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MYSTERY OF THE CHIYUN-CHIYUN DOOR

 MYSTERY OF THE CHIYUN-CHIYUN DOOR


LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

27/VI/2022

 

One day our front door went ‘cheeeeeeeeen’, squeaky as squeaky could be. If one sat alone in the drawing room, one would jump out of his sofa due to that extreme shrill noise. Sometimes if we left the door ajar, it would sway due to the wind. squealing at an unbearable pitch.

 

All those ‘Ramsay brother’s’ horror movies shot in ‘Bhoot Banglas’ brushed past your mind. Hope no ‘Chudail’ had cast her shadow, making those chieeeeuunnn kind of noises. This witch had to be caught red handed.

 

We braced ourselves to face her wrath. Then a thought went past, that it could be a squeaky hinge. With the door just installed recently, why would it make such funny noises? The most irritating sound, if not a scary one at that.

 

We had barged into our home before the contractor finished polishing the doors. Every night, for security reasons doors were temporarily fixed. Next day, they were unhinged again & taken for ghisai & polish.

 

This ‘on and off’ procedure went on for several days, which could be the reason for those squeaks. Felt like calling the carpenter to look into this creaky matter. His guarantee was not holding good.

 

Next day, I left the door open and sat down to observe. There was a breeze but then Mr Murphy would not allow the door to swing. One felt like swinging it manually but then was not sure if the door would make that same sound again.

 

Our maid, while doing ‘poncha’ swung the door close and it went cheeeeeen again. That sound caught my attention. I called her and asked her where the sound came from. She felt afraid, as if she was the one who was responsible for damaging the door.

 

‘Aada awaaj kare’, (door made that sound). She could not pinpoint from where exactly the sound came from.

 

Something could be stuck at the base of the door. That foreign object had to be removed or would ruin the tiles. Action had to be taken before the floor became BLR (Beyond Local Repair).

 

For this, one had to do a ‘let ke position’. With age and layers of fat, it is not as simple as it seems. ‘Baith ke position’, ‘to half let ke position’, to late ke position' is the process now.

 

A torch was the best tool to spot the obstruction. To handle a torch on the opposite side of the door was no easy task. My wife gave an input that it could be a nail protruding out. Nails couldn’t protrude in new doors I thought. For removing it, the carpenter would ask for additional kharchi.

 

The ‘Witchcraft ‘infected door was unstoppable. From the hinge end to its toe end, inch by inch the ‘under door’ was checked. The gap between the floor and the door base was so small and precise that it was very difficult to spot the exact place of the protrusion.

 

Sherlock Holmes within came into play. Its exact location should have left marks on the floor, while the door swung. Precisely that was the dead giveaway. A sharp-edged thing was visible.

 

Gap was small and a screwdriver would ruin the doors edge, if used as a fulcrum. Screw driver was ruled out. “Lohe ki Pattee” would do. There were many lying around as the polishing guys had left them behind. Mr Murphy hid them, when you needed desperately.

 

Plan B, the garden ‘Khurpi’ would do the job better. Precisely, its blade got stuck at the protrusion. The door was shut slowly while keeping that tool exactly at that point and out rolled a small pebble which was creating all those eerie sounds.

 

How did a stone reach under the door? That mystery was resolved soon. At that very moment, my wife walked in making squeaking sounds like the toddlers’ shoes which go ‘cheen choon’ with every step. She took off her foot wear and there was a stone stuck. Once removed, the noise stopped.

 

These pebbles were coming into the house with our footwear from the road to be precise. Now we shall be careful to wipe our feet outside before entering the house. The shoe rack being just at the door side, probably as we kept the shoes inside made these pebbles roll. Small stones stuck in the cavities of the shoes would have fallen off and given us sleepless afternoons.

 

That mystery got solved but now my car door is going cheeeyyyuuuun? What could be the reason? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS

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