Benyamin - Yellow Lights of Death

He took us inside the house. We passed through several small doorways and dark rooms. In between there was a granary. Then we climbed stairs twice, and descended once. That was when I got a vague idea about the size and complexity of Valyedathu Veedu. It didn’t look so big from outside. I felt fear. From our interactions till now, Meljo had emerged as a person who would do anything to guard his secrets. Was he leading us to another of his traps? We finally stopped in front of a big room. Its lock had to be opened with four keys. A peculiar lock. Some had to be turned right, and some left. Another round of turning it twice to the left and once to the right. Another door awaited us inside. It had an ancient number lock. Like Rubik’s cube. Meljo opened it turning some wooden blocks multiple times to the left and right, top and bottom. I watched curiously as the numbers changed in the lock. I couldn’t figure out a thing. Only someone who had mastered it could open the lock.

‘This is the most sacred room in this Valyedathu Veedu. More sacred than the prayer room in which Thaikkattamma is invoked. This could be the first time anyone outside the family is seeing it. I’m trusting you guys that much,’ Meljo said, opening the door. We walked in to a dim light. It reminded me of the description of the room of the forefathers at Andrapper House. At the same time, it was equipped with a high-tech CCTV camera, a burglar alarm and a firefighting system.

He took us to a corner of the room. There he opened a box and took out a rod. It was a red wand with two silver knots at the top and three bells hanging from it.

‘This is more than 1000 years old,’ Meljo said. ‘This was the royal sceptre that King Thoma handed over to da Gama.’

‘How did it come here?’ I asked, wide-eyed.

‘That’s why I was talking about the kindness of the Pereiras. This sceptre that went from da Gama to Andrew was later returned by Diego to King Thoma when he was the landlord. Also, some of the Chaldean documents in Pali that Bishop Menazis had tried to burn on that synod day was secretly shipped by Diego Pereira with the help of some priests at Udayamperoor church and later returned to Valyedathu Veedu. That’s his kindness. So, all the leaves and rolls and books you see in this room are all historic documents that were once believed to be lost forever!’

I looked at them in astonishment. The documents that everyone believed were lost to the cruelty of Menazis were retained here with great reverence. I felt a mixed feeling of fear and joy about the significance of Valyedathu Veedu.

‘But why have you not told anyone, Meljo? Why has this been kept as your private property? Don’t you realize the historic worth of these books? Shouldn’t you be keeping them safely in a museum and not let them rot here?’ I asked.

‘It won’t rot here, Benyamin. This is the soul of Valyedathu Veedu! We know how to guard them in all sanctity and secrecy,’ Meljo said. ‘And there are many reasons why we don’t show them in public. Many of the Chaldean texts go against the popular Christian beliefs in our society. If this reaches a nouveau believer who has no idea about the birth and evolution of faiths, he’ll become another Menazis.’ Meljo showed the works one by one. ‘Look, this is The Book of Prahan . It says Joseph had other wives and children before marrying Mariam. This is the Gospel of Thomas , this the Gospel of Magdalene , and this one, the real Gospel of Judas . Here, you won’t find the same Jesus you find in the Bible.’

He showed us more books, reading aloud their names. ‘ Anpathu Nombinte Udir Prarthana, Subade Namaskaram, Idara, The Songs of Kameez , this is the Enkartha book, Nuhura, The Book of Vavukatte , this is Parsiman , this one Margasesha , this Yohannan vara Kaldosa —it says Christ and the Son of God are different people. Now, this is the book of the forefathers that describe the history of the Nestorian clergy, this one’s The Book of Pavizham , this is Machamoth , then you have Mishiha’s Thirubalapusthakam that describes the childhood of Jesus; here’s The Book of Synods that talks about the synods and the Malankara faith, then there’s the Letter from Heaven and the Book of Narsaye .

‘The rest are records, certificates and declarations. It was none other than Diego Pereira who rescued them from the fire of Menazis, a total illiterate in history. Appachan believed it was destiny that one person in that bloodline fell in love with a girl in this family and decided to get adopted to this house,’ Meljo said, walking us out of the room.

‘In such a great tradition, how did something like Mariam Seva get in? That doesn’t fit in with the history,’ Anil said as we proceeded to the living room.

‘One Appachan who got adopted to this house was from the Kadamatathu family. Even Kadamatathu Kathanar, some believe, was a Chaldean priest who migrated from Persia. Anyway, Mariam Seva came to his house through that Appachan. We still continue it as a mysterious ritual, which protects the hidden secrets. When people inquire about this house, they come to know about Mariam Seva, while the rest remains a secret.’

‘Do you believe that the Villarvattom dynasty will ever return to power?’ Anil asked while we were taking our camera, bag and other stuff.

‘Which royal dynasty in India doesn’t believe so? Everyone keeps announcing their heir. for what?’ Meljo retorted.

We didn’t have an answer for that. That moment, I felt that India is a beauty of the night who sleeps over a pile of collated dreams. Someday, if the dreams get broken? During the return journey from Udayamperoor, that was the thought that muddled my mind.

The Last Thursday Market

IT WAS THE first Thursday Market after the publication of The Yellow Lights of Death . Other than the usual discussions, it was also a book release function. It was Biju’s suggestion that the book should have a ‘private’ release. Nobody opposed the proposal. Sudhi Mashu, who was the eldest in the group, handed over a copy to Salim. Anil read a chapter of the novel. ‘We can have a discussion now,’ I said. As they were also characters in the novel, there were only casual comments. None of them came up with any major critique of the novel.

It was Nibu who raised the issue: ‘What happened to Andrapper after that?’

‘It is not the novel’s responsibility to find that out, so we don’t have to worry about it,’ I said.

‘Maybe the novel doesn’t have the responsibility of providing the answers, that’s the author’s call. But we, as human beings, have that responsibility.’

‘It’s sheer stupidity to go outside the novel and look for a character, or worry about what happened to him after the events of the novel.’ I stuck to my argument.

‘I’m not getting the point at all.’

‘Nibu, characters are created for the sake of the novel. So, even if they are real, there is no need to look out for them outside the text. The author is also not accountable for the expenses the characters incur!’ Anil said.

‘This is against human values. True fiction holds a mirror to life. I don’t agree that life is irrelevant outside fiction. Whatever be your opinion, I feel obliged to find out what happened to Andrapper afterwards. I am going to start my search from this very moment. Does anyone want to join me?’

Biju and Nattapranthan raised their hands.

‘The majority is still on the other side,’ I said.

‘This is not a decision to be taken by the majority. Even if I’m alone, it has to be done. For that, I don’t need the support of any author. I call it Operation Diego Garcia Part III, and I’ll start on it now. Not just that, it’s difficult for me to continue with a Thursday Market that thinks we can confine ourselves within the limitations of fiction. I don’t see life like that.’