The first question she asked was whether her 18-year old would travel abroad and what the future had in store for him. “It’s really comforting and convenient when you can have an idea about future with one phone call to a television show,” says Joshi who does not have to “wait in line for hours” to have future foretold anymore. “I believe in them because they are almost always right. And it helps me decide what my priorities are.”
Astrologer Basudev Krishna Shastri, 34, produces and hosts the popular television show that forecasts the future and notes past happenings to those who call in his show with the help of Janam Kundali (Lagna birth chart). “It’s a live TV show that tells your future based on your moon sign,” says Shastri who started the television show in January 2008.
“Change in the positions of the planets affects every one of us in this world. Even the sea becomes violent on a full moon night.”
Shastri, a national celebrity, is famously called the ‘laptop jyotishi’ (astrologer) by an army of loyal fans.
When the caller provides date, place and time of birth, the tele-astrologer provides the information to software in his computer to read the positions of planet and prepare the Lagna birth chart. “I then will be able to tell the caller about his past and the future,” Shastri says.
In recent months, Nepal has seen a massive upsurge in the popularity of such TV shows with spawning imitators who follow his idea in other Nepali television channels to produce and host similar shows, with almost identical format and timing.
The Bhavisya Darpan show, which now airs daily instead of twice a week as it used to, has become one of the most-watched television show in the country. In his one-hour live show that broadcasts at 9 in the morning, he gets at least 14 to 18 calls a day and more than 500 letters in a week.
“It’s obvious that the nature of people is very inquisitive. They want to know about themselves and their future,” the tele-astrologer reflects on the popularity of the program. “Everybody wants to know what happens next.”
Shastri has caught his callers off guard by telling them what they are wearing or what they are doing or where their family members are. The father of five-year old daughter says that his callers vary from school children asking about their examinations to retired elders asking whom their grandchildren will marry. But the top three questions Shastri receives on his show are whether there is a travel abroad, on marriage and how much wealth will they earn.
“The youth especially want to know what would be the best choice for them in future so that they can take a direction towards it. They want someone to point it out for them,” Shastri points out.
“And many ask whether they will succeed in love or not.”
Shastri, who carries a mobile number that contains the last three digits as 666, says according to eastern belief, six is the luckiest number and 666 means good fortune. He claims astrology “is the little brother of science and is based on the science of astronomy and the movement of the planets and heavenly bodies.”
Shastri hosts the show with a female model as a co-host who helps him with the computing of information in his laptop. “In this day and age, you have to use the technology available to you. The knowledge is old, but you can incorporate newer ideas. It’s a fusion,” says Shastri who is working on a website to provide his services online.
Shastri says future is not hard to predict but the certainty of it depends “largely on the karma as well. If you do good, it will affect your future. You can change your kismet,” Shastri says.
Shastri believes that the future prediction may not be able to avert the danger, but it can “warn you about it so that you can minimize the affects of it. It’s like rain and umbrella. You can not stop rain, but you can stop yourself from getting wet.”
“Faith drives people forward and astrology gives them a reason for self-belief.”
Suraj Kafle, a sociologist, believes the growing popularity of such television shows based on astrological forecasting is due to their disillusionment and state of melancholy because of the political stalemate in the country, even after the historic CA elections.
Nepal, after a decade-long conflict, still sees massive political instability and the people have not been able to experience the benefits of peace.
“People want inspiration. They want hope. Nothing has changed and it’s very frustrating for them,” says Kafle who is a lecturer of sociology at the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.
“It’s a solace thing. It provides hope for a better future.”
People do ask political questions, whether the Maoists will form the government or the present government would fall, but Shastri says he tries to “protect privacy when it comes to the matter of public interest.” And he adds that personally he would like to see the birth chart of Gyanendra Shah “so that I can see if monarchy will come back again.”
But for now, he forecasts that he sees the country in grave danger in the near future. “ I can tell you this much grave danger lingers upon Nepal and we are not going to see a smooth transition,” Shastri warns Nepal’s warring political leaders.
Shastri, who has authored three books on Vaastu and Tantra Yoga, gets a lot of communist leaders as his clients. “I call it political hypocrisy but I have many communist leaders coming to see their future, including senior Maoists leaders,” Shastri told Republica. “I think they are the most confused bunch.”
“They want to know whether they are going to be in power, whether they will be in government in future.”
Related story
Govt revises down growth forecast to 6 pc
