THE BURNING HAVELI

Ghost stories are always fascinating. Some believe it to be true and some believe there are no ghosts. And yet others have actually experienced paranormal activities going on surrounding them. Today I am sharing one such story with you and leave it to your better judgement to believe it or not. Though I am not sharing the details of the place as I fear some of you who are reading this story might land up in that haveli. 

In the pre-independent India, lived an affluent zamindar named Karsan Singh at Sundergarh in Bihar. He had a very large estate. Many villagers used to work in his fields. He owned acres of land. But he took pride at his beautiful Haveli much to the awe of his friends and relatives. The Haveli was situated at the furthest eastern side of the village. It was surrounded by an even more beautiful garden in the front consisting of various flowers like rose, marigold, daliah etc. The backside of the haveli had orchards of mango stretching for a few acres. The zamindar had two sons— Kartar Singh and Vikram Singh. Kartar singh was married to Shyamli, daughter of Satnam Singh, another zamindar from the next village.

Vikram Singh who was younger to Kartar Singh, was married to Kusum, whom he had met when he was studying abroad. For a very long time Karsan Singh led a very happy and contended life with his sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Then came the Britishers. He thought it best to make friends with the Britishers like all the other Zamindars of that time. 

Gradually the fight for independence started in many parts of India, Sundergarh also could not remain unaffected by it. As the situation of Sundergarh deteriorated, Vikram Singh along with Kusum and his two sons went abroad, away from all the troubles and settled there. He asked his father and brother to come along with him. But Karsan Singh was not ready to leave his land and property, where he had spent most of his life. The villagers revolted against the Britishers and one fateful night lit up the Haveli of Karsan Singh. He paid the price of being friends to the Britishers. The entire family of Karsan Singh got burnt in the fire.

The news of the mishap reached Vikram Singh but due to the fear that his family’s life could be in danger if he came to India, he stopped himself from coming back. Years went by and Vikram Singh never thought of returning to his native village. With the passage of time his sons grew up, got married and had children. His elder son had one son and the younger one had one son and one daughter. Vikram Singh lived a very happy life with his sons and grandchildren but as he was getting old, he became more and more nostalgic. He used to tell stories of his village to his grandchildren. The children used to listen to those stories with great enthusiasm. 

After many years when the grandchildren grew up, they decided to visit India. The two brothers Aditya and Vijay along with the sister Aanchal and their two friends Mike and Laura made plans to visit their native village on their trip to India. They asked for the route to Sundergarh and the five friends set out for the journey. They reached New Delhi and visited various places across India. Their last destination was their native village Sundergarh. When they reached Sundergarh, it was quiet dark. They at once decided to go to the Haveli and spend the night there. It was settled that they will go to the village in the morning. 

The Haveli was in ruins after so many years of neglect and one part of it was charred where the entire family of Karsan Singh was burnt alive. The five of them found a room where they could spend the night. They lit candles and sat on the ground and started talking. Suddenly they were startled to hear some shouting. It surprised them as the haveli was known to be abandoned and at that time they were the only living souls in the place. Vijay and Aditya came out of the room to see who were shouting. At the furthest corner of the verandah there was a room from where the shouting was coming. The two brothers slowly proceeded towards the room and stood in front of the door. The sound became louder and it seemed the door was being beaten from inside. Mustering courage Vijay opened the door to find women and children, inside the room, their faces showed signs of horror. They were crying for help. Puzzled and surprised, Vijay and Aditya went forward to help them but saw the most horrifying scene... To their horror, the women and children started to burn in front of their eyes, from where the fire started no one can tell. By now Aanchal, Mike and Laura also came out of their room to find Vijay and Aditya running towards them. They saw the haveli catching fire gradually. They tried to escape but smoke and fire engulfed them. They got trapped in the haveli with all the doors and windows locked. It seemed as if their end had come. 

The next morning the five friends were found unconscious on the outskirts of the village. The villagers took them to the village and treated them of their injuries. There were burnt signs in their bodies. When they became conscious, they told the incident of the previous night. They didn’t know how they have managed to escape the tragedy. There was no valid explanation to it. The villagers told them that the haveli is known to be haunted and whoever dared to stay there at night never returned. They were lucky to be alive maybe because the three of them were from the same family.

They left India heavy hearted never to return back... and to tell their father and grandfather their story. Their great grandfather’s haveli, once full of life remained haunted for the world and became known as the ‘burning haveli’.