The Vanishing Heirloom

 “Keep these,” I said to Anil, unable to control my giggles as I gave him the Rs. 500 note. “Today’s stuff is really good. I haven’t had something like this in ages,” I took another sip.

Anil held the note against the flickering light.

“A clear fake,” he said flicking the note.

“Your head is fake, Anil. The stuff’s gone to your head,” I tapped at the back of his head.

“Look here, Bhaiyya. No tiny watermark on the right. But I am sure they can’t catch it. Besides, I don’t want you to lose...” I snatched the note from him and checked it against the light myself. Anil was right. It was a worthless piece of paper.

“Where did you learn all this?” I asked him, still giggling, unable to keep my surprise in check. How can an illiterate villager know about counterfeiting?

“The secret of village smartness is the same as our sadness. Lots of free time,” said Anil.

“I am going to get you a job, Anil. You just wait. We’ll put all that smartness to work,” I punched him playfully in his stomach.

“Bhaiyya, I have observed something else too,” he said hesitantly.

“No Anil, not the right time. We talk only about childhood when we are high, right? I loved being here as a kid. What else do you remember?” I had had enough of his intelligence.

“Listen Bhaiyya. Look at me and listen,” he held my face in his hands, “The holy rocks near the big banyan tree. They are fake,” and he released my face.

“You have lost it, Anil. Those have been there for ages. Who will dare to…” but Anil didn’t let me finish.

“I don’t know who. But the original holy rocks are gone. Poof!” Anil burst an imaginary balloon and found it funny.

“And how do you know this, genius? No tiny watermark on the right?” I asked.

“Free time, Bhaiyya. Lots of it. Want to go check? But only if you date it with your testing apparatus,” he said.

“You had this all planned, didn’t you?” It couldn’t just be Anil asking me to use my dating equipment without a prior thought.

Anyway, I brought out the date-tester and we walked to the big banyan tree. Within seconds of pointing the camera at the rocks, the screen revealed its age, “Three-five years.”

“This… this can’t be. These rocks are centuries old,” I murmured. I repeated the test. Thrice. The same result.

“The old ones may be. But these ones? Certainly not,” replied Anil, “Unless your camera is drunk too,” he laughed. All I could do was smile as I looked at him. I touched the rocks as if my hands could do a better job of dating them than the equipment. Honestly, my hands couldn't tell the difference.

We soon called it a night. I had had enough of merrymaking after this discovery.

The next day, I caught up with Anil as he lazed on his cot.

“So, when did you figure out that the rocks were gone?” I asked him after a brief chat.

“About a fortnight ago. The texture felt so different when I was praying,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“And nobody else knows? How can that be?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"Did your hands figure it out?" Anil asked with a shrug.

“Who was here in the last few months? Any outsider?” The village’s holy rocks going amiss was no small deal. This could well cause chaos among the villagers. Their lives revolved around these rocks – with even festivities dedicated to them. Even my upbringing was dotted with tales about these rocks – how they were discovered by a traveller who then proceeded to settle our village around them.  

I asked the same question around the entire village. And found out about the visit of only one person who didn’t belong. The NGO teacher.  

The NGO – Among the Masses (ATM) – had its teachers visiting the village every now and then. They supplied educational material to the children – sometimes books, sometimes toys.

Once back in the city, I met the NGO teacher myself. She said she knew nothing about the rocks and was in the village only for a day. But I knew there had to be some connection.

After the NGO’s office was closed for the day, I managed to sneak in. Reaching the manager’s cupboard, I read through a few papers and found out what I was looking for. Pictures of the holy rocks. Stapled together was a letter from the Scientific Society. 

"Scientific Society recognizes Among the Masses (ATM) for its relentless support to scientific advancement. The dinosaur eggs discovered by ATM in the village will undoubtedly go a long way in evolutionary research. For this assistance, the Society extends funding of Rs. 5 Crores to ATM.”

[inspired by a true event - https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/stones-worshipped-villagers-madhya-pradesh-fossilised-dinosaur-eggs-2478388-2023-12-20]