The Cryptical Crypts and the Dutchman’s Destiny

May 3rd 2011
Dear N M,
This regarding the matter we discussed on your visit to Amsterdam. A perfect decoy has been identified and he shall deliver. Correspond for local details.
Regards,
Hans Van Rijn


May 11st 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
As foreseen by you, the decoy has delivered. Petition submitted to the SC recently. Awaiting developments.
Regards,
N.M


May 28th 2011
Dear N M,
I hope things will go as planned. You must know that too many things are at stake and having come this far in my venture I do not wish to be thwarted in the eleventh hour. Should I enforce Plan B? I do not want to, as it may of great political impact.
Regards,
Hans Van Rijn


May 29th 2011

Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
Please do not worry. Things are moving on well oiled wheels. The SC will co- operate. Old Chinese proverb “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life."
Regards,

N.M


June 8th 2011
Dear N M,
Consider me duly chastised. I went by a Dutch proverb that says, “Fortune does not stand waiting at anyone’s door.” Anyway, we have waited a century for this, can we not wait a few weeks?”
Regards,
Hans Van Rijn

May 29th 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
The SC has acted in favor of us. The decoy’s ploy worked. Order has been moved to open the vaults, soon. What now?
Regards,
N.M


June 7th 2011
Dear N M,
The hour is fast approaching. We have enrolled new actors in the drama about to unfold. You shall be contacted.. In the meantime, friend, you have to maintain the high level of secrecy so far held. No matter what happens, no matter how dramatic the situation turns into, you should not be tempted to contact the media at any cost..Your co operation shall be rewarded.
Regards,
Hans Van Rijn


June 14th 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
Please do not doubt my loyalty to your cause. But I hope when it all ends, I shall be appraised of what it is that you sought from all this. It must be of great importance or lucre for you to go into all this trouble. It is just my curiosity and I shall not make public anything you shall reveal to me. You know I owe my life to you.
Faithfully Yours
N.M

June 30th 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
The operation will start tomorrow. Two platoons of armed personnel and a 24 hour Police control room have already been established in the premises. Mobile patrolling units have been deployed. Are you sure your emissary will be able to make an entry? I wonder!
An intrigued,
N.M


July 7th 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
Oh my God, Mr. Van Rijn! Have you stirred up a hornet’s nest! The last few days have been utterly unbelievable as you might have come to know. The eyes of the whole world is focused on this small town. History is being rewritten here as day after day new findings are brought to broad daylight
( speaking metaphorically, of course!) . A seven member committee aided by Fire Force, Rescue Force and PWD officials, entered Chamber A , the underground chamber, armed with oxygen masks. The chamber was feared to be filled with poisonous fumes due to which it was oxygenated first. The members who entered the chamber were provided with oxygen masks. What they found in Vault A defies all imagination.
The whole exercise began on Monday with the committee members opening the ‘C’ chamber which contained gold items, including golden umbrellas, pots, ‘varps’ and silver pots. On Tuesday, the ‘D’ and ‘F’ chambers were opened. Precious stone-studded thrones and crowns have been found among the innumerable valuables stacked in these chambers. The ‘E’ chamber could not be opened on Wednesday, as it required the presence of the ‘nambi’. But then again, it contains the materials used during festivals and special occasions and there is an inventory of its contents.
[FONT=&quot]On Wednesday, the committee opened the ‘A’ chamber — which had not been opened for centuries — for a few minutes and decided to seek the help of Fire and Rescue Services personnel and Health Department officials to ward off any untoward incidents. The vaults are believed to be opened before around 150 years ,and it was very hard to be accessed .[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Opening of each of these chambers is revealing a virtual treasure trove with precious [FONT=&quot]diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewellery, rare antique silver and brass platters and golden idols. [/FONT]An estimation of above Rs. 90,000 crore treasure was valued at the completion of the 6th day of valuing the assets.[/FONT]
Dear Mr. Van Rijk, it is inconceivable to my intellect that you have masterminded the opening of these vaults to steal the wealth that belongs to a temple…to our God, Lord Padmanabha Swamy, when even the rulers of the Chera Dynasty abdicated in favour of the Lord and consecrated all their wealth to Him. This is a matter of such public importance, I wonder what your vested interest is.
Curiously Yours,
N.M

June 14 th 2011
Dear N M,
I can understand your curiosity and, even your mindset at the moment. My intentions, dear friend ( I presume I can call myself that …) are quite aboveboard. I did not – DO NOT- intend to loot the riches of your temple like my ancestors did in the past. But my involvement in this indeed starts from the past… from the times of my ancestor. My own ancestor, Sjon Van Rijn was a soldier under the Great Kapitan or ‘the Valiya Kapithan’ as they fondly called him, Captain De Lannoy, who was ordered to form an army by Marthanda Varma the king of Travancore. My ancestor Sjon was brainwashed by a fellow soldier and joined a band of Dutch renegades. They had made a foolproof plan to loot the chambers under the temple where the king had hidden his wealth. By the time the coup was put into action, my ancestor had had a change of heart and he had written a letter to my great, great, great grandmother about this. He was never heard of from. Six months later, a Dutch ship that came from India, brought a couple of urns… One containing the ashes of my ancestor and another, with his journal, clothes and a bag of gold coins. The captain of the ship had nothing to tell us, except that he had been asked to deliver those urns to the family of Sjon Van Rijn. My great great great grandmother was so upset that she vowed not to give a funeral to her husband till her name was vindicated. For generations, the eldest sons of our family have dedicated their lives to this cause, though unsuccessfully. My ancestor had written in his journal about the wealth and the ruler, about the temple and the Lord Padmanabha whose slave and emissary the king had become. By this time the East India Company had become powerful and the rest is history – India’s history. We Van Rijns became a family of Historians and History teachers. We were always looking for a way to vindicate our ancetsor’s name and carrying out a on lady’s wish to clear her husband’s name.
I have a feeling one of the chambers may have some information about him and all the others who ‘disappeared’ that night. I am trying to vindicate my ancestor’s name, that is all.
I hope you understand my stand in this. This has been my mission since my childhood when I heard this tale from my grandfather.
Apologetically Yours,
Hans Van Rijn

July 31th 2011
Dear Mr. H van Rijn,
I have news for you. Yesterday, your contact in the committee visited me in the middle of the night. I was a trifle frightened for my own safety as I have never been involved in any cloak and dagger affair, so far in my life. It has been decided that the contents of Chamber B, will not be made public in all its entirety as it has many disturbing things. Your contact says, they were all even more scared and worried at the opening of this chamber for, even as they tried to force open the closed chamber, they could hear the sound of crashing waves. Fearing that opening the door would flood the entire temple, they wondered what to do. It was then that someone remarked that Chamber A had a small ante chamber which had a door on the wall at the far end. They went back to Chamber A. They opened that small door and as they suspected, it did lead to Chamber B. They found that it was in two levels. The upper level was filled with more treasures and the lower one was filled with crashing waves of the Arabian Sea. Probably the lower half of the chamber is a long tunnel almost 5 kilometers and ended in the sea.
In the upper level they found many documents, and valuable tomes, ancient ‘Thaliyolas’ or inscribed dried leaves. Many of these date back to several hundred years. Your contact, being an expert in this matter located something that makes a reference to your ancestor. Dear Sir, Apparently, your ancestor was a hero. Not only did he have a change of mind, he also managed to alert Captain De Lannoy about the plan to loot the chambers. The renegades were apprehended by De Lannoy and his men and brought before Marthanda Varma who ordered them to be beheaded for treachery. Unfortunately your own ancestor, Sjorn Van Rijn had been caught by the renegades and brutally murdered. The king ordered that his body be cremated and sent to his homeland in secrecy as he did not want the news of the chamber to be publicized. The huge Chamber A was then dived into two, making the new Chamber B and a tunnel was dug connecting it to the sea so that the crashing waves would deter anyone from entering from outside the temple.
Your contact has attested that whatever he has read is authentic information. The antique inscription cannot be subjected to harsh light for fear of destruction, so he wants me to tell you that you should now plan a proper funeral for your ancestor with great honour and pride, but requests that you maintain the secrecy of this entire thing for, if the world comes to know that an operation like this was executed for such a reason, there may be unsavoury political impacts at national and international levels. As it is, the Hindu sentiments and those of the local believers have been hurt. Maybe in due course of time, these records will be preserved in a museum when you can come down personally and see for yourself.
I hope this is enough for you lay the venerable ghost of your ancestor to rest.
I remain,
Your friend for ever,
N.M

August 10 th 2011
Dear N M,
I thank you on behalf of 4 generations of Van Rijns for your support and the unconditional risk you and others took in this matter. I am sending you ( as I have sent our first decoy and our contact in the committee) two gold coins from the urn that came from your shores. Consider it a debt settled. My ancestor’s funeral was conducted yesterday with all members of our clan proudly present, every one rejoicing in this final act of vindication.
Thank you, dear friend for all you have done.
Sincerely Yours,
Hans Van Rijn

[FONT=&quot]Now we know why the underground chambers of Sri. Padmanabha Swamy Temple were opened by the directive from the Supreme Court! :rotfl:rotfl:rotfl[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]( hee...hee…hee… Talk about poetic license!)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Disclaimer: This story is an utter fabrication of my imagination and there is absolutely nothing similar to what happened at the temple. In fact, I have even dared to open Chamber B before the authorities have. God knows what is inside there… certainly not what I have written. Only the details about Captain De Lannoy are authentic. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The rest is sheer fabrication on my part to do justice to the Urns Challenge , one last time!!! [/FONT]