Leap Of Death

Prologue

It was around 11 am when I had finished with the booking of train ticket and accommodation with MP Tourism for my third trip to Pachmarhi one month from now coinciding with a music festival in April. I had stepped out into the busy streets for buying some fruits when I slipped. Some good Samaritan had leftover a packet of food on the footpath which I failed to notice as I wanted to cross the street and had my eyes on the traffic. Last thing I remember was my head hitting hard on the concrete and lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes, it was in the hospital room. The nurse went out to call the doctor who asked me for my name and where I live which I answered without any hesitation. He moved his forefinger and asked me to follow it, which I did without any hesitation. He remarked “you were brought here unconscious with a head injury and it appears to be not so serious. I had put some stitches. If you are feeling alright you can go home now after making the payment. I have given you some pain killer and antibiotics for a week. You can come and see me after a week.” I didn’t realise that this accident would cause a major change in my outlook.

I resumed my normal life of eating, sleep and writing. Unlike the Bond of Dehradun, I am anonymous although we share the same passion for writing. I only looked forward to my travel and a little holiday at Pachmarhi. Closer to my travel day I noticed that on some occasions I started seeing floaters and flashes in my eyes that lasted for a few seconds and I would see some blurred images. It didn’t seem serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctor that too when the travel date was so close.

On the appointed day I set out for the train journey and settled in my side sleeper seat. I had deliberately booked sleeper class as it gave you clear views of the countryside as one travelled. Moreover, summer was just setting in and the ambient temperature didn’t warrant an AC travel either.

My immediate companion on the opposite seat was a young teenage boy and he moved to his upper berth as soon as the train started. I unfolded the seat and made it into a berth and stretched my legs and started looking out. The city views were full of rubble and ongoing construction as if the city had seen some war and on a renewal path. Wherever I noticed the traffic was crawling with the drivers honking in patience. Here and there I saw a crowd gathered witnessing a brawl.

Soon the train left the city limits and was speeding towards Hindupur. The rocky hills were a sight to behold and I could see various shapes of the rocks some resembling some animals. Soon we pass by the town of the magic baba who could pull the wool in your eyes and as it happens in India, he too had a huge following.

I bit into the sandwich which I had packed as I wasn’t game for what the railways call ‘thali.’ I saw the teenager wasting half the chappatis as it wasn’t cooked well. He looked at me and commented I did well to bring my own food and he should have listened to his mom who had offered to pack some food for him. I nodded and said these things you learn in life as you experience. But the boy went on to lodge a complaint about the food he got.

It was time for a siesta and I closed my eyes drifted into the waiting arms of the Deccan Queen of Hills as Pachmarhi is called. The loud shout of the vendor calling special tea woke me up and I had one. He was true to his word as ginger, cardamom and other spices tickled my senses and I helped myself to a second cup with some biscuits which read the good day on the pack. I thought to myself the day was indeed good and I gave the vendor Rs Ten more than the price of two teas for which he charged twenty rupees only.

I was back to viewing the landscape. A green carpet of rice fields cheered up the senses. It was still Andhra as the Telugu signages at the platforms confirmed. The teenager told me that some dinner can be picked up at Nagpur as there are some good stalls and he offered to pick something for me too. Soon it was dark and I got myself to read a good article on Pachmarhi cave paintings which I had bookmarked on my mobile.

Pachmarhi is a small township on a plateau located in the folds of the Satpura ranges in Central India. It is 210 km from Bhopal and 52 km from Pipariya. The hills of Pachmarhi have a complex of rock shelters, very difficult to count. More than 55 shelters have been surveyed here and there still be many more to discover. The reason as to why most of India's rock art is in Central India is geological was because the Satpura and Vindhayan ranges consist of soft sandstone, which over millions of years, has weathered into hills containing overhanging rocks and cliffs and caves of many shapes and sizes. These rocks in fact were the ones that carried fascination for me. The train would be reaching Pipariya at about 6 am the next day. I plan to take a bus as told to me by the Hotel manager. Pachmarhi was one place that could transport me to the tribal ages, remnants of which still remain.

After a tasty dinner as the teenager had promised I went off to sleep and bid goodbye to the teenager and the next day morning I was on a bus to Pachmarhi. The bus had stopped by a roadside tea shop and I helped myself to some hot poha and jalebi and a special chai with lots of milk ginger and cardamom. A typical breakfast that reminded me of my fieldwork during college at Dewas when I spent a month organizing oil seeds cooperative, an offshoot of the AMUL model.

I reached the Bison Lodge at about 830 am and ordered another tea as I examined the room. It looked quite decent and the faucets were working well. It was the corner room and from the window, it offered a vista into the hills. As I was looking afar onto the hillside a flash occurred in my eye and I saw a blurred image of what appeared to be a human form leaping from the cliffs onto the valley. It was momentary and I didn’t think much about it, least of all knew that it was just a beginning episode and more was due to come in the next days of my stay at Bison Lodge. The lodge was named after an English man by the name of James Bison who had founded this lodge some 100 years ago.

After a quick wash, I hired a cycle and pedalled to the town to meet an old contact Gopal who would serve as a local guide in the mornings to visit some off beaten tracks. He was glad to see me and we both complemented each other for our general fitness as we were about the same age, just became senior citizens.

The next few days we were on cycles and trekking visiting some caves which only Gopal knew off and far away from the milling tourist. I always packed some food and tea in my flask and we would sit under some tree or the entrance of a cave and enjoy the snacks and tea after some tiresome trekking. The flashes continued and the human form became clearer. The last time I saw two human forms leaping from the cliff. I didn’t understand one bit of these flashes as it was totally disconnected from the daily treks or my chat session with Gopal.

It was the penultimate day and after a siesta, I was off to a sunset point where tourists also gathered. I saw a bunch of adolescent boys and girls. There were three boys and two girls in the group. The boys looked fit and I guessed them to be some sportsmen. As usual, the boys were bragging and showing off to the girls the distant cliff and one of them said “tomorrow we are planning to do the trek.” I looked in that direction and something tingled inside me when I saw the cliff. That is when one of the girls called out to me and requested if I could take a snap of the group. I willingly obliged and I took the mobile and focussed on them. Momentarily I saw darkness and the flash occurred once again and I saw the vivid image of two of the boys falling from the cliff I just saw. I staggered a bit and the girls asked me if I am all right. I just laughed it away and passed the phone to them. They were happy with the picture I have taken. When they were thanking me, I just asked the boy who was bragging about the trek the next day if he knew the name of the cliff. He said it was called “the destiny cliff.” I made a mental note of the name and bid them goodbye and asked them to be watchful the next day in their trek.

That night I was asking the manager about the destiny cliff. He said now trekking is prohibited and there have been some deaths last year. But he was not sure if there was some guard on duty guarding the place or if there was any signage that said treks prohibited. I was sitting outside my room in my foyer when suddenly a strong wind blew. Suddenly the night had become deathly as it happens in the films and there were thunder and lightning. I saw the cliff in the lightning and realized to my shock that it was the same cliff that the boy was referring to and it was the one that flashed in my eyes the last few days.

That night I could not sleep and I remembered the Hollywood film “The Eyes of Laura Mars” the lady who could see death by murders happening in advance till she sees her own self in the images and how she overcomes the cat and mouse game between her and the murderer. I woke up in the morning startled by the flash yet again of the same scene. I quickly got up and ordered a tea for myself, got ready and took a rickshaw to the foothills of the cliff.

It was just about 7’O clock and the place was quite deserted. I didn’t see any watchman and noticed dilapidated signage announcing a ban on the trek towards the cliff. A woman whom I noticed seeing my agitated state asked if I was looking for a bunch of youngsters and pointed in the direction of the cliff. I slowly began jogging and it was upslope and soon I was tired. It was half an hour later that seemed like ages when I caught up with the two girls I met yesterday.

I asked them about the boys in an agitated manner and I told them what I have been seeing. One of the girls who wore spectacles said “you can’t be a serious uncle” while the other one looked apprehensive as if she believed in my fantasy. I asked angrily “didn’t you all know this trek was prohibited?” The girl who seemed to believe my story said: “yes uncle we knew but the boys were insistent and so they went.”

I hurried along the trek and asked them to accompany me. It was a stiff trek and soon we three were gasping for breath. We kept taking breaks and sip of water and reached a bend. From that bend, we could see a clear view of the cliff. Then the spectacled girl yelled in shock and awe “there they are uncle.” My specs were covered with sweat and I took it out to wipe it clean and I put them on. Then the same girl screamed and I saw the two boys falling from the cliff and the third one soon appeared in the view.

 I staggered and sat down. The girls were sobbing uncontrollably. I had no clue about how much time had passed before the third boy appeared before us. By that time, we had somewhat sobered up and he described the episode. Rakesh the boy who had bragged was leading the trek and at that point, he stepped on a rock which loosened and he lost his balance. As he screamed for help Basant who was just a step behind leapt to catch hold of Rakesh’s hand and he too got dragged by the fall. Shyam was about 10 steps away and he could watch as the boys disappeared from his view and by the time, he reached the point at which they fell he could not see anything.

The news had spread like wildfire in a summer forest. Police came and interrogated us. The local guard was suspended along with some lowly official. The minister in charge of tourism announced an enquiry by the state CID. The next day the local newspaper carried my photo and my story and I became some sort of a celebrity with some notoriety as well. Many people came to see me out of curiosity. Some wanted me to tell them their future. Some of them brought flowers, coconut and other offerings to seek my blessings. The local TV channel wanted to interview me which I politely declined. I had still not recovered from the episode and trying to understand how I could get these images in my mind. I had no connection with those adolescent boys and girls. They were from some influential family in Bhopal and police whisked them away to safety.

As I sat on the train that evening I googled and tried to make sense of all this. The articles I read stated inconclusively that the head injury must have disturbed my wiring in the brain. The flashes were perhaps due to this disturbance in the wiring. Due to which I had developed some psychic sense. One article called it ‘synesthesia’ and went on to say such people became insane eventually as they could not handle this new power or whatever one may call it. I didn’t worry much as this was the first episode and decided to see my doctor and other specialists figure out what was happening.

A few days later the Manager of Bison Lodge called me to say that the bodies were never recovered and the police had called off the search. But he said that I continued to be in the news as there was a divided opinion about the psychic ability that I had displayed and there were many opinions generated in the TV channels by neurologists to believers, seers and priests. He finally asked me if he could pass on my mobile no to a prestigious TV channel who wanted to interview me. I said a firm no. That was the end of the matter.

But the episodes continued and that is a matter for another story.