The blood had oozed out and dried long before, forming a dark brown patch. More closer look at the wound and he felt that the murderer had used a sword to draw the triangle. ‘It seems to be written in Vatteluttu, the ancient Tamil script...any idea what it means’ Quite an old and nearly extinct script, he thought in his mind. Historically, people first used the Tamil-Brahmi script, and then over time, developed the Vatteluttu script around 500 AD. There are two regional variants of Vatteluttu: Kolezhuthu and Malayanma and Dr. Sanjeev felt it was in Kolezhuthu. Silence proceeded till The Police chief spoke again. ‘Yes Sir...I mean’ he looked up at the old man standing silently by the corpses’ side. Dr. Sanjeev looked up and saw a pale looking man in late 70’s completely dressed in white. The darkness have given him a ghostly form, the professor felt. He was Bhadraka. Bhadraka, the headman of the Valluvars. Valluvars- the secret tribe of Lord Shiva guarding the divine secret for generations. His eyes had the stillness just before a storm. ‘Rudrapallam Vinashayay – it’s in Sanskrit’ he said in a cold voice. ‘Yes...that what it means...Rudra...something....something’ Tripathy smiled foolishly looking at the Professor. ‘ But what does the triangle means...The murderer had curved it on the chest of both the guards....’ ‘Wait...’ Dr.Sanjeev stopped police chief Tripathy and looked closely at the symbol. ‘Ruudra-pallam Vinashayay...Ruudra...rudrapallam...’ he kept on murmuring, his eyes still closed. Bhadraka looked upon, his heart pulsating quite fast. But why the triangle, the professor thought. ‘The symbol has a long history. Triangle symbol was probably first used in Indus valley script, also called the Harappan script. Seals excavated near Kalibangan of Indus Valley civilization belonging approximately to 2600 B.C. has triangle symbol drawn on it. It has many meanings though, the symbol. In alchemy as a matter of fact, it denotes fire. But...’ Dr. Sanjeev chuckled. Dark lines of doubt appeared on his forehead. ‘But as of why has it been drawn on the body...I really have no clue’ the professor shrugged. He kept on looking at those blood-clotted signs. An extinct script and a triangle symbol! Strange. He thought for a probable co-relation among the two. A multitude of different triangle symbols has its place even in rongorongo script but it seemed improbable here. A voice suddenly caught his attention. It was cold and stern. ‘I don’t think the symbol has any meaning here. The murderer has drawn it just to misguide us’ the man with the golden white beard spoke again. ‘No...I don’t think so. The murderer is clever but there’s surely a relation. Something, he might be trying to say’ Sanjeev kept on thinking of all possible hints. The script, he tried to decipher the meaning. “Rudra” he could understand, probably referring to the earliest form of Lord Shiva and “Vinashayay” meant destruction in Sanskrit. But what was Rudrapallam? He looked up at the headman of the Valluvars. ‘Any idea what the script means?’ There was stillness in the air. Suddenly an unknown bird cried out in the darkness. Sanjeev felt that the man’s eyes glowed up once before he spoke. Bhadraka kept it short. ‘No...I told you before the writing have nothing to do with the murder...just a trap to misguide us all’ An uncanny feeling caught Sanjeev. Probably the man was lying, but why he couldn’t understand. The triangle, it holds the key to the murder. What does an upward triangle means, he questioned himself. Harappan script...the different seals....having the symbol....all flashed in front of his eyes. Suddenly a smiled appeared on the Professor’s face. ‘Clever...very clever...’ he chuckled. Dr. Sanjeev looked excited, his hands trembling in anticipation. ‘Yesssss!!!YESS!!! The Pashupati Seal....the Pashupati seal...It has all the answers!’ Everyone looked at each other. The Pashupati seal was excavated near Mohenjo-Daro of Indus valley civilization .Dated back to 2600-3000 B.C., the seal depicts a yogi with a pair of horns crowning his head. He is surrounded by a rhino, a buffalo, an elephant and a tiger. Under his throne are two deer. But what was the link of thousands of year’s old excavated relic with the symbol on the chest of the two dead guards. Everyone felt baffled!!! No one had any clue except for one man standing there! Bhadraka...and he felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. He trembled .Closing his eyes he started praying. Till now, the theft was the only thing which occupied his mind. Except for Bhadraka, no one knew about it. He hasn’t said a word to the police about the theft. But now, a sudden fear gripped him. A chill ran down his spine. Someone has come to know about it! The divine secret has been broken!!! The divine secret of the Rudrapallam!!! READ THE FIRST 5 CHAPTERS HERE : saptak-firsttry.blogspot.in/2012/12/rudra-trilogy-1-read-first-4-chapters.html
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:41:36 +0000