The Sorcerer

Many things in life are, indeed, beyond the realm of human understanding. Souls leaving our bodies at the time of death? The troubled ones wandering restlessly around us? Do they exist, or don’t they? Or, are they simply incomprehensible? Let’s see where this story takes us to ….

“Go away! Go away, you spirit! You evil spirit!” shouted the sorcerer as he slashed his broom across Kavita, who was crouching on the floor in front of him. He put the broom in the burning fire by his side and sprinkled some dry spices and potions on it, chanting some mantras loudly. Every time he would sprinkle the potion on the broom, Kavita would groan in pain. Some muffled, manly voice would cry out from her.

“No, please, no!” Kavita was groaning, all the time twisting and banging her head on the ground. Though her husband Mukesh was trying to hold her tight, Kavita would manage to break herself free all the time. She was apparently drawing on some inexplicable reserve of strength, hidden somewhere deep inside herself.

This tortuous practice went on for a while, till Kavita went limp and, breathing heavily, lay still. There was froth around her mouth. Mukesh, imploringly, looked at the sorcerer.

The sorcerer was known across many villages all around. Everyone addressed him as Haji Baba. No one knew his age. He always wore black clothes that covered him from his neck to the ground. He had thick, matted, long hair that he had tied up on his head. He had tiny eyes that seemed to burn all the time with a fierce intensity. He lived in a hut, all by himself.

Mukesh and Kavita were happily married, with two children. After ten years of their marriage, suddenly Kavita started having some strange problems. She would hear someone calling her out, from afar. The call would wake her up from sleep, and she would feel as if someone was sitting next to her. At times she would feel as if someone invisible was caressing her back. She would sometimes start howling for no reason, or even faint!

Mukesh had taken her to the doctors and, even after many tests, they couldn’t find anything significant. They generally advised her rest, and a relaxed atmosphere at home. After suffering like this for almost two years, one of Mukesh’s friends mentioned Haji Baba to him. He strongly recommended Haji Baba, and that is how Mukesh and Kavita reached him.

Haji Baba sat with closed eyes in front of Kavita, for about an hour. He had instructed Kavita to sit still, and not speak at all. After what seemed ages to Kavita and Mukesh, Haji Baba opened his eyes and looked straight into Kavita’s eyes. He locked his eyes into hers; she couldn’t even blink. And Haji Baba spoke,

“I can see this young boy named Chandu who had wanted to marry you, many years back. You were unmarried then, but your older sisters too were unmarried at that time, so your parents did not take his proposal seriously. Chandu could not take this rejection and, in a moment of weakness and desperation, he jumped into a well and died. Since then his spirit has been trying many devious ways to get at Kavita, and that is the cause of all these strange happenings.”

Kavita was jolted back to her senses. She started shivering. Haji Baba continued,

“Sometimes after death the troubled soul takes the form of a spirit, and keeps wandering in search of peace. Chandu’s spirit too has been wandering for all these years, trying to take away Kavita from this world.”

Mukesh was disturbed deeply. He did not know what to believe and what not to. Who was going to prove to him the truth of this hypothesis postulated by Haji Baba?

“I know, you are not convinced with what I am saying. Well, if you want your wife to live, you will have to get that spirit out of her! I can do that! You have to get her here twice, on two consecutive new moon days. I will force the spirit out of her and you will know it for yourself, when you would see a big branch of that palm tree come crashing down, just like that.”

“I must also tell you that while I work on her I will allow you to stay, but you will not speak a word or try to interfere in any way. If you do so, I will stop immediately and, in no time, the spirit will take away her life.”

Haji Baba shut his eyes and became mum. Kavita was sitting there on the ground, hugging herself, and shivering. Mukesh was not really sure if she had heard or understood what Baba had said. He took off his sweater and put it around her. He waited for sometime for Baba to open his eyes, but there was no sign of that. Mukesh then helped Kavita up and slowly helped her back to the waiting cab.

Mukesh had never believed in spirits, or rather had never ever given it too much of a thought. Now he was in a fix. He had read stories on exorcism, but had never imagined in his wildest dreams that one day he would actually be its victim!

Finally Mukesh and Kavita decided to try out Haji Baba. They went to him on the next new moon evening. They found Haji Baba, his eyes shut, sitting all by himself in front of his hut. A big fire was burning close by and some birds, already burnt, were hanging by a long string. It looked eerie.

Mukesh and Kavita went and sat at a short distance from Haji Baba. A couple of hours passed by, without anyone speaking. Suddenly, without opening his eyes, Haji Baba started chanting some mantras. The flame of the fire started going higher and higher. Baba’s chanting went on, and before Mukesh could realise, Kavita was rolling all over the ground. It looked as if she was under some spell. She kept rolling to and fro, sobbing, groaning, and, at times, screaming. Mukesh had to try really hard to hold himself back, as the dire consequences of any interference from his side, rang loud into his ears.

One hour of such chanting, drained Kavita completely. Baba ji stopped and slowly opened his bloodshot eyes. He looked at Mukesh and just waved his hand, indicating that he leave with his wife. Not a word was spoken by anyone. Mukesh somehow managed to get Kavita to the waiting cab, and left for home.

The next new moon day arrived and Mukesh and Kavita, again, reached the village of Haji Baba. Kavita, in the past one month, had become weak. She had lost her appetite, but her strange dreams became less frequent. Baba saw them and signalled them to sit under a big Peepal tree that was right opposite his hut. He came and stood in front of Kavita, who, involuntarily, started to shiver. Her teeth started chattering. Baba had a short broom in his hand and, with it , he started whipping himself. He was chanting aloud and with every whip Kavita would scream in pain, even though nothing touched her!

Mukesh was witnessing the unbelievable, the incomprehensible! It seemed that he was glued to his place; he sat there motionless. Kavita’s screams and groans seemed to be coming from some other world. He was a mere spectator there. He was suddenly shaken up by a gruff voice coming out of Kavita’s mouth, and he heard a loud crash of some branch of a tree falling down.

Kavita lay there, motionless. Her eyes were open, but were looking somewhere faraway. She was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Baba looked exhausted too. He was sitting quietly on the ground, in front of his hut. Mukesh came with folded hands in front of him. He bowed to him,

“Thank you for all that you have done for us, Baba. Thank you for relieving Kavita of the spirit.”

Baba raised his hands in the form of blessings for both, and shut his eyes in meditation. Mukesh led Kavita to the car and the car sped away towards home.

Kavita recovered completely in a week. Never again did she face the strange problem. Meanwhile, Mukesh got a promotion and was transferred to another part of the country. They put this nightmarish past behind them.

Twenty years passed by. Mukesh, with his family, had returned to this part of the country. On work, he passed one day through the same place where they had met Haji Baba. All those memories came rushing by. From what he remembered, he gave instructions to the driver. And, surprisingly, he managed to reach the same spot where Haji Baba lived in his hut. He could not believe his eyes!

Haji Baba sat there with his eyes shut, in front of his tiny hut, and a fire was burning close by.

“Come, I’ve been waiting for you all these years.” The tiny, bloodshot eyes had opened and were looking straight into Mukesh’s eyes.

The voice sent a chill down Mukesh’s spine. Much as he tried, he could not look away. His eyes were locked! He tried to muster all his strength to move away, but to no avail.

“Come! Come! You never paid me my fees for the service that I rendered to you. Did you? Everything demands a price, and price you will pay! Today is new moon night! An extraordinary new moon! One that comes after one hundred and fifty years! How I have been waiting for this! And I had earmarked you then only, for this special day! I have to make my special offering tonight, to my Guru, who has passed on all his knowledge to me. I cannot offer him anything less! Come! Come!”

Transfixed, Mukesh was walking slowly towards the fire. Baba ji was chanting aloud; the flames of the fire threatened to reach the sky. Suddenly, the atmosphere was filled with the hooting of owls.

“Come! Come!” Baba ji kept on chanting in between his mantras and in the crescendo that built up slowly and surely, Mukesh walked into the fire. Baba ji stood up. His face had a scary glow, mixed with an evil gratification. The owls hooted, and the red flames kept growing higher and higher.