They say the place is cursed and one shouldn’t visit the ruined town after sunset. There are evil forces, there are strange animals, the roofless facades and the eerie Haweli could make you uncomfortable even during daytime. I wish they were just false presumptions and man made stories but they aren’t. 10 friends decided to decipher the noise behind the uncanny Bhangarh fort supposedly known as the most haunted place in India. They hired a Tata Qualis, packed some beer cans, whiskey, a fresh lemon and got all set to decode the unknown. They were unaware about the road ahead but they were very much inquisitive to get a glimpse of the place known for its eeriness even in an era where almost nobody believes in the existence of ghosts. They were picked by the benevolent cab driver from various places like Gautam Nagar, Nehru Place and Lajpat Nagar. It was a bright moonlit night in Delhi; there were marriages and parties going on all around the city. The journey started at 12 O’clock midnight. Everybody updated their Facebook status before leaving Delhi saying “Going to Bhangarh – The most haunted place in India – Wish us luck”.
The foggy winter night was pleasurable for everyone as they were enjoying the mist touching the window screen. They thought of playing the customised CD especially made for the trip but suddenly the CD player crashed. Music is so important someone said from the backseat. No worries, there are cell phones – someone replied. Finally there were old Hindi classic songs for a respite. The story behind Bhangarh’s disturbing atmosphere was so very fascinating. The Tantrik (Evil magician) became the main topic of discussion among them. There are no Ghosts, they are just crap I bet – Kapil quotes from the backseat. Maybe there are some animals instead. Everybody made a picture in their mind. The talk continued and the music played in the background gave a soothing touch to the journey. The Jaipur highway was smooth as ever.
The car stopped and everyone rushed to the nearby open space to lighten a bit. The highway restaurant called “The Village” was almost deserted. 13 beer canes, 10 whiskey bottles down and finished. It was a party well celebrated before the dawn. They resumed their journey. Ojhas started to express his feelings about everyone including vikram (Me)with complete ease. He became the sole narrator and everyone just listened to him. It was around 4’O clock the car stopped again for a brief break where they had the finest tea served at that countryside Dhaba. It was fun to see laidback villagers infornt of the winter fire. They took some photographs and moved on.
The car flew fast amid lush locales of Rajasthan. It was more of Punjab than Rajasthan as there was mustard plantation everywhere. The journey continued and finally the destination was coming nearer. Nobody knew the actual direction to Bhangarh so they decided to ask a passer-by about how many kilometres and which direction to go. A meek looking boy in his twenties quivered when they said Bhangarh. He said - It’s 40 kilometres ahead uneasily…
Again we have so much hours left to travel – someone said unenthusiastically. It was getting frustrating. The road started to become narrow. The sceneries around began to change slowly. The leafless trees, the, peacocks and weird faces gave them a hint of Bhangarh. They were finally inside the faint territory. They could see the big Bhangarh fort sitting silently amid that desolate hill. There were less people around. The first sight of the ruined town was pleasing. There was a lull inside the cab before approaching the cursed area….
Things are different in books of literature. There’s so much fiction but Bhangarh is truly different. They began to make fun of the ghosts as they were unaware about the coming danger. They decided to have their lunch at the arena but couldn’t. The monkeys attacked them and took their plates away. There were around 100 monkeys and everything fell apart when they began their rampage. All plates were snatched away including a bed sheet. The monkeys in the fort were the real monkeys. They were ruthless, fast and naughty. They thought of leaving the not-so safe place for human beings at the very moment but they couldn’t do as the temples, Dancer’s fort and the much hyped Tantrik’s residence was still left to visit.
The wind around the place gave them a different feeling which wasn’t very pleasing. Two friends got separated to explore the place and the rest kept gazing at the natural swimming pool. The sky was turning dark. It was almost sunset and there were no place left that was unvisited except the Tantrik’s residence. The ghost town of Bhangarh has no Ghosts left I guess – Rakesh said to his friend Ashish. Suddenly there was a loud noise. It was like a roar. That wasn’t a Tiger but something called Jarak that roams around the fort. Jarak loves to eat knees and elbows and gives no chance to the humans to flee. The noise followed them. They found an ancient earring, a finger ring inside the caves. They decided to leave the place as soon as possible. The trip was a success, but the fresh lemon that they took at the onset of the trip turned red that testifies the presence of something there. They sat, exchanged stories, laughed about the place but there was always a feeling of awe inside them about Bhangarh. Everyone was happy with the overall experience but something was really very unusual about the place, something that’s beyond description, beyond reach. The curse still lingers on. May be it will stay for generations…
