Man on treasure hunt for 30 years!

KANNUR, JAN 23: Every time he goes to bed, a divine voice' cautions him: Do not waste your time. Keep on trying.'' At this, the 82-yea...

KANNUR, JAN 23: Every time he goes to bed, a divine voice’ cautions him: “Do not waste your time. Keep on trying.” At this, the 82-year-old man falls ill. But this is only a momentary feeling. For, in a minute or two, he jumps out of his bed like a possessed man, picks up his favourite tools — a spade and a pick-axe — and gets down into the latest well he is digging. He is ready to resume the treasure hunt which he took up over 30 years ago.

Paleri Kannan alias Kannanettan who belongs to Komakkari, about 20 km from here, has been taking orders from what he terms as a “divine voice” since 1967. Though he is yet to find the hidden treasure, the old man is unwavering in his search.

“I am sure there is a treasure chest hidden somewhere in my yard. I will stumble upon it one day,” says the confident octogenarian, who appeared pale and stooping, perhaps due to long years of digging fruitlessly.

Kannan still remembers that distant afternoon 30 years ago, when the divine voice’ first spoke to himabout the hidden treasure. He was a farmer and had a family. But the divine voice’ commanded that he remain single, if he were ever to get the treasure hidden in his one-acre land.

Kannan simply could not disbelieve the voice. Consequently, he asked his wife and children to leave the house. They defied his orders for a while, but left after one of his sons died as predicted by Kannan, who by this time, was completely in the control of the divine voice’. His wife and children are now living in the ancestral house at Kuttiyattoor, while Kannan is still on the trail of the hidden treasure.

It was on the afternoon of May 19, 1967 that the so-called divine voice began to intervene in Kannan’s life. The voice ordered him to look for a hidden treasure in his yard. At the time, Kannan used to practice black magic. So when he declared that he was going to dig up his one-acre land, Kannan’s wife and sons thought that he had really gone mad. Their protests, however, could not stop him.

“I am directed to dothis. Whoever resists me will die,” was all what he would say. Kannan’s wife and sons resisted until one of the sons suddenly fell ill and died. They believed that it was black magic that caused the death. So they fled, leaving the old man to do whatever he wanted to.

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Neither Kannan nor his neighbours have a clear idea as to what has happened to the three sons and their old mother. All that they can say is that the family lives somewhere at Kuttiyattoor.

Kannan’s neighbours came to know about the hunt for treasure only when the old man began to dig the second well, soon after the completion of the first one.

“He was reluctant to tell us the truth. But when we persisted, he told us that he was looking for a hidden treasure,” says one of his neighbours.

Kannan begins his treasure hunt after performing his daily pooja. He keeps the traditional lamp burning while he is at work. At present, he is working on his eleventh well. The old man never seeks the help of labourers for digging, as he doesnot trust anyone. So, more often than not, it takes him more than two years to complete a well. Kannan always abandons the well as soon as water is sighted in it.

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He lives in a small hut erected near the tenth well, which he keeps protected using a cover and bolt. “Some of my neighbours are mischievous, they would throw garbage and stones into the wells,” explains the old man.

Kannan is still optimistic that will stumble upon the hidden treasure one day. At times, he expresses a doubt that perhaps, the treasure chest has been moved to the next yard; a theory which makes his neighbours apprehensive. They fear that the old man will sneak into their yards in search of treasure.