He’s dressed as a Guru or God-Man
and inevitably the local villagers respectably bow down at his feet.
With his body guards at his side,
he's about to demonstrate his magical Supernatural powers of healing.
Such magic costs money.
And these people will have to pay.
First he makes holly ash out of thin air
and distributes it to the faithful.
Next he uses his powers to make a bank-note from nothing
and simply gives it away.
Then it’s holly water.
It must be holly
because even when the jug is empty
the God-Man simply blesses it
and makes some more.
Such miracles naturally impress everybody.
The one man is particularly interested
especially in what happens next.
A young woman obviously very distressed
is brought forward to see the God-Man,
her parents explain that they are desperately hoping that the man
who can perform such miracles
will be able to heal their daughter.
She is apparently possessed by an evil spirit,
a term used in these parts to describe what others might regard
as a physical or mental illness.
Using his supernatural powers
the God-man draws the evil spirit out of the woman’s body
and puts it into a coconut.
The coconut now possessed by the evil spirit
starts to shake and roll.
The God-man then moves the evil spirit
into another coconut
and pours magical water on it.
The evil spirit is destroyed by fire
and breaking the coconut reveals
blood.
Now released from the terrible affliction
the young woman collapses.
The villagers are even more impressed
but naturally miracles of this kind come at a price
and the God-Man’s assistant steps forward
to arrange suitable payment.
The stranger denounces them all,
as charlatans
and reveals the evil spirit that so moved the coconut.
A mouse.
In-fact the God-Man is not what he seems either.
He’s a bank manager.
A half an hour earlier he was putting on his costume along side the supposed stranger
who's part of the same group.
Meanwhile the evil spirit
was being placed in the coconut with suitable air holes.
The purpose of the whole show
is to educate the villagers into the ways of tricks of God-Man.
And while the final make-up was being applied
a firey coconut was being prepared
by inserting a piece of potassium into the tuffs.
The addition of some water
and a little over acting
would ensure a dramatic display.
As for the everlasting holly water,
the jug has secret side panels.
A small air hole on one side,
covered by a thumb
releases water from the panels
and refills the jug.
The young woman is in fact perfectly healthy.
She and her supposed parents
are all part of the same team.
There are group of people that travel all around this part of India
and they are dedicated to exposing false God-men and quacks!