The Ghost??!!!!!

Summer meant fun , it meant no school , no homework, just pure fun ! As it is quiet clear from previous post, it was time for travel, reunion with cousins and ahhh ..fun again! :D

Most of my cousins were stationed at Bhilai , it was like a second home , a place where numerous people exclaimed “ oh ! nuvve jaya chinna kuturu aa?” (“oh ! are you jaya’s youngest daughter?” ) , while it took me some time to get accustomed and bade away my shyness; having so many people at the same place was so much of …fun! This anecdote particularly describes one incident on such visits, which left me to believe in what I see, hear and feel!

So it was about 7:30 in the evening, all the children (about 7-8) were at my mausi’s where as the elders were having their “talks” at my mama’s which was 5 min walk away .It surely was a huge house, but the thing I liked about it was the swing and yes the huge jars of achar (pickles) and ladoos kept within my reach :D . We all used to sneak into the kitchen whenever possible, to lick huge quantities of those ( ahh .. my mouth still waters even on the thought of that delicious mango pickle! )

At these times, when there is no interference from the elders, children explore their imagination and speak their mind out. So we all gathered in one of the bedrooms on the ground floor and started discussing the most fascinating topic ever ….GHOSTS!

We all sat in a circle, which shrank as the stories grew more frightening and scary. Some told stories about headless man (probably a movie gimmick), some about some haunted houses and so on ……… suddenly neelu cleared her voice; our attention shifted to her as she was the best story teller , knowing where to pause, broaden her huge eyes and modulate her voice to give the best of ghost experience!!! :P

“ all the stories you people have told are not scary at all”

We all stared her down and I was terrified as to what she would tell! would I get any sleep that night ? or would I live in that fear through out my life?

“let me tell you a REAL story”

The word REAL had its desired effect , there was pin drop silence only noise of the insects could be heard ………

She started off with her story about the ghost of a lady (traditionally dressed in white hehehhe) she made us imagine each of her feature each of her movement….how she would kill and haunt people in the middle of the night ……. As I wondered why ghosts chose white colour and roamed at the middle of the night, she started imitating the sound of her( the ghost’s) ghungroos ,

“chan…chan…chan…” she said

And a faint sound of the same followed……

“chan …..chan …chan “ she would say and ,

And a real “chan ….chan…chan” would follow!

all of us froze at our places and tried hard not to hear the sound. To our horror , it grew louder , more deliberate and sharper !

neelu tried to continue the story , but.......... suddenly we saw a hand coming through the bedroom window…. We were too paralyzed to even scream…. I had surrendered my life to that ghost and thought that this was the end …end of everything …

The hand opened the window and a voice interrupted the silence..........

“all of you , don’t you feel hungry? Jaldi come to bhanu atta’s ( mami’s) dinner is ready!”

we screamed at last , and even mami got a fright , who had come to call us!

What a relief !!!! we all ran as fast as we could ,the whole thing had really left us too hungry and i was too happy to get my life back ......... ……

But sometimes I still think about that day…….…and I am forced to think………was it just pure coincidence?? ;)