Tome And Plume: Of Rain, Breeze, Ghostly Locations In Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Of all ghosts, the ghosts of our old loves are the worst — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The weather is fine these days. The pattering raindrops are in rhyme with the whispering breeze. Such weather often reminds the elderly of their childhood. Those who live in Bhopal are fond of remembering their past.

That was the time when they used to huddle around their grandmothers on rain-washed evenings to listen to ghost stories. The pressure of homework was so little that it never came in their way of enjoying a rainy evening.

The tales frightened them, for there was no electricity. A sudden gust of wind snuffed out the flickering lamps, intensifying the darkness around them. The croaking noise of toads, murmuring bamboo trees, and thunderclouds, often dropping lightning, made the atmosphere more eerie. Yet it was delightful.

Today, when the cloudy sky brings back the memory of their childhoods, they must be missing their grandmothers to create a ghost to tell stories about. The children of the digital era, too, love to hear ghost stories. But they are hardly scared of ghosts.

Mediaeval monuments or British-era dak bungalows of small towns and hamlets are still lousy with haunted tales. The spirits of kings, nawabs, sahibs, their cooks, and soldiers long dead haunt those who visit their dwellings.

There are the stories of native women who had fallen in love with Sahibs and died from broken hearts because of their failed love. Such stories give legitimacy to the existence of ghosts. An entry to these monuments or bungalows gives one an unearthly feeling.

Bhopal, too, has many monuments and bungalows, abundant with chilling tales. The Taj Mahal of Bhopal is one such place built by Shahjehan Begum. The construction continued for 13 years. The Begums lived in this palace.

There are many chilling tales about this monument. Only a few dare to get inside the building even in the daytime. The fountains on the premises of the palace no longer play. Sweet melodies have stopped. The solitude of the building swallows its surroundings.

Locals say many uncanny things happen in this building. The palace figures in the Raj Kumar starrer, Stree, directed by Amar Kaushik.

When Kaushik was shooting the film, his team members had some spooky experiences. A crew member fell off a broken terrace of the building. He claimed some shadows had pushed him.

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Locals advised the female members of Kaushik's team to avoid using perfume and to braid their hair.

There are nerve-wracking stories about the Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical Company) site. This is the place where the Bhopal Gas Tragedy happened. It killed thousands of people and maimed many across the city.

The area is on the northern periphery of the state capital. Spectres making scary noises appear at the site in the middle of the night. In the winter, when fog envelopes the city, people avoid this place.

Locals say spirits remain within the burnt-out compound of the factory. Yet nobody knows if there is any ghost. A trip to this place may scare anyone. Indira Gandhi Hospital in Bhopal is another place where paranormal activities occur. Patients and workers of the hospital are witnesses to it.

Only a few patients dare to stay on the fifth floor of the hospital at night. But nobody knows whether such tales have an iota of truth or if they are mere fictions.

Nevertheless, the hospital workers say they sometimes hear strange sounds of footsteps ascending and descending the staircases. Shadows sometimes appear before the windows. Such stories are good to hear. Yet they lack proof.

There was a palatial bungalow in the Koh-e-Fiza area of Bhopal. The residents called it Bhoot Bungalow. The building was abundant in haunted stories.

Nevertheless, when Bhopal Municipal Corporation demolished it, the ghosts did not emerge from the building to protest. The monsoon is the right time to read ghost stories. But there is nothing to worry about.

The ghosts are non-existent. Yet, they are a necessity to thrill humans. Those who read these books or watch horror movies are acquainted with funny and scary ghosts.

A character from the horror movie Beetlejuice, Barbara Maitland, says, “What’s the good of being a ghost if you can’t frighten people away?”