This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 37; the thirty-seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is "Truth is stranger than fiction"
It was a deep, dense forest with tall
trees growing thickly together, allowing no sunlight to penetrate through. The jungle, located 250 kms from the North
Eastern state of Meghalaya remained undiscovered by civilization. In fact the
dark woods were not ideal for human inhabitation as the forest was a habitat
for wild animals and other menaces that posed a threat to humans.
But a few tribes still thrived in the
outskirts of the jungles. These tribes remained isolated and hidden from civilization.
The Angami tribe was one among them, a community of less than hundred men and women,
they avoided contact with civilization by choice. Most of the tribes in these
regions were descendants of the Naga tribe and worshipped the Cobra God or the
Naga.
Sikwasa belonged to the Angami tribe and he
was the only one who spoke sparse English and this was the reason why he was
chosen for the expedition into the jungle. He was accompanied by two gentlemen,
following him closely. Sam, a research analyst on Ancient History and a
professor at Trent University in Canada was excited that his theory and
research work of 5 years were finally paying off.
Edward, a wealthy businessman, owning a
chain of restaurants and spas all over Europe was having trouble keeping up
with the other two men. Huffing and puffing, he was cursing himself for
deciding to join Sam on this mission. But he knew that if they were successful,
then all the trouble would be worth it. He had invested millions of dollars in
the research work and to make this quest a reality. They had to be successful;
there was no turning back now. Edward prayed fervently that he come out of this
alive, but the more they trekked deeper into the jungle, the more his
despondency grew.
They were leeches sticking to his legs,
the whole jungle was filled up of the blood sucking leeches. But Edward did not
dare to stop and remove those leeches. He knew the forest was filled with other
dangerous animals and he didn’t want to be left behind.
He removed the whisky bottle from his
pocket and took a swig out of it.
Sam looked at him and felt exasperated.
He knew that bringing Ed along was a huge mistake but the dingbat was a wealthy
guy and Sam needed the money to fund his research.
‘Ed, I don’t think you should be
drinking. We need all our wits together for this mission. We need our senses
alert, you know the kind of danger we are exposing ourselves to, right?’ Sam
warned gently.
‘I know that you nincompoop, I was just
trying to soothe my taut nerves.’ replied Ed tersely.
He was thinking that he should have
stayed back with his fifth wife and enjoyed his extended honeymoon. But he had
insisted that he accompany Sam on the mission. He wanted to see the snake pearl
with his own eyes.
To take his mind off the danger,
he questioned Sam for the umpteenth time, ‘Sam, are you sure that the Nagamani
is hidden in these forests.’
Sam sighed and replied, ‘Ed, I am pretty
sure that the Nagamani is preserved in these jungles from thousands of years. And,
we will know if I am right in few hours.’
'How did the Nagamani come to exist? Is
there anything in the ancient history about it?’, asked Ed taking another swig
from his bottle.
Sam winced but replied to Ed’s query, ‘There
are many Nagamanis known to exist even today. Most of them are egg-shaped,
semi-translucent and found in a Cobra’s head. Anyone possessing such a Nagamani
attains piety and rare good fortune. But the Nagamani that we are seeking here
has no definite shape and anyone who comes in possession of this stone is known
to attain immortality.’
‘Actually there is nothing much in the
books about this stone. But a couple of ancient scriptures talks about a
Nagamani which has special powers to resurrect the dead. ‘
‘In an ancient scripture, it is said that
King Bhagiratha, a descendant of Surya dynasty and an ardent Shiva devotee, was
hunting in these jungles when accidently his arrow speared a male cobra. The
male cobra mating with a female serpent was killed immediately. King Bhagiratha
was extremely distraught and asked the female serpent’s forgiveness. But the
female serpent in her rage was ready to strike him and kill him with her venom.
Lord Shiva interceded and decided to save the life of his devotee. To appease
the serpent, he resuscitated the Cobra’s life by placing a Nagamani in the
Cobra’s head. Until the Nagamani is safe both the Cobras are immortal. ‘
‘That is why it’s impossible to take the
Nagamani away from these 2 serpents. Many men have tried before but none have
returned back alive’.
Ed looked incredulous and asked ‘Is this
real or is it all a fictional tale?’
Sam smiled and said, ’Sometimes truth is
stranger than fiction.’
They had reached a large cave, the
entrance of which was almost hidden by large boulders. Sikwasa who was silent
till now, spoke in his broken English, ‘Sikwasa stop. You go. Money.’ He was
promised a thousand Rupees for leading the way to the caves.
‘We will give you 2000 Rupees if you take
us inside the caves.’ said Ed waving 2 thousand rupee notes in front of him.
Sikwasa was tempted, but he knew that
entering the cave was equal to suicide. He remembered his ailing mother and his
kids who were dying due to lack of food and nourishment.
‘Sikwasa take you. Money now’, said
Sikwasa his hand extended.
Ed threw the money and Sikwasa picked it
from the ground. Sam removed a large flashlight from his backpack and the group
moved on. A hundred feet away Sikwasa stopped. There was bridge made of vines
and below it, there were thousands of snakes, all of different kinds and
varieties, moving agitatedly. They were hungry, they could smell human blood.
‘Sikwasa stop here. Good luck’, said
Sikwasa with a wave of his hand. He was about to return back when Ed pushed him
towards the bridge. Sikwasa lost his balance and toppled over. Immediately his
body was covered with snakes, hissing and biting each other to get a piece of
the human flesh.
Sam and Ed walked rapidly, but cautiously,
on the bridge. After reaching the other side, they saw down and all they could
see was a human skeletal form.
Sam and Ed moved forward, crouching low,
to avoid the bats on the roof of the caves. They reached a wide space in the
cave, and at the other end they could see a beautiful women lying stark naked.
She had soft firm breasts and toned stomach that tapered down to round hips.
She had an alluring smile on her lips that seemed to call out to the two men.
Ed seemed entranced by her beauty. He
could never resist beautiful women and this lady was exquisite. He forgot all
about the palpable danger and moved towards her. Sam tried to stop him by
clutching his hand but Ed seemed to be under some spell. His eyes were glazed
and he moved towards the woman. When he
was just a few feet away he extended his hand to touch her.
All Ed could see was a black endless jaw
into which he was swallowed whole. The beautiful woman was transformed into a
serpent and with a swiftness known only to Cobras, she had opened her mammoth
mouth and gobbled up Ed.
Sam was petrified, he was shaking all
over. He turned back and tried to run, but his legs were unable to move. He
looked down, the male Cobra had coiled itself around his legs and even as Sam
opened his mouth to scream, the Cobra opened its hood. Towering over Sam, it
struck once and then again and slithered back to his mate.
Hundreds of snakes slinked near Sam and
feasted on his body.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: 05
Mythical fantasy, Prasanna? Great job!
ReplyDeleteThe story had me allured till the end . Well crafted Prasanna . The ending was dark and i loved the way you brought in the snake woman ( queen ? ) in the end . Mythical thriller it was :)
ReplyDeleteWow - awesome read.
ReplyDeleteIt gave me a feel of Ashwin Sanghi cum Amish Tripathi Novels.
Too good- ATB for BAT 37.
Wowies! Loved it from start to finish! You captured the characters so well. It read like an Indiana Jones story, with the native guide, the earnest treasure-hunter, the overbearing, crass, goonish financier (I could see him as a fat, pompous Texan, with a ludicrous cowboy hat!)
ReplyDeleteSuperb story-telling! Absolutely riveting!
Besties for BAT!
Mixi (My BAT Entry)
right out of a bollywood of 80's...nice read :)
ReplyDeleteATB for BAT
do drop in at:
- Don't Whine
very true, insightful take on the Nagmani. kudos.
ReplyDeletesuperb. a very novel take on an old take experimented in the past in movies and stories.
ReplyDeleteATB for BAT!
@ C.S: Just trying my hand at all genres of fiction :)
ReplyDelete@Maliny: Thank you :)
@Viyoma: Amish Tripathi? Wow!Now only if I could clinch a 5 crore deal on one of my stories :) Thank you for the words of appreciation.
@Mixi: Thank you :) Means a lot coming from a wonderful story-teller like you :)
ReplyDelete@Karan: Thank you, ATB to you too :)
@Rio: Thank you Sir :)
@Akila: Thank you, I love seeing old movies on similar subjects especially related to snakes :)
oh god,i was so engrossed..
ReplyDeleteWow..very well written..managed to keep readers hooked till the end :D
ReplyDeleteATB for BAT
-Snuffles Jay
Do Drop by here someday
Engrossing story. Good one, I liked.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story!Well narrated.
ReplyDeleteATB
Splendid. Enjoyed reading the story. For a while I am floating in Amish Tripati's Shiva triology...what ever may be you portrayed the story perfectly..:)
ReplyDeletereading it was like watching a hindi movie filled with thrill and suspense.
ReplyDeleteit was really enthralling! I couldn't stop thinking about for another half an hour after reading it~!
ReplyDelete