A short story by Noboneeta for Different Truths.
The prison seemed a familiar place. Those dungeons had held many thrown together for some crime. Not all crimes were true and some of them kept on pleading innocence. Some would plead to be heard, some would sing songs of misery, and some yelled, mostly tortured souls. Niharika never understood why she was drawn to this fort in Aligarh which was connected to the ancestral haveli of her husband.
Niharika was born and brought up in Kolkata and her favourite subject since school was History. Nobody knew what profession she would take up, however, her loving parents always knew that she would end up either being an archaeologist, a curator or finally a professor of History. Hailing from a very old aristocratic family in North Kolkata,
Niharika was the only child of her beloved parents. Her parents were kind and benevolent, brought their daughter up with lots of love inculcated good principles in her, and also taught her to singularly stand up for what is the absolute truth, giving no indulgence to what is ethically and morally wrong. She was beautiful and intelligent and an amalgamation of tradition and modernism. In an organized party of old friends from school after college one day, when she came across her batch mate Vikram Sisodia, it didn’t take them much time to rekindle the old friendship. They continued to meet each other on occasions and non-occasions. Vikram’s family hailed from Aligarh but he was pursuing his Business Management course from Delhi where he stayed with his father who used to be out of the country on work mostly.
In Kolkata he had put up in a friend’s house, Adhiraj being his best friend since childhood had insisted him stay in his house for as long as he wanted to. In the 3 weeks of his holiday tenure, Niharika and Vikram would often meet and dine out either for lunch or dinner. There was something very regal about Vikram that drew Niharika towards him.
His kindness, his gait, his way of speaking, his manner of showering her with flowers and chocolates on several occasions brought her more and more close to him day by day. Having completed her post graduation in History she was now going to apply for her further studies in Delhi. In the meantime Vikram was pursuing his MBA and both of them had decided to get married. The marriage proposal came as a surprise to Vikram’s father who hardly had any informal relationship with his son. After his wife’s death, when Vikram was all of 6 years in age , he had left Aligarh to establish his business in Delhi and had summoned Vikram’s Dai maa ( Panna) from their Haveli in Aligarh to look after him. Rajendra Sisodia ( Vikram’s father) never remarried. He had left the responsibility of the Haveli and the estate in the safe hands of Diwan Brijmohan. Niharika and Vikram got married in a small ceremony in the traditional Bengali manner and left for Delhi. Their reception was held with a lot of extravaganza!
Like all other normal couples, they both wanted to take a break before resuming their separate degrees in their respective fields. When Niharika expressed eagerness to visit Vikram’s ancestral home in Aligarh having heard a lot about the place from him on several occasions, Rajendra was a bit apprehensive over the idea. However, he did not have the heart to refuse his son and daughter-in-law. The couple then planned to make the trip during the holiday weekend of Diwali as their wedding had taken place one week before the festivities. The trip was a pleasant one and they reached Aligarh. The newly wedded couple was accompanied by Dai Maa, who was graciously welcomed by Diwan ji and the rest of the household staff.
As per the family tradition the Saath Phera had to be completed there and therefore the Haveli was decorated very beautifully for the preparations. Only the close relatives who lived in Aligarh were invited.
Rajendra Sisodia did not want to make this a grand affair. This was just a formality that had to be completed. Niharika is adorned with beautiful traditional Rajasthani attire, resplendent with traditional jewelry from the family heirloom. Everything was going on fine till the time of the fourth phera when an uncanny incident took place. Somehow Niharika and Vikram’s Gatbandhan caught fire which left everyone present including the couple in utter shock! The fire was extinguished. Vikram urged the priest to continue the ritual by holding Niharika’s hand as they were married earlier and this was a ‘rasm’ they were conducting in the haveli. Rajendra Sisodia and Diwan ji were extremely upset about the incident; Dai maa on the other hand had mentioned her concern to him for having the rasm inside the haveli. She had heard from her mother and her grandmother who worked as midwives too in this haveli for generations, that there used to be a misfortune or a mishap would take place due to the occurrence of any joyous occasion in this haveli. As a result, Vikram’s father had shifted base to Delhi. Vikram’s birthdays during his childhood were never celebrated in the haveli premises. All the memories that he had of his birthday celebrations were his years in Delhi. As the young boy hardly had his father beside him in his early years he regarded his beloved Dai maa and Diwan ji, the estate manager of the haveli as his parental figures. Vikram was in his 9th standard when he was sent to a boarding school. He completed his schooling and graduated from Delhi.
Meanwhile, as the days passed Niharika became a favourite member of the family for Dai maa who showered her with a lot of affection and she also became close to Diwan ji during their frequent visits around the estate. Since the day the shocking incident had taken place during the pheras, Niharika’s mind was clamouring with numerous questions. She was in a state of confusion coupled with curiosity but as she was new to the place she had thought of approaching Dai Maa at some point in time after she had earned her trust. One day when both Diwan ji and Vikram were out on some work related to the haveli, Niharika seized the opportunity and went to Dai maa. Upon much insistence Dai maa though hesitant at first relented in telling her the reason for such a mishappening and the history of this place.
One of the erstwhile rulers of the Sisodia royal family of Aligarh, Mahendra Sisodia reigned during the late 1890s. He was Vikram’s great-grandfather. He was known to be a dictator and a womanizer in the true sense of the term. Mahendra Sisodia was known for his cruel atrocities and corrupted behaviour throughout the nook and corner of the town and people feared him to death. He sent men to capture unmarried girls and didn’t even spare the married women and if anyone in the family or outside objected to this heinous crime he would get those people dragged through the tunnel to the dungeons which were inside a fort-like place connected to the Sisodia haveli through a passageway and this passage was beneath the haveli. This was completely unknown to the local folk of the town. Upon the ‘hukum’ of Mahendra those families despite their cries of helplessness and resistance were thrown into the dungeons, given less food, and made to remain thirsty for long hours. In this way many of them gave up their lives being tortured souls. What Mahendra did with the women after fulfilling his desires, no one knew. A pleasure-hungry and lust-driven character by nature, once he abducted a young girl who was renowned for her beauty throughout the town. This poor girl was his next victim who was brought by force to him by his sepoys. When her parents had resisted they were dragged and thrown in the dungeons. The girl was too locked up with her parents in the dungeons. Evil had the face of Mahendra Sisodia. Without any thought he ordered the girl’s father to be executed in front of his family and witnessing this horrific sight, her mother had died of utter shock following the death of her husband. The girl was chained and brought in front of the cruel king in his chamber. She was in a half state of shock and fear but as the trauma of her parent’s death hovered in her mind, she wasn’t completely aware of the fact that Mahendra had forced himself on her. Upon realisation she tried to kill him with the fruit knife kept in the room but was unsuccessful. She tried to flee from his clutches thereafter and ran to the highest peak of the haveli with guards following her at her heels. Grief-stricken by her parent’s death, her dignity being marred and vengeance filling her heart, she cursed the king and that all future generations of this family will never experience either a peaceful life or a blissful marital life and that every bride who got married into this family will die an unfortunate death. The king too will die a violent death. The girl then committed suicide by jumping from the highest walls of the fort.
After heaving a big sigh, Panna came back to the present, narrating how this curse has affected through so many years repeatedly beginning from Mahendra’s wife to Vikram’s grandmother and his mother, all of them having their deaths cause unknown to doctors and physicians who treated them. Vikram’s mother although had lived little longer than the others, had passed away when he was 6 years old, and thereafter Rajendra Sisodia had decided to leave this haveli for good and settle in Delhi. He could never come out of the grief of losing his wife. So he indulged himself in more and more work, started a new business in Delhi, and always remained very busy touring various parts of India and abroad concerning his work.
Since that day, Niharika started having frequent nightmares. She used to see glimpses of the tunnel and the dungeons. What surprised her was that she hadn’t even visited the place before and yet she was getting visuals in her dreams. Sometimes she would shudder and wake up and look at Vikram who was fast asleep beside her, not wanting to wake him up, but contemplating on the subject of her dreams. There was an eerie feeling she used to have often that someone was trying to connect with her. She never knew who it was. Since Childhood, Niharika was unafraid of the dark which gave her enough strength of mind to follow the footsteps of the ‘paayal’, she heard. She was curious to know who this lady was and the inclination that there was something wrong somewhere, played inside her mind. One night she followed the figure to the highest floor of the building, she tried to touch it but then it quickly disappeared. She immediately understood this was the ‘rooh’ of the girl who had centuries ago, committed suicide. She narrated the same to Dai Maa who was very concerned about her and afraid of what might be the consequences of this. So she spoke with Vikram for them to leave the haveli as soon as possible. Vikram on the other hand didn’t pay much heed to her as he never believed in the history of the mansion. That which was a part of the past, that which was a curse, that which had its continuum hardly affected him as he was a follower of rationality over belief. Vikram neither believed in God nor disbelieved in the Supreme power. He never opposed Niharika’s faith in God or the rituals which she loved to perform. He was also very proud of her pragmatism and intelligence. When Niharika asked him if she could take a tour of the extended part of the fort, Vikram didn’t refuse. Daimaa and Diwanji were very skeptical and they insisted on her taking domestic help accompanying her to the place. However, Niharika dodged the idea and went by herself securing the key from Diwanji one day.
As she opened the door to the passageway that led to the tunnel and dungeons, a strange feeling came over her. She couldn’t understand what it was and neither did she want to give it much importance. While walking down the stairs which led to the beginning of the tunnel, it was dark and gloomy and one needed a lantern or a very high-powered torch or an emergency light to walk through it. As she entered the tunnel, she felt that she could hear wails and screams and at first she was scared as she was alone in the passage. Nevertheless, she mustered up the courage to walk through the passage which she had accurately seen in her dreams. After a certain point of time, she felt as if someone was pulling her as she felt her feet being dragged faster and faster towards the dungeons. It was as if she had no control over herself. Someone or something was dragging her against her hand. Now she was a bit apprehensive as to what awaited her. Finally, she came to the dungeons and when she stood there for a moment, her frame froze and her feet were stuck to the ground as if they were glued. She saw chains hanging from the cell wall with blood stains, and cloth that was twisted in the form of a robe on the floor, she heard screams and cries of the tormented souls and by the time a domestic help had come running towards the dungeons, Niharika had fainted and was lying on the ground in an unconscious state.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw herself lying on the bed in her bedroom. Everyone was around the bed with concern writ all over their faces. Dai maa came near her and held her hand lovingly. She had tears brimming in her eyes which made Niharika, feel bad for her. That night Daimaa fed her dinner in the bedroom itself. Vikram was extremely surprised that Niharika had the guts to do something nobody had done. He and Diwanji were talking in another room of the mansion where he questioned Diwanji about the passageway which connected the haveli and the fort with the dungeons. Diwanji was very much aware of the fact that Vikram didn’t believe in the ancestral history of the haveli. Probably because he was away from the place at a very young age and never came back to it till now. However, for the safety of his wife whom he knew to be very curious by nature, he asked Diwanji to put a lock on the door keeping the keys to him. Meanwhile, the days passed by and it was time for them to go back to Delhi. Diwanji as usual would come to supervise the maintenance of the haveli once a week while Dai maa would be returning back with the couple to Delhi. The couple left for Delh, very early in the morning, three days after the incident. When Rajendra ji came to know about it, he was a bit upset over Niharika’s great curiosity and took the promise from her that she would never venture out towards that area as and when she visited Aligarh. Having said that, the night he retired to bed, his sleep was disturbed by his wife’s and his own mother’s visions. As it is he could not overcome his wife’s death for so many years and now coupled with his mother’s visions, he started feeling sick. Thereafter his health started deteriorating gradually. Niharika started working as a part-time curator while pursuing her research studies. Vikram finished his business administration course and finally joined the office taking his respected father’s position as he had become too weak to attend office daily.
Niharika would often cook in the evenings for the family. This she would do despite Dai Maa’s loving reprimands who was like a mother to her and did not want her to exert herself in the kitchen. Everyone was worried about Vikram’s father’s health. Day by day he was becoming weak and he had come to understand that he didn’t have much time on his hands. Preceding the day of his demise, Niharika had another nightmare about the dungeons. This time she saw herself being dragged through the tunnels to the prison pleading to be left but her cries were ignored. She heard tremendous wails coming from the dungeons and saw scattered blood in her nightmare on the floor of the dungeons. She woke up with a start and found that there was no water in the bottle beside the bedside table. She took a glance at Vikram who was sleeping soundly and proceeded towards the kitchen to refill the bottle. It was very early in the morning, probably between 5:00 am to 6:00 am when she felt a bit uneasy and entered the room of her father-in-law. As she opened the door she saw him sitting near the writing table with the lamp on and his head resting on top of the table. As she came near and stretched out her hand to touch and call him, she found his body cold! After several calls, he did not wake up. Niharika ran towards her bedroom and quickly called Vikram. Then she woke up Dai Maa. All of them came running to Rajendra ji’s bedroom and found him dead. A doctor was called to confirm and the time of death was before 5:00 am. The cause of death was a massive stroke. Just before his death, he had written a letter to his son which Niharika had given Vikram later.
The letter contained a request from a father to his son along with a sincere apology for not being as close to Vikram after his mother’s death. Vikram was emotionally shocked and drained by his father’s untimely demise and he found the request very odd as it involved both of them ( Niharika and himself ) sitting in a Yagna for resolving the ancestral curse. The couple along with Dai maa made preparations to visit the haveli once Rajendra Sisodia’s rites were completed. Upon reaching there the very next day, the family priest of the Sisodia Rajwada Khandan for generations was summoned by Diwanji. Vikram discussed the matters of the yagna with the Kulpurohit (family priest) in the presence of Dai maa, Diwanji, and Niharika. The priest mentioned that the discussion of this yagna had previously taken place between his father and Rajendra Sisodia, but because the yagna needed the couple to be present and Vikram’s mother had passed away, the ritual could not be performed. It was also mentioned by the family priest that the yagna needed to be performed on a new moon night. It was conveyed by the previous priest to Rajendra ji that the new moon or amavas was important otherwise the redemption of the souls who had died at that time including the spirit of the girl who had committed suicide would never be in peace. Being both a Tantric Sadhak and a priest, Ramshankar ji was considered to be a very powerful person in his predictions. It was decided in the next amavas which was luckily in the next three days, that the yagna would be held inside the haveli premises. There was an aura of tension inside the mansion and it was evident among all the people who worked there and Dai maa and Diwanji too. Two nights before the amavas something very strange happened. Vikram and Niharika had retired to their bed chamber after dinner. A watchman was appointed to guard the couple’s room during the night hours and in case of any emergency, he would immediately inform Dai maa and Diwanji who were living inside the haveli too. At midnight when the clock struck 2:00 am, Niharika whose sleep was disturbed by some noise, awoke. She heard anklet sounds from the corridor in front of her bedroom. She got up from her bed, looked at Vikram once who was fast asleep, tiptoed across the room, and came out in the corridor. At a distance, she saw a veiled figure that was walking down the corridor, whose anklets could be heard. She was taken by surprise that the watchman, Ratan Singh was fast asleep despite the anklet sound, and as if in a trance she followed the veiled figure. Meanwhile, Vikram had woken up and was surprised to find Niharika not present in the room. He called out her name and this alarmed the guard who suddenly awoke and both Vikram and Ratan Singh went in search of Niharika.
The haveli was dimly lit as it was midnight and the much unused part of the third and fourth floors were in darkness. Vikram was the first one to spot Niharika and even when he called out her name as loudly as possible, it couldn’t reach her. They kept running towards the third floor and all they had then was a hand torch which being the guiding light, helped them cross from the third floor to the fourth. Niharika kept on following the veiled woman and Vikram was stupefied to see the lights of the buildings flickering and Niharika climbing up the stairs. The veiled figure was being seen only by Niharika and not by him or Ratan Singh. Upon reaching the fourth floor which opened to the terrace, the veiled figure stopped near a place that overlooked the entire city. As Niharika held out her hand to touch the veiled figure, the veiled figure turned around. Niharika saw a replica of her with blood dripping from her face. She was completely taken aback, shocked, and screamed her lungs out only to fall unconscious in the arms of Vikram. The figure had disappeared by then. Niharika was brought back to the bedroom somehow and this time Vikram was really worried due to the incidents happening in the haveli. The very next day, in broad daylight, guards were sent to the fourth floor in the same place where Niharika had fainted. Vikram himself witnessed that in case Niharika for any reason would have moved forward, she would have slipped and fallen dead. He shuddered at the thought and wanted to get over with this yagna and leave the haveli for good.
Walking up and down in the bedroom, he had a word with Diwanji and anted the preparations of the yagna in the proper way as the family priest had mentioned. At first, he was sure what Niharika saw was all of a hallucination or fact that she was conjuring up something out of the blue but the last incident had left him a bit shaky. Dai maa would visit Niharika who was strictly instructed to remain in the room and get as much rest as possible. She was there in the bedroom when Vikram wasn’t around. When asked about what she was doing and why she had left her bedroom at midnight, she mentioned the reason. Vikram found it hard to believe while Dai maa was very gravely concerned and her face reflected fear, in case they lose Niharika too in the process. On the third midnight before the amavas when the yagna was to be fulfilled during the evening, Niharika again woke up at midnight as if being commanded subconsciously. She moved towards a sudden place in the bedroom where Vikram had kept the key to the underground passage.
She took the key and walked towards the door. The people in the mansion were sleeping but it seemed as if Niharika was not in herself. She walked towards the door, unlocked the passageway, and went down the stairs. As she passed through the dark tunnel, she felt a shiver in her spine, and in a split second, she was aware that she had been brought again to the forbidden place. She wanted to go back but her legs moved forward. She came near the dungeons and there was the apparition of the veiled figure. This time the lady had no blood on her face. A silent communication transpired between them. It was strange, as she was observing her replica in the veiled image and this lady seemed to ask for help. Now what kind of help did that woman seek when she was not openly communicating with Niharika? She came so forward that in a split second Niharika thought that she would faint in fear but the lady took her hand in hers and surprisingly Niharika felt a strange vibration passing through her veins to the core of her heart and
soul. The hands were cold and it was impossible to her that a Spirit was seeking help.
“ Release me ,” the veiled lady said.
“ Who are you and why have you chosen me ? ” asked Niharika.
“ There are no reasons why you have been chosen but a lot of souls here including me who are suffering in the realm between earth and heaven have chosen me as their spokesperson. Tomorrow you and your husband are performing the yagna for your ancestors. Please remember to be strong during the ritual as the weight of the misdeed done is far more serious than that which can be forgiven. You or your husband may face certain problems during the ritual but if you are focused on bringing peace to these tortured souls, then there is a chance of forgiveness and our departure from this Earth completely ”
All these transpired in a silent conversation between Niharika and the woman. Niharika looked into her eyes which were brimming with tears. Her beautiful face was pale and sad. She promised her she would do all it takes to release the tormented souls of everyone who has passed away including her. Anything to save the family from further loss. As the woman turned to leave, she asked, “You didn’t tell me your name”.
The woman turned around once again and said, “ Aarti ” and disappeared in thin air. Niharika felt the coldness of the dungeons and instantly dropped unconscious on the floor.
Upon waking she found herself in her bedroom surrounded by an upset Vikram, concerned Dai Maa and Diwan Ji, and the doctor sitting near her bed. It was the day of the Yagna. She did not have the will to narrate the incident that took place in the dungeon for the plain and simple fact that he would not believe it. As the evening approached preparations were made for the Yagna and as Vikram and Niharika sat to perform the ritual, heavy winds started blowing outside. The howling of the winds was like the cries of the tortured souls and it was unbearable for Vikram to hear such a noise. Everyone in the hall kept on chanting Maa Bhavani’s name while the Yagna continued. Lights flickered, and powerful winds blew the curtains high. It was as if somebody was trying to stop the redemption from happening but Niharika and Vikram were focused on performing the ritual. Suddenly Vikram felt a breath near his shoulder and immediately all the lights of the building went off. It was pitch darkness. Both Vikram and the others in the hall became a little frenzied. Although the chants were going on, even the priest had become a bit shaky by then, In the darkness with only the light coming out of the Yagna fire, Vikram saw a face, exactly like Niharika. He was completely shocked for a moment. After the disappearance of the face, the lights came on, and this time Niharika and Vikram completed all the rituals as per requirement for the redemption of these souls seeking forgiveness from them all on behalf of the family. They prayed for the curse to be lifted from the family and that the dungeons and the passageway would be holistically cleansed and shut down forever. The wind had stopped howling. It was the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was extremely tired and none moved from the hallway to go anywhere. The next morning, several workers and the priest with Vikram and Niharika went to the dungeons. The passageway and the place were holistically cleaned, sacred holy water was sprinkled and dhunni was lit as a mark of respect for the departed souls. Dai Maa remained at a distance watching the entire scenario. Niharika felt as if someone had touched her. She turned around to see Aarti giving her a smile with folded hands. She too returned the ‘Pranaam’.
A memorial was built in the names of the departed souls and Aarti on the land beside the dungeons. Flower beds adorned the memorial. It was to be closed once and for all and the area was prohibited for entry by anyone except the guard and the gardener. The haveli had a very light aura now. Upon Vikram’s insistence, the couple and Dai Maa left for Delhi in a couple of days. No one understood why Niharika was the chosen one behind all that happened. Sometimes you get no answers. Sometimes there is no logical explanation for the things that happen. If one is to believe that a soul who has passed away can seek redemption from a living soul then it is completely a personal choice, a choice that connects the world beyond Death and Earthly beings. Humans who unnaturally leave this world get stuck between different realms. As far as it is known, there are seven realms to cross after you leave this earthly plain. Aarti and the others may have been in search of that one soul who was loving and pure by nature. The haveli in Aligarh is now a heritage hotel looked after by Diwan Ji and his son. Vikram and Niharika visit the place once or twice a year. They are very busy now bringing up their child, a very beautiful girl, who knows whose soul it might be. Was Aarti reborn?
Picture design Anumita Roy
By
By
By
By