How many of us believe in ghosts? Do they actually
exist?
Can they be felt? Believers will reply in
affirmative and non-believers will perish the thought.
But everybody would like to take a trip to THE den of
the ghosts and such was the trip to Bhangarh,
considered India's "most haunted" place.
Although it is a 300-km drive away from Delhi, yet
a handful of people know about it. We started driving
towards Bhangarh from Delhi early morning, expecting
the journey to last not more than four hours. As not
many people frequent the place, we did not have any
first hand information and took guidance from a map
and distance measurements available on the internet.
After crossing Gurgaon we proceeded towards Bhiwadi
and turned to Alwar district in Rajasthan. Till this
point we did not encounter any problem; it was a nice
long drive and a little anxiety about what we would
encounter at the fort.
From Alwar, as we crossed the Sariska reserve, the
weather conditions changed. The sky became completely
dark and in the afternoon it seemed like 7 o' clock in
the evening. Dark clouds started descending over the
Aravalli range and both melted into each other.
The weather condition was becoming hostile the more
we approached the fort. To add to our plight, we
bumped our way over at least two kilometres where
there was no asphalt on the surface.
After crossing Ajabgarh, we entered into Bhangarh
territory. It started raining profusely. It rained so
much that visibility was down to 500 metres. Luckily
we were carrying umbrellas and so without wasting a
minute's time, we jumped out of the car and entered
the fort. The lush green grass in the fort and its
adjoining area surprised us. It did not at all seem like
a place in the desert state of Rajasthan. There were
many local tourists who came in groups, mostly
youngsters. The dilapidated fort and the ruins
welcomed us.
As we entered we found a Hanuman temple right next
to the main gate. The sprawling premises has more
than half a dozen temples: Hanuman Temple, Gopinath
Temple, Someswar Temple, Keshav Rai Temple, Mangla
Devi Temple, Ganesh Temple and Naveen Temple and a
very strategically positioned Purohitji ki Haveli. It left
us wondering how ghosts stay in a premises where
there are so many temples!
A young tourist, Babulal, who was in a group of 10,
said: "We all have come to see bhoot bangla (the fort
of the ghosts)! We have heard about this place a lot
and hence thought of coming once."
As we entered, we saw a Dancers' Haveli and Jauhari
Bazar. All dilapidated now, but locals say paranormal
activities are observed in these places at night. Further
down the sprawling expanse of the fort was the
Gopinath Temple, crossing which we reached the Royal
Palace. It is located at the farthest end of the fort
area.
The architecture of the buildings and the fort speaks
volumes of the talent and acumen of the people during
the rule of Bhagwant Das who established the town in
1573.
There are many myths about the place. It is believed
that the entire township was obliterated in a day. But
no written evidence has been found till date.
Against the backdrop of the Royal Palace stands the
Aravalli Range. Bisram Nath, who works in the
Someswar Temple said at times wild animals come
down from the mountain ranges at night. "A few
families like ours stay within the premise. We stay
near the Ganesh Temple. The biggest problem is that
the area does not have electricity."
The Archeological Survey of India has put up a board
on the fort gate that it is prohibited for tourists to
stay inside the fort area after sunset and before
sunrise. Locals say whoever has tried to stay inside
after sunset was never found.
Standing on the terrace of the Royal Palace one can
view the vast expanse of the fort. It has four gates -
Lahori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Phulbari Gate and Delhi
Gate. It seems life has come to a standstill in this
area.
Like all other tourists, we also left the place before
sunset with many questions remaining still unanswered
in our minds.
How many of us believe in ghosts? Do they actually
exist? Can they be felt?
1. Route: Delhi-Gurgaon-Bhiwadi-Alwar-Sariska-
Thanagazhi-Pratapgarh-Ajabgarh-Bhangarh. It's a
nearly 300-km drive. Best to travel in a SUV and
always carry a spare tyre as there are stretches where
for kilometres there are no petrol pumps or
habitations.
2. Always carry some dry food as good dhabas and
eateries are rare.
3. Carry a torch with you as the fort does not have
electricity and even in day time, a torch will help you
to see parts of the fort better.
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