Hillary Clinton to be US president. Indian astrologer predicted it in 1998
Long before Hillary Clinton had announced that she would be running for President, an Indian astrologer had made an entry in his notebook that she would create history by becoming the US President.
The year was 1998. Shankar Charan Tripathi had just heard then US President Bill Clinton tender his first public apology to Monica Lewinsky on television. The entry in his notebook read: "Hillary Clinton shall become king or king-like when the husband is on the verge of retirement. She shall create the histories in American Constitution or in American countries or in American people as President of America (sic)."
Meeting Clinton
When Bill Clinton visited India in March 2000, Tripathi handed him the notebook, which was by now a 203-page book - Clinton's 'Y': Past, Present and Future.
Clinton's visit was historic because it was the first US presidential visit to India in 22 years. He was visiting with his daughter Chelsea and mother-in-law Dorothy Rodham. He made a few stopovers in India including one at Agra which is where Tripathi met him.
"Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the prime minister then, flew me in a chartered plane to Agra to meet Clinton. My plane landed right after Clinton's. I met him and presented him the book," Tripathi tells Catch.
Tripathi now claims Hillary Clinton will beat rival Donald Trump of the Republican Party by a margin of 4% votes.
The book's title, "Clinton's Y", makes little sense till he elaborates on his art of predicting futures.
Skill Dil: Modi's job portal makes a pitch for palmists, astrologers & moneylenders
Shankar Charan Tripathi (File Photo)The sound of the future
"I rely on the science of sound. This was practiced in ancient India. It is called 'swar jyotish'," he says.
He got interested in Bill Clinton's future right after his messy affair with Monica Lewinsky. He heard Clinton say on TV, "I deny". Tripathi picked up the sound "Y" from this speech and analysed it. The note in his diary read: "...Mr Clinton shall be set free from the scandal of sex and shall not be impeached, however the attack over Iraq is certain."
Bill Clinton, of course, isn't the only one Tripathi has written about.
His predictions are almost always presented in the form of a small book much ahead of time. He had predicted that Vajpayee would become prime minister. That Sonia Gandhi would be a "super prime minister" for 12 years, and that Rahul Gandhi will hit a dead end sooner than later.
These predictions are easy enough to believe as events have unfolded that way. But the pleasant surprise Tripathi springs is that Priyanka Gandhi will be prime minister for a period of three years - from 2019-2021.
Tripathi studies not just politicians, but also celebrities. He has closely followed Bollywood actor Salman Khan's poaching and hit-and-run cases. The analysis of Salman's "swar" told him the star would be acquitted and not have to go to jail.
The litmus test
I am not a believer in astrology. Yet I am curious about Tripathi's craft. He asks me to write a line on a piece of paper and read it.
He then tells me the colour of my clothes and the angle at which I am standing. He zeroes in on my location (window on my right), tells me a bit about my past and also my future.
I hate to admit that Tripathi got the colour of my clothes, my location and my past right. And I do hope he is wrong about my future, but right about Hillary's.
The new Nostradamus: Baba Vanga predicted a 'great Muslim war' in 2016