>Govind Swamy (22) chucked up his job of fixing scooters in favour of fixing people’s minds and spirits instead. He is a soothsayer, a fortune teller, a man with a vision.
Equipped with face-reading skills he claims to have learned when he was 12, for the past eleven months he has plunged headlong into the future. That is, other people’s futures.
Swamy uses a combination of face reading, palmistry and gili shastra (parrot astrology) every Saturday at the junction of Byappanahalli Main Rd and Old Madras Road in Bangalore. On other days, he pounds the sidewalks of Bangalore in search of people who are willing to use his ‘futuristic’ skills. When this writer caught up with him, he admitted that “it’s a profession of half truths”, but added that it had its benefits, too.
How did you get hooked on to astrology?
I come from a family of astrologers. My grandfather, my father, mother and brother are all into this. In fact, nobody in my village in Andhra wants to work… right down to little girls. When my Guru Ramdas saw me working as a scooter mechanic earning a measly salary of Rs 150 per month, he advised me to start work as an astrologer instead. I had already learnt all about face reading, palmistry, horoscope making and talisman-making from him when I was 12-years old.
What’s your job like?
I counsel people. I read their faces, and when the parrot picks out a card with the Yama’s photo (others include a mosque, a temple, a snake, etc.) on it, I tell them their time is not right, that they have to do one ‘mantra’ suggested by me to set it right. Most people readily pay Rs 5 for gili shastra (parrot astrology), but very few are willing to pay for the ‘mantras’ that cost anywhere from Rs 50-300.
What kind of people come to you?
All sorts. Most are youngsters. Sometimes even military officers in the neighbourhood come to me to find out if they will do well financially in the next few years. Some people want to act with Rajnikanth in one of his movies. When I tell them, it costs Rs 100 to do a ‘mantra’ to that effect, they don’t turn up again. Some girls want to marry Tamil actor Vijay. Again, I tell them to give me Rs 100, but they give me Rs 20 and never come back after that. Some harried wives come to me saying, ‘My husband drinks and picks quarrels all the time, what should I do?’ I tell them, ‘Wait for 3 months, things will be definitely sunnier after the 4th month.’ They say, ‘If what you say is true, I will get you new clothes.’
So how many of your predictions have really hit the bull’s eye?
Quite a few. The other day, one 75-year-old woman asked me ‘When will I die?’ I read her face and said, ‘You won’t die a natural death. A vehicle will run you over.’ Believe it or not, after 10 days, one person told me that it happened just the way I had predicted. Sometimes, when my predictions come true, they treat me at a restaurant, gift me with new clothes, and so on. One woman came to me saying her husband is beating her up because she did not give birth to a male child. I went to her house and did a mantra. One year later, she gave birth to a baby boy. She gave me Rs 300, a shirt, a dhoti and respects me every time I visit her.
What’s the best part of your job?
That I can be of help to people. Most youngsters who come to me don’t listen to elders and are highly irresponsible. But after paying Rs 5 and listening to my advise, they go back and make peace at home. At the end of it, it’s not money but the satisfaction on the client’s face that thrills me no end. Some people even start weeping when I unravel their pitiful state.
How many people come to you out of curiosity?
Out of 20 people, 10 come with genuine problems, five are in a crying state while the remaining want to quell their curiosity.