Agniputr Page 3

  SRK grinned.

  ‘Yeah, but for how long? That’s what I thought too when I got married. Ain’t I drinkin’? Once they sink their teeth into you, women can be tough, lemme tell ya,’ Narayana Prasad lamented in his mock American accent. After a six-month deputation to the United States of America for a project on behalf of the software development company he worked in, he was Americanised down to the accent.

  ‘Yeah, punk, jerk-off…’ Meher imitated him.

  ‘Anyway, all’s well that ends well…’ Santosh concluded.

  ‘Thanks to you guys,’ said SRK magnanimously.

  ‘Hey chill dude,’ Narayana Prasad waved away the thanks. ‘It was easy enough. We paid a visit to their house and I got to telling em’ Valaneni wanted to take off with S2. Boy, was her mother freaked out. The lady was close to a heart attack for Christ’s sake. Then Meher here steps forward all docile and brainy and drops a hint to her father like, why not get her married to you. You know, workin’ with the government an’ all. These old timers I tell ya, they’re a crazy bunch around here. They get turned on by sons-in-law in government jobs, you know, security, stability, all that shit. Anyways, you guys are related. All you had to do was approve the girl, end of story.’

  ‘Yeah, punk, jerk-off…,’ Meher observed with a grave nod.

  Valaneni’s sneer deepened perceptibly. ‘Yes,’ he cried, ‘and poor old Valaneni is the villain. I am always the scapegoat. It’s not only me. It’s like that with my entire family, thanks to that bastard grandfather of mine and his association with devil worshippers. We’re all cursed.’

  The friends exchanged uneasy glances.

  ‘Valu always talks of ghosts and demons, do you know?’ Sivaprasad queried. ‘He swore more times than I can count that we have a demon living among us in that village, what’s it called?’

  ‘Gudem, it’s called Gudem,’ Valaneni yelled in his drunken stupor.

  A couple of heads in the bar turned towards them furtively at the mention of the village.

  Santosh winked at SRK. ‘I have an annual ghostly experience. You know how my grandmother was a stickler for rituals and no one was supposed to watch TV during festivals until all the rituals were over. She’s been gone ten years now and guess what, during festivals, none of us can watch TV until we complete all the rituals. The damn thing goes off on its own.’

  ‘You think that’s funny? Wait till you hear this,’ Meher butted in. ‘Every new moon night our old gardener claims he has visions. His latest prediction is there’s terrible danger coming our way and that God himself will incarnate in Eluru to stop it.’

  Everyone was laughing. Except one.

  Valaneni spoke in a low conspiratorial tone. ‘Not even God can save us from the blackness in Gudem.’ He stared at all of them bleakly, his eyes burning like coal.

  ‘No one is allowed to stay there overnight, even trucks passing by don’t stop at Gudem. There was a major earthquake about sixty years ago and there is no reported seismic activity in the region. The tremors were not even recorded on seismic detectors. Try driving a car or riding a motorbike close to the Surya memorial grounds, the vehicles simply die down. No one’s tried to explain any of it. The demon of Gudem is not just a legend, guys. There’s something inside the memorial hall. A terrible thing that turns people mad. It’s been locked and they most probably threw away the key.’

  Absolute silence. SRK was delighted. Of course he knew the old stories of Gudem. Everyone in the district knew about the place. Here was a chance to mix work with pleasure. A chance to destroy another urban legend.

  ‘Come on,’ said Santosh, exasperated. ‘The story’s been around long enough. If there was something there, do you think no one would have done anything about it?’

  SRK said, ‘I agree.’

  Valaneni scowled ferociously. ‘My grandmother told me the story when I was a kid. The zamindar’s eldest son, Raghuram, was murdered by his brother who was in cahoots with an aghora tantrik. The dead son was the heir apparent. The zamindar became guardian to Raghuram’s seven-year-old son, Surya Prasad. When he was about fourteen years old, the boy lost the use of his legs. It doesn’t end there. The cripple, Surya Prasad, disappeared mysteriously in the 1970s. After his disappearance all the evil in Gudem came to a halt. Until now. It’s started again. People missing. Some dead. Some gone stark raving mad. They say the Surya demons are hunting again.’

  ‘Isn’t there anyone from the Surya family living there anymore?’ SRK asked.

  ‘Surya Prasad has a son. He is far away in Gurgaon. I don’t think the bastard even knows his devil worshipping past.’

  The friends heard Valaneni with morbid attention.

  ‘How do you know so much about this?’ SRK asked.

  ‘How? Sathi, what do you mean, how? My grandfather disappeared with the Surya cripple. My grandfather used to operate his wheelchair. The whole world knows this.’

  ‘Yes...yes, I am sorry Valu… I quite forgot that. So, it’s an old story right? Why not just let it go?’

  Valaneni turned red in the face. His anger was palpable.

  ‘It’s not a fucking old story, all right? It’s happening all over again,’ he blurted out.

  ‘Bullshit! Nothing’s happened for ages,’ said Meher. He was silent thus far, content to listen to Valaneni’s infamous conspiracy theories. But enough was enough.

  ‘Ok, a missing animal, a missing person or two once in a while and all of them seen around the memorial grounds. But that doesn’t mean a thing. Gudem is a small village, everyone has to pass by the memorial hall. The lack of electricity just means a busted transformer and a lazy administration that’s not doing anything about it. A series of unfortunate incidents ruined a great family and it’s been turned around. My uncle still works for Raghuram Surya. He lives in the old castle at Gudem. He maintains the place. He laughed so hard the last time I told him of Valaneni’s conspiracy theories,’ Sivaprasad said.

  ‘But Raghuram was murdered back in the forties!’ SRK exclaimed, thoroughly confused.

  ‘Not that one, his grandson. The current Surya living in Gurgaon is named after his grandfather.’

  ‘Oh! Right!’

  ‘Ok...fine!’ Valaneni snapped. ‘Maybe I am a mad cap. You’re so clever. Tell me, where did Surya Prasad go? The last they saw him was entering the Surya memorial hall in his wheelchair with my grandfather. The whole village is witness to that fact. No one saw them after that. There was one other man with them in the memorial hall. Surya Prasad’s personal guard. He survived that night, but he is as mad as they come, and, he’s gone blind. That was just in the seventies. Explain why there is no electricity in all of Gudem except the castle. I am giving you scientific evidence Mr. Scientist, why don’t you go examine it.’

  SRK regarded Valaneni for a couple of seconds in silence. The man was evidently drunk and repeating himself.

  ‘Ok...guys, let’s move our asses to the restaurant, I am famished,’ Sivaprasad said, louder than he intended.

  ‘I don’t want dinner. I want nothing to do with friends who don’t even want to believe me. It’s my curse, I’ll deal with it!’ Valaneni swore.

  No one said a thing.

  They just waited for him to go.

  CHAPTER 4

  THE Kasavari meyda glowed like a diamond that night. Winter in Eluru was not biting cold, nor did the Elurians ever see snow, though it was reported that sometime in the distant past, there had been a freak hailstorm, something that had not occurred thereafter.

  SRK’s betrothal with S2 was at 3 in the morning. The chill pre-dawn was considered as ‘godhula vela’, an auspicious time when all of nature is in a state of harmony. There was subdued music and special lighting though, given Jaganath’s sensitivity to his neighbours’ rights. It was funny, considering that all his neighbours were at his house, dressed in silk and decked in jewellery.

  SRK was clad in a white silk shirt and silk dhoti. He wore a series of gold chains, bracelets and rings. A few of his friends
hung around him.

  ‘Its time son, let’s go,’ Jaganath said, stepping into SRK’s room.

  SRK looked at himself in the mirror one last time and made his way out. Their living room was now a makeshift ceremonial hall. The furniture was out in the front yard and the room itself was embellished in flowers and festoons. He sat himself down on the peeta, the traditional flat wooden seat.

  Almost four hours later the ceremonies came to an end. A wintery sun greeted the young couple when they moved out onto the front yard. They sank into a convenient sofa, tired and glad it was over.

  Sailaja was beaming like a torch light. She was a pretty girl with wavy dark brown hair pulled back into a plait that ran down to the small of her back. Her wheat complexion coupled with slightly mongoloid, mud coloured eyes, a saucer face and full lips gave her a rather Arabian look.

  Jaganath made his way to the young couple along with a heavy-set man.

  ‘Son, meet Mr. Chelapathi Raju Garu, he is our Mandal Panchayat President. He administers all of eighteen villages. He’s taken the time to come bless you.’

  By this time, SRK was up on his feet along with his fiancée.

  ‘Please, please,’ the man said in a booming voice, ‘your father is too gracious. God bless you, my son. Tell me what you do?’

  The cherubic fellow with a round red nose and bulbous eyes sat himself next to SRK.

  ‘I am a scientist working for CSIR. I am on deputation right now with Army intelligence for a project.’

  ‘Wonderful, wonderful indeed. Now tell me what is a Ceeyessraa?’

  ‘I have no idea what...oh, CSIR stands for Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Its India’s national R&D organisation.’

  ‘Wasn’t the pay good?’ the Panchayat head wanted to know.

  ‘It’s pretty decent, why do you ask?’

  ‘Then why are you so desperate that you joined the army?’

  SRK fixed the Panchayat chief with a dull stare. ‘I did not join the army. The council is working with the army on some... research. I am therefore working with the army on behalf of the council.’

  The man burst into forced laughter to hide his embarrassment.

  ‘Of course… I was just testing you, eh?’ he blurted out.

  Seriously? ‘That’s all right sir. I knew it. You look so intelligent. Anyway, which villages do you rule?’

  The man burst into laughter again, his chest puffed up considerably with pride.

  ‘I am just a Panchayat President. I am elected. I am no king,’ he said with no sign of humility. ‘Villages like Thotla, Thade, Gudem, etc., fall under my control.’

  SRK’s interest perked up.

  ‘Gudem you said, the same one that’s supposed to be haunted with demons!’

  This time, man’s laughter was like a discharging cannon.

  ‘That’s just a legend my dear boy, just a legend. Why, my mother was from Gudem, bless her soul. Therefore, in a manner of speaking, Gudem is my village. I have spent a lot of time there. I did not see ghosts or demons. Nonsense, all nonsense!’

  ‘But sir, I have a friend who says that the members of the Surya royal family which lived there were destroyed, one son died, another went mad, one of them was crippled and they are all devil worshippers, whatever that means. Even now, there is electrical interference with vehicles and that even trucks don’t stop in the village. All hard facts, I am sure. Are they simply a series of unfortunate events or do you think they are interlinked?’

  The Panchayat President stared at SRK for a long moment. Then he rose majestically and beckoned for Jaganath.

  ‘Professor Garu, you were right in making your son a scientist. He’s asking me so many questions my head’s started to spin. Anyway, I have to catch up on work; can we breakfast if we may?’

  ‘Of course Raju Garu, please come this way.’

  Without a backward glance, the headman headed towards Jaganath.

  ‘What was all that about?’ Sailaja asked SRK, nudging him gently.

  ‘I don’t know yet, but I intend to find out,’ the young man said tentatively, his eyes on the receding back of the headman.

  It was the look on Chelapathi Raju’s face. It said it all without saying a word.

  Terror.

  CHAPTER 5

  IT was a lazy afternoon. A grand lunch ended festivities for the day. Sri Sailaja and her parents had gone home and so had the other guests. SRK was on the easy chair snoozing when a hand at his shoulder brought him out of slumberland.

  ‘So when are you planning to leave?’ Jaganath asked his son abruptly.

  ‘What’s the matter, dad?’

  Jaganath pulled a settee and sat himself down next to his son. ‘Listen to me son, leave as soon as you can. I don’t know what you said to the Panchayat President this morning but he was rattled. His hands...were shaking. He asked me to tell you not to even think about Gudem again, ever. It wasn’t advice son. It was a warning. You know these people can get pretty mean if they want to. Whatever it is you want to do in that blasted village, forget it.’

  ‘But Dad if something’s wrong in Gudem...’

  ‘We all know about Gudem, it’s like a thorn in our flesh but there’s nothing we can do about it, son. Don’t think science and technology can wish away ancient beliefs. They are far more powerful than you think.’

  SRK sighed. ‘Dad, all I want to do is observe the truth about Gudem.’ He noticed a change in his father, a nervousness that the older man failed to hide.

  ‘Sathi, I’ve booked train tickets for you to Chennai for the day after tomorrow. That’s the earliest I could get. Catch the plane to Delhi from there. For these three days, I don’t want you to step out of the house.’

  SRK threw up his hands in exasperation, ‘Dad, I do this for a living. Paranormal activity is my area of work. I can tell you that ninety-nine percent of the time its bullshi…its nonsense. I can clear the air so that damned village can at least improve.’

  Jaganath’s voice rose by a few decibels, ever the teacher who did not brook interference with his decisions. ‘Sathi, you’re right, it is a damned village, leave it be. You are getting married in three months. Start a new life. Focus on your work.’

  SRK laughed, ‘Dad, I am focussing on my work. Don’t worry; nothing’s going to happen to me.’

  ‘Just promise me, son. Please, this once.’ SRK did not like the tone of his father’s voice. The old man was strict, a disciplinarian, a good man but he was not someone who pleaded. SRK had not seen his father do that, ever. Not once in his entire life. This was the first time. SRK did not like his dad pleading for anything.

  ‘Dad! I promise. All right? Are you happy now?’

  Jaganath gave his son a baleful look.

  THAT night found SRK sitting in the bar at Manorama hotel. His group of friends were conspicuous by their absence, all of them but one, Valaneni.

  ‘Sathi...forget it dude. Your father’s right. Just leave this to me. I am going to kill whatever’s haunting Gudem, one way or another.’

  SRK pulled his backpack up from the floor. He pulled out a device from it. It was black in colour with a long hilt, like a samurai sword, and three long steel antennae about five feet long vaguely resembling a small trident. SRK pressed down on a button on the hilt inducing a low hum from the device.

  ‘This is a prototype magnetic-energy detector developed by the CSIR. It is a common belief that ghosts and demons create electromagnetic fields when they pay a visit to the world of living. This instrument should be able to detect the fields. Till now, it’s never worked, in the sense that all it has detected is normal electrical and magnetic fields. We were able to explain every field we came across. All I want to do is to use this instrument in the memorial ground. I need to bury it into the ground for exactly three minutes and we’ll be home and clear. You’re the only guy who can help me, Valu.’

  Valaneni stared at the prototype as though it was a weapon of mass destruction.

  ‘Why are you carrying
this thing around? You’re on leave.’

  SRK shrugged. ‘I carry it around wherever I travel. Its part of my kit. You never know when a friendly ghost might turn up. Anyway, do you mind taking me to Gudem?’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ Valaneni said nervously. ‘When do you want to go?’

  ‘Right now, there isn’t a moment to lose. I am leaving for Delhi the day after tomorrow and I need the readings. Dad doesn’t want me to do it. In fact, he doesn’t know I am out of the house.’

  Valaneni did not say anything. He just rose and started out of the bar. After paying for the drinks, SRK hurried after his eccentric friend. He found Valaneni waiting for him on the street, perched on his 500cc Enfield Thunderbird. The motorcycle gleamed darkly. SRK hopped on to the back of the bike.

  ‘Do you know what’ll happen if someone gets us in Gudem?’

  ‘I am sure you’ll tell me.’

  ‘Those guys are pretty violent,’ Valaneni mused.

  ‘Yeah well, I am yellow belt in karate, dude. I can handle myself. Are you scared?’

  ‘I’ve fought these guys so many times that I don’t care anymore. The first thing I do when I see them is to start beating the crap out of them.’

  SRK nodded, ‘Way to go.’

  ‘You be careful though. They are dangerous. They won’t hesitate to kill you.’

  SRK gulped. He had heard of men like that. Hardened, murderous, ready to fight viciously at the drop of a hat. He had not come across any in his life. Not until now.

  It took them two hours to reach Gudem that moonless night. For long stretches, the single headlamp of the motorcycle was the only light on the dark stretch of road. The night was chill, something SRK had not considered while pulling on a dark cotton T-shirt and Bermuda shorts.

  When they reached Gudem, the village was shrouded in darkness. The street lamps were not on.

  ‘See, no light, they just don’t work here,’ Valaneni revealed.

  ‘How far to the memorial grounds?’ SRK asked.

  ‘Ten minutes. It’s on the highway. Half a kilometre from there is the castle. Funnily, the lights in the castle work. They have generators, etc. You’ll see that there is no wall. Villagers can access the castle.’