Peculiar Apparitions

Once a man was returning home by bicycle through the ragadi ( vast open glade of Choudwar plateau ) area of Choudwar during the 1960s while OTM was functioning in full swing. His name was Nabin he was a worker of OTM. As his routine duty was shift he was plying to his house situated at Charbatia after completion of his duties. It was 11 PM. The route was lonely and wintry north chilly winds were blowing. During that period people were afraid of moving through that ragadi passage which is spread from OTM to the village Agrahat at night because of the appearance of the discontented spirits who were haunting that area regularly. There were no houses, colonies and flats at that time as these are clustered now.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere was awesome, Mr.Nabin was cycling speedily as he was a brave man. Moreover, he was a sincere devotee of Lord Siddheswar ( Badhi ) Mahadev whose temple comes across the same route. While he was passing beside the temple he felt that someone was sitting on his bicycle-carrier behind. Though he felt odd he didn't look back as per the traditional belief that the discontented spirit might wring the neck of the passersby. So he pedalled his Nottingham Raleigh bicycle more speedily towards his village. The waning moon was peeping out from behind the floating clouds in the sky. Nabin was chanting Om Namah Shivay repeatedly on the track while cycling. Suddenly the bicycle carrier felt light as a blackish apparition jumped down and started walking on his left side keeping pace with the speed of the cycle. It was looking peculiar. Because its head was covered by a domelike black untidy lock of hair and its feet were turned backwards. Its body was covered with hazy blackish hairs and its eyes were not visible. It was about 5 feet tall and fatty. It had no hands. 

Nabin looked at his wristwatch which showed 11.30 pm. The apparition was walking and the cycle was moving forward. After some time another white apparition leapt out of a big banyan tree situated beside the track and began to walk in front of Nabin. Its body was fully cladded with white clothes as it seemed. It was about 20 feet tall. So its head was not at all visible to Nabin. It was footless. Only it was walking on its legs like stilts. Its hands were about 30 feet long and touched its invisible head. Although two numbers of discontented spirits were moving haughtily, he was not at all frightened. Chanting of the name of Lord Shiv made him more courageous enabling him to play jokes with the ghosts smilingly as it seemed. Then it was going to be midnight when Nabin reached beside the Lord Baideshwar Temple ( One of the Asta Shambhus of Choudwar ). It was an amazing fact that no sooner did Nabin reach the Temple than the spirits vanished inside the groves of Lord Baideshwar situated beside the temple.

Then Mr Nabin was relaxed from tension and got off the bicycle. He offered a ground-touching salutation to Lord with immense gratitude. He sat upon a rock nearby for a smoke break. While puffing greyish white smoke from his mouth he was thinking about arranging a Rudrabhishek ( Bathing ceremony of Shiv Ling with water, cream or milk ) on next Monday at Baideshwar Temple. While the Bidi ( a handmade cigarette made of Kendu leaves containing crude tobacco within ). As soon as the Bidi was fully puffed out Nabin's mind became pacified. Then he entered himself on the waiting list for the coming Monday when he would take leave from his work field and worship Lord Baideshwar wholeheartedly. It was 01 AM and he reached at his home with full mental satisfaction. After consuming a sandwich made of bread and molasses and finishing his snack with a glass of earthen pot's water he lay himself down on the bed and emerged into deep sleep emitting a noisy snoring sound.