by Shilpa Jain
“Where was this forest?”
“He never mentioned that.”
“If it was so beautiful out there, why did he come here?”
“I asked him that. He said that he had developed differences with his mentor over the fact that he wanted to become immortal. He also said that his visitor was his ticket to immortality.”
“Immortality? Ironically, he died in the prison itself.”
“Yeah, but the strange part was he knew he was going to die.”
“How do you know that?”
“Before going to the kitchen that day, he had stayed up all night performing some rituals. He told me that he had found another home for his soul. I always thought that he was crazy and didn’t give his statements a lot of thought. After he died, I forgot about him.”
“Alright then. If you tell or even mention anyone about today’s incident, you are going to be a dead man, understand?”
“Yes… yes, just let me go.”
Makrand helps him out of the car, stands behind him, removes his blindfold and commands him to walk ahead into another lane.
“Count till 500 while walking ahead. If you turn around…”
“I won’t.”
Makrand gets into the car and Tanvi drives away.
“Well done Makrand!”
“Thank you, ma’am. But I think he guessed that we were from the authorities.”
“Yeah, they become smart after spending so much time in jail.”
“What is the next step? We have no specific lead.”
“Maybe we do. We have to find a forest that houses aghoris deep in its bellies. I am sure there won’t be many. I am going to meet an aghori tonight. Apparently, he is the Wikipedia of aghoris.”
“Can I accompany?”
“You have done your bit. I‘ll keep you posted, but this is between you and me.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Makrand salutes Tanvi and alights from the Sumo.
Is the kidnapping and murder linked to immortality? But the guy is dead. How could he have committed the crime?
Tanvi reads the address of the aghori messaged by Kabeer. This aghori lives in Kaked, a village 23 km outside Kalyan. She decides to visit the village.
She reaches the outskirts of the village at about 8 p.m. The village is deserted. She checks her cell phone to keep it handy to communicate, but it has no network. A man is seen hurrying towards the main road. She confronts him.
“Hey, where is everyone?”
The man tries to dodge her and flee.
Tanvi grabs him by his collar and says sternly, “I asked you something.”
“Who are you? Let me go.”
She flaunts her badge.
“You are with the police?”
She nods.
“You must be new. The police never interfere in matters of this village.”
“I am different. Where’s everybody?”
“Who everybody? The population of this village is 28. Everyone has run off to the safe house. I am on my way. You can follow me. There is not much time.”
“What are you talking about? Not much time for what?”
The man manages to free himself. He dodges Tanvi and runs. Tanvi chases him. He runs for about half a kilometre and disappears into a ground plus one storey stone house.
Tanvi barges into the house behind him. As soon as she enters, people inside the house secure the gates of the house and hurry into the living room. The living room has a huge statue of Lord Hanuman. Everyone is sitting around with folded hands and is chanting Hanuman chalisa. Someone thrusts a book into her hand too.
“What is happening?” she whispers to a lady sitting next to her.
“I have never seen you before. You are not from our village. You must be one of those curious journalists who visit us once in a while to write an interesting article on our village,” remarks the lady.
“No, I have come to meet an aghori who resides in the village. Could you guide me to him?”
The lady smiles, “Now is not a good time to visit him. He has his hands full for today. You should come back tomorrow.”
“It’s sort of urgent.”
“It always is. Why don’t you go upstairs and stay with the kids until we can reopen the gates.”
Tanvi looks around. Most men and women are chanting the Hanuman chalisa. She looks at the orange idol of Lord Hanuman and bows her head. She goes upstairs.
On the upper floor, eight kids in age range of 3 to 16 years are sitting on the floor of one room. The younger ones are clutching the older ones. Tanvi smiles at them to lighten the atmosphere. None of them smile back.
“Hi! Can I join you guys?”
One of the girls, about 16 years old, asks, “Who are you?”
“I am a friend.”
“Never seen you before.”
“I came to help.”
“Nobody can help us.”
“I could, if you tell me what’s going on.”
“A war of black forces between Aghori baba, who is our protector and Tantric baba, who is our tormentor.”
“Seriously? You believe in such things?”
“Of course I do! All of us do. You too will after you see what it can do.”
“What can it do?”
“It can kill you brutally.”
“No my dear, these tantrics and aghoris play tricks on our minds.”
“Maybe they do. But I have already lost my mother to their tricks. I don’t wish to lose anybody else.”
“What happened to your mother?”
“The same that happened to most who lived here 10 years ago. It was a happy place before a tantric was invited by the sarpanch of our village to reopen the big haveli on the top of the black hill.”
“The one that is seen from the road down the village?“
“Yes, that cursed haveli! It was closed for over a hundred years. The evil master of the haveli used to push his slaves from the hill top when he was unhappy with them. He raped their women and abused their children. A lot of unhappy souls haunted the haveli. The master of the haveli was killed by the ghosts of these slaves and their families. The ghosts stayed in the haveli. The villagers who lived here back then had closed the haveli. Everything was fine until 10 years ago.”
“What happened 10 years ago?”
“The head of our village was advised by a businessman to reopen the haveli. He said that the haveli could be converted into a beautiful luxury resort for city people and the villagers could have an extra income. But that advice doomed our village.”
The girl looks at the little kids who seem frightened. She swallows hard. She signals Tanvi to come out. They move to the next room.
She continues, “About ten villagers including the sarpanch had gone uphill with a tantric to open the haveli. None of them came back. They were trapped in the haveli. After a couple of days, their tortured bodies were found lying below the hill thrown from the point where the slaves were pushed. Some villagers had missing tongues, eyes and limbs. The tantric was the only one who survived this ordeal. He was wearing some protection against bad spirits. He captured a few spirits and became their master. Other spirits escaped and harmed the people of our village.”
“Harmed? How?”
“They possessed them. The possessed people tried to kill their own family members and mutilated themselves. They cut themselves with knives and blades and laughed while doing it. I have seen my mother who was killed by my father when she tried to set my brother on fire. There was an evil look on her face. She wasn’t my mother. She was someone else.”
“It could have been a disease. Did you get help?”
“We lodged a complaint in the police station. The few officers who tried to help us were killed by the spirits. We approached the tantric to help us. He laughed at our plight. He said that the spirits that were under his control had made him powerful. He began trading black magic in exchange for slaves and money to fulfil wishes of people who wanted to harm others.”
“
How?”
“If you want to get someone killed or harmed, all you have to do is visit the haveli. The tantric’s men will lead you to him. After you have satisfied his demands, you can go back home and relax. He will send his spirit to harm your target. They all die brutal and unnatural deaths. My village had a population of over 2000 about 10 years ago. Only 28 of us remain because we have huge farmlands that we need to tend to. That is our only source of income. For our protection, we send a large part of our land produce to the tantric.”
“Oh! Why are all of you hiding here today?”
“We never venture out of our houses after dark. But today, we have taken shelter in this safe house from afternoon.”
“Why?”
“About three years ago, an aghori baba heard of our plight and visited our village. He was a good man who used his powers to help people. People who are possessed by the tantric’s evil spirits are taken to the Kali temple at the base of the hill. The aghori baba resides there to help these people. He tries to release the evil spirit and prevents them from harming anyone. Sometimes he is successful, but sometimes…”
“Sometimes?”
“Sometimes the mantras backfire and the evil spirits become stronger and treacherous. They harm anyone who comes in their way. They can harm people, animals, or even our houses and farms. The aghori baba has survived many attempts on his life too. But he is relentless.”
The girl folds her hands and bows her head to show respect for the aghori baba.
“Today, a woman from the neighbouring village has brought her sister who is possessed by an evil spirit. Aghori baba rang the bells of the Kali temple to warn us. If the tantric prevents aghori baba from treating the woman, the fight between the two can be very dangerous. A fight that involves use of abstract dark powers can seriously harm anyone who is caught between the fight. So, we have taken shelter in this fortress built on guidance from aghori baba. Lord Hanuman protects everyone from evil forces.”
“So, if I have to meet aghori baba, I have to visit the Kali temple?”
“Yes, but not today.”
Tanvi nods. “Sooner or later I am going to help all of you. Trust me.”
“We have learned to live with it. I wouldn’t want anyone to lose his life or loved ones for us.”
Tanvi gets up and goes downstairs. To everyone’s surprise, she opens the main door and walks out. The door slams shut as soon as she is out.
Chapter 9
It is dark and frosty outside. None of the houses are lighted. Tanvi struggles to find her way to the main road. She can still hear the chanting of Hanuman chalisa in the background. As she moves ahead, the voices fade into darkness.
Up on the hill, a silhouette of a haveli is seen against the dark skies. A faint light is seen emerging from the haveli. The wind gets stronger as Tanvi moves closer to the Kali temple. Straying dust particles and dry leaves make it difficult for her to keep her eyes open without getting stung. She stops for a while to rub and soothe her hurting eyes.
A faint sound of ringing temple bells guides her steps and she proceeds in the direction. In the dark, she stumbles on a stone and injures her forehead. She bleeds from a mild cut on her forehead. The injury triggers the old pain in her concussed head. But she gets up determined to reach the temple.
Standing at the base of the stairs leading to the temple, she glances towards the haveli. A huge boulder is cascading towards her from the hill. She gasps and moves out of its way in time.
While recovering, she gets an eerie feeling that somebody is running past her from behind. She turns around quickly. Nobody. Was it an animal? Probably. Her neck muscles contract and she takes a few rapid shallow breaths. She climbs the stairs of the temple. The ringing of bells gets louder.
From the entrance of the small temple, she sees a black idol of goddess Kali. The goddess is wearing a garland of severed heads of demons. She has four hands that are outstretched. She holds a severed demon head in one of her hands and a skull cup filled up with demon blood in another. A curved blood-stained sword is seen in her third hand and her fourth blood stained hand is stretched out to bless her devotees. Her eyes are prominent and ferocious, and her blood red tongue is sticking out.
A flickering oil lamp is the only source of illumination in the dark temple. An aghori wearing a black robe is ringing the bell and chanting the following mantra:
Kaali om om aaaim hreem kleem kleem caaamundaaayaaai kleem kleem swaaaaahaaaaaa
Kreem kleem caaamundaaayaaai hoom hreem caaamundaaayaaai kaaaaalike kreem kreem hoom hreem swaaaaaahaaaaa
After every mantra, the aghori flings some powder in a small vessel filled with red hot coal. Every time he flings the powder, the temple is filled with a fresh outburst of dark smoke emanating from the havan.
Tanvi hears somebody coughing and sobbing in the temple. She looks around and is shocked to see a woman lying curled up within a circle chalked out on the floor.
Tanvi confronts the aghori. The aghori frowns on seeing her. His masseters tighten. But he continues to chant the mantras. Tanvi moves out of his way and decides to wait for him to finish his act. She scrutinizes the place.
She waits for over an hour, sitting impatiently in a corner of the temple. The woman has paroxysms of screaming, falling unconscious and sobbing.
For the past 15 minutes, the woman has been lying motionless. Tanvi gets up to check if the woman is alive. She is about to cross the chalked circle when she feels a strong hand pull her back.
“Don’t touch her! The spirit is looking to house another body. It missed you on your way towards the temple. You don’t want to be the next victim, do you?”
“Certainly not!. But how long would she be lying here? Maybe she is ill and needs to be hospitalised.”
“She is possessed by an evil spirit and will be here until sunrise. She will be free by then.”
“And the villagers?”
“They’ll be in the safe house until sunrise too. They know the routine. You seem new. This is no place to find a new home lady.”
“That’s not why I am here.”
“Then why are you in this god-forbidden place at this god-forbidden hour?”
“I work for the crime investigation department. I am here because one of my cases involves an aghori.”
Tanvi shows him a photo of Chamundakaal. She briefs him about the case.
“This is no aghori. He is a tantric. He is not my kind. He is a bad one like the one in the haveli. Aghoris don’t harm people. They live on what they find. They don’t long for anything. They are devotees of Lord Shiva. They are detached from worldly pleasures.”
“Can you help me with any information that can give me a direction about this… um… tantric?”
“You said he wanted to be immortal. He has already killed two girls and abducted another. I bet if you look in the forest, you will find the third girl too, probably dead. He must have offered her to a goddess in the forest.”
“But he allegedly died in a prison fire three years ago. So, I believe his disciple Kaalbhairav is behind all this.”
“Could be. A sacrifice is usually offered to goddesses to obtain mahavidyas from them. There are ten mahavidyas in all. Unless you can prevent, there are going to be seven more deaths of innocent virgin women.”
“Seven more? He doesn’t seem to be following a pattern. How can I prevent the deaths?”
“He must be following a pattern. A sacrifice is made to each goddess of mahavidya to please them.
“Na pashyashi mahadev sateem maam purtah isthtaam
kali, tara cha lokeshee kamla bhuvneshwari
chinnmasta shodshi cha sundari baglamukhi
dhumavati cha matangi, namanyasamimani cha.
“The ten goddesses are Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalmukhi, Matangi, and Kamala. You have to investigate thoroughly to find his pattern. After pleasing the goddesses, he will expect a boon of immortality from Lord Shiva. The ten mahavidya g
oddesses block Lord Shiva’s path in all the ten directions until he yields.”
“How can somebody believe that they can become immortal by killing someone and that Lord Shiva will actually appear and grant boons?”
“Sometimes people want what they want. They believe that they are offering a sacrifice, not killing as you think.”
“Do you believe in sacrifices?”
“I do. But that doesn’t mean I would offer one myself. Time has always shown that evil and dark forces coexist. Some people want to master them for power. Power is the greatest driving force in this world.”
“But you are fighting the dark forces. Don’t you want to master them too?”
“I have burnt my hands before. You can’t enslave dark forces. Eventually, they enslave you. I was lucky to find my way out. That’s why I fight against them to release other slaves.”
“Do you know of a forest where tantrics live and train themselves?”
“They are everywhere. But many years ago, Tungareshwar forest had a famous aghori who used to train other men to become aghoris. One of his disciples killed him before fleeing.”
“Must be our man Chamundakaal. He wanted to become immortal. Do you have the exact location of this place?
“No kid. Tantrics and aghoris are nomads.”
“Never mind. I’ll scan the forest.”
“You do that. This tantric seems to have disciples. You said they were four of them. You have to be careful. Don’t go alone.”
“I’ll find help. Also, I’ll go back and find a pattern. I may come back if necessary. I promise to find a way to help you too with the tantric in the haveli.”
“He will become powerless once he is out of that place. I’ll conquer him after that.”
“I don’t think he has any special powers, but to each his own.”
Tanvi glances at the woman lying on the floor. She seems to be at peace now. Tanvi is hesitant to leave the unconscious woman alone with the aghori, but she notices another woman sitting in a dark corner waiting for the possessed woman to recover. Tanvi talks to her and learns that she is her sister. She offers to take the unconscious woman to a hospital, but the sister refuses. Tanvi prays to the goddess and leaves the temple.
