The Other Side(45)

“What is this curse about the beast? Why did the guides run away? Why did they say we are tainted and doomed?”

“I don't know what that was all about. Do you think I should ask the caretaker about it?”

He made his way to where the old man was smoking a hookah in the verandah.

“Can you tell me something about the curse of the beast?”

“Sshh! There are certain things that shouldn't be discussed in the dark of the night. I'll tell you in the morning,” the old man murmured, peering over his shoulder almost as if expecting something to rush at him from the bushes.

Sanath was back to pestering the oldman again the next morning.

“Tell me everything about the curse of the beast,” he prompted.

“The beast, Sahib, is a cursed creature. Sometimes the Himalayan bear carries off a young comely woman and cohabits with her. The half man- half bear born of their union   is the beast. It lives in the jungles and the mountains. Very few people have seen it but many have seen its footprints. To be touched by one brings a lifetime of bad luck, a fate worse than death,” the old man said, emphasizing on each word slowly.

“Come on, old man! Don't give me that crap,” Sanath said, suddenly feeling apprehensive for an unknown reason.

“Sahib! You are young and have not seen much of the world. Believe me, I am telling you the truth. These old eyes have seen much more. There are things out there that can't be explained. The curse is among them,” the old man whispered.

“Can you give me a shred of evidence in support of these preposterous claims? Ridiculous!” Sanath said, trying to rubbish off what he had heard again.

The caretaker took offense. “Sir, there are things you city dwellers neither know of nor do you understand. Say what you may but the beast roams these jungles. I know people who have seen it. Why, that old woman who lives outside the village was touched by the beast and was consequently cursed for life! She is ostracized by the entire village.”

“Well, I would like to see for myself. I will talk to her first thing after breakfast tomorrow,” Sanath decided.

“No, Sahib. Please don't do that. If you touch that woman the curse may rub on to you,” the old man advised.

Sanath made his way back to the room without further comment as he thought it was better not to tell him about their experiences in the jungle.

“Ludicrous story!” He later confided in Shalini. “These jerks are really superstitious. That beast is nothing but an undiscovered species of bear.”



Next morning they were up early and trekked to the lonely hut far from the village, deciding to find it on their own than ask the uneducated village folks. They peeked into the pathetic structure only to find it was unoccupied.

They poked around but found nothing except a few provisions and tattered clothes.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my hut?” A voice screeched making them jump.

An old hag dressed in rags stood at the door. She seemed abandoned and bent with age. Her face, wrinkled and tanned, seemed infuriated with their presence.

“Get out! Don't you know that I carry the curse of the beast? Go away or you too will be tainted,” she squeaked.



The Other Side

191 “I am not afraid of any curse. I am here to ask you a few questions. And in any case we were saved from certain death by a huge hairy creature in the jungle,” replied Sanath.

“You have been touched by the beast?” whispered the old hag. “You are tainted. It is a fate worse than death. You'll soon wish that you had died in the jungle on that fateful day.”

“What is this curse everyone is talking about? We are totally confused. Please tell us,” Shalini looked at the old lady with tears in her eyes.

“So young and beautiful!” the old woman said. “And you have been cursed. Very sad!”

Sanath grabbed the old crone by the shoulders and shook her. “That is enough bullshit. I can't take any more. Just tell me what this entire nonsense is all about?”

The woman's eyes were full of pity as she surveyed them for a moment. “Children, I am sorry for you…the beast visits those in the jungle whose life is about to end. Even death is scared of the beast and flees on sensing its presence, leaving its victims alive. But they are cursed. Cursed to a life worse than death. And they have no option but to suffer in silence till death gathers enough courage to visit them again and free them from this accursed life.”

“I don't believe her! She is probably insane. Let's get out of here, Shalini,” Sanath interjected.

“You may run but you cannot escape. The curse of the beast is on you. All those who are touched by the beast have this mark on their chest. You don't believe me. Look!” And the hag dramatically flung her filthy shawl away. She was wearing nothing under it and her shriveled hanging breasts made a pathetic sight. Shalini gasped in horror as the hag pointed to a scar on the left side of her torso above her breast. It was a bizarre mark, like a footprint of an animal, maybe a bear. “Behold the mark of the beast. It appears on the chest of people who have been tainted by the abominable creature. And it is a portent that a fate worse than death awaits the one sporting the mark.”