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| Geetanjali Krishna: The Pied Piper of pain |
| Geetanjali Krishna / New Delhi Sep 05, 2009, 00:40 IST |
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Modern science cannot even envisage the scope of the relationship between the human body and the mind!” boomed the old mendicant. Sitting around him, the gaggle of neighbourhood watchmen and drivers nodded respectfully. He’d been walking through the colony, and word had somehow got out that he could cure joint pains without using any medicine. Jang Bahadur, who was wont to say that his knees had frozen into permanent pain from sitting outside in Delhi’s cold winter nights, was the first to ask for help. The crowd murmured appreciatively, happy that they could test the sadhu’s efficacy at someone else’s expense.
The mendicant withdrew some pipes from a worn bag. “All our bodily pains come from excess liquid formation,” said he, and fixing a piercing gaze upon the hapless man, asked, “do you drink?” Jang Bahadur hung his head, and admitted his guilt. The sadhu shook his head, muttering about human folly. Then he made tiny punctures around the patient’s afflicted knee. Bahadur reported it felt like ant bites, no more. Then the sadhu said, “observe! There are some punctures which yield blood. Blood is good, blood is healthy! But there are some that aren’t bleeding. That’s where this man’s pain comes from!”
Watching this drama from my balcony, I was amazed at the crowd’s credulity. “I can drain all the liquid from your knee — and get you running and jumping with ease!” the sadhu went on. When the crowd learnt that each pipe would cost Rs 100 to administer, they began egging poor Bahadur on. “It’s worth it! Imagine how your life would improve if your knees cooperated with you!” one said. “At least try one pipe,” urged another, “if you feel some difference, opt for more!” Bahadur acquiesced.
Without further ado, the sadhu stuck the pipe over one of the needle punctures. The crowd watched breathlessly as he sucked and sucked the pipe. Then before my disbelieving eyes, he pulled the pipe off and poured out a fair amount of frothy yellow liquid. Bahadur gasped: “Is there more such water inside me?” The sadhu said, “yes…and this is what is causing you so much pain!” I was confused. Watching from above, I’d not been able to see any hanky-panky. How had he managed to do this? There was no scientific explanation for so much liquid to emerge from the human body.
Bahadur became a convert. “Please take more liquid out!” said he, “I can already feel my pain diminishing!” It took twelve pipes and Rs 1,200 before the sadhu declared that enough liquid had been extracted. Bahadur stood up gingerly, and a look of amazement came over his face. “The pain has gone! It’s a miracle!” Everyone knew someone who needed treatment and the excitement was palpable. But the sadhu gathered his tools, saying it was time for his prayers. When I last saw, Bahadur was jumping up and down, unable to believe his good fortune.
Days later, I saw Bahadur limping again. “Have you met that sadhu again?” I asked. “The sadhu was a fake,” said he sadly, “my knee is worse because I jumped so hard that day!” Turned out that the so-called mendicant added some yellow detergent to the pipe, and then while he pretended to suck, he actually spat into the pipe to create icky frothy liquid… “But you said the pain had gone?” I asked curiously. “It had,” said Bahadur, “but probably because I wanted it to be relieved of it so badly…that’s why when I look at the bright side, I think that at least for those 15 minutes, I felt no pain at all!” The fake sadhu may have earned his 1200 rupees after all.
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