The stranger - II

“Let’s get on with the journey.”

The bus was halted as Raghu had once again witnessed the mysterious man. The driver was all set to start the bus when he saw the huge rocks tumbling down the mountain. Raghu was beside the driver. They both were shell shocked to see the landslide right in front of their eyes. Landslides occur when the gravitational force exceeds the strength of the materials that compose the slope. Landslides can be initiated by rainfall, earthquakes, stream erosion, or a combination of any of these factors. But, at the moment Raghu and the driver could only manage to witness nature’s fury with disbelief.

The road which had existed a few minutes was all gone now. The thundering sound of the landslide had woken up the other passengers of the bus. They were all shocked to see the terrible sight. This had happened in the month of August so rainfall could have been one of the reasons for the initiation of the landslide. All the passengers were now gripped with fear. However, the onslaught of nature stopped at a few meters away from where the bus was now standing.

“We’re very lucky,” said a passenger with trembling fear.

“Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible” came a voice from the backseat of the bus.

“I know of an alternate route. It is a long route but we are left with no other option.”

The driver drank some water, regained his composure and they again set out. He didn’t want to waste any more time as that area was prone to landslide.

 Raghu, meanwhile, couldn’t believe that a few minutes of delay had saved them. He had got off the bus for just a few minutes which was the reason why they were still alive.  He cleared his mind of these thoughts and took out his phone. He contacted the police helpline and gave them details of the landslide. No other passenger could sleep till they had reached the destination. 

Raghu had desired to take the day off after a strenuous journey but impending work meant that he had to report to his office. The bank staff would gather at lunchtime to share their day’s work, the new policies that were being implemented, and also discuss their day to day life. Raghu narrated the landslide incident and how lucky they were to escape the predicament unscathed.

One of his co-workers, Sanjay said: “You should seek the blessings of the god.” He then told him about a nearby temple which was quite popular among the locals. Raghu wasn’t a very religious person but, nonetheless, he believed in gods. He accepted his friend’s invitation to go and seek the blessings once their work was done.

Raghu and Sanjay both set out for the temple. It took them some time to reach the temple.  Like all other temples in Goa, this was also beautifully carved. The temple was empty barring the priest and one more devotee. The devotee was an old man supposedly in his 70’s. He was a regular visitor and came to the temple every day.

 Raghu walked up to the idol and just as he looked at the idol he stood there frozen. His expressions changed rapidly. He was astonished. The other devotee who was present there looked at Raghu and said” I know what you’re feeling right now. I have also passed through the same disbelief and amazement. I’ll tell you a story and maybe that will help you to feel better.”

The old man started narrating the story. The story was set in the 1960’s when the devotee was a young man and had lost his way while coming back home at night. He was very scared and frightened with hardly any street lights. The jungles were very dense and he wasn’t able to navigate properly. Then he saw a tall person whose description was exactly the same as that of the stranger who Raghu had witnessed. The stranger carried a long bamboo stick. He told the frightened youth that he is the guardian of the village and there is no need to be scared of him. He also told him that he likes to move at night and provide protection and keep vigil over the property of his devotees. This was the reason why his sandals get worn out. The youth had no other option than to trust him. The stranger then guided him in the right direction and before he could thank him he had disappeared. The youth then told the seniors of his village who believed that he was none other than Betal (बेताळ).

Betal is considered to be the gram devata(village chief) and is worshipped in the form of warrior Shiva. He is also considered to be Shiv Sardar (warlord) in Lord Shiva’s army.

Raghu could no longer comprehend what was going on. He always considered himself to be a rational and pragmatic person. But, what had happened in the last few weeks had shaken him. The drums beating(Shiva’s damru), the appearance of the man, the delay which saved them from destruction when he tried to approach the man.  All these things were now making him uneasy.

He then stepped out of the temple and checked the watch. It was 8.30 pm. He had got so engrossed in the old man’s story that he couldn’t keep a count of the time. The temple was now closed. He had many unanswered questions in his mind. He now felt that the world around him had turned blank.

As he was about to start his journey back home he saw the stranger again waving his hand and smiling at him. The stranger then moved in the direction of the dense jungle.

---Tejas Ekawade
The article was first published here.

Note: While this story is a work of fiction, Betal temples do exist in Goa. Also, some old villagers claim that they have seen a tall figure moving in the village late at night. It is left up to the readers to infer their own conclusion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shree_Betal_temple

The Stranger - I

The article was first published here. 

Raghu Bandodkar was an honest and upright bank officer. He had recently been promoted to the post of the senior manager. Even though he was just 35 years old, he had made great strides in his career by working earnestly. However, he had to travel a lot and that meant passing through the meandering Goan roads. He had to visit the Bicholim office every week.

He would board a non-AC bus for Bicholim at 11.50 pm every Sunday. Six hours were needed to reach the destination. Raghu was accustomed to sleeping on the bus. While some people complained about traveling by bus at night, he had no such qualms. Raghu would sleep tight.

Traveling to Bicholim had become a routine. The driver of the bus knew him well by now. Raghu didn’t know what was in store for him in the near future.

Next week somewhere around midnight during his journey, the loud beating of drums woke him up. But to his amazement, he could no longer hear it once his eyes were wide open. ‘It’s surprising that anyone will want to play drums at 3 am’ he thought after checking the time on his watch. A cool breeze swept the bus and the night insects started squeaking ferociously. He closed the window, but that didn’t reduce the intensity.

 As the roads were lonely at that time the bus moved at quite a speed. What surprised Raghu more was that just as the bus was about to enter a mountain pass, the speed drastically reduced. It is obvious that while entering a road full of twists and turns the speed should be reduced, however driving at 5-10 kmph made no sense. He glanced out of his window. A very tall man with a long beard appeared out of nowhere on the road. He started waving his hand towards Raghu. Raghu was perplexed. Even in the darkness he managed to see that the man was wearing torn out sandals, carried a sword, and had a very muscular physique with no shirt on. The man was smiling at Raghu. It sent a chill down his spine. After the bus passed the mysterious man, the night insects stopped squeaking.

A day or two after working intensely he didn’t remember about it until the same thing occurred the next week. The same man in the same attire and at the same time was there on the road. The man again started waving his hands. This time Raghu looked around to see if anyone was awake. No one was.
He walked up to the driver and asked if he had seen any person on the roadside.  The answer was negative. ‘How could the driver miss the man?’ He then glanced at the speedometer. It showed 40kmph.  ‘How is this even possible?’ The bus was moving at a snail’s pace and the speed was 40kmph. He began to wonder whether he was actually awake. He went back to his place and fell asleep.

This continued for several weeks. During his commute at night, he would see the same man waving at him at the same place. It had now started bothering Raghu. To his surprise, none of his co-passengers seemed to notice this man.  Was this some paranormal activity or was his brain playing games with him?  Or was he just simply dreaming? He even searched on the internet for solutions. Some experts said that this scenario pertains to the realm of mind consciousness. Some said it was because he was under stress, but nothing could decipher the mystery.

He finally decided this was enough and would halt the bus next time when he sees that man.

Next week, again he unintentionally woke up at 3 am. The speed of the bus reduced as usual. Today he spotted the man from a long distance and told the driver to pull over for a moment. Just as Raghu got off the bus the man started walking in the opposite direction. Raghu called out for the man, but his calls went unanswered. Following the man at this time wasn’t a good option. He was thinking when the driver interrupted his thoughts by telling him that he should get on the bus. Raghu got on the bus unconvinced.

“Sir, there was no man on the road. I was calling out for you for the last 15 minutes.” 

“15 minutes. That’s impossible I was down there for only a moment.”

“No sir. Anyway, let’s get on with the journey.”

What happened next astonished them all… 

To be continued
---Tejas Ekawade