My first impression of Jugari Cross
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. And mostly his books are 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.
What is Jugari Cross about?
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.
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.
A middleman helps them sell their cardamom at a good rate. At first, Gowri was confused and shocked to hear the auction rate, it was almost double the present market rate. They collected their money 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 — 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.
To escape, they decide to take a train instead of the bus on their way back home. But the danger follows them even there. And then, in the middle of a dark train tunnel inside the Western Ghats, something happens that I was not ready for at all.
Suresh and Gowri are not alone in that tunnel.
There is a voice. A disembodied voice, coming from somewhere in the darkness. They can’t see who it is. They can’t tell where it is coming from. And what that voice says, the story it carries, is just as frightening as everything else that has already happened that day.
| Who was that person in the darkest tunnel? How did he end up there? And why did he never try to come out? And what is the connection to an old Kannada inscription, a hidden secret that someone went to great lengths to bury, and a mysterious thing called the Red Stone? |
On top of all this, there is another layer to the mystery. Suresh’s friend, Rajappa, shows him an old book that has been given to him for rewriting, with a payment of one lakh rupees. That kind of money, for rewriting an old book? Suresh, who knows old Kannada scripts, reads a few pages. And he realises it is not an ordinary book at all.
Someone has intentionally hidden something inside it. Some phrases are cut, some pages torn — not by accident, but on purpose. To keep a secret from the world.
All of this, the gang, the tunnel, the voice, the inscription, the Red Stone — it all connects. And it all happens in a single day in the lives of Suresh and Gowri.
I’ll stop here. I don’t want to say more — the way everything connects at the end is something you should experience yourself.
What I liked about Jugari Cross :
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 beauty of the Western Ghats.
His narration of the Malnad beauty, waterfalls, mountains, sudden rains, and abandoned routes perfectly matches a classic suspense thriller story. The author has nicely explained how scary and different the train routes in the ghats are. In such darkness, it feels like nobody knows who is around you.
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. 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.
Jugari Cross Highlight Moment – Holding Hands Yet Feeling Alone
I really loved these lines while reading Jugari Cross by Poornachandra Tejaswi. In that moment, the whole atmosphere of the story suddenly shifts. Even in a suspense thriller, the author brings out something deeper about relationships and true companionship.
The scene is very intense. Suresh and Gowri jump off a train into a dark tunnel. And begin walking towards an unknown exit. It is so dark inside the tunnel that they cannot even see each other’s faces. They walk holding hands, assuming it is just the two of them. But they don’t speak a word, afraid that someone might hear them and attack them again. Even in that intense situation and silent walk, the author had something to teach us.
The lines are like this:
ಕೈ ಕೈ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡು ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ, ಮೌನವಾಗಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಅವರಿಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಏನೋ ಒಂದು ತರದ ಏಕಾಂಗಿತನ ಭಾದಿಸತೊಡಗಿತ್ತು. ಮಾತು ಕಥೆಯ ಸಂವಾದವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮೈಗೆ ಮೈ ತಾಗಿದ್ದರು ಅದು ಸಜೀವ ಸಾನಿಧ್ಯವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.
Even though they were walking hand in hand, the silence between them made both of them feel a strange loneliness. Without conversation or sharing words, even physical closeness does not feel like a true, living companionship.
I may not know the exact meaning the author intended here. But as I read it, this is what I felt. Just being physically close is not enough. Without conversation, without sharing thoughts and feelings, even togetherness can feel empty. Real connection is not just about being beside someone, but about being emotionally present too.
In just a few lines, Tejaswi shifts from tension to tenderness in a relationship. And leaves behind a powerful thought. These felt like beautiful lines to me, something everyone can read and understand in their own way.
Is it worth reading?
For me, Yes… It was worth reading Jugari Cross. After this, I have definitely made up my mind to read more novels by Tejaswi sir.
If you are someone who is just starting to read, or if you want a thriller that feels Indian, not Hollywood, then this is a good pick. It is short, so you won’t feel like you wasted your time. And the questions it leaves unanswered at the end? Those will stay with you.
