A Touch of Eternity: (Penguin Petit) by Durjoy Dutta

Author:Durjoy Dutta [Dutta, Durjoy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance
ISBN: 9789387625990
Google: mpNNDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2021-01-17T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 29: Soulmates After All

Acharya Life had spared no expense in the rebuilding of Chanakyapuri Hospital. It was a fortress, a palace, a resort, all rolled into one. And yet, I understood why hospitals are built in the blandest way possible—when you’re sick, nothing else matters.

In the waiting room, while Anvesha and I were coughing and holding our heads steady lest we vomit again, Rashid was in an exceptionally chirpy mood.

‘Little girls you both are. How often do you both fall sick!’

‘That’s offensive. This is why you should have had a sister,’ said Anvesha.

‘Rashid, can you please go into the corner and die a little?’ I added.

‘That’s why I say, join Rooh Collective and do their breathing exercises. It will help build immunity.’

‘Please go away,’ groaned Anvesha.

It had been an hour. Our parents were talking to the doctor who wanted them to go through the treatment options for our recurrent sickness—jaundice, nausea, frequent diarrhoea and the general feeling of discomfort we had been experiencing.

‘Bhai, there’s a perfect day for the two of you to join also. It’s written in the stars, the two of you joining Rooh Collective on the same day as the new guru.’

Anvesha looked at me. We both rolled our eyes.

Soon after Anvesha’s videos had started going viral, she had started getting support from unexpected corners. She had elaborate whisper networks with whom she communicated online, and they had all sorts of information for her. She had become a walking repository of strange information. Out of the glut, she would glean information that matched with her second damning prediction. She had got to know of a young man, twenty-one, in Baliya district, UP, who was entering the god-man business.

She was getting reports of villagers travelling miles on foot to meet this new man of God, who spoke many tongues and talked about remembering his last births. He hosted past-life regression therapies for children, who claimed to be haunted by nightmares of previous lives.

He called himself Yogi Ashwinath.

For the past couple of months, Anvesha had been in no position to make a video for her channel. But she made one specifically for me. She stitched together a bunch of videos of Ashwinath, split the screen, and compared them with videos of Firdaus Shirazi.

She pointed out the similarities—their mannerism, their way of talking, the inflections, and even the choice of words.

‘He’s going to take over from where Firdaus left,’ Anvesha said.

‘To build a cult, you need to step out of the shadow of the previous guru. Why be a cheap imitation of Firdaus?’

‘He was taught by Firdaus, or if you want a crazy one—he’s Firdaus reborn. Whatever it might be, he’s coming to the take Firdaus’s throne, likh ke le lo [take it in writing from me].’

I knew better than to bet against Anvesha on matters like this.

Soon after, her prediction came true when the senior council of Rooh Collective made a big deal out of spotting Yogi Ashwinath. They made a swift decision to pass on the mantle to him.

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