The Legend of the Banyan Tree
On his second day, Aryan meets Baba Kashi, a blind, old man who sits near the village well every day. Baba Kashi seems to know more than he lets on. When Aryan presses him for details, Baba Kashi tells him a story that shakes him to his core. Two centuries ago, a young woman named Chandrika was accused of witchcraft by a jealous neighbor. The villagers believed that her beauty and charm were unnatural, and many felt she had cast a spell over them. During a village festival, Chandrika was draggedto the banyan tree, tied, and burned alive without trial. Before her death, she cursed the tree, claiming that anyone who dared approach it would face her wrath. Over the years, the villagers whispered that the tree had come alive, its roots deepening into the earth, feeding on the souls of the lost.