Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan Characterization

What started out a serial novel in a renowned Indian magazine during the 1950s quickly became what many consider to be one of the greatest works of Tamil literature even today. It is said readers back in the day would eagerly wait for each weekly installment, cut them out from the magazine and put them in plastic files to be read over and over again. The serial novel's popularity elevated the magazine's circulation to over 70 000 copies. The story revolves around the death of the king of the great Chola empire and the struggle for the throne. There has been several attempts to adapt the novel into film. Now, the time has come. Here is a run down of the many characters and the actors who will be playing them.

Karthi Sivakumar as Vandiyathevan

Many readers of the novel consider him to be the main protagonist of the story even though he is not the titular character. He is the best friend of crown prince Aditya Karikalan and is appointed as his bodyguard while they are stationed in Kanchi. He is known for his wit and bravery that eventually earns him the position as commander of the Chola empire's southern troops. Karikalan sends him to Thanjavur, the capital of the Chola empire, to meet his father, King Sundara Chola. During his journey, Vandiyadevan meets and falls in love with Princess Kundavai. 

Vikram as Aditya Karikalan

The eldest son of King Sundara Chola, crown prince of the mighty Chola kingdom, and commander of his father's northern troops. He is a decorated warrior prince; having fought his first battle at the young age of twelve. He sends his best friend, Vandiyathevan to invite his father, the king, to Kanchi to visit the golden palace he had built. He is infamous for his great temper, which led him to assassinate a powerful rival king that earns him many enemies in and out of the kingdom.

Trisha as Kundhavai 

The Chola king's middle child and only daughter. Unlike other princesses, she vows to remain in her land of birth to unite the entire region as part of her kingdom. She is well-known for her kindness, like when she takes care of the orphaned princess, Vanathi. She is respected and loved by her people. She trains her younger brother, Arulmozhi Varman to become a great leader to achieve her ambitions. She also sends her guard, Vandiyathevan to Sri Lanka to escort Arulmozhi home to guard their elder brother, Karikalan from an eminent threat. 

Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman

The youngest child of King Sundara Chola. He is raised in Pazhayarai by Periya Piratti and Ilaya Piratti. Legend has it that he was saved by the mystical Mother Kaveri herself from drowning in her holy river when he was five. Since then, he is referred to as "Ponniyin Selvan" or "Son of Kaveri". He is educated by his elder sister, Kundavai, who then sends him to Sri Lanka when he is nineteen to widen their empire. Despite being a conqueror, he is loved by most of the people in Sri Lanka for his religious tolerance, kindness and good looks.

Aishwarya Rai as Nandini 

The ward of a priestly family in Madurai who grew up alongside the royal children. However, her true origins remain a mystery throughout the novel. She and Karikalan were childhood lovers but the royal family does not approve of their relationship. She conspires with the Chola kingdom's rivals to destroy the Chola dynasty. By marrying the powerful Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, she manipulates him and many other men to overthrow the royal family. Vandiyathevan is the only man who is unfazed by her beauty. 

Sarathkumar as Periya Pazhuvettarayar

The chancellor and treasurer of the Chola empire. He is so highly respected throughout the kingdom that he is considered the second most powerful man in the empire next to the king himself. The 64 scars from his many battles are a testament of his love for his king and country. He marries a much younger Nandini after he is seduced by her great beauty. His young wife easily uses him as her puppet to make his relative, Uttama Chola the next king. The once loyal nobleman eventually becomes one of the leader of the conspirators who goes against the royal family. 

Parthiban as Chinna Pazhuvettarayar

The chief of the Thanjavur fort. He is the younger brother of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar who he loves and respects for protecting their family. He is the father-in-law of Uttama Chola, one of the few people who is likely to ascend the throne. Despite Nandini's attempt to help his own son-in-law ascend the throne, he is weary of his brother's relationship with her. 

Kishore as Ravidasan 

Bodyguard of the late Veera Pandiyan, a rival king of the Chola kingdom. He plays a big role in the conspiracy to assassinate all the members of the Chola royal family as revenge for the death of his king. He was once a minister in the Chola court.

Aishwarya Lekshmi as Poonguzhali

She is the fearless daughter of a boatman from Kodikkarai who rows with Vandiyadevan to Sri Lanka to meet Arulmozhi. On their way back to the mainland, she rescues them from drowning in the Indian Ocean after their ship meets with a storm. Despite initially disliking men, she falls in love with Arulmozhi but is married off to someone else.

Riyaz Khan as Soman Sambavan

A former bodyguard of the late King Veera Pandiyan who conspires to wipe out the Chola dynasty. He becomes the guard at Kadambur palace.

Jayaram as Azhwarkadiyan Nambi

He is a spy who works for the prime minister. Apart from being a foster brother of Nandhini's, he is also a close friend of Vandiyathevan.

Prakash Raj as King Sundara Chola

He is the renowned king of the Chola empire. Aditya Karikalan, Kundhavai and Arulmozhi Varman are his three children. His death sparks the succession crisis that leads to the major conflict of the story. 

47-year search for dad ends in heartbreak

In 2018, the movie Pulang by Primeworks Studios about the true story of a Malay sailor who left his family and lived the rest of his family in Liverpool, UK was released. It caught the attention of Salmi, who then wrote to me asking for help. Her husband's father, like the hero of the movie, left his family in Malaysia and went to the UK back in the 70s and was never heard of again. 

Salmi's father-in-law is Lance Corporal Mohd Said Mohd Amin, who like most soldiers after being discharged from military service, decided to migrate to the United Kingdom. In 1972, the 33-year-old father of four, with one more on the way, left his heavily pregnant wife, Ramlah, then 26, with their three children, in Serkam, Melaka, with plans to bring them over to the UK once he had sorted out their accommodation and schooling. Salmi's husband, Hariss, then nine, was the eldest and was tasked with writing to his father in London once or twice a month.

Soon enough, the day the family was waiting for finally arrived. Said wrote to say he would be returning to Malaysia to get his family. However, the initial euphoria of being reunited slowly turned into disappointment as the familiar airmail, which was sometimes accompanied by money, stopped coming.The father whom they remembered as a soft-spoken man who would never raise his voice suddenly disappeared from their lives with not so much as a clue to point to his whereabouts.

Life for the young family changed drastically after that, with Ramlah having to sell nasi lemak in their village to support the family. The children were separated as family members rallied to take care of each child in their respective homes. They, too, had to work while still in school to help support the family.

“In the 1990s, we wrote to the British High Commission here, which confirmed that our letter to our father was delivered but they could not reveal his address as it was confidential. It was heartbreaking to hear that he had received the letter but there was no reply. I wouldn’t say I was doing it for myself, It was for my mother, who never stopped waiting. I guess she wanted an answer.” Hariss admitted.

The search for Said even took the siblings to the studios of TV3’s programme Jejak Kasih. However, people began ringing them to say their father was still alive and living in Kuala Lumpur or was last sighted in Chow Kit — the family was led on a wild goose chase with payment demanded in return. Friends travelling and working in the UK were also roped in to help in the search but to no avail.

This started off a chain of positive developments from London to Liverpool to Aberdeen and later, to an oil rig in Scotland. I asked friends who had served in the British Army before but that led to nothing. I gave Salmi the number for a contact in Liverpool, Jantan Lisot, who is a member of the Malay seafarers’ community there. It was through his efforts that Said was finally located. Jantan said he engaged the services of an agency to track down Said.

“The agency said they found him in Wales but would not give me the address until I made further payments. I was then given an email address to write to him through this agency,” said Jantan when I met him in Liverpool recently. The email via the agency was sent on May 23 to Said, who was in Moray, Portgordon, a small village in Scotland, almost 100km away from Aberdeen. The initial information about Wales was to mislead us so that we did not contact him personally.

However, any hope of a happy ending was soon shattered. Jantan received word that Said had died, a mere three days after receiving the email seeking to re-connect with him. Said apparently sustained a fall and died alone in his house. He was 79. Financial constraints meant that none of the family members could travel to Portgordon. But the close network of Malaysians abroad rallied to help salvage the situation in what appeared to be dire circumstances.

Arrangements were made to collect funds for the burial, which was £4,000 (approximately RM 20,500) and for the body to be taken to the Elgin Muslim cemetery. Among the Muslim community at the Elgin mosque was a Scotsman — the only person who knew Said, the man, known to neighbours in Moray and his friends at the Baxter Food factory, where he worked until five years ago, as Eddie.

Only wishing to be known as a close neighbour who missed Eddie greatly, he said Said had always lived alone. “Eddie” never spoke about his background. People only knew him to be from the army and that he used to work in London and then Liverpool. He was the best neighbour anyone could wish for, he said, with his sentiments echoed by friends, former colleagues and neighbours in his Facebook status. Lance Corporal Mohd Said Mohd Amin is buried at the Elgin Muslim cemetery in Scotland.

“I was the only non-Muslim person at the mosque and I spoke on behalf of the local community to thank the Muslim community for coming together to give Eddie a proper funeral. I also spoke briefly about how good a person and neighbour he was. He will be missed,” said the neighbour, who was also asked to identify the body at the mortuary.

The revelation by the neighbour about Said would perhaps go some way towards providing an insight into the man Hariss and his siblings had been searching for, the man who was their father. Hariss and his siblings are ready to accept it as fate that they were never to meet again. As for the whys that have plagued their minds for the past 47 years, they are resigned to the fact that perhaps something had happened to him to make him stay away.

The story of Said may not end here — diaries and journals he had written were among the possessions he left behind. These could perhaps reveal the answers the children are searching for. And for that, they will have to make the journey to Moray. One day.

Adapted from: Postcard from Zaharah: 47-year search for dad ends in heartbreak by Zaharah Othman for the New Straits Times

The 2016 Haunting of the Australian Family That Visited Titiwangsa

In June 2016, a string of Reddit posts by an Australian youth went viral on social media. In their three posts, they describe how their parents and siblings started to behave differently after they returned home from a holiday in Malaysia. 

POST 1: 

Thank you everyone for your concern. I am fine but have been preoccupied a fair bit. Initially, I had disregarded the drug angle but after reading all the comments, I feel inclined to at least get a sample to test from them. I can't exactly stick a needle in them and since I haven't heard them use the bathroom, I think urine is out of the question as well. I think I'll try and get some hair samples and send them off to a lab at Uni (I have some friends). Also, expect a full update soon. Reddit nosleep rules stipulate that you can only update once every 24 hours which is why I haven't put up another update. Please stay calm everyone, I'll let you know if things take a turn for the worst.

Hey guys, long time reader, first time user. I just needed an outlet to talk about the strange things happening at home lately.

A quick background, we are a family of 6 (mum, dad, two older brothers, me and my youngest sister) and we’ve all been born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. My mum and dad are both still in the workforce in the pharmaceutical sector, my brothers and I are at university (All at Monash University) and my sister is just about to graduate from high school (we expect top marks, my sister is a freak of nature)

Right now, we are in the middle of the uni and school breaks (mid year break). As a reward, my parents decided to take a week and a half off at work and asked if we wanted to take a short trip around SE Asia, particularly Malaysia. (SE Asia is really the only destination for many Australians because every other place is in woop-woop and would take ages to get to). Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, of course I was on board with the idea; so were the rest of the siblings.

So off we went, into Melbourne Airport Terminal 2. Everything went as smooth as possible (well, as smooth as it can be for a bunch of Muslims; ha ha. There were a couple ‘random’ frisk searches but meh, we’re used to it at this point). Boarded the plane and enjoyed the 6 hour flight as much as anyone can enjoy being in a metal tube for 6 hours.

Finally disembarked the plane, checked into our hotel, had dinner, showered and prepared for the adventures we had planned for the week. It was looking like it’d be the relaxing holiday I’d been hoping for. Apparently not.

Here is where it started to go a little bit strange. Quick fact about my family, we are your stock-standard tourist with, as embarrassing as this is, the cliché camera around the neck. We do not ever stray off the beaten tourist track. We do not search for exotic places that a normal tourist wouldn't care for and we certainly do not decide to do something spontaneously; everything about everything in my life has been meticulously planned by my parents and, as I developed the habit, by myself. So it did take me truly by surprise when my dad suggested that instead of visiting Putrajaya (the political capital of Malaysia) we should keep on driving and see ‘where the car takes us.’ No seriously, my dad, the same man who has always taken the same route to work everyday religiously, suggested a completely spontaneous and ridiculous (if you ask me) trip into nowhere. Even more strange was that, everyone agreed with him (albeit reluctantly) and I just chalked it to his midlife crisis.

I’ll be honest, I really wasn't feeling a trip into the Malaysian wilderness so to speak, so I decided to sit this one out and just chill in the hotel room with the free Wifi. The family was all cool with this and we parted ways. I know its very cliché to say this, but I really did feel in my stomach that this trip was not going to end well for anyone and I suppose it’s my fault I didn’t encourage my dad to drop this shi**y idea.

Fast-forward to 8 or so hours (they left at about midday local time), they still hadn't returned and I, being the anxious meticulous person I am, started thinking the worst. There wasn't any way for me to contact them and so I decided that if they weren't home by 10 pm (10 hours after they’ve left) I would notify both the local authorities as well as the Australian Consulate. At about 9:20, I heard the key card beep and they all walked in (wobbling would probably describe it better), almost as if they were re-learning how to walk. To calm my rampant mind, I told myself that after being stuck driving for 10 hours, I would probably also be a bit lead-footed too. They also stunk. Bad. No, stunk is an understatement. They absolutely reeked. It was a foul smell, like rotting flesh and sulfur. Also chalked this up to the long trip and the fact that they were in enclosed space. Nothing a hot, refreshing shower wouldn’t fix.

They were back into the hotel and I, being as exhausted as I was, just conked out onto my bed. It was around mid-morning I re-emerged and the sight that greeted me was not one I expected. Despite having around a week and a day left on our trip, I saw that ‘my family’ had started packing and ‘my dad’ was checking us out downstairs. ‘Dad’ came back upstairs with a goofy grin (haven’t seen something resembling that since I was 5) and told us that we needed to get back to Melbourne as unexpected work had come in and that him and mum were needed. Again, didn't want to question anything so I just went with flow of things. The family still reeked and there was no evidence that the shower had been used but like I said, I’m very mild-mannered and meek and don't like questioning people or things.

We check out, call for a taxi, and head to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Everything checks out (not many questions because they saw the Australian passport) and on the plane we embark. This is where it went super weird, like ‘holy f**k, what the f**k is actually going on!’ For those who have never been to/traveled to Australia, every passenger needs to fill out what is an inbound travelling card declaring who you are and what you’re bringing into the country. This card needs to contain your name, date of birth and passport number and there are a number of questions that need to be answered about what you’re bringing into Australia. This is nothing surprising to us, we all have travelled a fair bit together so we knew exactly what to do, except no one in my family had a clue how to hold the bloody pen, let alone fill in significant details. Eventually, after a few scribbles and some strange letters (they looked Cyrillic or Hebrew or something like that), I gave in and filled in the travel cards for everyone. By now I’m legit freaking out.

6 hours later, we disembark, head to customs and border patrol and after a few dodgy answers from ‘my parents’, I manage to convince the customs officer that they’ve just had a rough time overseas and have not quite recovered (rough time, L.O.L., what an exaggeration). He still let us through because we still are Australian citizens and as we had nothing to declare quarantine wasn’t a big issue. One strange thing I noticed was that nobody else had detected the foul odour emanating from my family members. It was only me and, surprisingly, the dogs at quarantine. The two dogs working to sniff out passenger luggage had reacted in such a negative way, with their nose wrinkled and small, barely imperceptible whimpers. The quarantine officer noticing their reactions asked if we had anything to declare and tried to get the dogs to sniff but they refused. As we had nothing to declare and there wasn't anything suspicious on the x-ray, there really wasn't anything quarantine could do but let us go through.

We leave the airport, take one of the airport shuttle buses to where our car was parked long-term. By this time, I am actually starting to think that something evil may have happened to my family whilst on their ‘trip’. We get into the car and my dad asked my the question that almost made me cry out in fear. He told me he’d forgotten the way home (we’ve lived in the same house all our lives) and if I could be a darl (He’s never called me by a pet-name, let alone something as bogan as darl), and give him directions to our home or drive us instead. I was too terrified to say no and so jumped into the driver’s seat. We live in south-eastern suburbs which is a solid 1 hour drive from in airport, located in the north. We get home finally and at this point I'm barely functional, in a state of catatonia. From the corner of my eye, I see ‘my dad’ surveying the house and smiling pridefully as if he had never been here and was gifted the property instead. The rest of my family enter the house after me and sleep in different bedrooms. That all but confirmed it to me that I had allowed evil into my home.

It’s now 1:07 am (we got home just after midnight) as I write this and I can’t sleep at all, let alone with them upstairs. Every 10 minutes or so my family break out in this sort of rhythmic hum but that stopped at a quarter to one. I’m not quite sure what the humming means but I endeavour to find out soon enough. As we are Muslims, I’ll try and get in contact with a Sheikh who knows about these things in the hopes of helping me solve this but I honestly don't know what to expect. I don't even know why I’m writing about this, I’ve never been much of a writer. I’m just at my wits end and absolutely terrified that something irreversible has occurred. I’ll try to update in the morning if I can, I’m just really exhausted and don't know what to think.

POST 2: 

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, its just been a crazy couple of days. I got in contact with the sheikh. He said that he’d be able to come in about 5-7 days. Since Islam is an Abrahamic faith, it bears a lot of similarities to both Christianity and Judaism, especially about spirits and the paranormal.

Anyways, I had still been up from the night we returned from the airport trying to keep and ear out for any other strange noises. The humming started again at around quarter past 4 and kept going till at least half past 5. At this point, I had pulled out the big guns and started reading the Quran (the Islamic holy book) which was fairly strange because I have never been much of a devout believer. What can I say, f***ed up things like this do have an affect on your beliefs and faith.

At around 5:30 in the morning, the thing that resembled my dad (I refuse to believe that thing is my father) arose and came downstairs. No shower or toilet. Just came downstairs and stared, then asked why the Quran was on the coffee table. The strange thing about this entire ordeal is that all their voices were still exactly the same. ‘My father’ still had his low, gravelly voice (years of smoking will do that to you), ‘my mum’ had her higher-pitch, almost twinkly voice. ‘My brothers’ still had their deep bassy voices and well, my sister had her voice as well. I don't know how that’s possible and if anyone knows if spirits can keep the voices of the people they become, please do share.

So, ‘my dad’ comes down and has two toast with butter only and 1 Up and Go (a breakfast drink in Australia) which surprised me as that was what my dad always had for breakfast. Perhaps, I'm beginning to think, that my actual dad is not dead/taken but rather suppressed by the evil spirit so some of nuances are still present. ‘My mum’ was the same, woke up (again no toilet/shower), had her cup of black coffee with no sugar and a bowl of cornflakes. Exact same thing my mum had for breakfast.

It’s now 8 am and they’re leaving to go to work. I haven’t been asked for directions to my parents’ workplace which leads me to believe that they may have acquainted themselves with who they're supposed to be overnight. My brothers, my sister and I are still on break so we’re the only ones still at home. I feel more comfortable dealing with ‘my siblings’ without the influence of ‘my dad’ because it seems as though he is the leader, telling them what to do and how to act.

Like I mentioned, I brought the Quran out to read and put my mind at ease. Many people in the comments mentioned that it could be a jinn (a spirit in Islamic culture, not necessarily evil, that can possess someone) and because of that, I have been reading the chapter in the Quran that is specifically called ‘The Jinn.’ It seems when I read it out loud, I can hear a sort of scratching noise upstairs, particularly my sister’s room. Maybe I'm imagining that the words are having an effect on the things upstairs or maybe I'm making my brain feel as though they are, I can’t be too sure. I’ve been speaking with a few family friends and each of them have told me very firmly that I am not strong enough (religiously, I assume) to deal with or fight the creatures that are pretending to be my family and that I should wait for the sheikh

It’s now 2:50 pm in the afternoon. ‘The siblings’ have still not woken up, I'm not really sure why. Even on their laziest days, nobody is usually asleep past 1:30 pm. I’m very tempted to go upstairs and see what’s up but I’ve watched enough horror movies to know that no good comes of going up to the monster itself. I’m not about to die without solving this mess. My parents usually come back from work at about 5:30 pm so I have some time to try and arm myself with as much information and 'dua' (prayers) as I can.

5:34 pm. I hear my parents car drive into the garage. They both come in together, looking a lot less satisfied than they were this morning. I’m not sure why. ‘My dad’ whispers something along the lines of ‘…should never have..should stay..’ and something like ‘banjoran titwang’ to my mum. I’m not sure if I heard the last part correctly, could it be an insult? A place? I haven't got a clue. I don't even know what language it is but it’s definitely not English. They’ve just said hi to me and gone upstairs. To do what, I don't know. But as long as they’re not near me, I don’t feel as anxious. The smell is still in the house but it’s not as strong as I remember it though that could be because I’ve been around it for a fair bit.

It’s just ticked over midnight here, 12:07 am to be exact. My need for sleep has grown considerably (I haven't actually slept in over almost 72 hours) so I’ve made myself a makeshift bed on the sofa and have the Quran blasting in my earphones. I dunno, it just makes me feel a lot better and soothes me. I’ll leave it at that and try to update if anything big happens or when the Sheikh gets here, whichever comes first. Fingers crossed its the sheikh.

I know I’ve been told not to try and fight whatever it is that’s inside my family members but I guess I’m a sucker for masochism. Every time I hear the rhythmic hum begin upstairs, I’ve began reciting verses from the Quran softly under my breath and I swear the rhythmic hum will stop for a bit and I hear knocks instead, underneath my dad’s room. The knocks have always been the same pattern, three short knocks, three long knocks and three short knocks once more. I dunno what the knocks represent? Could it be like warning knocks or something? Maybe nine knocks signifies something? I’m not sure. Also still waiting for the Sheikh, he said he’d be here on Friday. It’s a Tuesday night at the moment. I’ll update as soon as I can.

POST 3: 

I’m back guys, thankfully unharmed (as of yet). It’s a cold Saturday evening and I just finished speaking with the sheikh (for a second time), a lovely Imam named Ahmad and I’ll try to reiterate everything I saw as well as what he let me know based on what he got from the first meeting with them.

Imam Ahmad first approached my dad and shook his hand. ‘Dad’ shook back almost as if he was being forced to (strengthening my theory that perhaps there is a little bit of my real dad just being suppressed by the creature). This is basically how the dialogue went: 

IMAM AHMAD: Salam Alaykum. Can you please tell me who you are? 

‘DAD’: I am Ali ***** (side note: Notice he didn't respond with the peace greeting in the beginning?) 

IMAM AHMAD: Ali, what is it that you do for a living? 

‘DAD’: I am a pharmaceutical scientist working for ****** ******* ******* 

IMAM AHMAD: And how long have you been working there? 

‘DAD’: Nearing on 25 years. 

At this point, ‘my dad’ seemed to have passed with flying colours. He knew our names, what we studied at uni, and some other little things like what my most disliked chore was (vacuuming, by far) and what my mother’s favourite dessert was. However, there was still something off. No matter how well he knew the family and us, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off. The smell was still there and occasionally, the hum would start upstairs where my siblings were. I asked Imam Ahmad if he could smell the rotting flesh I could but he replied saying he couldn't. It was now that Imam Ahmad asked me if he could try an experiment. The experiment consisted of playing some of ‘The Cow’ (Surah Al-Baqarah) chapter of the Quran and see if there was a reaction. He let me know that this was usually the standard at which other Sheikhs and Imams decided on whether there was a spirit or something paranormal involved. I told him I already had it on my iPhone and gave it to him. He pressed play and waited as it began.

The result was almost instantaneous. ‘My dad’ began shrieking in such an inhuman way I was terrified he was legit going to eat us. The shrieking was also present upstairs and the scratching I heard the first night we came back intensified. All of this would have happened within the space of about 3 seconds but if you asked me it felt like shrieks would never stop. Imam Ahmad stopped the Quran and at that moment, he let me know that he could now smell what I’ve been smelling the entire time.

In as much strength as I could conjure, I asked him to explain exactly what he’d done. You see, I'm well versed in exorcisms and possessions but only in the Christian sense, with The Lord’s Prayer, Holy Water, crucifixes and crosses etc. I have Hollywood to thank for that. But how often have I heard of exorcisms and possessions in the Islamic sense? Can’t say too many. Imam Ahmad noticed the terror in my face and asked if it was possible if I could stay with a family friend or a friend for a couple days and that I meet him at the local mosque after the noon prayer tomorrow. He waited whilst I organised a place to sleep for the night and offered to drop me off, which I kindly accepted.

It was on the way to one of my closest mate’s place (She lives in the on-campus residences at uni) that Imam Ahmad tried to explain to me what happened. In essence, he said that he was now about 85% sure that my family were possessed by Jinns who were very powerful and definitely had terrible intentions. You’d be surprised how well I took this information. The Imam looked at me warily and asked why I was so calm. It was then I let slip that I had fellow Redditors following my story and that the topic of skin walkers and drug hallucinations had come up. Imam Ahmad reassured me again that he was quite confident that my family members were still alive but would not be for long if he didn't start the exorcism soon. Whatever relief I had gained from hearing about the earlier information had quickly vanished and this time I was perhaps more terrified. We reached my mate’s place and the Imam reminded me again that he was expecting my visit tomorrow.

Right now, I’m with Amelia, my best friend of close to six years. I’ve sort of filled her in on what’s going on but as she’s a staunch atheist, she’s trying to comprehend things logically. I guess I’ll leave it at for now and update as soon as I’ve caught up with Imam Ahmad.

UPDATE: Hi everyone, unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse, particularly my little sister. I'm not sure for how long I won't be able to update because right now I'd like to focus all my attention towards this ongoing issue. I know I promised and ending regardless but please give me some time. Thank you and God bless all of you.

The Redditor is yet to put up a fourth post. 

Kalank (2019) Beautiful Set Design