Time's Up: Every Moment Counts

by Vasu Velamur

  “In another 15-20 minutes”.

  “Consider it done” while he continued the experiment. Finally, he felt it was time for extreme measures and let a jet of water spray into her face, and then jumped to safety. Vindhya woke up in a shock and pulled Ranga to the floor. She then peeped and spotted Vashist across the room near the door with the jug full of water and grinned.

  “You crazy dumb fool” shouted Vindhya “how many times have I told you not to do this?”

  “5 times in the last 3 months”

  Ranga knew how the conversation would flow and so stood up and came between the warring friends. He requested, “Hey Vin, I will give you a chance to get back at him before tonight. Stop now and get ready fast”

  “OK, I will get you tonight dude” Vindhya warned him. She got up and adjusted her hair and hunted for her slippers. Vashist waited for the bomb to blow, and it went in a blink. “Hey Ranga” she shouted, “don’t tell me I have to come in traditional attire too?”

  There was a long pause in the room. Then Ranga nodded his head for acceptance as slow as acceptable. He then exhibited a lovely half-sari. It was an eye-catching green and yellow combination in raw silk or Mysore silk. It was very grand except that she had no intention to wear such a flashy dress, but there was no other option. She had ripped jeans and a T-shirt as the other option which is not accepted for a temple visit. She caved in with complete dissent. Yet Vashist had to undergo the hard, intimidated stare similar to Ramya Krishnan in the movie Padayappa.

  The boys changed in a jiffy into their allotted dresses and shut the door behind and waited for the princess. She has no clue on how to dress up but tried it for some time. She reached out for help. As the boys knew the outcome, they did not waste time and went to the shop nearby. They explained the situation and got a small girl for help. As they climbed up the SOS signal came “Ranga, can you get some help for me. It’s not working”

  Within a second he replied, “Sure Vin, open the door”

  “What, you want to help me? Are you out of your mind?”

  “Yeah, baby, but I never said it was me. Open the door first”

  The door opened enough for an insect to enter and she peeped out to see what was their solution. She saw a cheerful-looking small girl ready to get inside. So the door opened a little wider and the small girl entered. Within 4 minutes, the door again opened, and the girl said “Anna, please go inside and see my work or art”

  There she was, as stunning as always, and the half-sari added more radiance to her face. She sat on the chair and waited for the final verdict. The boys had no words to describe. She pumped her fists as a sign of victory. Then she called out to Vashist, “Hey dude, it's time to let out that long-standing secret”

  “What is it?” Vashist wondered what she knew that was going to embarrass him

  Ranga also became curious “Hey Vin, what is it which I do not know of”

  “Ranga, thanks, I do not have to wait till tonight to get my revenge. I have got it”

  “What is it, baby?”

  She looked at Vashist for a second, waited for his nod, and then when he gave up, Vindhya jumped up in the air. “You know Ranga, Vashy is not very comfortable in Sherwani and especially in a dark maroon colour”

  Ranga immediately turned towards Vashist and saw that he looked a little out of sorts. So Ranga asked with his eyes, and Vashist’s head went down as a confirmation. It was all that she wanted.

  “Yes, yes, baby. Did I not tell you in Jaipur I will get my turn, well today it is”

  “It’s fine, but now let’s get back to our puzzle. Where do we look and for what?” Vashist tried to deflect. He was in the center of attraction for his uncomfortableness with the dress.

  “That can wait dude, why not we have a running race now to the temple” Vindhya poured oil over the burning fire.

  “OK, ok, I accept my defeat”

  “What did you say, I couldn’t hear it well? Can you Ranga?”

  “I accept my defeat. Yes, I am uncomfortable in this dress”

  “Great dude” jumped Ranga and showed the victory sign to Vindhya. “Now let’s get hold of the device and start moving towards our next adventure”

  “Yes, but where did that Sundari go?”

  “Who, what Sundari?”

  “The small girl who helped me with the dress”

  Ranga too then looked back at the ground floor but found no sign of her. “Hmm, in your mood to win, we forgot to thank her. When we go down, we better do that”

  Before they could turn, they saw the small girl march towards them and had a small bundle in her hands. She climbed up the stairs and painted a bit and stretched out a package to Vindhya “Here Akka, take this”

  “What is it?”

  “Only flowers Akka. With such a beautiful dress, why leave that small thing. So I went down and got it for you”

  It was jasmine flowers, fresh from the garden and ready for use. As the girl adjusted the flowers on Vindhya’s plaits, the friend saw a different avatar of her. It was a pity that they could not click pictures of her, but it would have been worth it for sure. All the makeup by the girl was fabulous and lifted the mood in the camp. They thanked her and went inside the room to have a glance at the device. Ranga reached out to his bag and pulled out the device to check it. The device flashed the image of Virupaksha temple and a small idol with three heads.

  “We must locate this idol with three heads and then it should lead us to the problem. What is this small idol?”

  “It looks like a lion, a three headed one” Vashist stated the obvious.

  “Why strain your brains guys” said Vindhya when she adjusts the flowers on the head “let us go there and look for it”

  “Yeah seems logical to me”

  They ordered an auto and directed it to the main entrance of the temple. Ranga was a little disturbed as the auto approached the temple. Vindhya noticed it, put her hands on his shoulders, and tapped to convey that everything would be fine.

  They alighted at the front of the entrance and there they stood in amusement. The view of this magnificent piece of architecture was unnoticeable. The sun got ready to set, and the entrance was very shady and cool, as it was on the east side. As they removed their footwear and deposited it near the gate, they noticed a difference in the roof. Usually, the south Indian temples would have a very flat roof while this had a pointed arch roof type. The locals believed it was the Islamic influence on the design.

  They all got ready to look out for the three headed idol hurriedly. Vindhya pulled both of her friends back upon entering the temple. On the left, she spotted the idol, which was a small nandhi. She could not resist asking why there are 3 heads. So she accosted an old lady there “Patti, why does this nandhi have 3 heads?”

  “Yes child, might be you are new to his town” she looked relaxed and continued, “you have a nice dress. Looking like a doll. What is your name?”

  “Vindhya patti, from Chennai”

  “Chennai yaa?”

  “Sorry Madras”

  “Say like that, know it so well. Was born in Triplicane”

  “Sorry, got used to the changed name”

  “Changed. What are you talking about, girl?”

  “Sorry, patti. I am confused, but can you tell me why?”

  “Oh, this idol. I can say one thing. Go the entire length and breadth of this country and you cannot spot another 3 headed nandhi. There is no special reason for it except that my grandfather once told me the story. The original head broke, and they replaced it. Also, when replacing it they thought it would be best if they honoured the trinity and hence the 3 heads.”

  “Oh It looks great, patti. Never seen one like this”

  Without warning, the old lady pulled Vindhya to the right and pointed at one of the rock slabs. Vindhya noticed nothing different, but then the lady pushed her towards the rock block. Then something carved inconspicuously was noticeable. Vindhya did not understand it, but saw the carvings. “W
hat is this patti?”

  “This is the famous emblem of the Vijayanagar kingdom child.” She asked Vindhya to look closer “here is the Varahan or the wild boar. And here is the Sun and the moon and look at his dragger”

  “Yes, now I remember what it is”

  Vashist taped on her head to warn her not to consume any more time and cut the conversation. The device vibrated a lot. This meant that it delivered the next clue. So Vindhya also closed the conversation with grace “Thanks patti. My friends are waiting inside and I need to rush”

  “All the best kids” wished the old lady, and she started for the exit. The friends pulled the device out in urgency to look for the next clue. The clue was a mural painting of Manmadha Vijayan. They were all confused. The clue looked like a painting and not a sculpture.

  “I know something about this” said Ranga in a slow voice

  “What do you know?”

  “I remember once my father told me about the murals. They drew them on the ceiling of the temples”

  “So, we need to look up. Then let’s go inside the temple and look out for the drawing” ran Vashist towards the second gopuram. It was the actual entrance to the temple. As soon as they entered, they saw the Dhwaja Stambha. On both sides of it had roofed corridors with lion pillars or Simha thoons. It was breathtaking. Vashist, who ran now, stood motionless. Ranga the photographer was very wild with himself for not carrying a camera with him. With or without the camera, the view was outstanding and Vindhya, in that setting sun, looked gorgeous. Her half-sari made Ranga even more furious about the missed camera. He wanted to preserve this moment, but he realized he possessed the best camera available - his eyes and mind.

  They entered the main Mandapam, which was named Ranga Mandapam. To their surprise, the entire ceiling had colourful murals with many intricate designs. They strolled with their heads held upwards. Ranga could not control his emotions and he threw the bag from his shoulders and lied down. The view he got was incomparable, the entire murals uninterruptedly.

  “Guys” he shouted, “do what I say and you will get thrilled”

  “Here I am coming” said Vashist, who ran further down

  “Can I?” enquired Vindhya “do you think it’s ok for me also to join?”

  “Sure, dude, but find a lonely spot. Not next to us, please”

  They all had a good perspective view of the murals painted during the Vijayanagar period. After a couple of minutes to be exact Vindhya got bored and said “Come on guys, we got to locate that painting”. She got up and wandered forward, but continued to look at the ceiling. She had moved no more than twenty feet before she erupted in ecstasy “Guys, come here. I have found the spot”

  Vindhya had spotted the Manmadha Vijayam drawing. It depicted Manmadha in his grand chariot, ready to shoot the arrow of lust onto a meditating Shiva. Accompanied by Manmadha was his wife, Rathi. It portrayed Shiva as an absolute ascetic. He was with matted hair, a snake around his neck, and surrounded by an anthill. The picture was worth the trip to Hampi, and these paintings spellbound them. They almost forgot to observe the device, which continued to vibrate.

  The device had offered them the next clue, but the paintings still awed these friends. After some time, when the neck exhibited pain, they put their heads down and came into normal view. They looked at the next clue and it was an inverted image of the main gopuram. The hunt seemed to never end, but each of the clues was one notch better than the previous. Yet the current clue made little sense to them.

  “Are we viewing the device in the wrong orientation?” thought Vashist. He still looked at the device and then rotated it 180 degrees. Exactly after rotating it, the image remained inverted. “What is this? Where can we find an inverted structure?”

  “The device is back to its cryptic clues” Vindhya a little bewildered. She rotated the device to see if they could get the inverted figure in its correct direction. While they looked confused and directionless, there came a passerby. She called out, “Hey girl, you there in a green sari. Look here”

  Vindhya turned her head in a flash and she acted stunned and paralyzed. The lady was old and her hair was pure white and matted, and looked parched. It had never seen water in years; she thought. She wore a dark blue sari, which was also very battered and torn at various places. On her back, she carried a bundle and a short stick in her left hand. Vindhya was certain that she was some kind of tramp and wanted to draw away from her. Still, her eyes were very spooky and big, which made her freeze on the spot and not move a muscle. The old lady still shouted at her and came towards her “Hey girl, you only. Want some help?”

  No one knew what came into Vashist, that he bounced into action and jumped between them. He then stood there like a rock, unmoved. With the device in his hands, he said “Yes lady, we need some help but you cannot help us is my guess”

  “Why not?” barked the old lady and continued to rush towards Vashist now. She looked like she would not stop until she got hold of someone in this group and part with their money.

  “We do not know what the problem is. Then how can you help us?”

  “Most of your generation are like this only. I have seen hundreds like you. Tell me what, you are not so clear, son”. She looked at the peculiar device which she was not used to. She glanced at the image for a long time. Vashist then asked, “Patti, you see we have to find a location in this temple but we don’t know which location”

  “Something can’t confuse one more than you do.”

  “That’s exactly why I told you at the beginning itself that you cannot help me”

  “Let that be like that. At least show that thing to me. Let me see”

  “Oh, you” shrugged Vashist and in non-approval manner hands it to her, “let me see what you can figure out”

  The old lady stared at the device for a long time and could not make any sense of it. He did not want to help her switch on the display. Seeing what went on, Ranga stepped forward and switched the device on and Lo the image came up. The old lady moved back “Ooh, now cameras are coming like this?”

  “Can you tell us where this location is in this temple? This shadow is always ulta and we cannot figure it out”

  The moment she saw the shadow, the old lady smiled and asked Vashist. “Hey boys, what will you give me if I show you this place?”

  “So you can identify this location”

  “When I am asking so confidently, you tell me what will you give me?”

  “Whatever. First, you ask, then I will say if I can”

  “I need to go to Udupi by tomorrow evening, so I need cash for my trip. Can you arrange it?”

  “If you get us to this exact location, I can arrange”

  Vindhya pulled Vashist and shouted at him in a subdued voice, “Dude, we have petty cash. What we have is only for dinner. How are you deciding all by yourself, boss?”

  “Vin, without her help, we lose time and our adventure. We can skip dinner or I will make some arrangements”

  “OK, let’s hope that she does not cheat you.”

  “She won’t”

  The old lady came close to them and said to Vindhya, “Girl, you look charming. I will not cheat you, I badly need money”

  Moved by her voice and tone, Vindhya replied, “OK patti, we will help you. But do you know this place?”

  “I know it 100% for sure. Come, follow me” she said and raced towards the back of the temple. As they covered some distance without talking, the fear of the lady being a con arose. First, it came to Vashist, then to Vindhya, and finally to Ranga in the same order. When they looked worried, the old lady broke her silence. She looked at Vindhya ``I'm old and so cannot completely show the place to you but we have come to the spot”

  In front of them was a gigantic wall, and there was a small hole in it. It was nothing like what the display looked like. A confused Vindhya and a little irritated “Patti, this is not looking similar to this at all”. She showed the display image on the device. The old lady shook her h
ead and signaled for them to wait. The frustration grew. Then a small boy came there and the old lady called him and whispered something in his ears. The young boy climbed the wall and then did something acrobatic and he jumped down.

  LO - they all saw the inverted shadow of the gopuram like the one on their device’s display. Vindhya scratched her head while Ranga focused more on his photographic skills. He tried to compose a great snap using his hands. Vashist as usual who explained, “Look here, guys, this is a simple pinhole camera technology. When the boy climbed up the wall and opened the hole, it acted like a shutter. The light shines to produce a shadow on the wall. The shadow always becomes inverted. Since light rays travel in straight lines and the resultant image gets inverted.”

  “I don’t know what this boy is saying but now give me the money and I will leave, girl.” She stretched her hand out for money with a pitiful face.

  Vashist dug into this pocket, gave whatever he had, and told the old lady that it was all they had. She counted it and kept it safe. “Thanks for the help, kids. I will never forget you guys. I Hope you live long”. She and the boy moved on while these guys waited for the device to vibrate for the next clue, but nothing happened. The device went black - the entire display was black.

  ∞∞∞

  Chapter-17

  More Twist And Turns In The Riddle

  Thursday 6:27 PM

  The friends looked puzzled at each other and did not know how to proceed. The screen was still blank. They did not know what was in store for them, but the timer still ran. So Ranga said, “Guys, you see if someone is coming this way while I wait with the device for any new inputs”

  “It’s getting dark and we may need to do something before it gets out of our hands” agreed Vashist

  “And take Vin with you and do not wander anywhere. Please be in close quarters”

  “Done”

  The two friends walked towards the exit in the hope to find someone for help. Ranga sat down and monitored the device at regular intervals for updates. It worked except that it was blank. The wait for the hint agonized him, but it was for not long. The device vibrated and Ranga opened the device and it popped a young woman’s face. It looked familiar, but he could not place a name on it.