Until I started reading suspense/thriller genre novels, I was also in the same category of people who say, “reading books cannot thrill you like watching movies.” I have read very few books in this genre, and Jugari Cross is one of them.
This book is written by Poornachandra Tejaswi, a Kannada writer known for his simple, meaningful storytelling, mostly connected to nature, village life, and real social issues.
If you ask pro readers who have read 100s of novels already, they would say it is a boring book or a starter book. Maybe they are right. But for me, it was an interesting and gripping read, as I too read it in the initial days when I started reading.
I can say Tejaswi sir served his USP even in this small story. Jugari Cross is about a young couple, Suresh & Gowri, and the strange and unexpected things that happen around them in a span of 24 hours. A series of events that occur within 24 hours is woven in such a way that, till the last page of the book, it holds the suspense.
The story starts mysteriously, with two smugglers who set out on the Ghats Road to deliver a secret packet. Even they don’t know what’s inside that packet. Their work is just to deliver the packet to its destination and get money. While near Jugari Cross, they board a public bus, leaving their car there. Maybe it was part of their plan, or they suspected something else was coming up. Then our couple, Suresh and Gowri, also board the same bus with a bag full of freshly harvested cardamom (Yelakki).
For Suresh and Gowri, it was a joyful day, with a shopping mood. They just wished to sell the cardamom at the best price in the auction and buy some things for their home. Suresh and Gowri head towards the auction market. Then a middleman helps them sell their cardamom at a good rate. At first, Gowri was confused and shocked to hear the auction rate for their cardamom, because it was almost double the present market rate. Then they collected their money by exchanging the cheque and headed towards the market.
That’s where the real story begins.
The person who handed the money to them is attacked by a gang. At the same time, someone starts following Gowri and Suresh. When they count their money in a hotel, they are shocked to see much more money than their auction amount. Their suspicion grows stronger, thinking, why would someone give so much money for their cardamom? What if there is something else in their bag, along with cardamom?
Something is clearly not normal.
They are now afraid and decide to take a train instead of the bus on their way back home. While reading, I finally felt they were safe on the train. But after some time, Suresh, along with his wife Gowri, jumps from the train, and they land in a dark tunnel. It was so dark that Suresh and Gowri took time to find each other. But as they decided previously, they just kept walking towards the end of the tunnel to find some light.
As said before, it was a track made in the Western Ghats. So you can imagine how tough it might be to make a track in the ghats area. The author has nicely explained how scary and different the train routes in the ghats are, especially inside tunnels, compared to normal areas. In such darkness, it feels like nobody knows who is around you. Knowing this, maybe the gangsters took advantage of it. His narration of the Malnad beauty, waterfalls, mountains, sudden rains, and abandoned routes perfectly matches a classic suspense thriller story.
While walking in the dark tunnel, Suresh and Gowri hear a disembodied voice approaching them. At first, they ignore it, but they are scared of it. When they get out of the tunnel, they start analysing what the voice said. His voice felt familiar to them. And even his story was similar and as scary as theirs. Then who was that person in that darkest tunnel? How did he end up there? What is the reason he never thought of coming out?
The story uncovers all these questions layer by layer, just like you see in thriller movies.
Another part of the story also talks about an old inscription, shown by Suresh’s friend Rajappa. As per Rajappa, that old book was given to him for rewriting, and he was offered one lakh rupees for that work. Suresh, being an expert in old Kannada scripts, takes the book and reads a few pages. Then he realises that the book is not an ordinary literature book; it is a mysterious book with a deep secret, in which somebody has intentionally hidden something.
Then he uncovers a few missing phrases, actually intentionally cut or torn by someone to hide something from the world. Then he starts recalling all the strange things happening in his life since that morning. He also makes a guess that this might be the same reason for their troubles.
Along with all this suspense, one thing I liked is how the book also shows real life. The struggles of farmers, the role of middlemen, and how sometimes farmers don’t even get the right price for what they grow. Suresh and Gowri’s small wishes, like selling their cardamom and buying something for home, feel very real and relatable.
It also shows how villages slowly change with time. Jugari Cross and nearby villages used to be such lively places once. But industrialisation has slowly changed the fate of the people there. Most of the families have migrated to different places. One can hardly see people living in those areas now. And it explains how illegal activities started entering peaceful places and affected innocent villagers. Somewhere, it reflects the effect of modernisation and how simple lives get disturbed because of it.
When both stories feel interconnected, the novel becomes even more gripping. Suresh is lost in many questions. What was that secret packet in the cardamom bag? Who kept it there? What is this secret about? And someone is offering one lakh rupees to Rajappa for refining the old Kannada book? Who is behind their lives, who has already tried twice to kill them?
All these things happen in a single day in the lives of Suresh and Gowri. These 24 hours totally changed their lives. Will they ever get to live their normal life again?
The novel is as suspenseful and thrilling as watching a movie. I was imagining each scene as I read — those auctions, Gowri’s happiness about shopping, the dark train route, the tunnel scenes, and the beauty of the Western Ghats. As I finished reading, a few things remained unanswered. Is that secret real? If yes, who is behind all this? Is that the actual reason Suresh and Gowri were targeted? Did they finally manage to escape from the gang?
Only towards the end, we understand that this whole mystery is connected to something called the “Red Stone.”
It was worth reading Jugari Cross. Along with the suspense, the book nicely narrates the beauty of the Western Ghats and how difficult it was in those days to make a train route in such areas. After this, I have definitely made up my mind to read more novels by Tejaswi sir.
Highlights from Jugari Cross
