GHOST STORIES

Today at office, during the coffee-break, some of my senior colleagues shared some interesting information.

A couple of years ago, a bank functioned in our present office premises and an employee had committed suicide and his ghost still haunts the ladies’ toilet (of all places).  It was discussed with sincerity and great belief. 

Though I laughed at them, like everyone else, I am curious to know about the “ghosts”.  When I was young, I was afraid of many things and based on the ghost stories I have heard and the way ghosts are projected in films, I developed fear, but as I grew up, with my scientific temper and rational thinking, the “fear of the unknown” slowly vanished.

The first ghost story was narrated to me by my eldest brother.  It was a story he had read in a magazine.  The story goes like this; a photographer took photos of an old deserted building for its aesthetic value and when he developed the negatives and printed photographs, he was shocked to see the image of a nun standing near the gate of the old house.  After listening to this story, for a very long time, I was scared of every nun I saw.

My brother later shared his personal experience as well.  When my brother was in his early 20s, he lived alone and worked in Hyderabad.  He usually spent his weekends with our relatives in and around Hyderabad and one weekend, late in the night as he was walking towards my cousin’s house in a remote suburb, a westerner along with his gigantic dog came close to him and asked for time in chaste Urdu and both the person and the dog vanished within seconds of my brother replying.  My brother was very surprised with this incident and on an enquiry, he was told that several years before, an Englishman, who had a dog, lived and died there.

My friend too, narrated his friend’s experience.  My friend’s friend, when he was young, had a friendly old man in his neighbourhood.   The old man greeted the boy in reference every time the boy walked past his gate.  The boy went on an excursion for a few days and upon his return, the old man stopped the boy, greeted him as usual and discussed details of his excursion.  The boy returned home cheerfully, only to learn that the old man had died the same day the boy went on an excursion and that the funeral too was over by then.

(It is always better to hear from the horse’s mouth and as and when my brother and my friend share this information in their respective blogs, I shall share it)

A couple of years ago, while I was asleep, I suddenly woke up due to a very uneasy feeling and was very confused.  The next day, I woke up at the same time and experienced cross-ventilation of chill air.  I can rationalize my experience thus.  However, I am very eager to know more about the existence of ghosts.