Satya Narayan Sardar
After supper, I always bothered my grandfather for telling a story. He often told stories of angels, smart princes, poverty, struggling farmers, and about so many other topics. I went to him and began to force him to tell another story. My grandfather had been coughing for a long time. When I approached him, he was in the same condition. Coughing still he was smoking hookah. As always, I filled the pipe with kankad (homemade tobacco) and gave him. As he started smoking, his coughing got lessened. I asked him to tell a story, he told me to go to father and ask him to tell a story.
I went to my father and asked him the same. In the beginning, he said that I would not enjoy the way he told the story. But I compromised and requested him to tell a story. Eventually, he got ready to tell the story.
He said, “This is not story but my real experience encountering with a ghost.” His pronunciation of ghost fascinated me. I called my sister to join me. She came and sat next to me. We looked passionately at father’s face. He looked at us and clearing his throat, he began.
“Well, I was very young. I had to take care of a buffalo. Every morning, I used to take the buffalo to the meadow for grazing. We had our own meadow so that no one complained against me. I often took the buffalo much earlier and returned before the dawn.”
We were excited to listen to his story. We had been concentrating at him. He continued after a short pause.
“I was feeling feverish that day. So, I went for the rest. I slept much earlier. Your grandmother, my mother did not bother waking me up. Suddenly as I woke up, I noticed that there was the moon in the sky. I thought I got late. It was a full moon night so I could see things even in darkness. I untied the buffalo; rode on its back and moved with it towards the meadow with a stick in my hand to instruct the buffalo.”
My father also smoked hookah and asked from the grandfather. Both of them used to share the same hookah. Grandfather handed over and the father smoked for few minutes. Blowing the smoke in the sky, he continued.
“As I moved towards the meadow, on the way there was a bamboo bush and I had to go through it. When I went inside the bamboo bush, I noticed two bamboo trees coming towards ground. I ignored. And as I approached to it, it flung away. It was repeated in every few steps but I ignored every time. Meanwhile I heard someone cutting down the bamboo tree with an axe. I wondered who that might me. I thought Banwari, the neighboring servant, was very busy during the day time as he had to go after a lot of household activities and even he had to work in the field. I even heard pulling of the bamboo tree out of the bush. But when I turned back I could see nothing. Fearlessly, I moved ahead lying on the back of the buffalo.”
My sister and I were interested and even a bit scared to listen to the story. Father continued the story.
“After crossing the bamboo bush, I headed towards the meadow. At the meantime I noticed a pack of dogs barking at me and the buffalo. But they were a bit far from us. So, I was not scared any longer. I kept moving with the buffalo. Within few minutes, I reached to the meadow. The buffalo began to graze. I was still lying on the back. After some time I noticed a very tall figure coming towards me. I thought he was Banhu Chaudhary, our neighboring farm owner. He was about six feet tall. We were neighbors and due to some land boundary issues he never liked me. But I was sure that the buffalo was grazing in my own meadow and he could do nothing. I ignored. But the amazing fact that I noticed was, when I turned back, I didn’t notice him. He had disappeared. I thought viewing me in my own field, he might have run away.”
My sister caught me tightly. I screamed at her. She said that she was scared. But I told her that there was nothing to get scared though I also was a bit scared inside. Father continued telling the story.
“For a long time, the buffalo kept grazing. I was wondering why there was no sign of dawn yet. My heart began to go cold and started beating very fast. A chill breeze touched my feet. I could feel that the buffalo grazed fully. Then I began to think if it was really much earlier than before. I realized that the buffalo was fully grazed. I moved with it towards home. On the way back home, I noticed the small kuleso full of flash flood. I got amazed because it was not the rainy season and how the stream could be full. But within few minutes, I it disappeared with a hiss sound. I still was not scared.”
I started sweating inside but didn’t tell my sister. He continued.
“Well, as I moved ahead, I noticed a small like a eunuch, who had come out of the bamboo bush, of about three feet tall marching towards me. She had had very long hair slithering like a snake on the ground. I had not seen such person in the village till then. I was very much scared. But collecting my strength, I murmured inside. Whoever she is, I have a stick with me and if she approaches to me, I will hit on her head. I became restless. As soon as I approached to her, I felt unconscious lying on the back of the buffalo.”
My grandmother was listening to us. She asked if we had believed. We looked at her. She said that my father was totally right. She also said that that morning when my father returned with the buffalo, for a long time, he didn’t come back to the bed. Grandfather and grandmother had heard the buffalo steps but they ignored. After a long gap, when my father didn’t come to his room, my grandfather moved towards the shed what had happened. He noticed that the buffalo was sitting in the shed and my father still lying on the back of it.
Grandfather immediately screamed and called grandmother. My father’s body was almost cold. They brought him in and kept in bed. Grandfather felt the nerve. It was very low. He immediately called Agam Lal, a witchdoctor, to see my father. He felt the nerve and instantly asked where he had been. My grandfather said that he had been out with the buffalo at about midnight and returned after grazing it. I thought him to come back to his bed but he didn’t come for a long time. Grandfather explained everything what had happened after that.
The witchdoctor said that he had encountered a ghost. If they delayed, the result would be worse. My grandfather asked for the solution. The witchdoctor said that they had to sacrifice a black non- castrated goat to the goddess. My grandmother, without further delay, brought the needed goat and put in front of the witchdoctor. He looked happy.
The witchdoctor invited his colleague and both of them began to enchant the mantras. My father kept lying in his bed, unconscious. Two witchdoctors enchanted the mantras for approximately three hours. They sacrificed the goat. My father began to show some movements. Within few minutes, he regained his consciousness back. The witchdoctor had asked what he had seen that evening. He explained every detail. The witchdoctor said that he was attacked by Kaali Gahil, an evil spirit and anyway he was saved.
As the grandmother told rest of the story, my father looked at her with satisfaction. We got amazed to know how my father had encountered the ghost and been able to survive.
(Based on a true anecdote told by my father)
[Sardar, a post-graduate in English and Anthropology from Tribhuvan University is a prolific writer. He teaches English at St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu.]