That fateful evening saw an intense thunderstorm hit the small village of Kaloth. The temperature had been soaring for the past several days causing all nearby water bodies to dry up. The villagers were ecstatic to see the dark clouds envelop the blue sky and hear the rumbling of thunder followed by the rain drops hitting the parched earth.

The shower that had started steadily, slowly surged into a deluge catching the villagers off guard. What followed was absolute mayhem with the wind toppling trees, crashing the roofs and sending people scurrying for cover. The heavens had opened triggering flash floods that swept the people, cattle and livestock downstream towards the river Bhairavi. There were loud cries for help, but nature’s fury was beyond the control of mere mortals. A burst of lightning followed and a herd of sheep taking cover under an old tree were burnt in no time. It was a while before the storm settled, and an eerie silence prevailed over the village.

The damage was beyond measure and restoration was going to be a massive effort.

The following day it was a mayhem of a different kind. The media, journalists and local politicians had flocked to this almost non-existent village. The ambulances from the nearby Jholar village govt hospital had arrived as well. Accompanying the media as a cameraman was Ketan, a local resident of Kaloth. He was stunned and shaken to see the countless dead bodies of humans and animals lie strewn across the village streets. Having been brought up in Kaloth, he was familiar with the village directions/paths and started searching desperately for survivors but without any success.

Tired and hungry, he sat on a rock to get back his breath when his attention wandered to the ringing bells of the Bhairava temple on top of the Tumbi hill. Climbing the hill to reach the temple was his childhood activity and he ran frantically to climb the hill and reached the temple in no time. He remembered that there was a cave behind the temple. As per a legend, a powerful yogi had walked this path about 300 years ago and meditated in the cave. The people of Kaloth had welcomed the yogi and honored him. They took good care of him for they believed him to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva himself. As per the village folklores it was believed that the yogi was the reason for the prosperity and happiness of the people of Kaloth.  Many years had passed by after the yogi moved on, but Kaloth never saw any calamities or misfortunes.

Ketan thought to himself, “why would this fate befall Kaloth if it was indeed a blessed space as believed by the village locals for so many years”?

“The answer lies in the cave” he muttered to himself.

Ketan had a strong spiritual upbringing himself, thanks to his grandmother. As a child, he had heard stories about the yogi’s miracles from her. Though a little scared to venture alone into the cave, he decided to go as he was unable to come to terms with what had happened to his village.

He started walking towards the cave and entered it. The cave was dark, and his heart started beating faster with each step that he took. In the darkness, he hit a colony of bats and they flew past him making him kneel and then crawl on the ground. He was scared to get up but with a deep breath, he pushed himself up on his feet. As he went further inside, he could sense a certain serenity about the whole place. He was no longer distressed or scared but rather at ease within himself. That was when he saw a bright light at a distant corner of the cave and he started walking towards it.

As he walked closer to the light, he realized that it was someone sitting in the yogic pose and the light was emitting from this being. Just as he got closer to the person, a voice boomed asking him to stop. The light was very bright, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open. He closed his eyes and prostrated before the being.

Ketan was famished and dying of thirst. Knowing his condition, the being offered him fruits and milk.

Then it asked Ketan in his native language “What brings you here?”.

Ketan with his eyes still closed replied, “I am from Kaloth and am trying to ascertain why the storm devastated the whole village last night. Having spent my childhood here, I was told numerous tales about this cave and the Yogi who once meditated here. I came here trying to seek the reason for this calamity”.

The being laughed and said “The human mind is very small to understand the macro-occurrences as these are beyond the boundaries of human reasoning and logic. However, since you have come this far seeking, let me tell you that this is a way for nature to re-arrange itself at certain times. As human beings, we appear as an obstruction to this natural process and that is why get swept aside by nature. There are no reasons for such occurrences that a logical mind can understand”.

Unable to completely comprehend the depth of what the being stated, Ketan bowed to the being and started moving back.

The being however asked Ketan to remain seated. It told him that it will blow its conch shell and Ketan should open his eyes only when he is sure that the sound from the conch shell is no longer audible to him. It warned him that if he opened his eyes while the sound was still audible, the being will not be responsible for the consequences.

Ketan prostrated and then heard the sound of the conch shell. When he was sure that the sound had completely subsided, he slowly opened his eyes and found himself comfortably seated inside his home reading the newspaper with the headline… “Freak Storm wipes out Village”!