Asrar was unaware of the doom that the surrounding areas had witnessed repeatedly, such events as had made these minarets ashamed and sad. They remembered the day when thousands of Muslims had gathered protesting against ‘Salman vald Mansoor al Halaj aka Kitabul Tawaseen’ and the police had blindly opened fire on the crowd. Dozens of young men had been pushed into the dark tunnel of death. The drain that ran below the minarets had been overflowing with blood. The bloodshed was the result of the firing by the police, which had fired not just bullets but hatred. It is said that blood in dirty water loses its smell but the devs and djinns have the ability to smell this fresh blood. It is also said that when there is bloodshed of innocents on Mohammad Ali Road, the blood flows underground through the drains to reach the temple of Mumba Devi before heading to the sea.

It is believed that the demons dance a disturbing tandav in the courtyards of the temple. It is possible that these demons belong to the same lineage of blood-drinking demons who had been defeated by Mumba Devi. This dance of annihilation is done to add on to the sorrows and grief of Mumba Devi. After the dance, these demons enter the drains which carry the blood. They enter the tunnels under the ground and separate the water from the blood and drink the blood of the innocents that comes from Mohammad Ali Road. They come and dance again in front of Mumba Devi’s temple after drinking the blood. This aggravates her anger but because she has promised Brahma never to attack the demons till the seven islands of Mumbai are in their original state, she suppresses her anger. Mumba was told by Brahma that it would rain for forty nights and days on the seven islands and everything will be destroyed. All islands would submerge. Even history would end. The submerged islands will reappear as one big island. After forty years of this happening a demon named Gujaratam Desham Kaladam would rule it. When all limits of barbarism, cruelty, injustice would reach a pinnacle, the walls of the Mumba Devi temple which had stayed intact even after being submerged would break open and Mumba Devi would rise to defeat the demon. Brahma had foretold the battle between the devi and the demon but had not predicted the result of the battle. That is exactly why there is anger and fierceness on the Devi’s face along with deep thought and wonder.

Mohammad Ali gave Saleem a paan, which he put in his mouth. The lime that had come gratis with the paan was placed on the tongue.

They moved ahead.