Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
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(All characters are above 18 years. There is use of drug, blackmail, manipulation and sex and prostitution under compelling circumstances. Except wherever necessary to retain Indian flavour, all conversations have been translated into English. Readers need to use their discretion. Anyone who dislikes such issues should avoid reading.)
Raju and Nimisha were married at the age of 27 and 23 years respectively. Raju was a High School teacher and Nimisha was housewife. Both Raju and Nimisha were very religious minded and spared no ritual. Raju was dark and stout while Nimisha was fair and slim. She was not beautiful in real sense of the term but had an extremely well maintained figure, 36-32-36 to be precise. They had active sex life. But even seven years after marriage, Nimisha didn't conceive. This deeply affected both Raju and Nimisha though they never displayed their depression rather always concealed it under their cheerful expressions.
Raju and Nimisha had consulted doctors also and got themselves tested on several occasions. None of the doctors found any deficiency in either. Finally, a doctor suggested to them to go for IVF or what is commonly known as test tube procedure to conceive. They were, however, deterred from going for IVF considering the cost involved in the process.
When Nimisha was about 31 years, she came to know from one of her friends about a mystical sage and devotee, popularly known as Jadu Baba (meaning magical father), in a nearby town, who had the reputation of fulfilling the wishes of many people. In fact, his reputation grew far and wide so that people from other districts also came to this Jadu Baba for solution of various problems including property disputes, broken family life, childlessness, controlling a spouse who had strayed etc. Nimisha's friend was full of respect for Jadu Baba, who according to her, had helped her husband to win a court case pertaining to his share of the paternal land against his brother.
Nimisha convinced her husband to visit Jadu Baba once. Raju was not very interested but keep his wife happy he agreed to pay a visit. But Jadu Baba dismissed them on the very day of first visit advising them in a calm voice not to run crazy for anything that destiny had not reserved for them. He even warned them that there were many fake and evil persons, who posing as mystics take advantage of people's weakness and rob them financially or otherwise. Jadu Baba even warned them that he could see some evil lurking in future and they should be very careful about running from door to door for a child.
More than frustration at Jadu Baba's inability to help them, both Raju and Nimisha were angry at him for his advice. Nimisha even had a face off with her friend, who had recommended Jadu Baba. They thought Jadu Baba had no real power and simply scared them about future danger. Just in opposition to Jadu Baba's advice, the couple became crazy running from one mystic to another for solution of their problem and in the process they wasted a lot of money that could have helped them to go for IVF.
Nearly two years lapsed during which the couple visited not less than twenty such mystic sages expecting supernatural power to help them have a child. One summer morning, three persons clad in black dresses with sandal paste marks on their foreheads appeared in front of their house. All the three looked like ascetics. Raju was at home for summer vacation. He gave three ten rupees notes to Nimisha and asked her to give Rs. 10/- to each of the ascetics. As she gave them the money, one of the ascetics questioned, "Why do you look so gloomy, beti(daughter)?"
Another ascetic said before Nimisha replied anything, "The house seems to be lacking in peace."
The third ascetic commented, "The house lacks sweet murmuring sounds of babies."
All these were enough to weaken Nimisha, who was already sobbing. Controlling her emotions with great effort, she stated that she couldn't bear a child even after ten years of marriage. The chief of the three ascetics asked her if ever snakes were killed in their house. Nimisha told that years ago, there were jungles in the nearby area and snakes often entered inside. Since her marriage she could recall killing of three snakes in their house. The ascetic replied that houses where snakes get killed remain stagnant, their families do not increase in number.
Nimisha was very impressed and called them inside. Raju at first did not like them but the way they talked about their past, about their mental condition for being childless, about the death of his father in snake bite etc impressed him too. And the couple jointly begged for some remedy against the curse that kept them childless.
The main of the three ascetics humbly said to the couple that they didn't possess any such miraculous power. However, they might choose to visit their hermitage, where their Supreme preceptor or Guruji resided and Guruji might be able to help them overcome the problem they were facing.
The three ascetics lighted some candles, burnt some incense sticks and performed a brief puja (worshipping rituals) for bringing peace to the house. It was performed so majestically and each uttering a definite numeric number repeatedly that soon Raju and Nimisha were under their spell. Whatever money they had at home, they liberally gave them to the ascetics and they finally agreed to take Raju and Nimisha to their hermitage.
The ascetics told Raju that the hermitage being more than 700 km away from their place, they would arrange a car next morning and would accompany Raju and Nimisha to their hermitage to meet the chief Guruji for miraculous remedy of their problems. The ascetics told them not to tell many people about their journey since the Guruji didn't like publicity or crowd.
On the following morning, the ascetics brought a hired car and asked Raju to pay for it, which he gladly paid. When it was about mid-day, they stopped at a roadside dhaba (a kind of restaurants where travellers can have meals) for lunch. Once they started again, the car took a bypass through a forest area and neither Raju nor Nimisha knew either the names of the places they crossed nor exactly where they were being taken to.
They reached the hermitage at around 8 PM. The hermitage was inside a forest area. Its building was spread over acres of land with a temple of worship at the centre. It had meditation hall to accommodate at least two hundred persons and in one part there were suites for the guests apart from a dormitory. The speciality of the hermitage was the lush greenery surrounding it.