Ashok Kharat claimed that as a captain in the merchant navy he travelled to over a hundred countries where he studied techniques to be a proficient astrologer, numerologist and expert on the cosmos. He read his devotees’ faces – or the stars – to predict futures and claimed to cure curses placed upon them.
Over the years, Kharat’s influence spread across the state. Devotees sought his help in everything ranging from acquiring political power to a favourable government posting to a healthy child. He comforted politicians, influenced transfers, and also sold exorbitantly priced ‘blessed’ tamarind seeds and ‘Turkish honey’ for virility.
