*** Special Feature - October 2019 ***
Quick Recap:
1st October - Introducing the Author of The Treasure Syndicate
8th October - Guest Post: Inspiration behind the Story!
15th October - Guest Post: The Treasure Syndicate Experiences
22nd October - Interview with Jatin Kuberkar
It happened at the dawn of Kaliyug when demon Kali resolved to enter Aryavarta and encountered the last Pandav king. A curse, followed by a blissful enlightenment gave the world its first ‘Nidhi-Palak’ or The Guardian of Treasure Troves in the form of Lord Kuber’s mortal son, Suta. In time, the Guardian blood line is scattered all over the world.
The Treasure Syndicate is always a team of five;
Acharya Neelkanth Agnihotri is a committed Guardian. In the garb of an astrologer, he searches for hidden treasures. Dr. Mahesh secretly finances missions for Acharya, Kumar is favored by unfathomable luck, Jabbar is a legendary digger, and Srikanth is just a common man.
Bound by the elaborate framework of coincidence, destiny and fate, the Mission of the Syndicate is not a cake walk. The dangers are real, and the conditions are never favorable.
A haunting past awaits, as the mission turns upside down, mysteriously.
Book available on Amazon!
Jatin Kuberkar is a software Architect and a hard-core Hyderabadi. When not tangled in software codes, Jatin lives his dream as an author, a musician, a toy maker, a philosopher and the list goes on. “The Treasure Syndicate” is Jatin’s latest book. It is an intriguing tale of a real-time treasure hunt.
He has authored two other books. “While I Was Waiting”, a collection of short stories, and “Cabbing all the Way”, a novel based on his real-life experience of travelling to work in a shared cab.
Jatin lives in Hyderabad with his mother, wife and son.
Social Links:
Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Goodreads
Giveaway:
3 paperback copies of ‘The Treasure Syndicate’ for Indian residents
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Research and Facts
Treasure hunting has been explored from many angles by
popular fiction writers and, all of them essentially start with a pointer. A
map, a lost key, a hidden clue or something that actually triggers a ‘hunt’ in
the real sense. However, the reality is very different, and I quote
“All treasure excavations known to the history are accidental
discoveries. None involved a map, a trail or puzzles etc as widely depicted in
the works of fiction.”
But my story had to be different. With what I had in my
mind, I had to do a lot of research. I had to verify the authenticity of some
pieces of information.
In this post I will try to post some of the best pieces of
information I came across while writing this book.
The story of Kaliyug and it’s linkage to the Syndicate:
I had an initial draft with a bunch of characters and a
plot, but I quickly realized that the concept was too shaky. That was because,
there was no motivating factor to tell a story, or rather a treasure hunt to
begin. So, while I was looking for a proper concept, the story of Kaliyug came
to my mind. It took me less than a minute to arrive at a point where I decided
– “This is got to be my base concept”
So, there I was with “Kaliyug”
and “Lok-Kalyan”
Interesting facts about snakes and the ‘creatures’ of underworld!
With underworld, I actually mean, those that live under the
ground!
Snakes and ants, to be specific, have a strange connection
with treasures. The Red Sand Boa is popular here. It has all kinds of treasure
stories connected to. In the real world, this endangered snake is smuggled for
crores of rupees. This intuitive flyer says it all😊
Ants: yes, colony of black ants could indicate the presence
of an underlying treasure trove. BUT, if there’s a colony of white ants
(termites) you better be aware, you might be digging up a graveyard or a cursed
treasure!
The Moon has profound effect on the minds of people and on treasure troves.
I never paid enough attention to it until I came across an
article. It extrapolated the world ‘Lunatic’ which has it’s origins in the
Latin word Luna which means the moon!
As part of my research, I spoke to an ayurvedic doctor to
validate this fact that moon, indeed has influence on the human and animal
behavior. The creative vigor is much higher on a full moon day as compared to
normal days… and the doctor also told me that the phases of moon also impacts
the condition of mentally ill patients.
Now, with treasures too, the place where it is supposedly
buried is much hotter than its surroundings and this happens only on a full
moon day. It’s opposite happens on a new moon day.
I took this interesting knowledge and utilized in my story
too!
Black Magic does exist!?
This one comes directly from the horse’s mouth. The cab
driver who narrated me his real life account about the treasure hunting group,
also spoke about occult practices. I tried to as like a careless educated
modern guy and disregarded it as a myth. His direct questions to me after that
were …then why do people fear it? How has this ancient practice survived the
tide of time? You don’t believe it, but can you deny it ??
His questions were full of conviction and confidence.
Treasure Troves shift and wait for its owner
Yes, you read it right! It is popularly believed that a
trove shifts its position over time. I could not gather a lot of proof
regarding this and that’s why it was deleted from one of my drafts.
Another extremely fascinating thing I heard is that some
troves wait for their legitimate owner. This was a story told to me by one of
my friends. He almost made me believe with his account that this did happen and
that the trove was meant for a certain person to reincarnate and claim the
treasure and it happened just like that!
I have compiled some of my research into videos. You can view them here:
About the Author:
Jatin Kuberkar is a software Architect and a hard-core Hyderabadi. When not tangled in software codes, Jatin lives his dream as an author, a musician, a toy maker, a philosopher and the list goes on. “The Treasure Syndicate” is Jatin’s latest book. It is an intriguing tale of a real-time treasure hunt.
He has authored two other books. “While I Was Waiting”, a collection of short stories, and “Cabbing all the Way”, a novel based on his real-life experience of travelling to work in a shared cab.
Jatin lives in Hyderabad with his mother, wife and son.
Social Links:
Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Goodreads
Giveaway:
3 paperback copies of ‘The Treasure Syndicate’ for Indian residents
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