When I visited the Agrasen ki Baoli (stepwell) a few hundred metres from CP, the heart of New Delhi, I was told that the place was haunted. This seemed laughable in broad daylight with so many people milling around taking selfies and doing usual Sunday stuff. Full disclosure – I believe all ghost stories to be the figment of overactive imaginations or outright hogwash. However, it piqued my curiosity about haunted places in India and the stories behind. Regardless of my skepticism, I find ghost stories as fascinating as the next person.
The steep flight of 108 stairs of the step well, leads down to a small pool of water that appears black for obvious reasons. Legend has it that all sound evaporates there and the black water calls out to people, urging them to sacrifice their lives. However, there was little I found sinister about the place except for the all-pervasive smell of bat-shit.
I actually lived in Delhi cantt for close to two years but ever experienced a single chill running down by spine at any time. Yet, there are those who claim to have seen that most clichéd of things: the white sari clad ghost asking for a lift. Not only that, she is known to run along with the car!
Situated just outside Hyderabad, I visited this monument many years ago and was fascinated by the acoustics of the place that allowed the clap of a hand at the gate to be heard at the highest point almost a kilometre away! I was also fascinated when our guide told us that the ghost of Taramati, a dancer who loved the king still dances on her former stage in the fort. Apparently, those who stay there past 6 PM also hear howls and see shadowy forms.
The ‘ghosts’ here push light-men off their perches, scatter food around the room, tear the clothes off women, and knock on doors. Apparently all this happens because the location of the studios was once the Nizams’ battleground and before that a burial ground for robbers.
In colonial times, a British woman who claimed to communicate with the dead, was found dead in a room locked from inside. Her ghost is still said to haunt the place. This story is supposed to have inspired an Agatha Christie murder mystery.
Many old buildings have their ghost stories, but apparently this is one of the most haunted. There is the story of a beautiful princess and a tantrik who cursed the fort, another about a curse from an angry sadhu upon whose dwelling the fort cast a shadow etc. There are many stories of supernatural occurrences after sunset and in fact people are not allowed there after dark.
It isn’t just old places that tend to be haunted. These tall Mumbai buildings are also supposed to be haunted. Five suicides, including three people from the same family, are said to have occurred here. The story goes that an unknown force lures people to their death from those great heights.
Well to this one I would say Duh! Isn’t a cemetery the most likely of haunted places? The bodies of all those tortured souls buried there? Turns out there are any number of haunted cemeteries, burning ghats and crematoria in India. There have been sightings, sounds, breezes and even smells reported.
Legend has it that Jamali and Kamali were a gay couple in Mughal India. This is a tomb so it is kind of predisposed to being haunted. Apparently, it is inhabited by djinns who do not like to be disturbed. So if you visit after dark, you may hear creatures growling, see apparitions and lights, and may feel someone breathing down your neck. Apparently, some people have been slapped by an apparition as well! I think this will be my next place to visit in Delhi!
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