The Kon of Kohinoor: Kohinoor Reclaimed

THE KON OF KOHINOOR

Kohinoor Reclaimed

History, Mystery and Love ka Chemistry!!!

Disha Bailoor

Durgesh Bailoor

Notion Press

5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane,

Chennai - 600 005

First Published by Notion Press 2014

Copyright © Disha Bailoor & Durgesh Bailoor 2014

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 978-93-84878-04-7

This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility.

No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To My family.

My father Durgesh Bailoor, mother Sonali Bailoor

and brother Prathamesh Bailoor…

DISCLAIMER

This fable is a figment of imagination. All characters in this novel are fictitious, any resemblance to people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

No insult is intended to any nationality or group of people, religion or sex. If this story entertains then it has completed its mission.

The original story line is credited to Disha Bailoor; she was 15 when she wrote the outline and the additional romantic scenes in the story are added by Durgesh Bailoor, the father. Of course, Disha was outraged but then was convinced that it was important to make the story more wholesome and interesting!

Disha Bailoor and Durgesh Bailoor****November 2014, Mangalore, India

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing is a butt load of work. It took me time but I have finally completed my first novel. There are innumerable people I would like to thank for this dream come true.

Firstly, my family who supported me and helped me through this new journey, my father who helped me edit and enhance the quality of writing, my mother for putting up with my tantrums and never complaining once. I want to thank my brother for being there for me when I needed him and for believing in me. I couldn’t do this without you bro.

I also want to thank my publishers for their confidence in my writing and being with me on my first project.

Last but not the least; I would like to thank you, the reader, for your incredibly good choice in books! I hope you enjoy the journey through which the twists and turns of the story takes you.

ENJOY!

Disha Bailoor, Mangalore, India.

November 2104

Here is a snap shot of the characters that appear primarily in this fable. It will be easier for the readers to follow the narrative precisely.

Ram Chandra Adani - [RC Adani] – The diabolical Master Mind-Great grandson of the Diwan in the court of Maharajah Ranjit Singh of United Punjab prior to partition of India and Pakistan, a modern day business man with a mission.

Alicia Campden or Alisha Adani –The beauty and the brains- Daughter of Ram Chandra Adani (RC Adani) who is a martial art expert who speaks seven languages fluently. She is extremely beautiful and a tempest of emotions.

Lorenzo Ricardo alias Zoran Hamilton – Handsome South American jewel thief, who is wanted by the Interpol. He is very intelligent, articulate and utterly without any scruples. He is a smooth operator who gets rid of inconvenient people around him with shocking cruelty.

Samsher Singh alias Sam - Highly tanned with bronze fit body. Fascinating moustache and rugged good looks. A highly trained and decorated army officer, now recruited by Intelligence Bureau (IB) the mother organization of RAW (now known as Research and Analysis Wing), the Indian equivalent of FBI.

Contents

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Disclaimer

Acknowledgement

1. R.C Adani

2. Alisha Adani or Alicia Campden

3. Samsher Singh

4. Lorenzo Ricardo or Zoran Hamilton

5. Security Meeting in Delhi

6. Sam’s London sojourn

7. The Heist is Hatched

8. The Plan to Purloin is Final

9. Sam’s Ear Ring Proposal

10. Alisha is Upset & Flies Away

11. The Black Paris

12. Alisha’s Dad is Worried But Plan is Slotted Finally

13. Lover’s Rendezvous

14. The Mountain Smashing Robotic Technology

15. Christmas Eve – Everyone is Busy

16. Zoran Covets Kohinoor

17. Adelard Slips Up

18. Crazy Larry Goes Crazy

19. Bruno’s Burial

20. Zoran is Shocked

21. Indian Desperation-Zoran

22. Gujarati Femme Fatale

23. Sam is Concerned

24. Adventure in Surat

25. Zoran’s Indian Friend

26. Meeting the Master Cutter

27. Zoran’s Hubris -Kidnapping

28. Sleepy Trip to Ahemdabad

29. Adani is Heart Broken

30. Sam the Detective

31. What happens to Zoran now ?

32. Alisha is Back Home Again

33. Sam Takes a New Job and Gets Married

Chapter - I

R.C ADANI

Today’s newspaper had an unusual headline; it said ‘Kohinoor in Paris museum from November 1st till the New Year.’ As soon as I read this headline, I remembered all the memories of my childhood. I was a very young when my father told me about the pride of our nation, the Kohinoor, a diamond which shone like a thousand suns.

He told me that he was a ‘Diwan’ in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s court. He and the Maharaja were childhood friends They went to gurukul together, learnt a lot of things from their sensei (Guruji), martial arts, sword fighting, taming the horses, horse riding and playing chess.

‘Diwan’ was the prime minister of the kingdom. It was on an influential position. I was also brought up like royalty. At that time India was known as the ‘Golden Bird’ because it was very rich compared to the other countries. During that time, Britishers who were ruling over the world by their ‘divide and rule’ policy also noticed India. So, one evening the Maharajah had called him to his private chambers and gave him the key to the treasury and told my father, ‘Take this key and every night transfer gold and jewels to your house and store it safely in the secret safe room deep in your basement adjacent to the well in your house.’

(My father wrote in his diary) The foreigners from East India Company are surrounding us. These white devils will loot everything from the treasury. ‘Hide as much as you can in your basement store room. Use it as you feel fit for the betterment of Punjab and Indian people.’ That was what the Rajah had told me when he handed me the key to the treasury. Next twenty one days four horses each night carried large leather bags filled with gold and jewels to my secret basement storage area, which was well hidden with a secret door which could be opened only after moving some hidden levers behind a big family painting. Looking back now, My King made a very big mistake; He kept his crown which contained the Kohinoor, the biggest and the most beautiful diamond together with ruby of Timur to be transported last. He was very attached to it. It was kept in a large glass case where the moonlight would reflect and show the grand Kohinoor and the companion Ruby of Timur in its magnificent glory. My king spoke to me and told me to shift his crown jewels to the secret hiding in the next week, but suddenly his health took a turn for the worst and I came back next morning to see his highness dead with his four chief queens crying over his dead body. The chief of army (senapati), the council of ministers were all assembled in the next room, and the crown jewels rested in their glass resting place. Some traitor had informed General Dalhousie about our king’s death. He immediately came with a contingent of soldiers armed with guns in the guise of paying respects to our Maharajah, but his eyes were elsewhere on the Kohinoor and Ruby of Timur. I felt a pang of desolation, why did I not shift these two jewels…oh why? I was helpless. General Dalhousie had taken charge of the Palace and summoned me to invite the Rajah Duleep Singh to the conference. He seduced the adolescent king with lots of guns and a beautiful white princess from London, Eva who was daughter of an English physician. She became the Kings consort and within next one month the King Duleep Singh was taken to England with the Kohinoor and the Ruby, with fifty kilos of gold and jewels to be presented to her majesty the Queen of England. General Dalhousie got knighthood and subsequently many honours for his service to the Queen. The death of Rajah Ranjit Singh was a terrible blow to me. I was very saddened that through my miscalculation I could save only 75% of the treasure but the Kohinoor was gone and the young prince was too busy with the nubile white princess provided by General Dalhousie to listen to me.

After the King’s death I was totally sidelined and not allowed to meet the young Rajah. British soldiers always guarded him, prior to his departure to London in the ship called ‘Adventure Express.’

The death of the brave Rajah brought a dark time for Punjab; it was not safe from foreign invaders. The British played havoc with different princes, made them fight each other and Punjab was fragmented, wounded and burning. It was a free for all. Everyone was busy looting what they could, only the trusted Senapathi Shivraj Rajput knew about the transfer of the riches to my basement storehouse. His son Kapil was later to be guardian of my daughter Alisha as she grew up. At that period of time, Rajah Ranjit Singh successors lacked bravery and vision and therefore could not handle the huge kingdom that had been established by him.

The East India Company with the British soldiers took the maximum benefit of this pandemonium to establish their rule in this region. Hence, the grand Kohinoor which was given to Ranjit Singh by Nadir Shah in return for his protection from his enemies who were pursuing him, passed on to the Queen of England’s collection. The young prince Duleep Singh was never to return to India and stayed on in Britain. This angered me beyond limit. Strong winds of destiny wafted the grand diamond from Indian soil into the crown jewels of the British royal family.

My father wrote in his hand written Punjabi script in a diary of limp red leather about his resolve to bring back the Kohinoor to India by hook or by crook. He wrote ‘It belongs to Punjab, it belongs to India we have the right to it, we must get it back…you must get it back…this is my last wish …’ I didn’t like the way it had all ended. He told me this story almost every day and wished that he did something to prevent those foreigners from taking our precious Kohinoor. I wished I could help him overcome the pain, the regret.

With this story, he never forgot to mention the curse attached to Kohinoor. It was said that there was curse that had destroyed many people but only those who coveted the Kohinoor. Ladies and gods were free of this curse, it didn’t affect them. At first I thought my father was joking because he was a sensible man and it was quite unusual for him to say things like that. He said it with seriousness in his tone and with a grave expression. It was rather difficult for me to digest such a thing. I chose not to believe in it but when my father gave me evidence, it was undeniable. I had to accept it. When the King Rajah Ranjit Singh Ji was given the Kohinoor by Nadir Shah, Ranjit Singh felt something change in him, he began to covet Kohinoor, he did not spend time with his queens ultimately Rajah Ranjit singh started drinking every day right from the beginning. The Royal astrologer had told the king, please give this diamond to the principal queen Duleep Singh’s mother in her crown, and then said just stop looking at it, your highness otherwise it will herald bad times for Punjab. My King was enraged and he beheaded the Astrologer for saying this. Before being beheaded, the astrologer had appealed to Ranjit Singh Ji that kill me, but please stay away from Kohinoor …please, King, this stone is cursed. The same thing repeated for his eldest son Duleep Singh Ji, since the day Maharaja Duleep Singh, the successor of Ranjit Singh, had touched the diamond his bad days had started. From that day till now, he has no grand children. His generation line had ended. The mystique of the curse was there for the history to see.

In the year 1895, in the month of December, my father (Diwanji) became very sick. He was not able to walk or do anything by himself. He could barely speak. The doctor had given up hopes and informed us that there were only few days for him to live. We were supposed to keep him happy, but it had never been possible. After the Kohinoor was taken I even lost my mother due to a mysterious disease, maybe now it may have diagnosed as cancer. He had become even more depressed than before. I didn’t know what to do to ease his pain. I thought that me being with him helped and so I spent most of the time near him.

On 29th July 1895 in the night, my father told me to do something. He called me close using his mellow voice as he could not speak up. He said, ‘Son, take this diary and read it. I have written my last wish in this.’ He gave a red limp leather covered, old, handmade diary which he had himself filled with his handwriting. I wanted to know what was in that but instead I sat with my father for a while, I wanted him to feel at peace. He also gave me a key to his strong room in our family house which was filled with jewels and gold of value which I could not ascertain till today. In his life time he trusted only two people, one was Senapati Shivraj Rajput and other was his Munshi Abdullah sahib, a chartered accountant who knew about his investments he had made in different businesses in Bombay. My father also had invested in the Credit Suisse – the famed Swiss bank, so that his international trade could be supported. And was one of their valued customers, my name appeared in it as nominee. When I was 18 he had taken me on the ship to Switzerland and Europe. My thumb print, my signature and my photograph was affixed on some document by my father, only Abdullah sahib who accompanied us was the silent witness. This wealth helped me to finance the education of Alisha, my rose, when she left many years later to Britain to do her studies in Asian history.

I have two daughters Rekha and Alisha. Rekha at the age of 19 fell in love with Omar a Pakistani Business man and insisted on marrying him. I was not happy but then these were new times, I wanted Rekha to be happy but then she changed her name to Razia and did the Nikah in Lahore and settled down there. But in retrospect Omar truly loved her and she was happy.

I had taken Alisha with me by Swiss Air to Zurich, Credit Suisse Group is a Switzerland-based multinational financial services holding company, headquartered in Zürich. We saw a part of Europe, ate 22 types of cheeses and brought back a truck load of delicious chocolates. Alisha Adani’s finger prints, retinal scan, signature, her seven different photographs witnessed by Kapil Dev Rajput, who was her foster father and a constant body guard were the records of the Swiss bank, after me she was the nominee of this wealth.

The next day my dad was no more, he did not get up from his sleep. The doctors declared that his heart had stopped beating and he could not be saved. It hurt me and pained me that I could do nothing to save him. He was a great man who was brave, who took firm and right decisions. It was the truth that his death made me a very wealthy man indeed. In fact, at that time even I did not know how much I was worth.

I opened the diary the next day and decided to fulfil his last wish. It would be the least that I could do to honour my father’s memory, I thought. So I opened the diary to read every last page. He wanted me to bring back the Kohinoor to the rightful owners, the Indian People.

Since that day, till now nothing has changed I still want to fulfil my father’s last wishes. He would have wanted me to take this chance and I would. As my father’s ashes were dispersed in the holy Ganges river and the Sanskrit chanting of eleven Brahmins filled my ears praying for the soul of my beloved father, I took an oath that I shall get the Kohinoor back…at that time I did not know how, but God had given me the resources, the resolve and a reasonable amount of madness to make it possible! I pray for his soul to rest in peace and apologize to him every day that I could not start fulfilling his wish; I knew I needed to wait for the right time, otherwise all my hard work would go into the drain. I will do what it takes to fulfil his last wish.

As soon as I saw that article in the newspaper, an idea had started forming in my devious mind. I knew that at last my father’s wish could be fulfilled and his soul would rest in peace. It was as if the stars were aligning themselves for me. I could feel the dampness in my eyes; the pain had come back again. It now had become a part of my life. I was very happy on getting this golden opportunity. I decided to get to work as I had limited time.

According to the news, the exhibition was going to be arranged in Paris and all the precious gems along with the Kohinoor were going to be kept there for public sighting, in the Musé De Paris, the main museum of Paris. In Britain, the jewels were kept in such a tight security that it was impossible to steal them. But here in Paris where they were going to be exhibited for the Indo-European business meet, the security would have a chink in it.

The Kohinoor was once the largest diamond in the world, it had been found in Golconda, Andhra Pradesh in India. It was the pride of India which the British decided to steal. Its brilliance had no bounds. It was known far and wide for its shine, which is the reason why the kings who owned it were attacked. They say that the Kohinoor comes with a price and it was true.

My daughter had met and married an Englishman. It was at her marriage reception my childhood friend Mr. Swaminathan Karaikudi introduced me to Mr Zoran Hamilton. Later in the evening, when the young were dancing away to glory, we two old, no mature people were comfortable with our glasses of whisky and our salted nuts, Swaminathan told me about Zoran being one the best jewels thief in business. Governments of seven countries were waiting to pounce on him, but no evidence. Zoran was obviously a very clever and clean operator, each heist was done with military precision, and the swag was sold to rich American businessman and collectors. Zoran was independently rich due to his marriage to a rich British woman, Lady Hamilton.

Swaminathan or SK as I called him was the director of IB (Intelligence Bureau) and a very powerful man in Indian capital. It was due to him I got a detailed dossier on Zoran and the plan could move forward to the next stage.

Chapter - II

ALISHA ADANI OR ALICIA CAMPDEN

I was sitting in the Heathrow Airport London awaiting departure for Air India flight for London-New Delhi. I had two more hours, my flight was delayed. I had to sit there and wait till I could surprise my father with my visit. My exams had ended way before I actually thought. I could now go back to meet my father in India. I missed him a lot and I was guilty of not talking to him properly since my husband Ken’s death.

I still remember the first day that I bumped into Ken Campden. He literally bumped into me in the coffee shop, and what a bump it was! His coffee was a big spreading stain on the front of my dress. I was flabbergasted and late for my classmates’ birthday party. I rushed off to the bathroom, cursing him constantly in my mind. It had just been two months since I had been in London. I was there on the Scholarship Programme for which I was accepted. I was doing my Bachelors in Asian Studies at St. Anthony’s College in Oxford University. I really was late and I didn’t have a choice but to cancel. I wanted to give that person a piece of my mind.

I went outside after cleaning myself. I look at him fiercely and literally stared him like I was going to shoot him. I asked him if he didn’t have eyes and talked to him very rudely but he didn’t mind. Instead he said sorry and asked if he could help me in anyway. I was taken aback. No one had been so kind to me, not even my new friends. I just stared at him and walked off. I called myself a cab and reached home.

I really was impressed by that guy’s politeness until I forgot all about him. I was lost in the pages of my college books and the lectures of the professors who guided us in the historical drama of the 17th and 18th century happenings in the pan-Asian region. I had to study loads and I had very little time. I stayed with my roommate in an apartment whose rent we both shared. I used to do my shopping and all from the local supermarket down the street and that too on weekends so that I had time to study during the week.

Once as usual I went to the supermarket. I was looking for detergents and I was going forward. I didn’t notice a man standing there and I absentmindedly dashed into him. He was definitely surprised and shocked; I looked at him with an apologetic expression. I said sorry but he didn’t listen to me and looked as if he was going to shout at me. When I saw his face, I knew. This was the man from the coffee shop. He looked at me and I at him and we both started laughing. It was so sudden that everyone started looking at us oddly.

I put my hand forward and said ‘I am Alisha Adani and I come from India’. He shook my hand, a firm and warm handshake and said ‘I am Kenneth Campden and I come from nowhere at all..!’ and he laughed loudly. It was rather weird but I just looked at him and said nice to meet you. That was our second meeting.

Over a few months we became very good friends. He told me he was a business man dealing with finances of big multi-national companies and said that he had to travel to various cities in US and Europe. I told him my school day adventures of pyjama parties with my girl friends, trying to smoke in the dormitory and then coughing for a whole hour. I told of my interest in the history of Punjab, a colourful province from which I hailed. Alisha mentioned about the excesses of the Maharajahs and their courtiers, how the dancers danced for the whole night till all the members of the royal entourage became dead drunk on the scented wines that were plied to them continuously.

All my friends were literally in love with him and never