The Mystery that never was


The real world is sometimes so real that at times it can get galling and suffocating. Going to school, sitting through 8 hours of classes, coming home, playing for an hour, then studies, then 9.00 pm DD serial and finally sleep. Again next morning you get up and go through the same routine. The only relief comes from books, where exciting things happen and the characters do things that you have always wanted to do but have never been able to. Some are content to live their fantasies in the books and then get back to the real world. But then there are others who want to make the fiction the reality of their lives. During my school days, I was of the second kind.

At that time my favorite books were the 3 investigator series and I had 2 friends who were passionate about the series as well. Our friendship started with discussion of the books but clearly that was not enough. Then one day, we heard some rumors about an abandoned construction site near the school premises where some fishy activities were supposed to be going on. We decided to go and check out the place. It was a large construction site – possibly an apartment complex or a mall. Most of the structure had already been completed. So we had a proper structure with walls and rooms. This place totally captured our imagination. There seemed to be a complex network of rooms and one could easily lose oneself – it almost seemed like a maze. The lighting was poor and it seemed kind of dark and mysterious – just the place to find crime.   

Immediately our detective club was launched. Sachin, Siddharth and I were 3 like the 3 investigators.  Siddharth was plump and considered himself the smartest of the gang. So he anointed himself Jupiter Jones. Sachin was bespectacled and studious - so he was the natural choice for Bob Andrews. So by default only Pete Crenshaw remained for me. I was not really of athletic build. Nor did I like the idea of being the brawn rather than the brain. But then we could not have 2 Jupiter Jones in the team. So as a good team player, I decided to don the only mantle that remained untaken.

From the moment we discovered this place, we could not keep our minds in the classes at all. We took every opportunity to run out of the school back gate and enter the construction premises. For some reason the construction had stopped completely. Strangely except a sole watchman, there was no one else guarding the site and we could easily give him the slip. For the next couple of months all the lunch breaks were spent at this place. At times we even skipped classes to escape to our favorite haunt. We began to concoct theories of smuggling activities happening here or maybe gun running.  We even speculated that this could be the secret headquarters of the Bangalore underworld. We would investigate room by room and we began to mark our presence with colored chalk pieces. Since question marks were already taken by the original 3 investigators, we chose crooked arrows which also were not really original. It was the symbol used by a criminal gang in Hardy Boys series. I sold off some of the stamps from my collection to get money to buy some detective equipment – a flash light, a lens for examining fingerprints and a rope.  While my friends had pocket money, my parents did not believe in spoiling children by giving them money. So whenever I needed money, I had to resort to spiriting out from home my coins, stamps, books and play items to sell to the more privileged kids with pocket money.

Some of our classmates had begun to notice our mysterious disappearances and began to ask questions. That made us even more excited. We decided to anoint one of the especially curious classmates, who seemed to be constantly poking his nose into our affairs as Skinny Norris, the bête noire of the three investigators. It was fun looking smug and important in the class and closely guarding our secrets while classmates were trying to pry it off us. But then we also needed the case to progress beyond just exploring the site. We soon had our adversary – an international criminal who called himself the ‘Dark Crusader’. After we had zeroed in on the criminal, we began to find strange scraps of paper lying around initialed DC. He was slowly coming to life!

One fine day Siddharth caught me alone after class and suggested sending a warning note to Sachin’s home to drop the case purportedly from the Dark Crusader. He mentioned the example of a book by Enid Blyton – ‘The Mystery that Never was’ where some boys try to cook up a mystery for their friend and suddenly the mystery turns real. So he hinted if we try to cook up a mystery for Sachin, maybe it would become real. I was never the one for half measures. So I decided to send a warning note to Siddharth ’s  home as well.  The next couple of days both of them had a mysterious expression on their faces but neither of them mentioned anything about receiving the notes I had sent.

Some three days later, I had an unexpected visitor during the lunch break: my mother! She was looking very agitated. She held an envelope in her hand. “Do you know anything about this?

I examined the note. It said – “Leave this house at once. Or you will face death; death while the clock ticks.” It was signed DC.  Mother had become really flustered and wanted to report to the police. We had had a bitter dispute with our neighbor during the construction of their house. Mother wondered if they had something to do with this note. She had called up father at office to discuss the next steps with him. But the melodrama of the words gave them a hint of a suspicion that it could be my prank. So they wanted to check with me once before going to the police.

I very much wanted to believe in the Dark Crusader. But the lines were from the Hardy Boys book Siddharth was currently reading. And the envelope was a ‘Central Bank of India’ envelope. That was where Siddharth’s dad worked. So it was clear who had sent it. I could not let my mother go to the police. That would mean serious trouble.  So I told my mother my suspicion.

I thought she would drop it at that. But unfortunately she had been working herself up over the note since morning and she was in a dark mood. She was not going to spare the miscreant. So she went straight to the class teacher and complained.  When the teacher took him to task, out came the note sent by me. With adults getting involved the whole thing took an unpleasant spin and left a bitter taste in the end that strained our friendship. I was evicted from the club and the erstwhile Skinny Norris became the new Pete Crenshaw.  I became my own Jupiter and found a new Bob and Pete. But the new ones had not even read ‘Three Investigators’ book and I found them singularly unimaginative. For some days, our two groups tried spying on each other and shadowing whenever the other group left the school premises. But then there was nothing to spy on.  The old spark was no longer there and the whole thing slowly fizzled out. The mystery that never was became a friendship that never was. 

Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/discopalace/6858790665/?rb=1

32 comments:

Alka Gurha said...

I vaguely remember reading the three investigator series. Now that you mention names like Pete Crenshaw and Andrews, flashes come back to mind. Detective series were hugely fascinating as kids. Lovely trip down the lane.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot, Alka. During my childhood - Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys and Three Investigators were the in thing. Must have been during yours too.

indu chhibber said...

Haha ,you had an interesting childhood Karthik.
Both of you were expert at smelling who had caused the mischief.
Yes mysteries did hold me too spell-bound.

And flustering your mom no end--good that it ended!

Diwakar Narayan said...

Is this a story or real? Whatever it is, I absolutely loved it. Not many children will play pranks like this one.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot, Diwa, You know how my stories are - totally zany and over the top. This is 100% real - one of my nostalgic memories from childhood. I mean we did not mean it to be a prank as such. Somehow we wanted to really be detectives like in the books.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Indu. Yeah - mysteries have a charm. Somehow now I moved away from mysteries to science fiction and fantasy.

Anonymous said...

I want to call this story wonderful but I can't. 'Wonderful' wouldn't cover a hundredth of it.

I never did any of these things, but I SO desperately wanted to! I had no friends who read the books I read... or lived close by enough to get into escapades together. But with all my soul I yearned to live the adventures I was only reading of.

I envy you deeply LF... you lucky boy, you! :)

Dagny

C Suresh said...

Jupe, Bob and Pete with Hitchcock, hey? :)

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Dagny. When I was a child, I used to think my life was so boring compared to that of the children in the stories. But now when I look back I find my childhood had more excitement than most others and can be stories themselves. So I try to share some on my blog now and then.

I understand your situation. It was not always possible to find the right company for such activities. At some points in life I have been stuck with people who did not read, were not too imaginative and preferred to spend time on more conventional activities like the usual indoor and outdoor games.

T F Carthick said...

That's the one, Suresh.

umashankar said...

I can quite relate to those feelings, the travails and the boredom of student life, and the release offered by the books.I wonder how we always failed in our adventures. Goes on to prove we were part of a much saner society. I dare say though, should the youngsters today were to go on such sprees, they'd stumble upon crime after crime, mystery after mystery, threats after threats, or may be liquidation. End of mystery!

T F Carthick said...

Yeah - These kind of adventures if they occur in reality might not always end the way it used to in the books. So even though we would have loved to have had them as children, we might not be too keen to expose our next generation to the same. Those crimes in the books were interesting while what happens in our country are grotesque.

Purba said...

What a delightful anecdote from your past!

Adults can be such spoilsports :p

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Purba.
I always found adults spoilsports as a kid.

Someone is Special said...

I'm sure you had a fantastic childhood! :)

Rachna said...

Love these nostalgic posts that you do. I read many stories and books but never had a like-minded gang of people to engage in fun of this type. Sigh! Did have a mad bunch of cousins though :).

Mimmy said...

Read many Three Investigators adventures. Of course, always thought them a bit inferior because there were no girl members Nevertheless, fond memories have been brought back! A pity Indian mothers were not as laid back as the British/American ones; my plans too have fallen victim several times to the proactive role my mother took for herself in my life ;-)

T F Carthick said...

Indeed - Looking back I feel it was so.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Rachna. I had friends but cousins were more straightforward - I was the black sheep of the family.

T F Carthick said...

Yeah - Enid Blyton had a better 'gender ratio'. Not due to that reason but I too somehow preferred Enid Blyton. Mothers indeed were too proactive.

Jayashree Srivatsan said...

I wonder how freaked out i would be if i get such a note. Hi hi. I can imagine how agitated your mother must have got

T F Carthick said...

Yeah - it was made worse by the recent fight with out neighbors who were rough businessmen. Though of course they were not likely to be writing these kind of dramatic notes in English.

ekta khetan said...

Intriguing childhood memories...well penned! :)

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Ekta.

Rajlakshmi said...

You guys such had an overactive imagination... I dnt remember reading 3investigators but nancy drew , hardy boys n secret seven were an integral part of my childhood. Wish I had formed a cool gang like that. Loved your writing.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks Rajlakshmi. I was indeed lucky to have such friends at that time.

Anonymous said...

Are you still in touch with these friends? Perhaps you should hold a reunion of sorts :) Nice post :)

T F Carthick said...

Well, Mahesh - the incident ended in a rift between us. The rift never healed and I left that school the year after. So no clue what happened to them.

Kokila gupta said...

Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys I have also devoured but I certainly missed on the 3 investigators:( Still almost like you I too had a trio. And my 2 pals were not for the investigating but for CREATING a situation which needed investigation in the coming days.. :D and I have to evade from the elders not to be interrogated as neither could I lie nor could betray my friends !!
Liked your post. nostalgic.
Kokila

T F Carthick said...

Thanks Kokila. Good to know you too had interesting friends with who you could execute your schemes.

SOUMYA MUKHERJEE said...

Loved it. Remembering our groups . I was always Jupiter or Fatty though I was stick thin But I was the guy who knew the books by heart. Must try to recreate some for my blog 😊

T F Carthick said...

Indeed Soumya. Most of us want to be Fatty or Jupiter only.

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