joined him. Feluda was standing near a rock, nearly as large as a football. ‘I’m going down,’ he said. ‘I’ll come walking past the hill. Push this stone down when I tell you to. Just a little push will make it roll off the hill. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, sir. No problem!’
Feluda climbed down and disappeared in the direction from which I had come. ·
Then I heard him call, ‘Ready?’
‘Ready!’ I replied.
Feluda started walking. I couldn’t see him, but I heard his footsteps. A few moments later, he came vaguely within my line of vision, but before I could see him properly, I heard him shout, ‘Go!’ I pushed the rock, and it began to roll down. Feluda did not stop walking. By the time the rock landed on the road, he had crossed that area and gone ahead by at least ten steps.
‘Wait right there!’ he shouted again.
He then came back
with the rock in his hand. It was still intact. ‘Now you go down, and walk past this hill exactly as you saw me do. I will throw this stone at you, but you must continue walking. If you can see it rolling down at enormous speed and feel that it might hit you, you’ll have to jump aside: Can you do that?’
‘Sure.’
I scrambled down, and started walking, keeping an eye on Feluda. I saw him standing still, waiting for the right moment. Then he kicked the stone. I kept on walking. The stone hit the ground a few seconds before I could reach the spot. Then it rolled down the slope on the left and disappeared.
Feluda sat down, slapping his forehead. I didn’t want to stand around like a fool, so I climbed up again.
‘What an ass I’ve been, Topshe! What a perfect idiot. This simple—’
‘Feluda!’ I screamed, quickly pulling him to one side. In the same instant, a huge boulder came crashing from the top of the hill and went down, missing us by inches and crushing a large flowering bush on the way. By the time it struck the road and vanished from sight, my breathing was starting to return to normal. Thank God I had looked up when Feluda was speaking. Thank God I had seen the boulder. If I hadn’t . . . I shuddered to think of the consequences.
‘Thanks, Topshe,’ Feluda said. ‘This place really appears unsafe. Let’s go back.’
We got down to the road and walked as fast as we could to the next crossing. There were benches on one side, placed under a canopy. We threw ourselves down on one of these. ‘Did you see anyone?’ asked Feluda, wiping his face.
‘No. That boulder came from quite a height. I couldn’t have seen who threw it even if I had had the time to look.’
‘I’ve got to move faster now. I’ve got to find a final solution!’
‘But there are so many questions that need to be answered.’
‘And who told you I haven’t found some of the answers already? Do you know what time I went to bed last night? At 2 a.m. I did a lot of thinking. And now this experiment merely confirmed every suspicion I had. Mr Shelvankar’s jeep had not been hit by a falling rock. One cannot commit a murder banking on a chance that’s one in a million. What really happened, I’m sure, was this: Mr Shelvankar was knocked unconscious. Then he was dropped into that ravine, along with the jeep. Someone pushed that boulder afterwards, just to make it look an accident.’