The Village of Chalakala Pally is remote and without transport access by road or train. The nearest government bus stand is ten km away, and the railway station is twenty km away. A stream flows by its side one km away from the village. During rainy season, it gets flooded and challenging to cross. In the summer, it becomes a small branch. People must cross the stream to the bus stand or railway station. The village's population is about five hundred people, including men, women and children. Every family has their own house.

The houses are built with kneaded mud walls, thatched roofs, and bamboo doors. They are all agriculture-based and range from one to fifty acres. There is a small grocery shop catering to their daily needs. They cultivate their vegetables, pulses, and other crops in their fields. Their requirement of money is the bare minimum.

They are not exposed to the latest technology, such as television or mobile phones. The village has no school, so they do not know how to read or write. They speak their mother tongue.

 A large earthly hillock is far from the village and the stream bank. The idol of the Lord Hanuman was on the hilltop. None of the older persons from the village knew its setting up. They believe it might be several hundred years old, set up by some King. It has no cover. But a granite stone sculpted pillar stands in front of the idol as the remnants of a possible old structure. The hill has many old-age trees and looks like a dense forest. People do not visit the idol because of the hill's height and thick forest. It is rumoured that serpents are present in the hillock. There is no path to go, the hillock or the idol.

For generations, it has been talked about in the village that there is a hidden gold treasure under the idol, and the king cobras securely look after it.

*

Four people from different villages came to a party of a familiar friend in a neighbouring village. They met for the first time and became friends. They enjoyed the party lunch and were returning in the evening. They were to pass through the toddy trees, where people from the nearby villages come to drink fresh toddy in the evening. These four people going to different villages thought of drinking toddy before dispersing. They sat along with others to drink toddy before going home. In the chit-chat with the locals, they learned about the idol and the hidden treasure under it.

Upon learning of the hidden treasure, one of the four thought they should try to find it and become wealthy quickly instead of toiling for several years to lead a beautiful life, as people were afraid of going there. He told the other three the same, and two of them agreed.

Amandeep hesitantly said, "We are all doing well now, and there is no deficiency. Why go for this  unsure treasure and risk with King Cobras?"

The other two, Hitansh and Hridhaan, objected and said, "How long do we go on doing this tilling the land and cultivating under uncertain climatic conditions, unsure of the product, despite the hard work? If we try for a week during this winter weather, no one finds out, and our job will be done, and we will be the wealthiest in the villages."

To this, the leader of the group, Raunak, who earlier proposed the hidden treasure, told Amandeep, "This is the best opportunity in life. We will not get such an opportunity again. This treasure has been lying there for several hundred years, and we are bringing it to use. Money has to be used and not stored. You better follow us; you will also have an equal share."

With these words, Amandeep was convinced and agreed to join them in the exploration.

Raunak and the other two were happy that Amandeep accepted to join; otherwise, they were afraid he might reveal the plan to get the hidden treasure to the village people, and thereby, they might get in trouble.

*

The four discussed the materials required for the excavation, such as a crowbar, pick axe, spade, hammer, and torch lights. The question that arose was where to stay for these days. They decided to search for an abandoned house on the outskirts of the village and found one such house, where the owner had left for work in the city. They cleaned it, got their clothing and bedding, and started cooking.

They planned to go to the hill at night to do the excavation.

One morning, they went up the hill for a reconnoitre survey of the area and made a single-man pathway by clearing bushes. They did not touch trees. In the process, they found snakes in the path. At the Amandeep village was the snake charmer. He went to the village and learned how to catch the snakes.

*

On the first day, they went to the idol of Lord Hanuman and offered flowers and prayers for their success. The idol of Lord Hanuman was facing east, with his face to the north. On his right hand was the Sanjeevani mountain, and his left hand was holding the mace. The Lord was standing with a strong, muscled body. It was sculpted on a solid single black granite rock. This sort of rock was not available in nearby places. Hence, it was assumed that the idol was sculpted elsewhere and brought here. People were unaware of its positioning up to the top of the hill.

The Lord Hanuman idol was not covered and exposed to all weather conditions.

Opposite the Hanuman idol stands a sculpted granite pillar, square in shape below the ground level, at the bottom two feet above the ground, and then circular till the top. It was twenty feet above ground. At the top, it had a granite slab flag with a flying Hanuman.  

To their surprise, the four found the idol decorated with red sandal powder. The powder was peeling off, indicating it was done long ago. However, that suggests that some persons visited this idol and offered prayers.

They surveyed the places where hidden treasure could be found around the idol. They thought it could not be at the back and must be in the front and sides. They searched for an indication from the idol or the flag pole. There was no indication from the flag pole. They keenly observed the idol. The left hand was carrying the mace. But its forefinger was not attached to the handle; it pointed in a different direction. Raunak said that they must search in that direction and mark the place.

They kept their tools behind the idol so that no one could see.

*

On the second day, they went up to the idol by night with torchlights. They considered checking with a magnet for any possibility of gold under the earth. They thought that if gold were kept, it would be in a copper vessel. However, they learned that magnets do not attract gold and copper, so they put off that idea.

Raunak instructed them to start work instead of wasting time. Hitansh and Hridhaan started digging the marked site, and  Raunak cleared the excavated soil. Amandeep was to watch for men or snakes coming and inform them by a whistle. The top layers were soft soil, and as they dug deep, they got small stones. There was no sign of any treasure. As it was dawn,  they packed the tools, kept them at the back of the idol and returned to their house before sunrise.

*

On the third day, they went to the hillock at night, changed their dresses, and started excavation. They were in a happy mood, exchanging their childhood memories. At this stage, to their surprise, a big-sized king cobra appeared in the excavation pit; Hitansh, Hridhaan, and Raunak all left the place. They were afraid and shouted for Amandeep. They could not identify where it came from. He caught hold of the cobra, took it far away, and left inside the forest. They wanted to be more careful thereafter.

They continued the excavation; as dawn approached, they closed for the day and returned home.

*

Two king cobras were watching the treasure. As it was dug, the two cobras came out of the pit, waiting for an opportunity for these people to come. Until then, the cobras were enjoying themselves.

On the fourth day, they came to the excavation at night.

Amandeep found two cobras entwined and dancing near the site when they came to the site.

As the three started excavating, they encountered small boulders, which they could lift together and place on the ground.

Amandeep thought the cobras might come to the site, so he went near the snakes and caught hold of one of them; it was fifteen feet in length. He tried to throw it into the forest, but it encircled his waist and did not leave, and he was forced to kill it.

He thought of catching the second cobra, and it ferociously came with large hissing sounds, encircled his left leg and bit his foot and hand as he tried to grab hold of it several times until all its venom went into the veins of Amandeep. This was a male king cobra of the same length. Amandeep fell flat on the ground. After leaving his leg, the cobra went near the dead female king cobra and died. With the cobra venom in his blood veins, Amandeep spilt froth from the mouth and died on the spot.

The other three saw King Cobra's ferocious attack on Amandeep and were terrified, so they could not dare help save him.

They were mourning and in a dilemma about the dead body. They need to do something before dawn. Hitansh suggested that they bury the body in the forest and close the work for that day. They dug a pit and buried Amandeep's body, paying last respects to him.

Hridhaan suggested they also bury the dead snakes; otherwise, the cobras' souls would haunt them. Raunak agreed, and they dug another pit, buried the two snakes together, and paid their last respects to the departed cobras.

 They felt sorry for losing a friend. Hitansh suggested, "We will stop here and go back home, as Amandeep's death will surface someday, and we will all be in trouble." 

For this, Raunak observed, "Amandeep's death is undoubtedly miserable and a loss for all of us. Although he initially was against this adventure, he agreed to proceed. Hence, we need to fulfil his desire and find this treasure. After finding out, we will distribute his share of the treasure to his family."

He also said, "Let us not waste time mourning for Amandeep and renew our work from tomorrow."

The other two agreed with his suggestions.

*

Three went to the site on the fifth day and started excavation. When they dug for an hour, they heard the sound of a crowbar hitting a vessel. They were happy and removed the soil surrounding the copper pot. The pot was closed with a copper sheet folded onto its rim. As removing the cover was impossible, they broke it with the hammer. This opening made a loud sound that night, and some people who were deep asleep heard it that chilly night.

  Raunak was angry with Hridhaan for breaking open. They looked inside the pot and were surprised to find it full of gold coins. When they checked, the coins had a figure of a king. They hugged each other for their achievement. It was dawn, and sun rays appeared on the trees. They hurried, not knowing how to take the gold coins with them. They had no bags with them. They distributed among themselves,  removed their shirts,  placed the gold coins on the spread shirts, bundled them, put the bundles on their back and started going home. They discussed the copper pot and could not conclude, so they left it there.

*

Anjeneyulu was the only one educated in the village. His father sent him to the town for studies. He graduated and worked in the city government office. He visits his parents every month. Two buses operate daily, one in the morning and another in the evening after everyone finishes their purchases. He travelled by evening bus after office hours from the city to the nearest bus stand and, from there, walked. On that day, the bus was delayed due to a technical problem. He arrived late and walked in the night. It was a known path. Hence, he was not worried about walking during the night. When he came near the hillock, he heard a loud sound of breaking something. He was surprised at the sound as to what it could be. 

He knew there was an idol of Lord Hanuman and was a devotee of him. In childhood, his father took him to the idol and worshipped for his good education. During his college education, he visited and prayed there. He used another path from the back of the idol, direct but steep on the hill. One had to climb carefully; hence, villagers did not try. Upon his selection for the job, Anjeneyulu got red sandalwood paste on the idol.

*

As he went to the village, he informed the sarpanch of the village of the sound, and the villagers confirmed. They all went and surrounded the hillock. They found a path to go up at the hillock, which was not there earlier. The path became apparent as the Raunak team traversed up and down for all these days.

The sarpanch, Anjeneyulu and other villagers went along the path to the idol and found Raunak, Hitansh, and Hridhaan with gold coins in shirt bundles and the pit near the Lord Hanuman idol. The villagers were angry and wanted to beat them. The sarpanch controlled and took the culprits to the village and informed the nearby police station.

The following day, police personnel and officers from the Archaeological Survey of India came to investigate coins in-depth and submitted the report to the government. The police took Raunak, Hitansh, and Hridhaan for further investigation.

The police, sarpanch and the villagers appreciated Anjaneyulu. They said, "It was Lord Hanuman who made that sound heard by his devotee  Anjeneyulu, directing to the culprits."

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