This story is about a safe that has not been opened since the year JM Keynes, the famed British economist, published his seminal book on employment, interest and money. Yes it’s been more than 80 years.
The safe belongs to the Government of Nepal, and is in the UK, which established diplomatic ties with Nepal 200 years ago. The year 1816 to be precise.
The staffers at the Nepali Embassy in London say the safe is a property of Nepal’s government, and can be opened, or broken into only when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decides to do so. The safe is in the basement of the embassy building, which is more than 150 years old. According to embassy officials, it is not made of wood, but a ‘strong’ alloy.
A few months ago, when Onlinekhabar visited the embassy, which is near Kensington Palace, one of the many residences of the British royalty. When an embassy staffer talked about the safe, he said he did not know anything about it.
They say they have reason to believe that the safe was closed sometime around 1934-36.
What is inside the safe? No one knows for sure, and no one has the permission to open it. Then acting ambassador Saradraj Aaran said, “A government decision would be necessary for us to open the safe.”
“First of all, we do not have the keys to the safe. We need to break into it. Since it is made of strong material, we need to call in specialists for the job.”
Tej Bahadur Chhetri, who was the mission’s acting chief before Aaran, is also learnt to have tried to open the ‘mysterious’ locker. But as the embassy did not have the keys, he made it clear that it can be broken into only if the government wants to do so.
According to embassy staff, in 2006, then envoy Prabal Sumsher Rana had also tried to break into the safe, but dropped the idea mid way after he realised it would prove to be an expensive project. It was during Chhetri’s tenure that the safe was painted white.
A Monty Hall problem?
Chhetri says, “No one knows what’s inside. Secret documents, a treasure trove, anything could be there.”
Like Chhetri, no one has a definite answer.
Then there are those who say that the safe could have a treasures of some sort. They believe that as bank notes had not been widely used in Nepal, jewels and gold were the most popular form of wealth. And, as the Rana Prime Ministers sent their most trusted generals to London as their envoy, they could have entrusted them with a treasure trove for safe-keeping.
However, there are those who say that the safe could have secret documents related to the second Great War. Not so plausible it may sound, but former Gurkhas believe that the war documents were hidden in the basement inside a safe in view of the Nazi bombing of London during World War II.
Well, that’s not it. Onlinekhabar met a few people in London, who believe that a ‘ghost’ was locked inside the safe, while others think it could contain cadavers.
The contents of the safe will remain a mystery until the ministry decides to call in the locksmiths, so it seems.
