sixteenth birthday, he went with his father on a journey to Bombay. For his father, it had been a typical business trip, but for Raj, his first great adventure.
Raj longed to see and experience more from life and the world before settling down and starting his family. When it came to tradition, he had begun to question most of the things he had been taught in his short life. He felt he wanted to have a choice when it came to selecting his wife. Taya had been an entertaining friend when he was younger, but she was becoming more and more serious over time. By the age of fourteen, she had already planned their wedding ceremony complete with a guest list.
His raging hormones combined with his fascination for the big city reinforced his growing doubt about his future as planned. The many beautiful women he saw in Bombay solidified this in his heart and in his mind. But that was only one of the revelations that came to him on this trip.
His father had booked a room in a grand hotel where the halls were trimmed in gold, and the housekeeping team put chocolate mints on the pillows each night. He was quite fascinated by this kind of opulence and caused him to wonder what other things he might be missing in his small world back home.
Still, the experience may not have been enough to prompt his wanderlust until something happened that would open his mind to the possibility of phenomena in this world that simply defied explanation. It had occurred on the second night as they were returning to the hotel from dinner. His father had encountered an old friend along the way and became involved in a very deep political discussion, which seemed as though it would continue for some time.
While Raj waited patiently, he noticed an eerie quiet had settled around them and a bright golden light shining at the end of the alley. He was determined to slip away and get a closer look at the source of the light, even if only for a moment. While his father was in the middle of a long diatribe, he saw his opportunity and made his move.
The cobbled pavement was wet and the stone walls on either side of the narrow street were grimy and old. The aroma of sour garbage overwhelmed him as he slowly walked toward the light. He focused his mental energy to overcome the urge to empty his stomach and add to the oppressive atmosphere.
As he neared the end of the alley, there was a turn to the right. He edged closer to the wall and cautiously looked around the corner. There was a large courtyard-like clearing with a large fire at its center and eight men sitting, cross-legged, encircling the bright flames. The men wore nothing at all from the waist up and only a dhoti, the large white cloth wrapped around their lower torsos.
The gray tone of their skin seemed to come from some type of ash or clay smeared on their bodies and their hair was matted in long, gray dreadlocks that hung down across their backs. Their beards, as long and gray as their hair, were accentuated by the licking firelight and shadow. Large black circles around their eyes gave the appearance of hollow empty sockets in the dim light.
Raj shivered as he stood watching the men rocking forward and back as they stared into the fire. “Nagas, ramas, rengas,” they chanted, repeating it over and over again. One of the men turned and opened a small pottery urn and scooped a handful of powder from it. Then with a slow sweeping motion, he tossed the handful of powder into the fire as the chanting increased in volume.
A fountain of multicolored sparks burst upward out of the flames. Raj retreated in fear as the image of a very large cobra seemed to spring from the fire and rise above the men. It’s head swayed back and forth slowly to the rhythm of the chant. It wound around in a complete circle eyeing each one as it passed by.
Suddenly, with a whip-like motion, it jerked, and the single head became two. With another snap, two became four, and on the third, eight heads extended from the body of the
Raj longed to see and experience more from life and the world before settling down and starting his family. When it came to tradition, he had begun to question most of the things he had been taught in his short life. He felt he wanted to have a choice when it came to selecting his wife. Taya had been an entertaining friend when he was younger, but she was becoming more and more serious over time. By the age of fourteen, she had already planned their wedding ceremony complete with a guest list.
His raging hormones combined with his fascination for the big city reinforced his growing doubt about his future as planned. The many beautiful women he saw in Bombay solidified this in his heart and in his mind. But that was only one of the revelations that came to him on this trip.
His father had booked a room in a grand hotel where the halls were trimmed in gold, and the housekeeping team put chocolate mints on the pillows each night. He was quite fascinated by this kind of opulence and caused him to wonder what other things he might be missing in his small world back home.
Still, the experience may not have been enough to prompt his wanderlust until something happened that would open his mind to the possibility of phenomena in this world that simply defied explanation. It had occurred on the second night as they were returning to the hotel from dinner. His father had encountered an old friend along the way and became involved in a very deep political discussion, which seemed as though it would continue for some time.
While Raj waited patiently, he noticed an eerie quiet had settled around them and a bright golden light shining at the end of the alley. He was determined to slip away and get a closer look at the source of the light, even if only for a moment. While his father was in the middle of a long diatribe, he saw his opportunity and made his move.
The cobbled pavement was wet and the stone walls on either side of the narrow street were grimy and old. The aroma of sour garbage overwhelmed him as he slowly walked toward the light. He focused his mental energy to overcome the urge to empty his stomach and add to the oppressive atmosphere.
As he neared the end of the alley, there was a turn to the right. He edged closer to the wall and cautiously looked around the corner. There was a large courtyard-like clearing with a large fire at its center and eight men sitting, cross-legged, encircling the bright flames. The men wore nothing at all from the waist up and only a dhoti, the large white cloth wrapped around their lower torsos.
The gray tone of their skin seemed to come from some type of ash or clay smeared on their bodies and their hair was matted in long, gray dreadlocks that hung down across their backs. Their beards, as long and gray as their hair, were accentuated by the licking firelight and shadow. Large black circles around their eyes gave the appearance of hollow empty sockets in the dim light.
Raj shivered as he stood watching the men rocking forward and back as they stared into the fire. “Nagas, ramas, rengas,” they chanted, repeating it over and over again. One of the men turned and opened a small pottery urn and scooped a handful of powder from it. Then with a slow sweeping motion, he tossed the handful of powder into the fire as the chanting increased in volume.
A fountain of multicolored sparks burst upward out of the flames. Raj retreated in fear as the image of a very large cobra seemed to spring from the fire and rise above the men. It’s head swayed back and forth slowly to the rhythm of the chant. It wound around in a complete circle eyeing each one as it passed by.
Suddenly, with a whip-like motion, it jerked, and the single head became two. With another snap, two became four, and on the third, eight heads extended from the body of the
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