CHATURBHUJ-2 -5. Astute Analysis

“It certainly had to be someone who had some objection to this painting! If the drawing was a figment of Perimalji’s imagination, then why would anyone object to it? Probably this lady belongs to our kingdom, although I have never seen her.” The King was also quick to point out that he, too, had never known or met her. “If my perception of someone objecting to the painting holds true, then it is possible that for some reason Perimalji made this drawing against the consent of the lady or her known ones. From the drawing it appears that the lady is taken aback at something and the fact that a couple of her hairs are slightly disheveled could indicate the blowing of the wind. It is probable that he saw her somewhere and was impressed by her. He later made this picture based on his memory.

I have been to all his various exhibitions where this picture was never put on display. Thus, how did the lady or her known ones learn about this work of art? Perimaji may have shown her the drawing and this sparked the problem. Things reached such a boiling point that someone known to the women visited Perimalji’s house, might have asked him to destroy the sketch which resulted in a physical tussle that finally led to his death!”   The minister then removed the long nail from his yellow bag and continued with his intriguing assumptions, “As far I know, Perimalji was not in the habit of growing long nails. When I enquired with some of the people residing nearby his house, I learnt that the garbage collector had come to collect the waste on that fateful day and thus all that which I have retrieved from the bin has been thrown in it that day only at a later time. This nail may belong to the killer that may have broken in the tussle he had with Perimalji.

I also figured that Perimalji stayed out for a long time on the day he was killed. Had he been home it is unlikely that the waste bin had such sparse items. As he used to stay alone I had once asked him whether he cooked his own food.   To this he had replied that he had employed a cook who came once in the morning.     My associates located the address of the cook who informed them that on the fateful day Perimalji had asked him to take a leave for he would be going to his friend’s place. He could not provide any further details. I suppose that Perimalji may have returned sometime in the evening, started drawing on the second picture, tore it as it was not upto expectations and it was then that the killer came knocking.” the wise minister concluded.
“Great thinking, my wise man!” Sukhdeva complimented him. “But then, Perimal was killed in the main hall and the bin is in the kitchen. Would the killer have shown such presence of mind to go all the way to the kitchen and throw both the torn drawing and the broken nail in it?”

“Interesting question, Maharaj! However, this is not impossible! That is all I can say!”

“Is it possible that this lady could have had a hand in the crime?” Sukdeva prodded.

“I do not think so! Although it may be a fact that Perimalji drew this picture without seeking her consent it is hard to comprehend that she would have had any objection to this after it was shown to her. After all, it is a great piece of art that not only depicted her but was also done by such a reputed artist! From what I know of Perimalji it is improbable that he would have made this drawing with some sinister motives. For arguments sake let us presume for a moment that it was the lady who had a scuffle with him. Let me point out that here that Perimalji is himself well built. Thus, it is highly unlikely for a lady to have pushed him so hard that he dashed his head against the wall thereby leading to his death.   I feel this to be the handiwork of someone known to the lady.” Chaturbhuj deduced.

“Maharaj!” the minister continued after a moment’s pause, “I feel that it would be best if we can find Perimalji’s friends and make enquires with them. Of course, there is the other option of making enquiries about the lady but then that might alert the killer which I do not advocate.”

The King agreed.

The next couple of days were spent by Chaturbhuj’s associates in locating Perimal’s friends and interrogating them. It was during this time that the King had to go out of the kingdom for meeting some administrative exigencies. He instructed Chaturbhuj to only attend to the durbar for addressing the grievances of his subjects if it was very pressing. He wanted the minister to devote his resources in resolving this mystery.

Finally, at the end of two days, Chaturbhuj’s men came with positive news! They had managed to meet six of Perimal’s close friends. What was more, one of them, Subodh had even thrown some crucial clue about the lady in the drawing!

During his last drawing exhibition, Subodh had met the artist and in a casual chat asked him as to what he was working on lately. It was then that Perimal referred to this drawing! He had even shared vital details with his bosom friend as to why he had opted to make this drawing.

A couple of days ago when Amrapalli was in the midst of an inclement weather with a rough wind blowing at intermittent intervals Perimal was returning to his house after some work. At that time, he found a lady briskly coming from the opposite direction who had covered her face with a ghoonghat.   As she neared him, she suddenly stopped and her right hand which was holding the ghoonghat appeared to slightly loosen its grip on the cloth. At that moment the savage wind blew away the veil from her face. The lady then came out of the sudden trance she was in and a shocking expression took over her face at the turn of events. She kept her right hand on her arm to prevent the saree pallu from falling and quickly pulled over her saree to once again cover her face. Thereby, she walked away with hurried steps.

Perimal was much impressed by the beauty of the lady and devoted his next work of art to her. Subodh had asked him, in a lighter vein, if he had fallen in love with the lady! To this, Perimal smiled and replied that he just wanted to sketch a beautiful lady!

Another factor which came to light was that on the day he was killed Perimal was in his friend Rajan’s house who was celebrating his birthday.   Not only did the great artist had both breakfast and lunch with Rajan but the latter had also packed some meals for him for dinner after a small celebration with a few friends in the afternoon to mark the occasion. Perimal had not referred anything about Nirmala ‘s drawing in his conversation with his friend.   He however did refer to the jammed door of his house.   He was miffed at the fact that despite giving assurances the carpenter did not come to repair it as he was busy with other assignments.

Chaturbhuj thanked his men for the crucial piece of information and then was lost in deep thought. Some of his assumptions stood vindicated. As a matter of fact, Perimal had drawn the sketch of the women out of his memory and not in her presence. Besides, the lady was, indeed, taken aback by something which she saw before the wind blew off her ghoonghat. What could that be, the minister wondered? It could be that she not only knew Perimal but was also his admirer! Thus, when she saw him in front of her suddenly, an element of incredulity might have taken over her for a moment, he felt. If this was the case, then it appeared unlikely to him that she would not have acknowledged Perimal’s drawing on her. She would have, in fact, felt honoured that such a reputed artist had made her sketch so beautifully. It could be that her family or someone known to her may have had some objection to Perimal’s work. What was this reservation?   Chaturbhuj failed to arrive at any conclusion to this query. One more fact which confirmed his presumptions was that the artist was killed in the evening.