A Ghost in a bowl..!

Ever since childhood, my curiosity about ghosts has never been satiated. As I grew, my search also grew and I devoured ghost stories and mystery TV serials.

I never had known that I would have a personal experience of a ghost until I reached a small hamlet in the Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, for my Summer placement.

My story will not do justice to my friend if I do not offer him the credit for all the experience I had!

Two of us, the aspiring Rural Development professionals reached Wardha and from there, to this hamlet. We mingled with the community and instantly struck a rapport with the staff at a training centre in the village.

One day, one of the staff, whom I will refer to as Didi, in the rest of this note, narrated to me her experience of Planchet, or inviting the spirit of a deceased person. I was immediately interested and my friend had glow in his eyes, thinking of the experience we would have.

So one sunny, sleepy afternoon, after we had finished the day’s work, we found a quiet room and a corner for the needful. We shut the door and except for a small opening (the ventilator), we shut all other openings.

In the now dark room, Didi wrote the alphabets A to Z and the numbers 1 to 10, on a small low wooden rectangular stool. Then in the centre, she placed a small steel bowl and asked us to put our index fingers on it. Having done that, she asked us whom we would like to invite. Our minds wandered from grandparents to National heroes to filmy personalities and at the end, she decided about a local lady, who, Didi said, was a very good person, which meant, that she would not be aggressive during the planchet!

So, she started inviting her, speaking in Marathi but even after a few minutes, nothing happened.

I could already feel a cold finger down my spine and was completely frozen but when nothing happened, I joked, “The lady must have been a fat person and therefore, her spirit is unable to enter through that small ventilator”, to which, Didi took huge offense and ordered me to shut up.

It took so much time that I almost lost my interest and was no more afraid.

And then, suddenly, the bowl moved!

Three of us were aghast, surprised and for the first few seconds, could not speak anything. My throat was parched by then, with fear. Didi asked a few questions and my friend followed. Then it was my turn.

The first question I asked was which year would I get a job and the bowl moved from 2to 1 to 4 to 5 which meant 2145. Now considering that this was happening in 1995, I was very upset about my job prospects as foretold by the noble soul! Then I asked, “What will be my life partner’s name?” And the bowl moved from y to x to z and I do not remember anything after that.

By then our fear had vanished and after thanking the spirit, we ended the planchet.

The story does not end here, dear friends!

Long after Didi had left, a doubt kept lingering in my mind. I asked my friend, how it all happened! He said, he knew and understood it. I asked him several times, “Bolna, kaise huaa, kya huaa” but he refused to let the cat out!

The bowl was placed at one side of a long stool in the room and seeing it, my fear returned. Looking apprehensively at the ‘possessed’ bowl, I continued pleading for knowing the secret. I kept sitting at one edge of a cot with my eyes stuck on the bowl.

In between, our friendly Kakkaji, the caretaker of the training centre came with the evening snacks, poha. Looking at the bowl lying there, he went to pick it up when I shrieked at the top of my voice, crying, “Kakkaji, mat uthhayiye kotare ko...!”

And he left, surprised. I continued pleading. “Bolna..”. My friend assured that after we had the poha, he would let out the secret. Poha was finished and I started requesting again. Now my patience was wearing out!

One more time, he said he would not tell and I picked up some of his survey schedules and threw them out, out of rage!

Till this day, he makes fun saying he just loved the way his survey schedules were made into roses, by me!

At last, with much pleading, requesting, threatening, he let out the secret, telling me, how the bowl had moved.

And dear readers, you will kill me for this... . . . . . ..
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My friend, with a little extra pressure had moved the bowl while Didi and I kept our fingers lightly on the bowl, thus, manipulating the entire act!

I must admit that I was, at the end, relieved that there was no spirit at all!

Our Didi at Yavatmal still does not know the secret!