Conjurer & The Sacred Lemons

by Prakash

  One by one they had collected all the evidences available on the crime spot. When both of them were satisfied that nothing was left to be checked they left the place and drove towards the police station.

  As Bob and Tayler was leaving ,one of the onlooker stopped them and told them that victim’s name is Rag Peter.

  By now, the news spread like fire in the community about the incidence. Rag Peter was no more. The calm ,civilized and peaceful community was shocked to hear the news.

  When Patrick left for work in the morning he had seen the police vans and the ambulance but he was not aware of the news. He also thought it to be a regular drill.

  Mrs. Watson, the neighbor rang up Ursula and broke the news of rag Peter’s murder that morning.

  Ursula was aghast to hear the news. Last evening only she followed him all the way to cemetery and back and today she heard that he is no more.

  Several thoughts suddenly came to her mind.

  “If someone has observed me following him, my name will come in police records. If they enquire with me what should I tell them? “Ursula started thinking.

  “What if those murdered Rag Peter, also follow me and finish me off? ‘The sheer thought sent a shiver in her spine.

  However she was relieved that she and Patrick was leaving for India trip the very next day and for the time being she should not worry about the incidence. In case by chance somehow her name crops up in this case she was determined to tell the police all about what she had done. She was having no fear in her mind as she knew what she did was only to protect her husband.

  In the afternoon Sargent Tayler sent two of his cops to Rag Peter’s make shift home to collect his belongings inside and check for any clue.

  The two cops searched the makeshift home thoroughly.

  When the duo opened the two trunks inside the house they could find some old clothes, some books and around 200 dollars inside. They collected the clothes, books and bills and put in an envelope.

  They checked for the other things in the house. There were some utensils lying here and there. As a formality they collected these utensils and also sealed them in a gunny bag.

  When the cops opened the leather bag which was lying in the adjacent room, they could see some strange material inside.

  There were black dolls, some black and white threads, some nail like structures and some other material. The cops were not aware of what exactly it was, However as per the protocol they carefully collected all this material and sealed in a separate bag.

  Otherwise silent and peaceful Mandeville community today was looking suddenly in focus due to continuous rounds of the police vehicles since mornings. Though most of the residents had either gone for their work or were busy in their daily chorus, the elderly and the housewives were in constantly touch with other and was sharing the news about the incidence that happened in their locality.

  There were all sorts of rumors that were getting circulated among the community .Some housewives were discussing among them that he was a drug agent and could have been killed due to some business animosity.

  Some elderly people in the locality who used to see Rag Peter regularly on the road or under the tree were more sympathetic. Their view was that poor fellow was a victim of some unsocial element’s arbitrary action.

  The two cops collected all the evidence in the house and put them in the police van and they left for the police station.

  Next day the William’s left for their India visit.

  Detective Bob and Sergeant Tayler had just received the autopsy report.

  “Bob, the report is on the predictable line “Sergeant Tayler commented.

  “Yep “was the cryptic reply

  “Rag had suffered a major head injury due to some stone like objects which resulted in his death “Sergeant Tayler read from the report.

  “Why we need doctors to tell this? We inferred this when we inspected the crime scene? Right? “Sargent Tayler asked

  Detective Bob did not offer any comment on this. He was thinking on various possibilities about this crime.

  “What could be the motive behind the crime?” was the question which was in Bob’s mind.

  Whatever information Bob had collected so far, Rag Peter appeared to be a harmless creature living in the community and was living on the generous support from the community. There was no complaint or case against him in the last 15 years.

  The overall opinion of the community about the victim was that of a strange but peaceful fellow, although his appearance, his yelling and shouting were sometimes was seen as something strange.

  While going through the autopsy report again, detective Bob stopped at one sentence.

  “During autopsy in one of the hand which was closed, a paper chit was found. The chit was having “LION “written on it.

  “Look Sargent Tayler, it seems Rag had left something for us “Bob commented.

  “Are you referring to the paper chit?” he asked Bob.

  “ Yeh “Bob replied.

  “I thought over it. The attackers purposely put that paper chit to mislead us “Sargent Tayler shared his opinion.

  “The whole crime took place in few minutes. I doubt the attackers would have thought such a prank “Bob was confident about his observation.

  “We need to investigate further what this particular paper chit and the word “Lion “means “Bob said in slow but confident voice.

  “Well … if you insist we would surely check… whether “Lion “is a real Lion or a person or a Gang” Sargent Tayler replied.

  “Be serious Bro. I am suspecting something fishy here “detective Bob replied.

  The day ended without any further happenings. The dead body of Rag Peter was put to the rest by the Municipal Corporation, as there was no one which came forward to claim the body.

  Chapter 13

  Ursula & Patrick in India

  Ursula and Patrick reached Newark from New Orleans via air .The video group of the magazine consisting of Paul Jacob and Liz Taylor was already there at the airport. Ursula and Liz knew each other as they had worked together on one magazine feature covering Canada two years back. Ursula introduced Patrick to both Paul and Liz. The flight from Newark to India was not a direct one. They had to first travel to Frankfurt and then change the plane there and Take a new plane from Frankfurt to the Indian Capital Delhi. Paul alone had experience of India in the group. He had travelled to India twice earlier few years back. Patrick, Ursula and Liz were travelling to India for the first time. Naturally Paul was giving tips on India to the group. His first comment on India was about finding crowd wherever you see. He told his colleagues that we are not used to such crowds in US.

  The team landed at Delhi airport late in the night. Clearing their luggage and video equipment from the customs took almost one hour. When they came out of the airport a Taxi arranged by the local India representative of the magazine was waiting for them. It was a Sport utility vehicle and could easily accommodate their entire luggage. By the time they reached hotel it was almost 3 am. The trio was exhausted by the long travel and immediately went for sleep.

  It was Monday morning in India. The local India representative of the magazine Shikha Gupta was waiting in the reception lounge since 8.30 am. The trio managed to prepare themselves and came to the lobby at around 9.15 am. Shikha got introduced herself to all of them. Paul knew Shikha due to his earlier two visits to India.

  The Group had a brief discussion on the plan which was prepared by the head office earlier and was shared with the group beforehand. Today’s agenda consisted of covering a feature on Delhi based travel attractions and included 5 major attractions the Red fort , the Kutubminar , the Raj ghat , Chandani bazar and the Mughal garden . Ursula had done her preliminary work and knew that Indian capital had a legacy of the Mughals and the British who combinly ruled India for almost 350 years both put together. She could also understand through her literature study that the 5 selected sites for the documentary have great historical si
gnificance.

  Two big sport utility vehicles were arranged by Shikha Gupta. Considering that some of the Indian roads are filled with potholes and obstructions, a sport utility vehicle was a safe option as compared to the normal cars .The trio accompanied by Shikha covered all the five places in Delhi till late evening. The video unit under Paul and Liz did an excellent shooting of these places from various angles while Ursula was busy in interviewing the people on these sites. Patrick of course was busy in moving around with them and was trying to do as much sightseeing as was possible for him.

  In the evening Shikha had arranged a special dinner in their honor at one of the most upmarket hotel cum bar lounge serving multicounty cuisine. Shikha from her experience knew that most of the foreigners are unable to cope up with the spicy Indian food and water so she was careful in selecting the venue. In the morning only she had advised Patrick and the trio to have only bottled water for drinking.

  During the dinner the group had lot of discussion on the balance attractions to be covered in next 8 days. The last 4 days of the tour were reserved for any contingency and also for the purpose sightseeing and shopping for the group.

  “This week in the remaining four days we will be covering city of Agra famous for the world known structure the Tajmahal built by the emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife. Besides we will plan covering a fort in Agra and the leather industry there.” Shikha was discussing the plan in detail.

  “Balance 3 day we have to cover the Hill stations namely Simla, Kulu Manali and one religious town Amritsar. Next week first 3 days we will cover religious places of Haridwar and Rishikesh. That will cover our entire plan “Shikha continued her conversation.

  “I had been to Haridwar last time when I was India. A weird place where you find the Yogi’s, Sadhus, Tantric, Faith healers and persons helping you to get rid of troubles in life “Paul interrupted Shikha in between.

  “Paul... do not call Haridwar a weird place. Yes it had all the elements you mentioned but all those Sadhus, Tantric are devotees of certain sects and follow different traditions. You will not believe until you see it-people from world over come here and some of them really could get benefit from the advice by these so called Sadhus and Tantric “Shikha tried to defend her country’s heritage.

  Ursula now got interested in the topic after hearing the Sadhus, Tantric and the faith healers. She thought she might get a solution to Patrick’s problem here. However she did not want to discuss her personal issue in open. She decided that she would talk to Shikha from time to time during the balance trip and check if they could some help from these people in curing the issues faced by Patrick in USA.

  Next day the group started for the famous city of Agra. The trio was impressed by the marble structure of the Tajmahal. After the Taj mahal the team covered features on the Agra fort and the leather industry. They started for Delhi back at around 4 pm. Ursula thought next 2 hours in the vehicle was a good opportunity to talk to Shikha Gupta and get as much information as possible from her on the Haridwar Sadhus , Tantric and the faith healers.

  “Shikha you spoke of Haridwar and Sadhus, Tantric and so on. Can you brief me in detail as we travel “Ursula requested.

  “Sure. But there are hundreds of sects, rituals and customs among the Sadhus and the tantric. Even I may not know them all. If you have any particular topic in mind which I know I would surely help you on that “Shikha replied.

  “You talked about people coming there from all over the world for their problems and issue “Ursula tried to clarify her interest.

  “Yes that is true. But again the reasons for visit are different for each one of them. Many of them come to find solace in spiritualism .Some come there to use tantric to get rid of their business and the personnel problems. So you know it is very vast canvass” Shikha replied back.

  “Can you elaborate more on the Tantric who help people to get rid of personal problems “Ursula enquired.

  “Again there are many sects among the Tantric. Personally I am against some sects like Black magic and those indulge in animal sacrifices. One sect which is mystic but yet respectable is the Nathas “Shikha answered.

  “Ok then tell me about the Nathas “Ursula replied.

  Meanwhile Driver stopped the vehicle at one hotel so that they could have some quick snacks, water and Beverages. All of them got down. The conversation between Shikha and Ursula stopped suddenly.

  When the travel again resumed after a brief break. Shikha explained the Nath sect and their customs in detail to Ursula.

  “The nine Naths are the incarnations of Nine Narayanan (Indian Gods) who help Lord Narayan (One of the main deity) in taking care of the worldly activities. Lord Krishna (One of the main deity) had summoned the nine Narayan’s to his court for deciding the establishment of Nath Sampraday (Sect). The Nath tradition is a heterodox siddha tradition containing many sub-sects. It was founded by Matsyendranath and further developed by Gorakshanath. These two individuals are revered and are credited with great powers and perfected spiritual attainment.” Shikha started narrating the origin of the Nath Sect.

  Ursula was listening carefully. Time to time she was asking questions on multiple Deity’s referred to by Shikha. This was something new to Ursula when Shikha mentioned that there are millions of different deity’s worshipped by the Indians.

  “The Sanskrit word nātha is the proper name of a Navnath initiatory tradition and the word itself literally means "lord, protector, refuge". The related Sanskrit term Adi Natha means first or original Lord, and is therefore a synonym for Shiva, Mahadev, or Maheshvara, and beyond these supramental concepts, the Supreme Absolute Reality as the basis supporting all aspects and manifestations of consciousness.” Shikha continued detailing out the origin of Nath Sect.

  Most of the names mentioned by Shikha were too difficult for Ursula to remember. She was however more interested to know the sect and how they help people.

  “During the last 11 centuries, the Nath sect grew under the concept of Guru-Shishya (Teacher and the disciple). It has assumed multiple forms depending on the Guru (Teacher) so in Nath sects also there are 5 to 6 major schools depending on which aspect they put stress. Some Gurus of Nath sect laid stress on the devotation, some on the Yagnya, some on Hath yoga, Some on Shabari Vidya (a mystical collection of various supernatural ceremonies for the benefit of the people. In short there is a wide variety in this sect “Shikha continued.

  Shikha seemed to have studied the Nath sect in detail. She was providing a lot of information to Ursula.

  “Nath Gurus spread the thought that the entire world is born out of the Nada (sound), the divine principle, Light & fire, physical principle and the supreme reality. They propounded the thought that the physical principles and the supreme reality emanate from the Lord Shiva. According to the Nath sect Liberation from worldly matters is the ultimate aim of the Naths after which they get merged with the supreme reality that is Lord Shiva “Shikha continued explaining Nath sect Philosophy.

  This was tad difficult for Ursula to grasp as she has never come across Indian Gods, sects and their founding principles and Values. What she could gather from Shikha’s conversation that the Nath sect believes that lord Shiva is the Supreme reality.

  “The Navnaths (The first 9 Naths and the founders of the sect) believes in Rishi (Sage) Dattatreya, an incarnation of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to be its first teacher.” Shikha provided further details on the Nath sect.

  By this time they had reached their hotel. Ursula thanked Shikha for a detailed guidance on the Nath sect and requested to cover the balance details while they travel to Simla town the next day.

  The Trio along with Shikha started early morning by air from Delhi to Simla. It was a one hour travel. After reaching Simla the group got freshen up and had some heavy breakfast and started their coverage of Simla shooting important places in Simla and interviewing experience of the other tourists. By 6 pm the group was back to the hotel after finishing their work. Due to
hectic schedule Ursula hardly got time to speak to Shikha on the Nath sect during the daytime.

  In the hotel in the evening Ursula got opportunity to talk to Shikha.

  “The lineage of the Naths starts with Rishi Dattatreya, a mythological deity-founder and followed by his nine disciples whose names are

  Machindranath or Matsyendranath (Believed to be Born in the form of human from a Fish ...in Sanskrit Fish is called as “ Matsya “)

  Gorakshanath (Strange birth story. Believed to be born out of sermonized ash which was dumped in the garbage bin)

  Jalandharnath

  Kanifnath ( Believed to be born out of Ear of an elephant as per the mythology)

  Gahininath

  Bhartrinath

  RUrsulananath

  Charpatinath

  Naganath

  The establishment of the Naths as a distinct historical sect purportedly began around the 8th or 9th century with a simple fisherman, Matsyendranath “Shikha started providing more details. Ursula was listening carefully but most of the names and Gods stated by Shikha were difficult for her to remember.