Novel: An Unknown Life (Part-2)

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Kolkata-based author Debasree Chakraborty writes a novel about the 19 years of life of Jesus, which, according to some contemporary texts, he spent traveling extensively in the Middle East, Sindhu region and India

[Author’s Note: In the Old Testament of the Bible, there is no information about the life of Jesus for 19 years. There are some contemporary texts where eyewitnesses have stated that he traveled extensively in the Middle East and crossed the Sindhu region to enter India. Through this novel, I have tried to portray the diary of a profound spiritual journey of his life in the initial and final chapters. Foreign powers have tried to erase the history of our continent, Asia. That is why, when Notovitch returned from Hemis in Ladakh and mentioned that ancient text over 2000 years old, Max Müller sent people to Hemis to destroy that ancient manuscript. The mysterious manuscript is also mentioned in the book by Swami Abhedananda about Kashmir and Tibet. What was it that caused Max Müller so much concern over this manuscript? It is noteworthy that love cannot come into the life of the son of God, and he cannot have any children. Even the Gospels attributed to him have been confined to the secret, dark chambers of the Pope’s city, with words implanted into his mouth according to their wishes. In his name, imperialistic aggression is being carried out across the world. His only daughter, Sara, has not been recognized. His entire existence has been imprisoned. There lies an unknown chapter of his life hidden throughout the Middle East, the Sindhu region, and India. I have brought forth this history through this novel. “An Unknown Life” is in no way a novel imitating “Jesus lived in India.” This novel provides detailed descriptions of his presence across the vast land from Israel to India, not just his own, but also the mysterious narratives of many people associated with him. Was Jesus truly the founder of Christianity? If not, why must he still bear the burden of the “Roman Cross”? Is there ever to be a possibility of his release? All answers are coming. Debashree Chakraborty]

An Unknown Life

Jesus-Debasree-Novel-Sindh Courier-1After a moment, Nora took a sip from her glass of drink, thought for a moment, then turned off the music player with the remote, letting out a long sigh, and said, “Omkari, what I am about to tell you depends entirely on whether you choose to believe it or not.”

Omkari seemed to be waiting to face a terrible truth. Nora said, “Daniel could read Latin. That night, the master of the house in Alexandria handed Daniel an ancient letter written in Latin. From Daniel’s diary, it is revealed that this letter was sent by a friend of Jesus seven years after His crucifixion to a person in Alexandria from Jerusalem. In this letter, he wrote that Jesus did not die from crucifixion. Some of His supporters rescued Him at that time and provided proper care to restore Him to health. Later, He crossed over to Persia and India. Witnessing this entire event was that individual.”

“Nora, are you saying this?”

“Yes? What I am saying is not a bit false. Later, Daniel married a German woman. This woman’s brother was a writer. Daniel himself was not a writer, but he wanted this truth to come to light. His brother-in-law…”

First, translate this letter from Latin to German. This brother-in-law had a French archaeologist as his girlfriend. Her father conducted business in Egypt. This woman translated this letter from German to French. When she presented this manuscript in front of everyone, the Jesuit Church of Egypt began to attack her. She managed to escape and save her life.

After that, where did this woman go?

Omkari, after this, we do not know where the woman went. In 1873, this letter was translated from French into English. But for some unknown reason, all copies of this manuscript disappeared, and its publication was also halted. All the copies that were in possession of those who had them vanished, and the library also removed all those copies.

However, when the book was published, there must have been at least one copy somewhere.

Yes, it is not possible to erase all copies through conspiracy like this. But if we had even one copy, we could have learned a lot of unknown information.

But, your family is supposed to have the original copy; where is it?

Daniel had given the original letter to his brother-in-law for translation. But almost immediately after the translation work was finished, Daniel died. I suspect the original copy was with the French archaeologist woman. With her disappearance, it seems like everything vanished into a dark black hole.

Nora is a very emotional girl; she prefers to use her heart over her head. For this reason, people like Nora tend to make the worst decisions. But Omkari places her brain before her heart; she tries to find solutions by analyzing any situation with practical wisdom.

“By the way, Nora, which publishing company did the English translation of this book, and what is the name of the book?”

“Omkari, the English translation of the book is titled “The Crucifixion,” and the author’s name is listed as An EYE-WITNESS, published by Indo-American Book Co.”

“Alright, I’m checking where their office is located. In this age of the internet, everything can be found with a Google search.”

“No, it’s not as simple as you think; it’s actually quite complicated. I’ve also searched extensively on the internet, but I haven’t found any trace of their office.”

Nora feels extremely helpless; it seems she can’t manage anymore. After trying so hard, when all paths around her seem to have closed off, she has turned to Omkari for help.

Omkari glanced at the clock and said, “Nora, I’m really hungry. I had to prepare a paper after coming back from the university, so I didn’t get a chance to eat.”

Nora seemed to turn extremely embarrassed; her cheeks flushed red with shame. In trying to express herself, she forgot to serve dinner.

The interior of Nora’s house is remarkably different from that of other homes. The decor has a distinct touch of antiquity. The surroundings are adorned with various rare items collected from different corners of the world. A long dining table is covered with a red tablecloth, on which stands a beautifully crafted candle holder with three candles burning in it. Such candles, glowing like these, Omkari has never seen before. The lights in the room have been dimmed, and the ambiance created by the candlelight is filled with mystery. Nora loves to eat Middle Eastern food and prepares various dishes herself when guests come over. Today she has made three types of kebabs, along with biryani and a dish of mutton. A green-colored drink accompanies the meal. After finishing their meal, Omkari and Nora go to the library on the second floor. Omkari is sitting in front of the window. The view outside through the closed glass window looks fairy-tale-like. The street lights blend with the lights in Nora’s garden. Death never announces itself; every moment of such a beautiful life must be deeply felt. Suddenly, Omkari feels as if she has entered a mysterious chapter of time, and what she is seeing now seems to unfold another world within it. Standing in the dark desert expanse are three crucified bodies.

Drops of blood are falling onto the cross-shaped wood, hitting the desert ground with a soft thud. As the drops hit the hot earth, a light smoke rises from them. She can hear the sound of groaning in pain, and slowly, the atmosphere becomes suffocating with a mixture of blood and sweat. As this smell reaches Omkari’s nose, it makes her feel nauseous. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and sits up straight for a moment. She can sense that a mysterious dark chapter of a great man’s life is gradually unfolding before her, allowing her to feel a special moment. Omkari opens her eyes and tries to gather himself, saying, “Nora, do you remember Charles?”

“Charles? You mean the one from whom you collected many old books?”

“Yes. This Charles has connections with many publishing houses that had shut down their operations long ago. Yet, Charles finds them and collects old books from them. I firmly believe he must have some information about these publishers.”

“It’s already quite late. Will you call Charles?”

“Yes, I’ll call him right now. Because Charles is someone who answers the phone even if you call him at midnight.”

The atmosphere inside the room suddenly became very quiet, and the ticking of the clock and the sound of their breaths could be heard. The sounds of their breathing and the ticking of the clock seemed to create a kind of ambient music together. The ringing of the phone was like the sound of an old door’s hinge that had been closed for many days. Omkari didn’t have to wait long. Charles answered the phone and said, “I was just thinking about you. It’s been a long time since Madam placed any new book orders. I haven’t seen you because I’m not getting any new orders.”

“Charles, I was stuck in India during the lockdown. It’s been just a few months since I returned to San Francisco. Now we might finally be able to see each other regularly.”

Okay, tell me how I have been remembered today?

Charles, a long time ago, a book titled The Crucifixion was published. In the place of the author’s name, it was written “an eye witness.”

What’s the publisher’s name?

Charles, this book was published by the Indo American Book Co.

Give me a moment, I’m checking to see if this publisher is saved in my tab where I have the addresses of publishers.

For a while, there was a cold silence between the two, like death, with only the sound of the clock ticking and breathing echoing as background music. Suddenly, Charles exclaimed, “Omkari, quickly write down the address.”

Omkari started typing on her other phone while Charles said, “Chicago, 5705 South Boulevard Road.” This address is written down. There’s also a phone number under the name of a person named Robert. I’ll send you the phone number on WhatsApp; it will be easier for you to call.

That night, Omkari didn’t return to her flat, and even though Nora went to bed in her own room, she couldn’t close her eyes at all. Throughout the night, images floated and faded against a backdrop of light and darkness. Omkari saw a beam of light breaking through the dark desert expanse, where a glass filled with yellow-colored beverage lay. Drops of blood were falling into it, blending the red and yellow colors into one. Omkari remembered the beverage from the previous evening. There’s a deep meaning hidden even within this scene. Within any real scene, another scene is hidden, which is called the philosophy of life. The beautifully blended taste of mango and watermelon in the beverage today has brought a special message into her life. The yellow color signifies life.

The symbol of positivity is red, like a bloody, icy stillness. While tasting such a syrup, he has entered a dark chapter of a great man’s life. This chapter is no less mysterious than that of Lord Sri Chaitanya. If Jesus did not truly die after being crucified, what happened to him afterward? How and where did he spend the last chapter of his life? Nora speaks of a book; is there not another copy of this book left? If there is, then where is it? In that mysterious chapter of Jesus’s life, he must have surely come into contact with many people. If so, surely someone among them must have recorded the account of that particular chapter. Omkari felt as if a new journey in her life had just begun, and at this moment, she needed to remain calm; otherwise, it would become very complicated for her to reach her destination. Closing her eyes, she fell into the lap of the goddess of sleep while chanting the name of Gaurahari. (Continues)

Click here for Part-1

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Debasree ChakarbortiDebasree Chakraborti is a renowned novel writer of Bengali language. Based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, she has done Master’s in Modern History from the Kolkata University, and authored some thirty books, mostly the novels, with historical perspective and themes. Her novel is ‘Maharaja Dahir’ that covers the history of Sindh from 662, the year of first attack on Sindh by the Arab armies till date, was published last year and translated by Nasir Aijaz into Sindhi language. 

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