Morning wasn't too far away as Hanuman looked towards the horizon where a reddish glow was faintly visible through the blackness of the night.
Macchindra on one shoulder he walked on, the others had been taking turns to carry the man. He was heavy weighing in at almost 500 pounds.
But, right now, the man looked frail, almost childlike. He quivered with fear. The color of his skin that had turned white had begun to return to its natural color. He still seemed semi conscious and incomprehensible.
Tehmul kept running to keep up with Hanuman’s long strides.
“Hakim Saab is sure to have a cure to this devilry” he thought to himself. He needed reassurance.
Soon they reached the clearing through the thicket where the Hakim lived. But as Hanuman approached the hut Macchindra’s twitching increased. He began to get increasingly agitated in his semi conscious state. Hanuman clamped his free hand on Macchindra to calm the big man down but to no avail. With one mighty push he and Hanuman fell to the ground.
Hanuman got up from the ground dusting himself and looked at Macchindra in astonishment. The man was struggling on the ground in a foetal position his features twisted in a bizarre expression of anger and agony.
He let out a yell and spat blood. The others backed away from the terrifying spectacle.
“HELP ME!” hanuman roared as he grabbed Macchindra’s hand and tried to drag the huge struggling mass towards the hut. Tehmul came running to his side and grabbed the other hand and pulled with all his might.
The others broke through their trance at Hanuman’s words and ran towards the three struggling men.
They all grabbed Macchindra and pushed with their might but he wouldn’t budge an inch!
Suddenly, the doors of the hut flew open and an old man stepped out. His eyes blazed as he lifted one bony finger pointing towards Macchindra. The others felt the intensity of the old man’s aura as he stood on the parapet
“NETI!” he commanded in a stern voice steadily looking at Macchindra.
Hanuman, Tehmul and the others too collapsed, exhausted by their efforts.
Hanuman let these words sink in as he ordered his men to bring water and revive Macchindra.
“Wait! Come inside” the old man’s voice came from inside the hut.
It wasn’t much to look at, there was a periphery to it where the Hakim grew exotic herbs and harvested their potential. He was a simple man with simple needs to the normal eye. But the hut remained protected at all times with various spells and incantations and the blessings of the divine mother. A strong sandalwood odor wafted through the environs near the hut even when there was not a single sandalwood tree in the jungle there.
The Hakim was spiritually, a very powerful man.
“You are shaken…” he said looking at Hanuman.
“How do you know?” Hanuman gazed at the old man levelly.
“You never forget to remove your footwear”
“Don’t look so down my Son…” the Hakim began.
“Hakim Saab! I have fought the bravest men, scaled the highest mountain and defeated the strongest willed beasts that roam kali’s blessed lands! But this black sorcery is beyond me!” Hanuman thundered.
“My Son, you are truly blessed!” he said.
“Blessed?! BLESSED?!!” Hanuman couldn’t believe his ears! He was furious. Not with what the Hakim had said but more with his inability to protect his own men.
“Did you not see what happened to Macchindra outside?! How can you call that being blessed!” he boomed.
“Son, Ma herself has chosen you to fight the evils she has defeated time and again. Do you not see? If you love and believe in her with outmost faith and trust; that, she will protect you as she has till now…then continue to believe in her!”
“What do you mean Hakim Saab?” Hanuman was puzzled.
“If Ma has chosen you to fight evil, she will equip you accordingly my child…” The Hakim’s serene voice seemed to soothe Hanuman. He calmed down.
“Call Tehmul he will need this” the Hakim said handing Tehmul a vial of water.
“This water that I use to bathe the deity. This will protect him and your men. There is strong black energy that I detected through the night. It has been here for a while now. Although the sun will dissipate most of it now.”
“your observation is correct…”
“What is it?!”
“All in good time my Son, all in good time. First I need to look at Macchindra and you need to get your men here. They need to be safe before sundown. And we need to have a look at that leg of yours. The gash looks quite deep.”
The old man called out to Tehmul to make haste as he sat down and applied a yellowish paste to the wound which he then wrapped up with an old cloth. It stung Hanuman but the memories of the hapless Macchindra stung even more. He stepped out into the warm sun and turned towards it.
“Help me Ma…” he prayed silently.
Macchindra on one shoulder he walked on, the others had been taking turns to carry the man. He was heavy weighing in at almost 500 pounds.
But, right now, the man looked frail, almost childlike. He quivered with fear. The color of his skin that had turned white had begun to return to its natural color. He still seemed semi conscious and incomprehensible.
Tehmul kept running to keep up with Hanuman’s long strides.
“Hope Macchindra’s all right….” Tehmul began.
“He’s fine Tehmul, don’t worry…” Hanuman reassured him.
“Hakim Saab is sure to have a cure to this devilry” he thought to himself. He needed reassurance.
Soon they reached the clearing through the thicket where the Hakim lived. But as Hanuman approached the hut Macchindra’s twitching increased. He began to get increasingly agitated in his semi conscious state. Hanuman clamped his free hand on Macchindra to calm the big man down but to no avail. With one mighty push he and Hanuman fell to the ground.
Hanuman got up from the ground dusting himself and looked at Macchindra in astonishment. The man was struggling on the ground in a foetal position his features twisted in a bizarre expression of anger and agony.
It was as if Macchindra or something else in him did not want to go near the Hakim’s hut. The intensity of Macchindra’s twitching became increasingly violent as he began groaning in obvious pain. It was as if he was fighting an intense battle of wills within himself.
He let out a yell and spat blood. The others backed away from the terrifying spectacle.
“HELP ME!” hanuman roared as he grabbed Macchindra’s hand and tried to drag the huge struggling mass towards the hut. Tehmul came running to his side and grabbed the other hand and pulled with all his might.
The others broke through their trance at Hanuman’s words and ran towards the three struggling men.
They all grabbed Macchindra and pushed with their might but he wouldn’t budge an inch!
Suddenly, the doors of the hut flew open and an old man stepped out. His eyes blazed as he lifted one bony finger pointing towards Macchindra. The others felt the intensity of the old man’s aura as he stood on the parapet
“NETI!” he commanded in a stern voice steadily looking at Macchindra.
Immediately Macchindra let out a bloodcurdling scream and something smoky ejected out of his mouth and dissipated in the atmosphere. The limp body of Macchindra collapsed to the ground.
Hanuman, Tehmul and the others too collapsed, exhausted by their efforts.
“Any later and you would have lost him…” the old man looked at Hanuman and went back inside the hut
Hanuman let these words sink in as he ordered his men to bring water and revive Macchindra.
“Ask Shelar to bring the loot here. I think we will need to set up a temporary base here tehmul…”
“Wait! Come inside” the old man’s voice came from inside the hut.
Tehmul was about to set off. He looked at Hanuman. Hanuman motioned him to wait and himself entered the hut.
It wasn’t much to look at, there was a periphery to it where the Hakim grew exotic herbs and harvested their potential. He was a simple man with simple needs to the normal eye. But the hut remained protected at all times with various spells and incantations and the blessings of the divine mother. A strong sandalwood odor wafted through the environs near the hut even when there was not a single sandalwood tree in the jungle there.
The Hakim was spiritually, a very powerful man.
“You are shaken…” he said looking at Hanuman.
“How do you know?” Hanuman gazed at the old man levelly.
“You never forget to remove your footwear”
Hanuman let out a long breath. What the old man said was true. He was shaken. He had never encountered the kind of events that he was tested with this night. It probably was the longest night in his life.
Hanuman hunched his shoulders and went out only to come back in barefoot.
“Don’t look so down my Son…” the Hakim began.
“Hakim Saab! I have fought the bravest men, scaled the highest mountain and defeated the strongest willed beasts that roam kali’s blessed lands! But this black sorcery is beyond me!” Hanuman thundered.
The Hakim looked at him kindly. All the fire that issued from his eyes some time ago was replaced with a warm glow of kindness and love.
“My Son, you are truly blessed!” he said.
“Blessed?! BLESSED?!!” Hanuman couldn’t believe his ears! He was furious. Not with what the Hakim had said but more with his inability to protect his own men.
“Did you not see what happened to Macchindra outside?! How can you call that being blessed!” he boomed.
“Son, Ma herself has chosen you to fight the evils she has defeated time and again. Do you not see? If you love and believe in her with outmost faith and trust; that, she will protect you as she has till now…then continue to believe in her!”
“What do you mean Hakim Saab?” Hanuman was puzzled.
“If Ma has chosen you to fight evil, she will equip you accordingly my child…” The Hakim’s serene voice seemed to soothe Hanuman. He calmed down.
“Call Tehmul he will need this” the Hakim said handing Tehmul a vial of water.
“This water that I use to bathe the deity. This will protect him and your men. There is strong black energy that I detected through the night. It has been here for a while now. Although the sun will dissipate most of it now.”
“Hakim Saab, I don’t understand what’s been happening, there is an unrest that even I detect through the thicket. The birds don’t call anymore, the bees are silent, the creatures – all of them have retreated to their hideouts.”
“your observation is correct…”
“What is it?!”
“All in good time my Son, all in good time. First I need to look at Macchindra and you need to get your men here. They need to be safe before sundown. And we need to have a look at that leg of yours. The gash looks quite deep.”
The old man called out to Tehmul to make haste as he sat down and applied a yellowish paste to the wound which he then wrapped up with an old cloth. It stung Hanuman but the memories of the hapless Macchindra stung even more. He stepped out into the warm sun and turned towards it.
“Help me Ma…” he prayed silently.
