The Mystery (Wo)Men

If you could connect to five or more people you wanted to, who would it be? The people could be dead, alive or fictional. Here is my wishlist.

Since time immemorial, the world has had its fair share of secrets and mysteries. Some of them are so well  preserved that the layman never gets to know the truth, in spite of the legacy. I talk about a few such personalities who have been involved in such secrets.

Diana, Princess of Wales:

Let me start with the prettiest one on the list to get your attention. I was just a five year old kid when the death of Diana shook the world. Her funeral was watched by millions in those days! Maybe it was because Charles wanted to marry Camilla, Duchess of Cornwell or maybe it was Diana's relationship with Dodi Fayed, an Egyptian Muslim (which caused ripples in the Royal family) who was also killed in the same crash, but it was certainly not a straight forward case.

Perhaps it was her compassion, style and the charity work that made her so loved, but her death definitely lead to a huge number of investigations and inquiries. However, nothing was proved and it remains one of the  greatest unsolved mysteries! Who knows, she could still have been alive today...

Lal Bahadur Shastri

The second prime minister of the country was widely respected and adored. He was also a prominent figure in the freedom struggle. He died, however, in mysterious circumstances. He went to Tashkent, USSR to sign the Tashkent Declaration, a peace treaty between India and Pakistan after the 1965 war. However, he died of a heart attack just a day after signing the agreement.

His personal physician, Dr R N Chugh, said that he was in a great physical condition and had no sign of heart trouble before. It was alleged that there was no post mortem done after his death. An RTI was filed in 2009 by Anuj Dhar, prominent journalist and conspiracy theorist, but the Prime Minister's Office refused to oblige saying "this could lead to harming of foreign relations, cause disruption in the country and cause breach of parliamentary privileges."

Who else to ask about this than the man himself?

V (Movie and comic book series- V for Vendetta):

People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of their people.     -V

The main protagonist of the movie as well as the comic book series, set in futuristic Britain, where the corrupt fascist government is run by a ruthless dictator, V is a mysterious vigilante and a freedom fighter, characterized by his Guy Fawkes mask and dark clothes. With a largely known background, it is implied that he was subjected to unthinkable torture, which included medical experimentation. Every subject was supposed to die, except "the man in room five", hence the name "V". He is left with slight superhuman powers though- lightning fast reflexes, great strength and incredible mental abilities.

V is someone with an incredible personality and that alone is enough for him to top my wishlist! I would definitely try and get to know him more.

Let me end with his opening speech in the movie.

That, however, is not the most important part of the movie. Instead, I feel his last words are the best.

Creedy- You've got nothing. Nothing but your bloody knives and your fancy karate gimmicks. We have guns.
V- No, what you have is bullets and the hope that when your guns are empty, I'm no longer standing because if I am, you'll all be dead before you've reloaded.

Subhash Chandra Bose

Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azaadi dunga!

Subhash Chandra Bose was not just a prominent freedom fighter, but one who wanted to snatch away the freedom from the British with the help of the Axis powers. A part of the Indian National Congress prior to his disagreements with Gandhi and Nehru, he established his own party the All India Forward Bloc. During his house arrest, he fled to Germany via Afghanistan and Moscow to convince Hitler to support him. When he found out that Hitler wouldn't deviate from his propaganda, he went to Imperial Japan for help.

With his Azad Hind Fauj comprising mostly of the POWs, his army fought along with the Japanese against the Allied Forces in modern day Myanmar to advance to through the north eastern part of the country.

He couldn't go forward with his plans as the Japanese surrendered. However, just three days later, he is alleged to have died in a plan crash at Taipei. However, inquiries later have led to the Taiwanese government to disclose that there was no plane crash on 18th August, 1945 at all.

This is perhaps the biggest cover up by the Indian Government, considering the deaf ears of the Prime Minister's Office. Or maybe Netaji entrusted only a select few with his actual plans? We would never know unless we summon the man himself!

aXXo (Internet sensation):

In real life, aXXo is just a person; like you and me. But on the internet, he is no less than a Steve Jobs. aXXo is known for providing high quality, low sized rips of movies online(of course illegally!) The name is so popular that anti-piracy apparently use it to trap people into downloading fake torrents. Known communications are very little and according to Wikipedia, this is the last known post on a message post(in response to a rumour that aXXo had stopped posting in Darkside_RG)-

I can only say a big thank you for your appreciation mates, hope you all enjoy the darkside as much as you can My home is my beloved Darkside and as I've said so many times before on each of my torrents.... Be aware of bogus sites and lamers See ya.

Here is a possible interview of aXXo, but infortunately, no one can verify its accuracy.

I would ask aXXo how he (or if it's a she) started this life altogether and how it must feel to be such a sensation online and maintaining a normal life at the same time.

D.B. Cooper(Hijacker, 1971):

D.B. Cooper is a name which got popular due to the media. It refers to a hijacker, who, on November 24th 1971, hijacked a Boeing 727. Identifying himself as Dan Cooper, he boarded the aircraft at Portland and was described as eyewitnesses as a middle aged man. He passed on a note to a flight attendant, stating that he had a bomb in his briefcase. He opened it just enough for her to see the bomb. He demanded $ 200000 and parachutes. His demands were met and he released the passengers, informing the crew of his new flight plan to Mexico. In mid air, he jumped off.

He was never caught, neither was the ransom money recovered. Such is the legacy of D.B. Cooper that a total of fifteen copycat hijackings took place the following year, all unsuccessful though.

If I could, I would definitely get in touch with him (he would be in his mid-eighties now, if still alive). I would ask him if he was ever able to use the money.

Let's try and get some answers!

Me: Hello guys, I have summoned you here in this chat room to throw some light on the mysteries that surrounded your lives. Thanks to the help of the Winchester brothers, I have been able to cast a spell which bounds you to this chat room until I release you. I hope you have received a copy of the dossiers on the group. Please be ready to answer the questions if you want your freedom.

Bose: That is exactly the reason for which I fought so hard to make sure YOU, my child, were free.

Me: I am really sorry to have made it this way, but I couldn't trust everyone to be eager to share secrets which have thrived for decades in spite of relentless pursuits by countless people hunting for truth.

aXXo has left the conversation.

aXXo has joined the conversation.

aXXo: Sorry to say this Shaumik, but the Winchester spell doesn't work on me as I just showed you there. Note that I am here not because you have trapped me.

Me: Some nice work there, aXXo. I thought the Winchesters were invincible. Why don't we start with you? Could you start by telling you whether you are a guy or a girl?

aXXo: From where I come, the intersection of girls and geeks is a null set. I hope you have your answer.

Me: Okay. Do you think that distributing these movies is morally wrong?

aXXo: There is nothing called copyright infringement in my country. Besides, if I like a movie, I want others to enjoy it too!

Me: Now that I am certain I wouldn't get anything out of you without your wish, let me turn my attention to V. What's your story, V?

V: Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell.

Me: So what can you tell us about your past?

V: You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it. Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea.

Me: You are making me go round and round. Let's shift our attention to Lady Diana. Were you assassinated?

Diana: Oh, come on. It was no assassination. My driver was an MI 6 agent, but he was there to protect me from Charles, not harm me!

Me: Could you let us know about the events leading to your death?

Diana: The bloody driver of course. He fell for my secy, got drunk and suddenly I had to move. His blood test results were accurate about the alcohol content. But what the investigators failed to interpret is the cause.

Me: What about the other conspiracy theories?

Diana: People found those links because they wanted those links. My death was just the result of puppy love.

Me: Sigh! But that's one mystery down. Let's talk to Lal Bahadur Shastri then. Can you tell us about your death? Was it an assassination?

Shastri: It was not as assassination but my own ignorance. I overtook my calcium medication for my bones, add it to the heavy traffic in an unknown country. That is what induced the heart attack, at least the doctors in heaven say so!

Me: Oh, that was unfortunate. What about you, DB Cooper? Or is it Dan Cooper? What is your actual name anyways?

DB: My real name? Charles Westmoreland! They portrayed me well in Prison Break. The producer knew me and since he portrayed me, I got locked as fiction- no one looked for me ever again. I actually got away with $5 million. The government announced a very low sum to keep things quiet. I got caught for some other reason, but hell, the couldn't pin anything on me because D B Cooper didn't have an identity. D B Cooper was just a John Doe.

Me: Did you ever get to use that money?

DB: No. I tried but no use. They were not serialized but the FBI kept track of the notes. I lost a bunch on my way down from the plane. A kid found it later, partly decomposed. I tried to burn a few in the casinos, but I could sniff the FBI getting closer. I had to make a run. It is in an undisclosed location now.

Me: That's one more mystery down. But where is it stashed?

DB: Sorry, no can do!

Me: We are left with the last one in the list. Let me tell you my facts first. The Japanese informed us that you died in a local hospital because of injuries sustained in a plane crash in Taiwan, which the Taiwanese government denied any plane crashes. Indian Government was given a false death certificate and the dead body was never recovered. I believe you ashes at the Japanese temple is also a cover up. What is the truth?

Bose: Well, it was just a cover up story by the Japanese. I was imprisoned by the Soviets. They didn't  know my true identity at the time of capture and I was just a Prisoner of War. Those rumors were right! I was indeed taken to Siberia.

Me: Oh! What happened then?

Bose: I couldn't risk being found out. If they knew my true identity, they would have handed me over to Churchill and I would not have been able to escape the gallows there.

Me: That is obvious given the high profile target that you were and your involvement with the Axis powers, I doubt if there would even have been a trial in Britain.

Bose: You are right. I couldn't risk it. I was taken to the prison camp, a Siberian Gulag, along with hundreds of others of the Azad Hind Fauj. Even Mohan Singh Deb, my right hand man was there with me. We did the unthinkable!

Me: What?

Bose: We broke out of that high security prison.

Me: Whoa! How?

Bose: They were planning to do human testing on some newly developed super drugs. We had to act quick. I engaged in a mock fist fight with Deb to get the guard's attention. Once we eliminated him, we got his keys and led the hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand prisoners to the surface. It was mayhem out there. The prisoners, mostly Russian defectors and Indian POWs, fought with their lives and we made it out.

Me: And the aftermath.

Bose: I was their commander, their protector. I had to make sure they escaped. I held the ambush for as long as I could along with a few others as the rest fled into the wilderness. I hear Deb made it through successfully. That was my last mission.

Me: That was true leadership. It was great to know about the truth.

There we have it ladies and gentlemen. We have solved some of the great mysteries known to man. Thanks to the Winchesters again for their services.

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Note: The prison break of Bose is inspired by the Call of Duty game where Mason and his imaginary friend Reznov escape Vorkuta.

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