Yet more...

This I wrote for Literature initially. Modified it a great deal though to suit my purposes for Creative Writing. Eventually, I think it turned out nice. This was a response to the first chapter of Narayan's book "The Guide" which was later corrupted into the movie by Dev Anand.

I’m the Guide of Lost Souls. I direct the lives of people. I show them the fortunes that will one day be at their feet. Today, I expose myself to the world.

I am the quack who diagnoses false diseases and prescribes fake medicine in order to keep my patients coming back to me. I am the astrologer who only prophesies brighter days to come. I am the palmist who tells you that which you already know and forecasts that which you will never know. I am found where the devoutly superstitious throng. I appear where religion has a hold on people and I use religiosity as my tool.

I am the exploiter, the schemer, the liar, the fraud. I manipulate, control and mislead. People follow what I say, do as I command them. I am present in most societies. I go there where people only have dreams to live by. Anywhere dreams live, I prosper. My best trait, my greatest asset you could say, is my ability to gauge what any of you desire and then use that to control you.

I am the Maulwi on the pulpit who commands unwavering faith. I am the Najoomi on the street who controls your fortune. I am the Tabeeb who will cure all your ills. I am the ‘Darwaish’, the ‘Malang’, the ‘Pir’, the ‘Faqir’. I am all this rolled into one big bundle of deceit.

The superstitious come to me. They say, “Help us Master for we have been cursed!” I pray for them. I tell them they are being punished for their sins. I allow them to attain piety by serving me. As long as they serve me—in whatever way I command them—they will be protected. So they serve me. They bring me food and water, they provide me with money and comforts, and they give me a power over their lives that they would otherwise never relinquish.

They come to me saying, “Cure us Great Healer of the Souls. Cure us of the Demons inside!” And I do! I smoke out the Demon or I beat it out. Then I tell them to serve me so that such Demons stay away from them and their loved ones. And they give me a power over their lives that they would otherwise never relinquish.

They come to me in their shiny, long cars with their pockets filled with gold. They need me to help them keep the cars and the gold. When this poor, humble intermediary to God informs them that they will prosper, they shower me with riches. Who am I to deny their generosity?

The biggest comfort in my line of work is that I could tell everyone exactly what I do and they would still throng to me. They would rush to me in their hour of need for I am their only solace. I am the only comfort they have and the only one they desire. I can be anything I want to be, and often I am all these things.

Each day I show people the path to follow to attain happiness. I show them where they have lost their way. I show them the way back. I am the Guide after all, the Guide of Lost Souls.