Book#281, International Collection, Themes: Possession / Ancestral Curse / The Sins of the Father / Modern Exorcism, Keywords: Possession, Bangalore, Kerala, Ancestral Debt, Tantric Ritual, Land Dispute, Jasmine, Exorcism, Transgender Identity, Supernatural, Family Secrets.
The house was too bright. But the shadow found him anyway. Yashas is a fifteen-year-old academic topper living in Bangalore. When his father, Sreehari, sells the family’s ancestral farmland to build a palatial home in the city, Yashas expects a life of luxury. Instead, he finds a haunting. It starts with the smell of jasmine where no flowers grow. Then, the sound of anklets in the corridor. Soon, Yashas is losing time, failing exams, and waking up wearing his mother’s sarees, speaking in a woman’s voice he does not recognize. He has been possessed by Vallika—a spirit with a tragic history tied to his father’s past and a well in a remote village. As the possession deepens, Yashas’s body and identity begin to shift, blurring the line between the boy he was and the woman who demands to be heard. Desperate to save him, his family must travel back to the village of Mannarkad. There, aided by a skeptical brother and a noble tantric, they must face a corrupt “committee” weaponizing faith and a father’s old sin. In a battle fought with ancient rituals and modern smartphones, Yashas must decide: Is the voice in his head a curse, or a calling? A haunting, lyrical, and suspenseful story about the debts we inherit and the names we choose for ourselves.
[CONTENT WARNING] Contains themes of: Suicide (backstory), Sexual Assault Attempt (by a predatory witch doctor), Possession/Loss of Control, Land Disputes, and Gender Dysphoria. The tone is atmospheric and tense.
Heat Level (1-5) 2 (Supernatural / Tense) This is not an erotic novel. The tension comes from the possession and the thriller elements. The “heat” is the burning sensation of the amulet and the spiritual intensity. The ending is a peaceful acceptance of a new female identity (“Jenny”).