Kaushik was very upset that he had hurt his grandfather unknowingly. he started crying and asked again if he was alright but grandpa did not answer. He guessed something wrong and called Ramukaka and sent word to everyone below. He called Grandpa again but got no response. Putting his hand on his grandfather’s shoulder, he saw him lying down like a stone. By then everyone in the house had arrived there.
Kaushik, “Don’t look at him aunt please start your treatment grandpa is unconscious, The eldest daughter saw the pulse and gave the final word that their father is no more.”
When Kaushik heard this, he ran back and forth. Kaushik was the most loved grandson. he is the only one responsible for the situation. He will never be able to forgive himself. he cried out in agony. Everyone in the house heard it.
Kaushik’s mother went and saw that the boy was unconscious. He could not bear the grief. He had a high fever and Kaushik started making mistakes. He saw aunt standing in his room. After a while he woke up and remembered that he had to bring everything in front of everyone and there was a stubbornness in him. He saw a painting on the wall and found something, then spent some time with family in the afternoon. He has lost his way. Everything seems to be confused. Everything else seems to go wrong once you understand something.
He learned from his father that his grandfather had made a will.
Dad, “But…I had already searched the whole house, even the relatives don’t know anything about it and it is impossible to know because your grandfather didn’t want to tell the details of the will to the relatives about the property and would not allow anyone from outside to enter his room and…From,”
Kaushik can understand a lot by watching this behaviour of his aunt.
His mother notices how Kaushik is always distracted, people of the neighbourhood came home and told how he wanders around like a vagabond, how he looks at someone in the tea shop when someone asks him something. He is desperate to solve the key mystery.
After a while, trouble started again with the property at home. When Kaushik comes into the hall to go out for some work, he sees the lawyer by his side. She asks her father,
“Why did he come all of a sudden?”
He also asks the aunt, “What’s going on at home?”
According to the tradition of the house, all the boys joined the theatre. Kaushik was often questioned about his earnings. He grinded his teeth and endured everything but gave a clear answer in a calm voice.
The head of the house got sick everyday because of trouble with the will, and now he is no more. A suffocating atmosphere has been created at home. The boys and girls of the elder son are busy with their family, they often discussed to sell this house and suggested to build a flat. The eldest daughter of the family informs everyone in the family that the property will be divided among them as soon as possible because they will have to go abroad again.
Kaushik came to know from those diaries that there is a sealed house under this house. He told his mother everything. Grandma forbids anyone in the family to say such things because everyone is very interested in it. he asked his father to talk to her about the grandfather’s will. He asked his father many times and found out that all the property was given to him by his grandfather and if Kaushik did not take this property then everything would go to the orphanage.
Kaushik talked to the lawyer that afternoon and told him to go the next morning to make the will so that he can work according to his plan so that let everyone know about the property. Upon learning this, his father scolded Kaushik. Ballari devi Once again called everyone. The lawyer did so the next day. Everyone is angry, they can’t accept this will at all. How everyone’s attitude towards Kaushik changed. He understands everything, but no one has to do anything. Everyone is trying to change the will. Many people had spoke to the lawyer but he is very loyal to this house so he can’t do anything against Ballari Devi.
Kaushik thought a lot and told the truth about finding the key in front of everyone. Many got excited and asked about the hidden treasure. But Kaushik said he would not comment on the matter. He had already discussed the matter with his grandmother Ballari Devi, who told Kaushik,
“Many years ago, there was a trunk of gold on that ancient tree next to the house and some part was found in the pipeline. But no one will get anything because everyone thinks this seal is the only property. Your grandfather made another will with this seal which you will get after me. No one will ever know about this secret matter except the lawyer.”
Hearing this, Kaushik was a bit satisfied.
His aunt couldn’t hear anything and thought a plan, She went in her room and told everything to her husband. Once it had everything like a village but the place changed everyday due to various plans of setting up industries and many people visited Ballari Devi for increase of Chattopadhyay’s business in the village itself as the village would slowly have the characteristics of a small town.
After solving the mystery, he was pleased somewhere that his grandfather’s soul would be in peace. Everyone went back except Kaushik and his parents. Eventually in the mean time, his grandmother couldn’t bear the shock of the death of his husband and she passed away. It was such a bad luck for them that nobody came to pay homage.
It was again a very difficult phase in his life, he used to sit with his grandparents things all the time, caress and clean those things. He had became addicted, felt was pulled into the darkness, didn’t sleep, used to read books, remained alone, avoided his friends. Many weeks had gone, maintaining such a huge house was expensive for them but were trying to balance it out, some neighbours were coming forward to help which was a slight relief, they had kept a man who looked after and managed the entire house, he was coming back to normalcy, one night, three of them could hear some unusual sounds coming from the terrace.
There were very few antique pieces and paintings. Kaushik and his father ran upstairs with a torch, as soon as the thieves saw them they were getting their ropes ready to leave the place, Kaushik noticed the thieves were kind of desperate to hide their faces as if they know each other, but before could they get hold slipped down with the help of pipe and the rope and nothing got misplaced.
While coming down with lots of questions in their heads, Kaushik couldn’t leave suspecting his uncles. His parents took the decision that they would return to their own house and would perform rest of the rituals there but before that something needs to be done with the house as it can’t be left empty.
Koushik told, “This house contains so many memories that can never be forgotten”.
Koushik’s mother, “We have nothing to do at this moment as we are also busy in our everyday life so had to take this drastic step of selling the house”.
They started packing the important things, a lady arrived, she was a foreigner, dressed in long red gown with a beautiful hat and a purse in her hand. Kaushik was not ready to handover his grandfather’s house and that too depending on this lady. He called all his family members once again so that they can stop all this, but in vain.
The lady discussed with his parents what they would do, probably a hotel and a separate room for the antique things for the viewers. Long before others had discussed to sell the house completely and with the money they could invest somewhere else. The same thing is happening, the difference lies the house wouldn’t be broken completely but it would turn into something beautiful and the moments of each of their lives wouldn’t be alive here.
The children had lost their interest to visit this house by at least remembering those childhood memories after their parents had died. The shiny and luxurious lifestyle of the outside world had attracted them so much.
