Down a Blind Alley

Perhaps not many,even in the unplanned and still urbanising expanse of Virar,Vasai,Nallasopara,Mira Road and Bhayander,would subscribe to lawlessness,but going by the numbers visiting the area’s gurus,tantriks and babas,faith in black magic and witchcraft is not unusual here.

A 10-minute drive from Jai Mata Di Apartments is the Avdhoot Bhagwan Ram Seva Ashram,run by ‘gurus’ of the Aghori sect,traditionally known for their worship of shamshaan ghats or cremation grounds. The main guru here won’t meet anybody without an appointment,but his aide Baba Alaknand says the Guru is busy with a documentary film.

“For the first time,we are showcasing the extent of the Aghori strength. He is going to demonstrate how we can bring a dead body alive for 40 minutes. If people have problems,they come here,they are cured by the Guru’s touch,” he continues. The Guru,he claims,has a record of curing two lakh leprosy patients just by his touch.

Further down the Western Express Highway,near the Vasai railway crossing,is the Hanuman Sankat Mochan Mandir,where a 78-year-old priest,who claims he has forgotten his name,says he has cured “thousands of people of a variety of problems” in his 25 years here. “You should see the crowd on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I had a family here this morning because their daughter-in-law could not conceive after two years of marriage.” His single solution to all problems: cow urine. “I occasionally have to use the jhadu (broom) if a woman is taken over by spirits. Women are more susceptible. If a man is possessed,he has to be of feminine disposition,” the Baba explains patiently.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajnish Seth says there has been a growing number of complaints from the Mira Road-Nallasopara stretch regarding these godmen. “Whenever we receive complaints,we go to their quarters,conduct raids and prosecute them for cheating. But they are difficult to nail,” he says. The absence of a law against practising black magic is a problem too. “The menace is clearly huge,but we cannot raid them unless we receive complaints of cheating,” he explains.

Why this semi-urban sprawl commands such faith in these practices is unclear,but even the telephone directory services offer seven tantriks in the region. Tantrik Hussain Shah is advertised in railway train compartments.

Some godmen say they make trips to Vasai-Virar where more clients approach them. Nepali Baba,who has a hoarding over his ashram next to the Western Express Highway near Goregaon (East),is one. A powder he administers has reportedly cured people of all kinds of ailments. “I was diagnosed with tuberculosis 10 years ago and all medicines failed. I was cured by Baba Nepali,” says a 38-year-old Virar resident who’d made it to the ashram at 1.20 p.m. to be the first in queue for Baba’s visiting hours between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“Our aunt was doing jadu-tona on us. So my wife and I were always in bad health and suffered financial losses. We come to the Baba every week now,and he relieves us of the shaitaan,” says a resident of Oswal Nagar. The procedure for ‘removing the shaitaan’ involves the Baba pulling a strand of hair from the aggrieved person’s eyebrow.

In Malad (East),Aghor Baba’s ashram has been flourishing for 35 years. “People used to come here,but now I have to travel to my clients. Faith is dwindling,so I prefer going towards Thane to help people who need me,” says Aghor Baba. Dressed in black,he takes his visitors to an idol of Goddess Kali,with a skull at her feet,covered in gulaal. “The skull is real. We cannot start our puja without a dead body,and that is difficult in these areas. So I got this skull from a shamshaan ghat,” he explains. A goat is tethered to a water pump inside. “We don’t do human sacrifices,but on amavasya,goat sacrifice is imperative,” he says,showing us photographs of him holding a goat’s head in his hands. “I am famous in Nallasopara and beyond. Women who want boys,people who have career-related problems—they all come to me,” he says.

Meanwhile,activists agree a proper law would help the police prosecute these tantriks. Members of the Maharashtra Superstitions Eradication Committee,a group that has been fighting for the passing of the Eradication of Black Magic,Evil and Aghori Practices Bill-2005,have now planned an agitation in Nallasopara to “wake up authorities and spread awareness”. Founder of the committee,Dr Narendra Dabholkar,says,“The government is not able to push the bill for fear of annoying religious sentiments,which may cost them precious votes.” Political pressure,he says,could ensure that the tantriks’ business flourishes for several more years.