"Your wife's brother has cast a spell on you." These words put him in a quandary. What fear, what terror! No wonder, she looked so smug these days. Come to think of it, she was over-feeding him with sweets - stuff "black magic" is made of!

A surprising fact is that things that we use in our daily life are sometimes under a spell by someone out of jealousy. People who indulge in such evil practices, aamils, throw an open challenge to anyone who can do better than them. These aamils play with the psyche of the people with such expertise that no one can doubt their capability.

Who would know that the white beads or white threads lying on our bureau are under a spell or a picture that we might have given to a friend or a close relative might be used for magic? It is a commonly held belief that relatives or colleagues use black magic out of jealousy. Domestic squabbles often lead to major fights. Normally, a person, would never imagine that these quarrels are a result of some taweez or talisman used by a relative to create a rift in the family.

Interestingly, the aamils have a large clientele among women. They say women are emotionally very weak and can be fooled easily. They sometimes come for a talisman for their husbands so that they can have complete control over them. Often mothers-in-law come for a remedy that can be used to make sure that their sons are not overly inclined towards their wives. That way they can have their sons under their control and can cause quarrels between the spouses.

Women can easily be asked to go to any length to achieve 'positive' results. Young women who want a satisfactory love life often ask for advice that can entrap their beloved. Ironically, these aamils advertise about themselves without any fear of God. Mahboob aapke qadmon mein, imtihanon mein kamyabi, etc; are a few of the many claims used by these practitioners of magic. They also guarantee 100 per cent success in their advertisements.

They exploit their clients beyond anyone's imagination. They will ask very normal, run of the mill questions that will convince a client of their abilities. This is one of the easiest ways of trapping an emotionally weak person. Sometimes men also go to them, seeking solutions and remedies to their problems. Mostly they want a talisman for a colleague so that he cannot succeed in his job. Surprisingly, subordinates want that their bosses should be on their side and do everything in their favour. These aamils then cast a spell on air fresheners, sugar; give a talisman to be kept in a drawer or a hidden place in the room.

A practising psychologist is of the view that these aamils basically play on an individual's psyche. He says since people are illiterate, they are easy meat for these clairvoyants.

A young woman from a posh area of the city claimed that she was told a few days ago about a spell being cast on her. The reason was very foolish. Some people brought a proposal to her parents for their son. Her parents rejected it. Later, they found bloodstains on the walls of their house. Contacting a religious person, they were told that their daughter had been "cursed." Anybody would wonder why should a person do such a horrifying thing. But this, unfortunately, is a fact of life.

Ordinary things are used for this purpose by these so-called aamils. Common examples are salt, verses from the scriptures, cotton, hair, photographs of the intended victim, etc. It is believed that the aamils can go to any length to cast a spell. It has been reported that they smuggle ashes of dead people from across the border for this purpose.

Some people are of the view that the spells cast by such people can be removed by certain methods. Some even say that the spell can come to an end when the person casting it dies. Quite a few people say that a certain bone in a camel, if kept in the house, can prevent a spell from working on a person. Butchers are very cautious when selling meat. If you ask them to give the heart of the animal, they will always make a cut in it. The reason for this is that often people use the heart of a goat for black magic. The skull of a goat is also used for the same purpose.

A fifty-year-old woman told me that her family was under a strong spell. They had noticed that in a span of three months, there had been financial as well as health problems. Her husband also had a terrible accident in which his life was saved with great difficulty. They consulted a religious person and were told that their rooftop was under a heavy magic spell. On checking they found that five nails had been hammered into a wall. The five nails represented their family and the wall, their house. She also said that they were told that someone from outside the family would have to take them out of the wall to rid them of the spell.

It is surprising that these people can use anything and everything in black magic. Obviously the victim would not know but they will definitely have this certainty in mind that this aamil can cure any disease. They often give their clients a black cloth and ask them to throw it in the river and not to look back. They are given this surety that this black cloth will ward off all evil from their families or professions.

The atmosphere at these places is most depressing. Although they have a separate room for women, yet all are burqa-clad. When asked why they were visiting the aamils, they replied that they had severe domestic problems. Some said their husbands are totally under their mothers' influence and don't have any respect for their wives. Young girls who go to the aamils say that they want stability in their love life. They also want to make sure that their beloved has not taken just a passing fancy to them. In order to ensure this, they visit these clairvoyants.

The practice of black magic has always been a moneymaking business. The aamils don't find it difficult to check the willingness of a person who has come to them. They will make him or her sit for as long as possible. Just to test his patience they will ask him to visit them as many times as possible. When they are sure that the person is more than willing to get himself 'treated.'

They will ask the client to crouch in front of them and then pat his back with a broom. After that they will talk to him in generalities. Since these people are so impressed by the aamil's tall claims of making the impossible possible, they don't care what they are saying. All they want is an effective remedy. But additional problems - anxiety and depression - is what they get in the end.