In the lap of the nature, there was a village named Kankavli. Far away from the urban life, the village used to walk with its own time. Everything in the village had its own pace. It was untouched by the modern developing science. But yes, it belonged to the 21st century.
One would easily get lost into the beauty of nature here. The houses were big and far away from each other. Each house was surrounded with beautiful greenery. There were huge trees of coconut, mangoes, jackfruit and cashew nut. Life at Kankavli was completely different from the usual modern life.
To the west of Kankavli was the house of Kulkarni’s. Not a house, it was almost a palace. The KULKARNI’S PALACE. Almost a decade ago, the Kulkarni’s were the richest family of Kankavli. But as time passed by, due to some reason, their wealth started declining. Now only the palace was left and they were completely ruined. In the palace, now lived Mohit along with his wife Riddhi. He also had a younger sister named Sita. Mohit and Riddhi were newly married. Sita had just completed her education. She was an orthopedic doctor. They also had a servant named Raju working for them. He too lived in the quarters nearby.
The Kulkarni’s palace was surrounded by greenery from all sides. There were huge plantations of coconut and cashew nut trees near the palace. Also there were many trees of mango and jackfruits growing in the backyard of the palace. One of the jackfruit trees was very huge and almost 50 years old. But all the plantations were mortgaged to a landlord. The Kulkarni’s did not own it now. Also there was a beautiful river flowing near the palace.
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
Though the family lived in the palace, their economic condition was not as good as they wished. Mohit worked in a nearby Kaju factory as a manager. Riddhi was a housewife. Sita wanted to start her own clinic, but she didn’t have enough funds.
Once while Sita was strolling around the palace, she saw a movement in the nearby bushes. She was curious to know about it. She went near the bushes and found nothing. She started walking further. When she reached near an old mango tree, she saw a hare was making a burrow. When she went near the hare, it ran away. As she went near to the hole, she saw a piece of paper lying there. It was very old and brown in color. It wasn’t a normal piece of paper. It was a bit thicker than usual. She picked up the paper and found that there was a small box below it. The script on the paper was still visible. It read :
‘TO WHOMEVER WOULD FIND THE BOX, THE PERSON WOULD BE RICH ONE DAY.’
She opened the box and found a beautiful ring inside it. The ring was made of platinum and it had a ruby on it. Sita liked the ring and decided to keep it. It perfectly suited in the ring finger of her right hand. But the ring was different than other rings. It was a bit broader. But, Sita didn’t mind it because she was in love with that ring. She kept the paper in the box and took it home. Mohit and Riddhi were surprised. They were a bit jealous too because they hadn’t found the beautiful ring. Sita didn’t tell them about the message on the paper.
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
Days passed by and it was the beginning of the rainy season. During this time of the year, the beauty of Kankavli used to get doubled. There was humidity in the air and greenery everywhere. It seemed like the heaven on the earth. Sita’s friends Karan, Neha and Madhav had come to visit her. Karan was a professional photographer. Neha was a dentist. Madhav had his own detective agency. Sita used to like Madhav and so did he. But no one had confessed each other. Madhav had decided to confess his love and so he had brought a diamond ring with him. He was just waiting for the right time.
One stary night, when the stars were twinkling at their best, Madhav decided to confess his love to Sita. He took her to a beautiful place along the river. Sita had a bit of idea about his plans, but she pretended to be unknown. He bent down on his knees in a romantic pose and presented the ring to her. He confessed his love and asked her whether she would marry him. Sita without wasting a moment took the ring and accepted his proposal. They both hugged each other. They both were probably the happiest souls at that moment. They went home and gave the good news to their family and friends. The whole family and their friends were very happy and accepted them with a great joy and pleasure. Sita went to her room. She kept the ruby ring back into the box and wore the ring given by Madhav. It was not as grand as the ruby ring, but still it was priceless because love is priceless.
It was 13th July and the most important day of Sita’s life. It was her birthday. Everyone in the palace had decided to give a surprise
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
party to her. So as decided, Madhav and Neha took her for shopping in the nearby market. Riddhi had baked a beautiful and tasty chocolate cake for her. Mohit and Karan along with the help of Raju did the decorating and other work. All the things were ready and now the birthday girl was awaited.
When the three returned from shopping, the lights in the palace were off. It was dark everywhere. Madhav and Neha knew the plan so they were relaxed. But Sita was little tensed. When she reached the middle of the hall, Karan switched on the lights. Everyone together sang the ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ song. Sita was completed surprised and there were tears in her eyes. Then the cake was been cut. Everyone had a very happy time. There was a special menu prepared by Riddhi. Everyone liked the food very much. Overall it was one of the finest day in the Kulkarni’s palace. But the day wasn’t finished yet.
When everyone was into their rooms, a loud cry was heard. The voice had come from Sita’s room. Everyone dashed to Sita’s room. They found that Sita was staring at a small copper box. Riddhi asked Sita what was the matter. Sita told everyone that the ruby ring which she used to wear has lost. Everyone became a bit tensed. Mohit asked Sita when the last time she saw the ring was. She told that she saw the ring before going for shopping. All of them started searching for the ring in the palace. Karan remembered that he had seen Raju going to clean Sita’s room before the party. Everyone went to the quarters behind. Raju was going to bed. Mohit told him the whole incidence and asked him whether he had taken Sita’s ring. His answer was no.
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
But still Mohit and Karan searched his entire room. They found nothing in the room. All of them returned back to the palace.
Meanwhile, Madhav was very quiet and he was just observing whatever was going on. Everyone knew that he was a very clever detective. Neha asked his views on the lost ring. He said he would find the ring by tomorrow. He also told everyone to get back to their rooms. All of them went to their rooms.
It was midnight now. Madhav heard some sound outside the room. He came out of his room. He went up to the main door and found nothing there. Then he went to the kitchen to drink water. When he was returning back to his room, he paused in front of Mohit’s room. He found a piece of paper lying there. He took the paper and went to his room. The paper read:
‘BELOW SOMETHING WHICH IS DECADES OLD,
HAVING A THING WHICH IS SWEET INSIDE AND THORNY OUTSIDE
YOU WILL FIND ALL THE LUXIRIES OF YOUR LIFE.’
He put the paper into the drawer and went to sleep. Now the prime suspects of the ring robbery were Mohit and Riddhi.
The next morning, Madhav woke up early. The sun hadn’t rose completely yet, but there was enough light outside. So Madhav decided to take a casual walk around the palace. He opened the main door and went out. He was thinking about the piece of paper and the clue on it. He was also thinking to question Mohit and Riddhi about
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
it. When he was just walking around, he saw a movement in the nearby bush. He went near the bush and found a hare there. It was the same hare which Sita had seen earlier. It ran towards a jackfruit tree and then again disappeared into the bushes. While he was returning from there, he found some footmarks near the tree. The mud was wet due to the slight drizzle last night. He searched more around the tree. He found that at a particular place, the ground was dug with a sharp thing. When he took a close look towards it, he found a shiny thing and a piece of paper there. The paper was the same paper which Sita had found with the ring. He took the paper and the shiny thing along with him.
After getting fresh, Madhav called everyone in the hall. He announced that he had found the ring and the one who had taken it. Sita was very excited. Mohit asked Madhav to show the ring and the thief too. Madhav told everyone that the ring was actually never lost. Everyone was surprised to hear that. Neha asked Madhav then what had happened to the ring. Madhav told that the ring was broken. It had a secret clue to reach the precious thing which was buried inside the ground under the jackfruit tree. The piece of paper had some platinum stuck to it. Karan asked him who had broken the ring. The all were a bit of shocked now. Madhav revealed that the ring was broken by no one else than Sita herself. She had also taken the precious thing from the ground. Sita was taken aback. She refused to accept the blame. Then Madhav asked her for the ring which he had given her. She looked at her fingers and realized that herring was missing. Then Madhav showed everyone the ring and told them he
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
found the ring near the jackfruit tree, where the ground was dug. This was the evidence against Sita.
Sita now finally had to confess. She told everyone that the ring was never lost. One day before her birthday, the ring by mistake fell one the ground. It broke into pieces. Under that ruby there was a small key. The platinum part had a roll of small piece of paper stuck to it. It was the same paper which Madhav had found near Mohit’s room. Madhav showed everyone that piece of paper. Sita further continued that after reading the clue, she understood that the clue was the jackfruit tree because it was old and the sweet and thorny thing was the jackfruit. She planned a drama so that no one would suspect her. The next day after the party she decided to execute her plan. She first told everyone that the ring was lost. Then when everyone was asleep, she came out of her room. She dropped the clue paper in front of Mohit’s room so that everyone would suspect him. While she was moving out, she dashed to the table which made a sound. Then she heard that someone was coming towards her. She hid in the corner behind the cupboard. It was Madhav who had come out of his room. After Madhav went back, she opened the door and went near the jackfruit tree. She had a shovel with her. It was drizzling outside so it was easy to dig the ground. She found a beautiful bronze box from the ground. She took it to her room and opened it with the key she had found below the ruby. The box had 10 beautiful and costly diamonds. She decided to sell them and become rich. It would help her to open her clinic. She cried at the end for cheating with her family and friends.
RADHEKRISHNA [SHREE]
Finally the mystery of the lost ring was solved by the clever detective Madhav.