‘You carry on… I’ll wait by the roadside,’ a sulky Raahat pulled his cap lower to cover his ears against the biting cold.

Rajjo glared at him as he fell behind. She went inside the temple to look for the head priest. The moment she saw his potbelly and tobacco-stained lips, Rajjo knew his faith did not lie in the colourful adorned deities displayed around the marble temple. It was in the coloured paper she carried with the face of a Mahatma. The question was how much.

Cautiously she approached him and made her offer. The old priest took his time assessing the situation.

‘So who fixes the Shani again?’ he asked in his high-pitched voice.

‘I do…’ Rajjo looked at him squarely.

He laughed. One could see some more ugly teeth on display. His dirty saffron robes were stinking as well.

‘So you want me to tell all my priests to tell our patrons to go to you and get their Shani Dasha fixed? If they go to you, why the hell will they come here? What do we eat?’ He pointed at his ample belly that clearly needed no nourishment.

‘I am here only once a year, and I will send them back to your temple…’

‘But I don’t want more people! I am happy with what I have.’

‘What if there is an option of earning a lot more…’

Rajjo deliberately left the rest hanging in the air.

‘You know this will be associated with the ashram. There will be a lot more.’

‘Well if Shani is merciful, that shall also come.’ the priest left it in the air, his mind furiously ticking.

‘Then Shani Devta is merciful now, you should not reject his offer of plenty.’

The priest stared at the young woman.

He mumbled something as she nodded.

Raahat stepped forward and handed him a bundle of flyers they had got printed from a devotee’s shop for free.

The priest read it and laughed.

‘Good try…but many people won’t bite. People are not that foolish, madam.’

Rajjo thanked him once again, ignoring his cynicism and exited the temple. Just as they were about to leave, Raahat ran into the temple, took off his shoes, went to the Shani deity and paid his respect. Rajjo was waiting for him with an annoyed expression.

As soon as Raahat joined her Rajjo asked him with an amused look on her face, ‘What was that?’

‘What if he takes offence and my Shani goes for a toss? Where will I go! Bloody! We have to be careful!’

‘As long as there are people like you, I am going to be prosperous!’

Rajjo rolled her eyes as they moved on to the next temple.