Have you ever felt uncomfortable or queasy at a place? Experienced that feeling that someone is watching you and not with good intentions. That feeling of dread that something untoward is going to happen.
No, no! I am not talking about your boss waiting for you to finish that damn piece of work so that s/ he can rip it apart in pieces. 😀

I am talking about those touristy places, the ones where you spend money to visit. Those far-flung places that you have read about, and eagerly want to include in your elaborate travel itineraries- no matter what! 🙂

It could be a waterfall that’s so sinisterly charming that you want to jump in it, or a lake that claims many lives every year. Or a museum where an artefact feels wierdly familiar and spooky at the same time. That hotel that has a high rating but the room that you are in, at the far-end, seems a bit off, with wonky taps and showers.
Have you ever felt that?

Well, you probably did. I did too.

Welcome to Theme 2 of our travel campaign, “Rediscover India, Incredible India”.

As part of this campaign, we take you through the incredibleness of this ancient country, theme-by-theme & blogpost-by-blogpost. Each theme explores a unique aspect of this old, rich and diverse country, walking you through its marvels and stories.

Know more about this campaign here, and about Theme 1 here.

This month’s theme is – “Haunted places in India that turn touristy during the day”.

Hey, hey! Don’t get scared. Nothing will happen to you. You can be a faint-hearted person with curiosity for non-human things. 😉 And if you are one, don’t worry. This theme and subsequent blogposts will spare you the horror. I will only tell you the stories 🙂 ;). Or would I?

You don’t believe me?! Here’s a preview:

1. The room in a 100 year old hotel in Mount Abu

A long time back (5.5 years ago), we went to Mount Abu on a road trip to Rajasthan. The hotel that we stayed in, was a 100 year old property with artefacts from I don’t know when, and tons of photographs of our friends who colonised us right before Independence.

The receptionist was an old man who asked half-questions. What’s a half question, you would wonder. Well, it’s a question that’s half asked and half guessed. We had originally planned to stay for 2 days but left in 1. And during those hours, I never saw him going to some place. He just weirdly appeared everywhere. But that’s not spooky. What really got us worried was the bad dreams most of us saw in the room after midnight. I will spare you the details. But it wasn’t pretty. The next day, we left without having breakfast while finding our way through its maze-like rooms.

Good riddance!

2. Forts belonging to erstwhile dynasties

Do you know that many forts in India have captured inexplicable images on camera. People appearing from and disappearing into thin air. One such fort is the old Chunar Fort, in the most ancient city of the world – Varanasi. It’s being said that whosoever eats non-vegetarian food inside the fort, meets with fatal disasters.

You can choose to discredit such stories…but then there is such weird energy in the place that you can’t help but notice. The kind of energy that makes you feel unwelcome…the kind that wants you out of the premises.

Don’t believe me? 🥹 Well, I won’t tell you to visit the place unless of course you would like to be adventurous.

3. The abandoned village that was once brimming with action

Have you heard the lore of the village of Kuldhara? It’s a village in Rajasthan that got the status of being haunted. Many people who have been there have experienced paranormal activities – and thus it remains uninhabited. Surprisingly it also attracts a lot of tourism – just so that people can experience something non-human or take a break from all the ‘human’ activities.

May be, hanging out with non-humans isn’t that scary…now that humans have crossed all limits.

With this, I invite you all to explore this theme beginning next week. In the next blogpost, we will talk about this stepped well that’s believed to be built by non-humans overnight. It’s featured in a really popular Hollywood movie too. A DC comic movie. Can you take a guess?

If not, wait till next week.