Burun scores thirteen in his mathematics final exams. Humiliated both at school and at home, even by his pet myna, he seeks refuge at the abandoned Gosain Bagan.

Here, he encounters the ghost Nidhiram. But Burun is not scared of him. This sets off a sequence of events where Burun suddenly finds himself the toast of the town.

Meanwhile the dacoit Habu is seeking revenge from Burun’s grandfather. Such are Habu’s powers that he rides astride tigers and makes ghosts do his bidding. The two strands of the narrative collide and Burun is suddenly in grave danger, having succumbed to Habu’s black magic.

Can Karali Master and his multiplication tables bring Burun back? Will Nidhiram and his brethren ghosts ever be free of Habu’s spell? And why is everything hinged on Burun scoring thirteen in mathematics?

About the Author: Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay is a super cool Bengali author who writes stories for young people like you. The most-loved ghost story writer of Bengal, he likes to invest his ghosts with quaint whimsical character, resulting in more fun than fear.

He has also written The Mystery of the Underground Chamber, a rollicking sci-fi adventure about an ancient underground chamber set in the town of Nandapur where people walk with their eyes shut tight!

About the Translator: Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee has spent half his career as a teacher in universities across India, and the other half as a cultural administrator. A professional wordsmith, he enjoys tossing stories from one language to another and concocting delicious word salads that bring to readers flavours from different lands. NKB likes to whip up a storm on the chessboard, and when he cannot find opponents to play with, he picks up a backpack and goes travelling.