Devi

by Nag Mani

  Aditi took a step closer. The shadow didn’t change. It continued to linger harmlessly.

  “An innocent girl,” Aditi whispered to the shadow, “or you wouldn’t stand a chance to face the Devi.” She stepped closer. The shadow remained silent. “The mighty Jinn, or whatever rotten shit you are, is frightened of a woman! Did she not shut the door on your face? Did you not turn away and flee, cowering like a dog? Look, Zoya, don’t be scared of this shit! He is more frightened of you than you are of him.” The shadow was still quiet. Many a curious face appeared at the door. Aditi began to wonder if it was indeed just a shadow.

  And then, the edges stopped flickering.

  The shadow rose to the height of man, a very tall man.

  It detached itself from the wall.

  “Arre you nottt terrified, womannn?” said a booming voice that rattled the windows. The faces at the door disappeared amid loud shrieks. “Yourr deatth willl be ssslooow andd mersscilesss.”

  “You cannot kill me, you shit,” shot back Aditi, her voice quavering, “you are bound to carry out what was promised. You cannot kill me just yet.”

  “Behold thisss helplesss womannn! Ssshe daresss to acquaintt me offf my ownnn rulesss! I cann sssuck the bloodd outt offf yourr petty boddy, munnnch on yourr bonesss, drinkkk the esssence offf yourr sssoul…”

  “Oh, maybe you can, you shit, but you won’t, for you are too scared of her. If you so much as pluck my hair, she will be onto you. And you know only too well you are no match for her.”

  The shadow came closer. “Anddd why willl sshe standdd-uppp forr you?” it asked, laughing.

  “Because she is bonded to me.”

  “Do you thinkkk sso, womannn?” The laughter grew louder.

  “She promised to protect me from men who mean me harm, and I offered her my blood.”

  “Buttt I am no mannn!”

  Aditi swallowed. The shadow sensed the weakness and came even closer. “Accept it you shit, that you are scared of her!” She managed to steady herself. “Take me instead of the child, if you are as powerful as you claim to be, I dare you. A woman dares you!”

  “Takke youu I willl, petty womannn!” The shadow bellowed in rage. It lurched forward and Aditi felt something grab her throat. She was lifted in air. People were screaming outside the room.

  “Arre youuu nottt frighteneddd now?”

  “I… I did not…” she managed to choke.

  Then, within a blink of the eye, she was smashed against the window. She screamed and screwed her eyes shut, and when she opened them moments later, she found herself hovering outside the window, one storey above the ground. Something warm trickled down her scalp under her hair. Villagers were scampering away like a litter of puppies. The grip on her neck loosened and she fell to the ground. Ripples of pain shot through her body. The world blackened. Then something gripped her hair and with inhuman strength, began to pull her down the path to the forest.

  If dying was that easy, Aditi would have preferred dying than being pulled out of the darkness. The world was hazy at first, her eyes refused to focus. But the pain… it was as if her scalp was being pulled off. Her back… she had difficulty in breathing. She could make out that the sky had lightened. She saw the outline of her house. And on the roof, stood a woman, watching them...

  Aditi was near the edge of the forest. She couldn’t see the person dragging her, but she was aware of the many presences that had appeared in between the trees and in the foliage. “Help me!” she sputtered out the words. “I promise…”

  The Devi stood where she was. The house began to diminish. Leaves and branches obscured it from view, yet the Devi did not move. The pain was unbearable, but Aditi was too tired, too weak to struggle. A heavy humming filled the air under the forest canopy. Shadows moved and stirred behind tree trunks. Some followed her. They talked to each other excitedly. This was a different world altogether, dark and mirthless.

  Aditi found herself thinking of her father. She missed her home back in Purnia. She missed her childhood. No one had even tried to rescue her. Was she so unwanted, so uncared for, so unloved?

  It started with a slight movement in some bush. Then came a bark… and out leapt Bachcha, snarling at the invisible force that was pulling her. Aditi was laid down, and before she could even let out a sigh of relief, she was flung a few feet down the path. They had crossed the big ditch that was filled with water. Bachcha was on the other side, tails between his legs, fangs bared, snarling. The humming had increased to tangible vibrations that threatened to pull her core apart. It was coming from the deep within the earth.

  The shadow reappeared. Bachcha retreated, then stood his ground at the edge of the ditch, a small whitish figure barking ferociously in the feeble blue light. The shadow raised its hand. Bachcha opened his mouth again, but the bark got stuck in his throat. What came out instead was a faint whimper. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose. He opened his mouth again, but only managed to cough out more blood. Then his forelimbs gave way. He fell head-first into the water and never surfaced.

  Someone started laughing. Aditi tried to reach for the water – pull him out before it was too late – or was it already – but was lifted in the air. The shadow pulled her into the clearing. She fell on her back and crouched in pain.

  “Aunty,” said a voice.

  Aditi looked up to see Zeenat and Zeba crouching under the canopy of the ancient tree. A man, tall and powerful, stepped in between them. His face was white. A black beard hung down till his chest. Even though evil and monstrosity gleaned in his eyes, his aura was seductive. Aditi found herself being drawn to him. “I cannot kill you yet, woman!” he said in his resonant voice, articulate now, rich and so manly that Aditi found the hair on her forearms rise, “but my master can!” He raised both his hands and the vibrations emanating from the ground intensified.

  Aditi felt her senses sharpen. She could somehow feel the presence of others around her, feel their emotions, their thoughts. They were filled with pain and misery and hatred. She could almost hear the Jinn call out to someone in a strange tongue, yet she understood it. She understood it all. He was summoning his master… to accept the gift he was offering… accept the pure soul of two young girls…

  As he chanted his mantra, Aditi felt another presence, very feeble first, then growing stronger and stronger, until it dominated everything around. She felt it in her core. It was something far superior than every life-form around, with unearthly intelligence and knowledge, with emotions beyond human comprehension. There was a myriad of thoughts, of lands she could not begin to imagine, of skies she had never seen, of darkness, of wetness…

  The tree began to sway. The leaves shuddered, the branches flayed. Aditi sensed anger now. The power was annoyed for having been summoned.

  “Gudiya,” said a voice behind Aditi, “is everything all right?”

  The Devi appeared inside the clearing.

  “Come, my Queen,” said the Jinn, though his lips never moved, “are you here to witness my offering?”

  “I am here to take what is mine.”

  “The woman is not yours. I have claimed her!”

  “Then fight me you must, you cursed soul, to claim your property!”

  “You are bonded to her, my Queen? You accepted her wish!” the Jinn was surprised. Then another realization hit him and he smiled, baring his sparkling teeth. He began to laugh in his booming voice. And the laughter spread like a ripple as shapeless figures hiding in the trees and behind the trunks joined the chorus. He didn’t need to speak, Aditi could almost hear his thoughts. The Devi had made a terrible mistake, for she didn’t know that he was bonded to his almighty master. Having accepted the wish, she was bound to fight him to protect the woman…

  …and if she did that, his master was bound to protect him.

  The Jinn turned around to face the tree. He raised his hands and began to chant a mantra far darker and intimidating. Aditi gasped.

  He was asking his master to rise above the su
rface.

  The tree twisted and rattled. Hundreds of black shapes flew away, and suddenly, the branches began to dart back and forth, capturing the flying shapes and pulling them back, forcing them into a crack that had appeared along the length of the trunk. The evil power was annoyed for having been summoned to the surface. The Jinn dropped his hands. He was scared, yet he knew his master would be pleased when he saw what was being offered.

  Aditi caught glimpses… She was flying under starry skies. Rivers and ponds. Stretches of vast, dark lands. Houses. Young girls… Lust. She wanted more power. More girls. For decades she worshipped her master. And one day her master spoke back to her. He gave her shelter in his abode… and took away a large portion of her essence taken in return.

  She became powerless. How that Queen mocked her! Insulted her! And she could do nothing but hide in her tree.

  She continued to worship her master, hoping she would please him some day. Hoping he would give her powers greater than what she had before. Decades passed. Then came a draped figure carrying a young goat in its wake. It gave her two names – one of the victim and the other of the sacrifice – a young girl! It had been so long… But her lust could wait. She had far greater endeavours to think of. Her master would certainly be pleased if she offered him a human soul. The hooded figure had initiated the ritual. It couldn’t end until she was satisfied with the offering. And she wasn’t satisfied with just one. Frightened for its own life, the figure took two more names. And how pleased she was with herself!

  Aditi convulsed with the multitude of involuntary thoughts. She had taken her two victims with ease. If her master would be pleased with two… if… then she could keep the third for herself. The sky demons were fighting that night. They roared. Their swords flashed. And she summoned her master. But that vile Queen, she was there too… there with her malevolent intention of stopping the offering…

  Aditi shook her head and screamed. The evil began to rise from the ground, sucking in every ray of light. Its darkness hurt her eyes. It was as if she was standing only inches away from a sun, a sun that emanated darkness instead of light. The emotions it carried were overwhelming. The vibrations, Aditi now realised, was a continuous chant. Even in the absolute darkness, Aditi could feel the presence of the spirits of the two girls, the Jinn and the Devi.

  The evil towered above all of them. It loathed the staleness of the sky… the warmth of the morning air…

  The Jinn stopped his chanting and bowed.

  But his master was infuriated… for it saw something the Jinn had not been able to perceive.

  Light began to seep in from somewhere behind her. Something began to reveal itself. Something that had been hiding all along, silently watching the events unfold.

  The Jinn paid for his arrogance, paid for summoning the Root to the surface for mere vengeance. He should have looked deeper; he should have known before summoning his master. The Root had kept itself detached from the surface and the petty desires of its dwellers, for centuries, yet here it was…

  Three branches shot forward and lifted the tall white man. He roared in pain as he was torn into pieces. The pieces turned into shadows that floated around for a while before being pulled into the crack in the trunk.

  Zeenat and Zeba disappeared into thin air and Aditi never saw them again.

  The trunk arched, the branches pulled themselves back, ready to face the adversary.

  Aditi turned around to see the Devi. But there was something else outside the clearing, hidden behind trunks. Something tall. She first saw the enormous feet. Her eyes moved up along the legs, the swarthy waist, bare breasts, and then the two large eyes blazing like fire. A naked woman stood as tall as the trees, her dark, matted hair falling all the way to her feet. Aditi did not need to be told who she was, for she wasn’t a mere spirit, she was a goddess! Aditi folded her trembling hands and bowed.

  The Jinn should have known that the Queen was bonded to Ma Puran Devi!

  It was over in a flash. The goddess screamed and bolted forward like a storm. All Aditi remembered of those moments was the whistling and jostling of a great wind.

  When she looked around again, she was alone in the forest. The clearing was now a large crater, fresh and moist. The ancient tree lay toppled to a side, its roots exposed. They were bleeding.

  *

  A thick smoke hung low over the village. The forest was burning. The news of Aditi being dragged into the forest had spread like wildfire. Some villagers decided to flee – they perceived the end of the world to be near. Others had had enough of the forest. It wasn’t clear who led them, but a mob carrying blazing torches and axes and sickles and spades marched to the trees. Women participated valiantly. They shouted slogans and chanted mantras, keeping their voices high to induce courage. They had decided to burn down that ancient tree.

  So they marched through the forest, hacking and chopping anything that came in their way, only to see the tree uprooted and on its side. The city woman was dragging herself away from the clearing. The initial surprise was overcome with curiosity. They didn’t believe her initially when she told them about the goddess. But who else could have uprooted that mighty tree? Nevertheless, they hacked at the trunk and broke the branches, letting out years of anger, fear and hatred. Jars and jars of kerosene was poured. Aditi watched from a distance as monstrous flames rose higher and higher, over the foliage, and into the lightening sky. The young and the impulsive set afire any tree they could lay their hands on. It was then that the elders intervened and sent them home, lest the entire village was burned to ground. Under the supervision of wizened men, trees were selected and felled to contain the fire. By late morning, all the women were also sent back to their homes while the men continued to struggle with the fire.

  Manoj walked alongside the women supporting Aditi, and there were quite a lot of them. She had never seen Payal so happy and excited. Apparently, her mother hadn’t accompanied her into the forest and Payal was dying to tell her whatever she had witnessed. A crowd had already gathered in front of their house, waiting to hear the first-hand narration from Aditi. But she needed rest.

  When she woke up a few hours later, she no longer felt weak. The pain in her spine had subsided. Inspector Mishra came to see her, but didn’t linger long. The fire was still posing a threat. People from neighbouring lands were pouring in to see the forest burn. Manish and Gauri paid her a short visit. And then came Zoya with her mother, though the latter stayed at the doorway.

  It was almost lunch time before the visitors finally began to take leave.

  And it was then they realised that Bhagvati was nowhere to be seen.

  The word spread. Initially they thought that she must be somewhere in someone’s house. Payal was questioned, who had gone from excited to hysteric. She told them that her mother had strictly told her not to go to the forest, but she had made a run for it, not wanting to be left behind in helping her Didi. She had thought her mother would follow. Aditi hugged Payal, assuring her that her mother would return, that she must be somewhere in the chaos the village was in.

  And as she did, she thought of the cloaked figure with the young goat – one of the many scenes and emotions she had witnessed in the forest – the cloaked figure who had the voice of a woman.

  It was late afternoon by the time the fire was under control. Many anguished villagers stood with buckets outside their huts, should a stray spark set their home ablaze. Men returned from the forest in small groups to eat hasty meals, while some stayed back to keep watch. A sweaty Razzak came with his brother Salman. Razzak extolled her over and over again, while his brother stayed behind with a solemn face, maintaining the demeanour as that of Laila. Razzak told her that earlier that morning, Arvind had convinced someone to perform a black magic to find out the culprit. They had to sacrifice a hen to summon an ancestral spirit. But a strange energy could be felt pulsating in the air and the connection was broken before any progress could be made.

  Arvind came to visit not long a
fter and began to tell tales of his adventures. How he had followed Madam’s trail backward and found the blood-stained cloth and the hair. How he had bullied his neighbour into performing the ritual. How he had gone door to door arranging for the ingredients.

  Payal was making tea in the kitchen when Salman saw it – it seemed as if someone had run into the cornfield. He brushed aside some plants and made his way inwards. And not long after, he found her lying in wet mud. Her body had turned black. It had already begun to stink. Her tongue fell out of her mouth and hung flaccidly down her cheek. Her eyes were open. And beside her was a jute bag, wide open, revealing the contents inside.

  Aditi followed Manoj when she saw him enter the field behind Salman. She found him hunched forward, his hands on his knees, as if he was having difficulty in breathing. She saw the body and gasped. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably. And before she knew, tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “It was not money she came for,” Manoj whispered, “she wanted me to marry her daughter after I divorced you. She thought…”

  Aditi fell to her knees. A crowd was gathering behind her, trampling the plants on their way. Her eyes darted to the contents of the jute bag. She saw dried hypanthium of three rose flowers, a few brown petals still clinging. She saw a jar of home-made rose drink, incense-sticks and a handkerchief.

  It had happened right under her nose.

  “Why?” Aditi bawled. She knew the answer very well… To take her place.

  Zeenat was marked with the home-made rose drink. Now that Aditi thought about it, Bhagvati had prepared drinks for everyone when she returned from her sister’s place. It could not have been difficult mixing the petals of the rose she had plucked from under the tree in Zeenat’s drink. She could not have dared to mark the three girls all at once. It would not have taken long to find out what they had consumed. But one girl falling sick out of the three… no one would have suspected.

  Then came the incense-sticks, with the essence of rose. Bhagvati made a show of worshiping with her home-made incense-sticks and diya every day. Only that they were the sandal ones. When Zeba and Zoya came to her house after their sister’s death, she pretended to bless them, circling incense-sticks around them, one by one. No one noticed the fragrance of rose mingling with that of sandal. She said she was protecting them. It was such an innocent act… it was supposed to be such an innocent act. How could she!