Mr Mallik was undoubtedly a most hospitable man. The number of dishes on the table bore evidence of that. I had no idea there could be so many different types of fish curry. Feluda seldom ate a lot during meals, but Lalmohan Babu—a gourmet—enjoyed his meal with obvious relish. But then, he had an additional reason to feel pleased. Mr Mallik kept asking him about his writing, which gave him the chance to brag about himself. ‘Allow me now to show you a part of my collection,’ said Mr Mallik after lunch. We went back to the first floor, turning left instead of right this time. Mr Mallik’s bedroom, study and museum were all on this side of the building. We were shown a wide range of curios. Each of them, we were told, had once belonged to a famous character in history. The diamond-studded naagra was the first object we saw, followed by Tipu Sultan’s snuff box, Robert Clive’s pocket watch, Siraj-ud-daula’s handkerchief and Rani Rashmoni’s paan box. All of us made the right admiring noises, but I couldn’t help feeling somewhat sceptical. How could anyone be sure that each item had really belonged to all those well-known people? After all, it wasn’t as if their names were written on anything. As we were returning to our rooms after thanking our host, Prof Haldar muttered under his breath: ‘What did you make of it, Mr Mitter?’ ‘Not very convincing, was it?’ ‘Convincing? Not a single thing was genuine. That naagra had a distinct smell of new leather!’ We had about three hours left before the reception. A bearer came to call us at a quarter to six. We were all dressed by this time. Feluda had donned a traditional dhoti and kurta (in which he looked quite handsome, I had to admit); and Lalmohan Babu was wearing a beautifully embroidered Kashmiri shawl, which he said had once belonged to his grandfather. It was dark by the time we reached the place where the function was going to be held, but we found an abundance of lights, ranging from powerful spotlights to tiny coloured bulbs. The actual presentation of the citations came at the very end. It was preceded by songs and dances and reading of poetry. Every performer was clearly doing his utmost to impress Feluda. Feluda responded by clapping with great enthusiasm as they left the stage. The citations were read out eventually before being handed to the two recipients. Whoever had written them out had a beautiful handwriting. A few reporters surrounded Feluda afterwards. In answer to their questions, Feluda said he was not working on a case at the moment, and was enjoying a break. Prof Haldar went back home with Mr Mallik after the function ended, but we stayed on as Feluda’s friend, Someshwar Saha, had invited us to dinner. He arrived as the crowd began to disperse. ‘Can you recognize me?’ he asked with a smile. ‘Easily,’ Feluda replied. ‘You’ve got a moustache now,