Arjun Das
A junior structural engineer from outside Balangir, sent to document surface fractures in the Jagannath Temple's outer wall because his contract was the cheapest available. Thorough, occasionally inflexible. The kind of engineer who could be relied upon to complete a task fully, and was therefore occasionally difficult to extract from one before it was done. He went further than the brief permitted. What he found changed him.
Evidence from the SJTA Heritage Documentation Unit
Recovered Documents
Field Diary
Entry 001
Day 15. Western precinct. Late.
The gap was not on any plan. Half a metre, vertical seam, western foundation stones. Newer mortar at the edges — sealed once, failed now. I went in.
Entry 002
After the rope. Evening.
At the rope I did not pull harder. I pulled correctly. Those are not the same action.
Entry 003
No date. Three weeks after the rope.
A child came around the corner too fast on a bicycle and went sideways on wet stone. My arm was already extended before the thought had formed.