Uma Sharma, Gurugram
In a quaint village at the hillside lived Suraiya. She lived with her husband, Ramlal and her in-laws. They owned a tiny plot of land where they grew exactly enough maize and potatoes to survive. They should have been happy, but Suraiya was miserable. After five years of marriage, they were still childless. When all the fast and penance did not work, she was heart-broken.
One afternoon, Suraiya was in the courtyard angrily flicking stones out of a plate of rice. Suddenly, Pandit Krishna Mohan rushed into the hut. She dropped her rice and stood up in reverence.
‘Suraiya!’ Pandit Ji gasped, out of breath. ‘The famous mystic, Aghori Bhola Baba, has just pitched his tent under our village peepal tree! Go to him, and your childless struggles will vanish!’
‘Panditji, I’m grateful. I will pay my respect today,’ replied Suraiya, in an ecstatic tone.
He gave his blessing and left.
Suraiya sprinted to her mother-in-law, who dropped her potato peeler and immediately told her to pay a visit to the Baba.
As Panditji had told her, she found Bhola Baba under the ancient peepal tree. He was deep in meditation. He looked intensely spiritual or perhaps just asleep. Suraiya went with hands folded and quietly sat on the ground. Instantly Baba’s eyes snapped open.
Suraiya bowed her head.
‘Beti, why have you come here?’ asked Baba.
‘Babaji,” she whined, ‘I have a husband, potatoes and maize, but no baby. Please help!’
Baba smiled mysteriously and said, ‘Come tomorrow with a strand of your husband’s hair. Do this and all your suffering will be over.’
Suraiya bowed and offered her gratitude. In the evening, she broke the news about her meeting with Baba to Ramlal.
‘But, why does he want my hair?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she whispered, narrowing her eyes. ‘But I have a brilliant idea.’
‘What?’ Ramlal asked, hiding his receding hairline.
‘You’re balding anyway, so I will just sneak over to our neighbor Beena’s house and steal a strand of hair from her buffalo. What will a holy man know? Hair is hair!’
The next morning, Suraiya sneaked into Beena’s backyard. She avoided the gossiping neighbour and crept up to a sleeping buffalo. She quickly snipped off a thick, wiry black hair and ran back to the peepal tree.
Bhola Baba was once again in deep meditation. Suraiya sat down, trying to look innocent.
Baba opened his eyes, staring directly into her soul. He asked, ‘Beti did you get the strand of hair?’
‘Yes Babaji,’ and opened her palm and handed over the thick, bristly buffalo hair.
Baba closed his eyes, rubbed the strand between his holy thumbs, and chanted a dramatic mantra. Opening his eyes with a grand flourish, he smiled warmly. ‘Now, go home! All your struggles will end, and you will be blessed with a child soon!’
Suraiya bowed in reverence and went home. Next day she heard a great commotion in Beena’s home. She went outside and saw that her neighbour’s massive, usually lazy buffalo is completely out of its mind. The buffalo has become out of control and ran outside the house. Beena and some other villagers were running after it. Suraiya also joined them. The buffalo was charging toward the peepal tree. Instantly Suraiya remembered that it is the same buffalo whose strand she gave to Bhola Baba.
The buffalo stopped suddenly right in front of the Baba, locked eyes with the holy man and gave a massive, affectionate bellow. Suraiya watched Baba’s jaw drop. His hands went limp, and the strand of hair plonked on the ground. Instantly she realised what the Baba was up to. Baba didn’t waste a second. Realising he had been duped by Suraiya, he grabbed his bag, tucked in his robes and ran away.
‘He is Evil!’ Suraiya screamed to the crowd.
Suraiya told the villagers about Baba. The angry villagers threw rocks at the fleeing Baba. He dodged them, ran over the hill and disappeared forever.
After nine months Suraiya gave birth to a beautiful girl.
(Uma Sharma is an accomplished writer with over two decades of professional experience, including eleven years dedicated to writing. She is the author of four books and is widely recognized for her work on gender equality, inclusion and women’s empowerment. Her insightful articles on social issues, women’s rights and contemporary literary trends have been published in various reputed magazines and publications.)
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
