On the Dark night of...

On the Dark night of…

The Jungles of Corbett national Park carry many fables which few say are true some call them Myth. But for me it was a terrifying experience.

On one evening of new moon (Amaawasyaa) I was returning by car from Ranikhet. I planned to be home early due to the prevalent fables of the new moon night in the forest. However, I got late and was regretting while driving through the dense forest road. We call it a new moon night though there is NO MOON. Through each tree I passed seemed 100 pairs of eyes staring at me and my car. All I could see was whatever was visible in the 2 headlights and 2 LED beams I had installed under them.

As soon as I came to a Hair-pin bend between the trees, a figure carrying a bundle of dry wood suddenly appeared from nowhere and crossed the road right in front of my car. I almost stood on my breaks and the tiers of the car screeched. The car hit the man and came to a halt. But there was no thud to be heard and no harm to the car or wind screen could be sensed, as if I went through the figure. I was stunned. For a few seconds I could not forget the dark eyes and cold face of the figure when it struck my wind-screen, and appeared that of a man rather than of a woman. I did not have the guts to get out of my car in that cold black dreadful night. But lo and behold, the car would not start. I tried again after switching off the headlights, and thank God it took the ignition.

I dashed off towards my destination which was still around 60 KM away, including 20 KM of the dense Corbett Park. It wasn’t new for me to travel on that road but that night seemed never ending.

There was more to come.

Ten kilometers ahead I knew there was a stream of sharp rivulet flowing across the main road I was driving through. And I got reminded of the fable popular in our lines. Never before did it come to my mind. I was told by the elders of the tribes living in the forests that many Leopards in the forests became man-eaters either due to aging or on getting wounded in their fight for might. For easy prey they targeted small children, women and old men who would play or work in the villages adjacent to the forest land. Sometimes they even snatched toddlers from the arms of their hapless mothers. Next day when the villagers performed the HAKAA, half eaten carcass was obtained from the nearby area from where the prey was lifted. Sometimes the whole body was not traceable. Such bodies could not get proper cremation. It was told that such souls became SPIRITS of the dead.

But tonight was different.

The month of October had already experienced torrential rains that had swept many acres of crop in the mountain area. The rivers on low lands had already played havoc sweeping away number of buildings and temples adjoining those rivers. I was prepared to find a road block en route, and yes I did. The stream was swelling with muddy water carrying medium and small size boulders from above. I could hear the gush of water from far because I had left my car windows couple of inches open. It wasn’t quite late as the digital watch on the Dashboard showed only 9.45 pm. I was not at all worried about petrol as I had got the tank filled before I entered the forest area. Had it been any other day, I would have enjoyed the scenic beauty, but at this time of dark night I was alone. I waited for the force of water recede.

I was feeling sleepy but the episode that occurred few Kilometers before did not allow me to close my eyes. As I was brooding my sight reached the rear view mirror. I turned stone still. A pair of gleaming eyes was shining through the rear view mirror. Slowly I turned back to see if actually there was truth in the stories I had heard about the wandering Souls of those locals killed and eaten up by Man-eaters of Kumaoun. The locals used to say since the list rites of such dead people were not solemnized, they carried people from the main road on the No Moon night. It sent shivers through my spine. Will I be next in the News Papers in the lost persons’ column.

Suddenly, to my horror, the number of these red pair of eyes started increasing. On my left, on my right, and even on both sides of the road across the stream, the glowing eyes kept growing. With doors and windows of my car tightly shut, I started wondering if I was safe inside. Couldn’t these wandering lost spirits enter through the car AC vent or through the other inlets of the car. But again it struck my mind that these spirits did not need any gap to enter. As shown in Bollywood and Hollywood films, they could pass through any wall, metal sheet or liquid. I started trembling with fear and started praying to God, the whole past life passing through my mind. It seemed as if it was going to be the last night of my life.

The water of the rivulet, as I could see in the beam of my car headlights, had receded as it was not raining. Strangely I saw another man on the other side of the stream, waiting on his motorbike like me to cross over to my side. He started his bike and made the first move to cross over. At that moment all the red pair of eyes swooshed towards that man in mid stream and circling over him like a whirlpool, lifted him and vanished in the darkness. The motorcycle was swept by the gush of water downstream. I did not wait to look for the man or his mobike. Just put my foot on the accelerator of the already running engine, and rattled through the mountain water. Without looking back I dashed in the direction of my home. Lucky for me, my car did not ditch me and I went from Zero to 100KMPH in 5 seconds.

I reached home in less than an hour feeling already safe. But petrified I left the car outside unlocked. My wife opened the door. I went in and locked myself inside the bath and came out after 20min maybe; fell on the bed and slept like a baby. I had nightmarish dreams the whole night.

After couple of days, I made it a point to visit that place again during daytime. Reaching there between the tourist traffic, I found everything normal. The rivulet too was flowing just few inches above the concrete road. I silently observed and asked a local guy if any accident or swept away vehicle was reported. He confidently said “no”.

I still wonder if this New Moon Night episode really happened that night. Or did that Shadow which bumped into my car tried to give me a hint, not to go further? (FICTION)