Krishnan Iyer 1 The coastal air of Fort Kochi carried a certain salt-heavy stillness that morning, interrupted only by the frantic footsteps of an old caretaker rushing through the arched corridors of St. Francis Church. Sunlight filtered lazily through stained glass, casting jewel-toned halos on the ancient tiled floor as birds fluttered from the rafters. The caretaker, Murali, breathless and trembling, pointed to the raised altar where a priceless relic once stood — the intricately carved Pietà, gifted by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, now gone without a trace. No broken locks, no forced doors, not even a footprint…