A hefty price tag!

Mayong is situated in Marigaon district of Assam, on the banks of Bramhaputra, 40 kilometers North East from Guwahati. Now evolving as a tourism hot-spot and archaeology pilgrimage, it once was the Land of Black Magic. Or as they say, for some people, it still is.

It was a cloudy night of September 2000. Monsoon was splashing into already waterlogged and empty streets of Calcutta, but brothels of Sonagachi were flowing with buzzing crowd. Sonagachi, one of the largest red-light districts in Asia, was reportedly employing roughly 11,000 sex workers. On one of the dimly lit nooks of Shobha Bazar, a man was standing restlessly near an awkwardly parked van. Regulars to places like these would have easily figured from his body language that he did not belong there. He didn't. He might be a rookie in the business, but the stuff he got was top notch. He just made a last call from his phone and was anxiously waiting for the other party. A woman was stepping down from the nearest multi-story building, accompanied by three huge men. Mashi, that was how you address a brothel owner in Bengal. "Nomoshkar Mashi, kemon acchish?", he asked glibly. "Bhalo." replied Mashi dryly. "Brothel owners are not very good at reciprocating greetings, are they?" he thought. One huge man passed a suitcase to him. He opened it, counted the money, nodded in agreement, and opened the door of van. Three huge men lifted a half asleep, extremely young girl from van and took her to the building. "You seem to have quite an eye. What a sweet little thing you have got there. Keep working with Mashi and you will see yourself going places." Mashi said. "I will. Bhalo thakben!" he said with much better confidence, smiled and left.

Bishnuram Sarma was new in Mayong. In past, under Bishnu's leadership as General Duty Officer, the coastal guards had run series of operations to successfully bring down smuggling on Indian shores. He was born in Assam but years of service all across India had made him a stranger in his own land. Recently, his wife Indira and 10 year old son Hiren arrived from Chennai. "It's been two weeks since I arrived and you couldn't even get us a maid? Do you want me to give advertisement in newspaper?" Indira was tired and frustrated. "Chennai was much better. Told you, we should have bribed officials and got you transferred somewhere else. Did you see Hiren's school? It stinks like a toilet. Never thought he had to study in a place like this." She was losing control. "I tried a lot, you could get a goddamn Malana Cream here, but maids? No way. For some stupid reasons, nobody wants to keep maids or any servants for that matter. Fucking idiots!"  Bishnu replied angrily. "Everyone thinks everyone else is a voodoo magician. Ignorant bastards. Can't even spell a word, but ask them to put a spell on someone, and they will do it in a minute!" This maid search did not last any longer however. After one week of desperation, Bishnu somehow managed to find Joyantee. Quite and quick, Joyantee was just the kind of maid every housewife would want to have. Eighteen, full of youth and blossom, just the kind of woman men like Bishnu would want to use. Bishnu's trained eyes didn't take much time to spot Joyantee's fascination towards Bollywood. On one day, when nobody was around in the house, Bishnu made his first move.

"Ever seen Bombay?" he asked Joyantee. "Only in movies. I always see myself as a movie star in dreams. But dreams are dreams Babu, there is no place for girls like me in Bombay." replied Joyantee. "Poor child! Let me talk to your mother about this new drama school in Bombay. Here. Take this money and buy some new clothes and books on acting." Bishnu passed few hundred rupees to her. "Everyone has a right to dream and with a proper training, anyone can become a star. Do you know Rekha was a village girl once in her life? And look where she is now. I see you have great potential to enter into Bollywood. With a little bit of help from me and from your family, you could start a new life there. All you have to do now is convince your mother. Destiny has given you a chance, don't waste it!" A ray of hope, you don't have to be an expert to see that in somebody's eyes. "I won't Babu. God bless you! I work at some other houses too and I don't get the same respect from men there. All I see in their eyes in hunger, Babu.  I guess respecting women is what they teach at other places." Delighted with the thought of new world, Joyantee left for the day. Bishnu knew that the fish has lured into a trap, what he didn't know was he wasn't the only one aware of it. As luck would have it, Indira had overheard their conversation. Let's just say, this wasn't the first time she had seen the real side of Bishnu. Not that she did not know of his motives, she simply did not have guts to speak about it. "God knows when is he going to stop doing this. Nothing good happens to people like him. I just hope his behavior wouldn't be the reason for our debacle one day!" she said to herself. 

One week after this incident, Joyantee started skipping her work. When asked, she gave lame excuses. Apparently she was asking too many questions about the drama school and its authenticity. Bishnu could not give her satisfactory answers, and would often start a minor quarrel on any random topic.  Soon curious arguments started turning into heated exchanges and one day reached the level of abuse. One day Joyantee said furiously, "I know what you are doing Babu. Do you think I am stupid enough to let you take advantage of me and send me to a place where god knows what's going to happen! There is a word for people like you, it's called dalaal!", Bishnu went berserk and almost attacked her. "I offered you a seat in that school and this is how you pay back, you filthy bitch! You don't know who are you dealing with. I am not finished yet! One day you will repent those words of yours. Get the hell out of my house. I will cut you into pieces and feed them to dogs if I see you here again!" he fired her on that day. Many weeks passed after that and just when Indira thought Bishnu forgot everything, news broke that Joyantee has been kidnapped and the police were on the lookout. Before they could even start a proper investigation, Joyantee's tortured body was found dumped near a crematorium with some incense sticks, flowers and blood. Witch hunting was not new in Mayong. Many similar incidents were reported earlier. Indira was puzzled as to why Bishnu - an educated man - would do this. Bishnu on the other hand was furious because of the stupidity of Mayong people. Joyantee's death just costed him a fortune. Only a seasoned human trafficker would know the price of eighteen year old Assamese girl. "Only if villagers here had a small thing called brain in their heads, this wouldn't have happened. I could have forcefully sent her to Bombay, but now dumbasses screwed this up." He had to start from all over again now, it was always hard to find young girls as gullible as Joyantee. But just like in any other profession, patience was the key here. The next most important task for him was to find a new maid, which surprisingly did not take as much time as he had anticipated.

Puspalata was weird. As a maid and as a general personality. Good that Indira didn't ask Bishnu's opinion before hiring her as he would have definitely rejected Puspalata. Short, old, awkward and always disorganized was how he would have described their new maid. Contrary to what most maids would do, Puspalata chose her own employer, she came by asking for work at Sarma's house. She was much cheaper than Joyantee, albeit not as good, but worth the money. Plus being less attractive was a best bet considering Bishnu's recent adventures. One thing that Indira didn't really like about Puspalata was her abnormal behavior. At times she spoke of her husband as a strongest man and other time she would curse him throughout the day, calling him eunuch. That day Indira was cutting vegetables and Puspa was making rotis and suddenly Indira cut herself. "Ouch! this hurts a lot. Very deep cut!" Indira was about to run some tap water to cleanse the wound, when Puspa pulled Indira towards her and put injured finger in her mouth. When Puspa cleaned that wound with her tongue she let her go and said, "Blood is life, madam. Don't waste it like that. People kill each other for lands these days, one day they will kill each other for blood. Blood is life ma'am, blood is life!"  There was something terrifying about what she did. For a moment Puspa looked like a bloodhound, quenching her thirst. She was weird earlier, devilish now. Indira stepped aside without saying anything and went to dress her wound. She thought about it later on but then neglected as yet another weird gimmicks Puspa played. For a time being, Indira was just happy that she didn't have to go through the pain of finding a maid all over again. Hiren's birthday was coming and Puspalata was going to be of great help in serving guests. "Hiren, what a sweet kid he is!" thought Indira. Hiren was born 10 years after her marriage. Only she and Bishnu knew how many doctors , babas and sadhus did they see and how many gods they worshiped for their first child. In their visit few years back, her gynecologist referred them to a male infertility specialist. Turned out that there was no chance of them being parents again.

"I want you to know Hiru, that you are the best thing happened to mom and me. We love you, son. And we will always be there for you. Promise that you will never leave us alone." Bishnu was drunk. No doubt he was creating a scene at the birthday party, but there was a reason behind it. Indira vividly remembered the day when Hiren was admitted to the hospital for kidney infection. The dialysis worked for a while as a temporary solution. His kidneys were too fragile to survive and transplant was the only option. Kidney transplanted from an adult donor into a child has greater chance of success, and so, Bishnu stepped up. Any father in the world would have done that for his son. From that day onward, Bishnu saw his own rebirth in Hiren. Simply put, he meant the world to Bishnu. Unfortunately, Bishnu wasn't the only one acting strange on that day. Puspalata was equally excited about Hiren turning eleven. When no one was seeing, she hugged and kissed him multiple times. When Sarmas were busy talking to guests, she took Hiren out in the gallery. The galley was facing West and the waxing gibbous moon was appearing much bigger than its normal size.  It was cold and quiet, you could hear the sound of wind passing. "Two more days Hiren and I am going to give myself the best gift ever." she said happily. "Which gift Puspa aunty? Can I get that too?" asked Hiren innocently. "A chocolate dear, I will bring you a chocolate from the city. Different kind of chocolate. For now, accept this gift from me." She applied vibhuti (ash powder) on his forehead and said, "This is a sacred ash. It will keep you away from all kinds of black magic." "What is black magic, Puspa aunty?" asked Hiren. "Don't be so impatient kid, the day is not far when you will find that out yourself!" Puspalata replied in a bitter tone. A sense of achievement passed through her sadistic face. Two nights after that, on full moon, she went to Guwahati's Kamakhya temple and offered a young pigeon as sacrifice. And yes, as promised she brought a hand made chocolate for little Hiru.

"My driver is on leave for his daughter's wedding, and he won't be back for a month. I need someone who can drive. Do you happen to know anyone, Puspa?" Bishnu asked. "Gajen. Gajen Kumar. He stays next to our house. He used to work as a jeep driver earlier. But then jeep owner had a fight with RTO officer here and the officer closed his business. My husband knows Gajen." Gajen's name came out in a jiffy as if he was always on Puspa's mind. "Sure. Let me meet this Gajen of yours." Bishnu left. Gajen happened to be a tall, young man, roughly around 30 years old, with looks that would make women drool over. No wonder women wanted to be near him all the time. He talked of Puspa with great affinity, the kind which you don't have for your neighbors. Bishnu asked Gajen to join work from the next day. Some days passed and suddenly Puspa started skipping. It had been around 4 days since Puspa showed up at work. Indira sensed something terrible and thought of paying a visit to Puspa's. She had to ask around for directions to Puspa's house. After going through countless winding muddy and dirty trails, she finally reached near a house somewhere in the slums of Mayong. Women were washing their utensils in front of the house and kids were playing in that water.  None of the kids were left alone, it seemed like parents kept a keen eye on their kids as they were playing. Puspa's door was unlocked. Indira went in. It was a dingy place and nobody seemed to be home. She went further inside and just when she thought of calling Puspa out, she saw her and Gajen in bed together. Puspa was moaning in ecstasy as Gajen was pleasuring her. Indira for once thought of leaving, but the lust took over morality. "Gosh! Look at him, who would not want to have a man like that!" She almost said that out loud. Gajen looked at her, Puspa didn't seem to notice her arrival though. There was an animal like passion in his eyes. Gajen continued, as he was gazing deep in Indira's eyes. For years, nobody looked at her like that. It was as if Indira was feeling him, inside her. It was embarrassing but at the same time it felt right because the distance between Indira and Bishnu had increased so much over the years that they did not find each other attractive anymore. Somewhere out there, Indira was looking for a man who would make her feel like woman again, and she wanted that man to be Gajen. "Is lust ever worth breaking up marriage? No, never. For god's sake, I am a wife and a mother." Breaking relation with Bishnu is probably the last thing she wanted, at the same time she was aware that keeping hands off of Gajen wasn't easy either. She left Puspa's house in hurry. On the way back home, she started thinking about Gajen. When their eyes met, it was as if Gajen knew every single thought that was running through her mind. Nobody could read women better than him. Indira wanted to stay away from Gajen, but harder she tried, closer she went. She came to know from Puspa about his family and that he didn't get a chance to study further because of family commitments. His sister and mother had lot of respect for the man who took care of them after his father's demise. He might not be the richest guy but he had all traits of a man woman would go crazy after. "If had I been ten years younger, I probably would have asked him out!", thought Indira. Love for companion was not the only thing lacking from her insipid relationship with Bishnu. She had absolutely zero respect for Bishnu because of the heinous crimes he was committing over the years. Had it not been about Hiren's future, she would have left him long time back. At Puspa's house, Gajen was lying sideways, thinking about what just happened. He was quite sure that he had struck a chord with Indira.

Things were not going smoothly after Hiren's birthday. Once on the crossroad, he mistakenly crossed a well lit earthen lamp with lemon, chillies and vermilion. Few days later, he found some of his clothes missing. Once when he was asleep, he could feel somebody cutting his hairs and then nails. Nothing significant happened after that except he started waking up in night with a jerk and fear. He happened to eat a chocolate that Puspa once gave him which tasted more like ash. After some days, his complexion started turning gray and then dark. Most of the times he never shared these things with anyone. At times when he did, both Bishnu and Indira ignored him, calling him stupid and blaming TV serials for his fantasies.  It went on until one day when he fell sick with high fever. He was admitted to the hospital and doctor treated him for typhoid. After a week or so things became normal and he was discharged. Even if Hiren was feeling much better, in the back of his mind he always thought that something bad is going to happen. Indira had hard time convincing him that he was safe at home. A month passed quickly and he started going back to school. Just when everything was going fine, on the evening of seventh day of the month, Hiren left school for home. He was about to cross the street when someone smothered him by a napkin with a strong smell. It was the beginning of a dark and endless night, one that Sarma family should have never seen in their life.

Hiren woke up with a terrible headache and blurry vision. He found himself in a place which was not at all like home. He was sitting in a chair, probably in a dark and cold cottage, at a remote place outside of village. A bearded, half naked Shakta (priest) was sitting across him. Behind Shakta was the great statue of Mother Godess Durga. Shakta was chanting continuously and was offering aahuti in the agnee-kunda. Hiren was extremely frightened. He had heard about these rituals from friends but never imagined that one day he will be the part of it. "The sacrifice will be made at midnight, on the day of Ashtami, the eighth day of 10-days autumnal Durga Puja. This human to be sacrificed is sent by God. If anyone tries to see this act of sacrifice, evil will be bestowed upon him by the Mother. Offerings like these are the only way to appease Durga Mata. You should wait until midnight and offer your prayers to the goddess. It is after 15 days, you shall conceive a child!" Hiren looked around and was shocked to see Puspa who did not have the guts to look Hiren in the eye. She was standing quiet, chanting Durga Mata's names. Puspa had been keeping a watch on families with 10 year old kids. She was told that if she offers a Narbali of a 10 year old to Mata, in return Mata would bestow her blessings and she would conceive a boy. Everyone in Mayong knew about people like her and that was the reason nobody wanted to bring a maid or unknown person in their houses. What could she do? How many more years should see suffer the pain of seeing other kids, and not having someone of her own? Why is she the only one depraved of the magic of giving birth? She waited patiently until the midnight. Hiren was made to wear a garland of red flowers and his forehead was colored with a mixture of kumkum, haldi and ash of a dead person. To keep things quiet and less painful maybe, he was sedated. "This is the same sword my forefather used for years. It has the magical power of Mata and had never disappointed a true devout. May the light of her blessings shine upon you, Puspalata." said the Shakta. A huge sword came out, cutting through the human flesh. Bitter feeling of cold and eerie silence of death settled over the cottage.

Hiren's sudden disappearance caused havoc in the village. Bishnu and Indira lodged a police complaint. Quick phone calls were made. Bishnu, his neighbors and friends started searching for any traces at school, playground and all possible places Hiren might have visited. Nothing helped. "You should see a tantrik. He would know the whereabouts of Hiren." said one of the neighbors. Indira and Bishnu wanted to try every single option. It did not matter if seeing a tantrik was superstitious or not. It did not take much time for them to find the house of Bej Tilak. Tilak conformed the stereotypical image of a tantrik. Long tangled hair, saffron robe and bloodshot eyes. Bishnu showed him a photo of Hiren. He moved his jhaad phoonk apparatus over the photo and closed his eyes. After chanting spells of kaal diksha, udaan, paas, mohini and haranluki which are almost extinct these days, he started speaking. "It's too late now. We have lost him. You should have seen me earlier. 20 kilometers East from the Mayong Central Museum, in the outskirts, you would see a Durga Mandir. Jungle starts from there. If you walk around 1 kilometer inside, you would see a small cottage. Hopefully, we will get Hiren's body there." "You are a moron. How dare you say that about my son!" Bishnu was agitated. They were about to leave when Bishnu's cell phone rang. "We have just found a dead body near the jungle, it could be Hiren. We need you for here the identification." It was the police. Bishnu stood in a stunned silence. When Bishnu and Indira saw that beheaded body, all hell broke loose. They became numb. Such was the loss that they could not even speak to each other. They had lost the best part of themselves and they knew nothing would bring that part back. Indira did not cry, not a single drop. "What did I do to see a day like this?" she mumbled to herself. She recounted years since Bishnu started his dirty game and felt a sudden anguish. "We are being punished because of your atrocities over last 12 years. What is worst than the death of dearest one? Sad part is, we lost a life which hasn't even... " Indira gasped, looked at Bishnu in contempt and walked away. Bishnu did not stop her, for he knew that his son paid a heavy price for his misdeeds. "What is worst than death? Attending the funeral of your own son, who was not even old enough to understand intricacies of life..." he was weeping in agony as he spoke. The police filed a case against Puspa, who was convicted for a murder and was reported missing from Mayong. They also caught hold of the Shakta. A team was set up to investigate the matter, and they were looking for evidences. The law would have taken its own course and justice would be served, except neither Bishnu nor Indira was interested in the outcome. A death had separated them and changed their lives forever.

A figure was attending Hiren's cremation from a very long distance. Today he was sad again, probably even more sad than last time. His heart was heavy with memories and eyes were full of tears. For years, he had been waiting for this moment. Twelve years back he met a girl in the clan of black magic practitioners. They fell in love and decided to get married. Just when they thought of doing away with necromancy, Bishnu kidnapped and sold the only girl he loved, leaving him shattered for rest of his life. Today he took away someone, and in return broke two lives forever. He thought he would be overjoyed at this moment, his life finally had served some purpose. But he was wrong. There was a chasm of emptiness in him. Only self repentance could have filled that void. "I must be proud of myself today, after putting an end to the innocent life. How sweet is the revenge when you don't want it anymore?" he asked to himself and disappeared in the darkness. There was no going back to Sarma's house ever again. Instead he took a bus to Delhi. On the next morning, he enrolled himself as a volunteer to Shakti-Vahini, a Delhi based NGO doing monumental work against human trafficking. On his first day, he made a donation in the memory of Kanchan and took the oath of fighting against trafficking.

Gajen wouldn't have used Puspa as a pawn in this dirty game if Bishnu hadn't sold his love of life in the bazaars of human flesh. He wanted to teach Bishnu a long, hard lesson that life does not come with a price tag. He indeed taught him that, and as a result created two worthless, broken pieces of flesh. All they had to do now was to go through the ordeal of carrying the burden for rest of the life.