An exercise in exorcism

So, it seems that spirits, spectres and other such creatures also suffer from the infectious syndrome. This is substantiated, in a sense, from the sudden surge and spread of a certain spooky and scandalous snipping in these past some days. The ghosts are merrily chopping braids of unsuspecting women, as if having gotten the cue from one another in a relay, right from Rajasthan to Haryana to UP, Punjab and MP. Where next?

So would some superstitious souls have us believe. Even as the rationalists among us pooh-pooh the unpleasant incidents and the ensuing panic, pointing to a possible psychiatric problem. Or, just dismiss them as rumours.

Anyhow, whether with the supernatural or scientific temper, such stories of suspense and scariness are sufficiently striking and enthralling. Remember the fear that the bogeyman induced in one as a child? The threat never failed. It is the best ploy for parents to frighten children into good behaviour. Nobody wants to be carried away by the bogeyman. A bogeyman is a monstrous imaginary figure used in most cultures to threaten children. Each one of us has our own imagination of the monster. I remember always cowering in fear that the wandering old mendicant on the street would whisk me away in his huge sack as mom warned us kids: “Drink your milk, else the ‘baba’ will take you away!” Or, “Go to sleep, the ‘baba’ is looking out for children.” 

And, as we grow older, we realise that while the mythical ogre does not exist, there are definitely real terrifying or dreaded persons or things. They are also referred to as bogeymen in the adult order of things.  The fascination for the phantoms fares well and cannot be treated frivolously if we go by the popularity of things fantastical. Horror is a genre that holds many of us hooked. Whether it is books, movies or TV shows, the ghostly elements do manage to mesmerise us.

As it is said: 

Monsters don't live under your bed, they live in your head.

And, in JK Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, comes the retort: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” 

In fact, India is a country particularly rich in this sphere. It can give Hogwarts a good competition. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, shortened Hogwarts, is a fictional British school of magic for students aged 11 to 18, and is the primary setting for the Harry Potter books.

Start a conversation on the evil spirits with folk in India and chances are that you will be regaled with their own spooky tales. The memories of the ‘monkey man’ who let loose terror in Delhi not so long ago, or, the idols of gods drinking milk are quite fresh. People were queuing up outside temples to feed the gods till scientists explained the miracle off as a simple capillary action. A friend narrated the cases of women invoking the “stove devta” in the 1960s in Chandigarh to have their wishes fulfilled. 

Almost every other community has its peculiar way and belief of pleasing the gods or keeping off the evil eye or black magic. So much so, that being a rationalist, I recoil in horror at the horrendous activities, over time I have realised that it is better to keep quiet than counter their incredulous beliefs and incur their wrath. Yes, even among the educated class.

Incidentally, while the police are still on the lookout for the ‘supernatural agents’ cutting women’s plaits in India, in China, two officials were recently fired for casting spells and indulging in superstitious activities in order to aid promotions. They had apparently attended geomancy and feng shui courses under the guise of business trips. Geomancy is the art of placing or arranging buildings or other sites auspiciously. The word comes from Greek geomanteia (geo, earth, + manteia, divination). Feng shui (meaning ‘wind’ and ‘water’ in Chinese) is an ancient form of geomancy, or the art of aligning things in the environment to create harmony and good luck.

Being officially atheist, the Chinese government takes a harsh stand against officials who practise superstitious folk beliefs. Interestingly, as many as 1,00,000 yuan were paid each time a spell was cast, promising a promotion.

Indeed, the business of exorcism is lucrative. Exorcism is the expulsion or attempted expulsion of a supposed evil spirit from a person or place. Exorcists, witch-hunters, healers, mediums, soothsayers or astrologers and godmen claim to know the rituals, mantras and incantations to chase away devils, ghosts and witches or cure persons possessed by ‘mata’. At times, the violently rigorous rites prove fatal.

Did you know that among the Catholic Christians, it has been the priest’s duty to double up as the exorcist, after ruling out psychological ailments? 

In France, the demand for exorcists has gone up in the wake of the terrorist attack in 2015. They charge huge fees to de-spook haunted properties or exorcise possessed persons. People also approach them to help a business out of a bad patch or bless a relationship with renewed love. 

Then there are the cheaper ways out: Devil masks are hung on the door to keep away evil spirits from entering the home from Japan to across the continents in Europe and the Americas. Good luck charms too are found everywhere.

We Indians have our own ingenious strategies to counter the demons. Besides amulets and the black mark on the face, specially of a child, strings of neem leaves, green chillis and lemons are our ubiquitous good luck solutions. Did you hear of this person who was extolling the safety features of his new car, such as seat belt, air bags, antilock brakes, traction control and electronic stability control? He was stumped by this Indian who retorted: “But you don’t have the god’s idol, the ‘paranda’ hanging, the string of green chillis and neem leaves.”

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