Our dedicated rag buyer (mainly old newspaper, magazine, glass bottles and old utensils) comes every quarter to pickup from our home. Sometimes, he brings some old books which if I like, buy them from him. Last week when he came, he had an old leather folder diary amongst the books. I was intrigued and bought it from him, hoping to get a refill and polish the leather to make it new.

In the evening, I took out the diary, the first page just had the name of the owner, Sanjeev, no surname, no address or contact details. The pages had lost some color turning them off-white… the initial pages turned out to be regular entries of the day’s events, nothing exciting. There were few blank pages and then a story unfolded as I read on…

Tuesday March 17

Today, out of the blue, I received a letter from grandpa-2 (my father’s uncle). Two years ago, he suddenly left home in search of his son who had gone missing during a college excursion. He did not inform anyone at home about his or my cousin’s whereabouts and we assumed the worst has happened to both of them. Now, this letter from him puzzled me…

“Dear Sanjeev,

By the time you receive this letter, I may not be alive anymore. If you can, please come immediately to Narottampur. You have to take the train to Dhanbad, then by bus to Shikarpur and from there you can take the rickshaw to Onkarnath Ashram at Narottampur. Please ask anyone in the Ashram for the house of Govindram, they will direct you. Yes, people here know me by that name only. In case I die before meeting you, please do my final rites at home.

Love and blessings

Grandpa-2”      

Wednesday March 18

The whole affair of grandpa-2 is very confusing… living under a pseudo name at a far away place like Narottampur in the ashram of some Onkarnath… I don’t know what to make of this.

Thursday March 19

I took the overnight train to Dhanbad, just told my parents that I am going out for three days on office work.

Friday March 20

I reached Narottampur in the afternoon. The place looked more like a large village rather than a town, sparsely populated with houses standing randomly in the distance. A passerby directed me to the Onkarnath Ashram, a barricaded large plot with a temple and few quarters for the inmates. I found a priest inside the temple and asked him about Govindram’s house.

“Where are you coming from?” the priest asked with a look of bewilderment.

“Kolkata”

“You have come from far to Narottampur to meet Govindram, what’s the matter?”

“Something special, you won’t understand.”

“Govindram doesn’t meet anyone. Moreover, the house where he lives is not good, it has bad reputation. We don’t go anywhere near it. You shouldn’t go there, if you take my advice.”

“I have to go.”

The priest was not impressed, reluctantly he directed him to Govindram’s house, “Go straight, after you cross the pond on your left, you can see his house next to it.”

I followed the direction and soon could see a single storey dilapidated structure by the pond. Getting closer, I could see wild shrubs and grass growing all over the place. There was a narrow path leading to the building and followed it to reach the house. The door was wide open, I looked inside to find a middle-aged man preparing lunch. “Does Govindram Ji live here?” I asked.

The man looked at me with astonishment, then excitedly asked, “Are you the grandson of Sahib?”

“Yes, I have come to meet my grandpa.” I didn’t know who the Sahib is but guessed he is my grandpa-2.

“Please come inside, Sahib is not too well.”

I followed him to an inner room, a large cot occupying most of the space and a skeletal figure lying on it. Even though he was in complete disarray, I could recognise my grandpa-2.  His eyes lit up when he saw me and he tried to sit up but couldn’t… I rushed forward to hold him. He took my hands in his and said, “I am glad you could make it on time. I have been waiting for you.”

“What happened to you grandpa? Tomorrow, I am taking you to Kolkata for treatment.”

“I am not going anywhere. Now that you are here, I can die peacefully.”

“How did you land up here in Narottampur?”

Grandpa-2 was in visible discomfort, he slowly took out a notebook kept under his pillow and handing it over to me said, “I have written down everything in this notebook, you will know all the details once you read it. You must follow the instructions… Sitaram will help you. The devil will try to stop you. But don’t be scared, the god will help you.”

Before he could say anything more, a bout of cough stopped him. He again tried to sit up with great difficulty, I helped him sit and asked Sitaram to get a glass of water. He took a sip from the glass and looked at me, his eyes had lost all colors, he started shivering and that moment shouted, “There, he is…he has come to claim my body. Run, run away…”

Grandpa’s held tilted on its side, body gave away, I checked the non-existent pulse.

“Grandpa is dead. Please call some neighbour for the last rites.” I told Sitaram.

“No one will come, you and I will have to do the cremation. We will cremate him on the banks of the pond only. I will go and get the necessary items from the market. You stay with him.”

I took out some money and gave them to Sitaram. I was feeling bad and frustrated… I couldn’t save my grandpa-2, I wanted to take him back with me but failed. I sat there grieving. Suddenly, my eyes caught the sight of the notebook that grandpa-2 had given me, awhile ago. I opened it. There is no mention of any date or year but I could make out that grandpa-2 had been writing for quite some time. The style of writing is like a diary without dates.

Today is the Friday, I have come to Gopalpur in search of my son, Sushant. Some acquaintance in Dhanbad informed that a young boy of Sushant’s description has been seen in the vicinity of the ashram of a tantrik near the river, next to the cremation ground. On the other side of the river is the forest, no residential quarters in the vicinity.

As I reached the ashram, the tantrik shouted, “Come here, I know who you are looking for, he is with me only.”  

I sat at the feet of the tantrik crying, “Where’s my son Sushant, please tell me…take me to him, I want to see him right now.”

The tantrik ruffled my hair and soothingly said, “You have come from far, take rest now, I will take you to him at night.”

I could barely wait for the nightfall and visited the tantrik as soon as it became dark. “Please take me to my son, wherever he is” I requested the tantrik.

The tantrik looked at me with burning eyes that put shiver down my spine. The tantrik did not utter any word but signalled me to follow him. We reached behind the ashram where a dome shaped structure lay abandoned. The tantrik unlocked the door and asked me to enter. No lights were there so I switched on my torch. I saw a staircase going down to the basement, the tantrik commanded me to go down to the basement.

The basement room wasn’t too big, a trident has been placed in the middle of the room and large wooden trunk lay by the wall. The tantrik asked me to open the trunk.

As soon as I lifted the lid of the trunk, a putrid smell hit my nostrils. What’s inside? I focused the torch inside the trunk and let out a cry. Sushant is lying inside like a stone sculpture as if in a deep slumber. I tried to touch him, lift him out of the trunk but the tantrik stopped me, “Don’t touch him.”

The tantrik closed the lid of the trunk. I cried out, “Please, I won’t go anywhere without my son.”

The tantrik spoke softly, “Sushant is no longer yours or mine, he has gone to another world.”

“Then why have you kept his body in this trunk?” I asked defiantly.

“Come up with me, I will explain.” The tantrik said.

We came up and sat down on the porch of the tantrik’s hut. We were sitting facing each other, his eyes were burning from the smoke of the cannabis. He took few quick puffs of the cannabis and started speaking, “When I found your son, he was in a very bad shape, running high fever and unconscious under the Ashoka tree.”

“How did he reach here?”

“I don’t know, maybe he was going somewhere else but got lost. I was coming from the cremation ground when I saw him and brought him here. I tried to save him but he passed away after three days. Before he died, he called out for you.”

“When did he die?”

“About a fortnight ago. I knew, you will come looking for him. That’s why I have kept his body in the basement. It is because of my occult powers that his body hasn’t decomposed yet.”

I was finding it difficult to believe the tantrik but before I could say anything, he said, “You rest now, I have to go the cremation ground for the rituals. I will see you in the morning.”

I sat there alone, the thoughts of Sushant kept haunting me. The approaching footsteps on the dry leaves broke my reverie, I looked up to find the disciple of the tantrik, Shivratan coming my way. He had brought food for me. He looked afraid, he checked the surrounding to be sure there was no else, then whispered, “Please run away from here now, immediately. The spirits of the netherworld will swoop down any moment now.”

“My son is here, I can’t leave him behind.”

“Who is your son?”

“Sushant, he is in the basement of the dome room behind the ashram.”

“Oh my God, that kid is your son? You will hear him cry for help, very soon.”

“But, he is dead.”

Shivratan, visibly shaken, again looked around and spoke in a low voice, “The tantrik, through his occult powers have kept his soul inside the body. The soul is trying to release but can’t and that’s why it cries for help every night.”

“But the tantrik said that he has kept him there for me.”

“Lies. If you can, please release his soul from the body.”

There was footstep approaching us, Shivratan got up saying, “Don’t say a word to the tantrik otherwise he will kill me and keep my soul in the trunk.”

Shivratan left in a hurry; I sat there alone again. Suddenly, I heard someone crying in the distance. It was a cry of extreme pain. I came out and walked towards the crying sound… it stopped as suddenly as it had started. I could hear the winds and the sound of waves hitting the shore. I came back. The day’s events and the exhaustion were too much, I found a cot inside the hut and crashed on it.

I felt Sushant is standing in front of me, his body is crumpling in pain. The face is white, devoid of color, the eyes begging for mercy. He spoke but I couldn’t make out what, I felt his pain and screamed aloud. I woke up and found myself alone sitting on the cot.

In the morning, I told the tantrik, “I want to cremate my son’s remains.”

The tantrik looked at me gravely for sometime then said, “I will bring him back to life.”

I understood that the tantrik has some ulterior motive, he won’t allow me to cremate my son. He will keep the body in the basement for his occult practice.

The miserable face of Sushant kept haunting me. I decided to bring out his body and cremate it somehow. Shivratan realised my determination and came to me as soon as the tantrik went to the river for bathing, “You can’t do anything during the day. Once the tantrik goes to the cremation ground for the rituals, we will bring out the body and cremate it.”

“If he gets to know that you helped me, he will kill you.” I warned him.

“I will run away before he realises it.” Shavratan assured me.

 The day passed stressfully for I didn’t know what to expect when Shivratan and I attempt to cremate my son. By evening the tension was palpable, I couldn’t sit anymore; I went out to the river front to calm my nerves. I saw the tantrik walk out from the ashram heading towards the cremation ground. I walked back to the ashram to find Shivratan waiting for me. He had managed to steal the key to the dome room. We silently went to there and Shivratan unlocked the door. He was visibly afraid so I asked him stay out of sight and went down to retrieve my son’s mortal remains.

I opened the lid of the trunk, Sushant looked same as I had seen him yesterday. With some effort I pulled him out and lifted him on my shoulder ready to go up the stairs. Just then I froze at the sight of the tantrik standing at the top. His fiery eyes were ready to burn me to ashes. He jumped down and shoved me down to the ground. He picked up the body of Sushant and climbing the stairs said, “I am taking him with me, I will lock you up here for eternity.”

At that moment, the idea of revenge is all that I could think of… I picked up the trident and stabbed the tantrik with humongous strength. He fell down the stairs to his death. I lifted up the mortal remains of my son which started to decompose rapidly. The occult powers of the tantrik was not working anymore. Shivratan, probably had ran away seeing the tantrik, so I carried my son’s body to the riverfront and arranging the wood, lit the pyre.

I thought of returning home but realised that I have committed a murder… what if the police comes after me there… the family name would tarnish. In the wee hours, I left Gopalpur getting into the first train that came on the platform. I had no clue where I am heading but when the train stopped at the Dhanbad station I got down there along with few other sanyasis. We walked through the day and reached Shikarpur in the evening. We took shelter at an abandoned house the zamindar. We had a frugal dinner and slept on the veranda.

I don’t know what time it was when I felt a sudden storm swept over me. Instantly I woke up and saw the tantrik standing a few feet away looking at me with bloodshot eyes, ready to burn me to ashes. I screamed, when my fellow sanyasis came, the tantrik had disappeared. I realized, the tantrik even after death will not leave me.

Next day along with the sanyasis, I came here at the Onkarnath Ashram. As soon as I retired for the bed, the tantrik started harassing me, I couldn’t sleep a wink throughout the night.

I left the ashram as morning broke, no point in involving others in my fight with the tantrik. I wandered around the town till I found this abandoned house. I decided to stay put there fending off the nefarious intents of the tantrik. I can’t explain in words, how I have lived for so long despite the daily harassment by the dead tantrik. People around got to know that I deal with the spirits and started avoiding me. Only Sitaram stayed on with me taking care maybe because I had taken care of him when he was down with small pox and the villagers had thrown him out from the village. I brought him here and looked after him till he was healthy again. Now, he is stays with me all day and goes back to his home at night. Every night, the tantrik comes to room to scare me to death, harassing me… I know my death is imminent… only then I will be free from the tentacles of the tantrik, perhaps.

The tantrik will use all his might to capture my soul and convert me into a zombie, Sitaram can’t resist him. I pray to God to save my soul.

There was nothing more in the notebook. I waited for the return of Sitaram with the items required for the last rites of my grandpa-2. It was getting dark with clouds forming in the distant horizon. I realized, a thunderstorm is more than a possibility.

Sitaram came with the items along with a young man, “He is Divakar, I brought him to help us.”

“Let’s hurry before the thunderstorm strikes.” I urged them.

By the time the pyre was set and we brought the body of grandpa-2, the thunderstorm lashed the surrounding with fury, heavy rain poured down incessantly. There was no option but wait for the rain to stop. I was feeling scared, I kept a firm hold of grandpa’s hand. I had a feeling that some unknown force was trying loosen my grip. The intensity of the storm was getting stronger instead of relenting. The sky was lighting up frequently with lightening strikes. Suddenly, I felt movement of grandpa’s body…  it’s moving away… I shouted, “Sitaram, some unknown force is pulling away grandpa.”

Sitaram dived on grandpa’s body to stop it from sliding away. The movement stopped immediately. The intensity of rain increased; the raindrops hit us like multiple needles piercing the body but we stayed put. The weather became unusually chill for a summer month, we were shivering. The rain relented after almost an hour. We set up the pyre again and placed the body of grandpa-2 on it, set it to fire. A sudden gust of wind doused the fire, we lit it again. The fire engulfed the pyre with fury.

Suddenly, there was a deafening screeching shout, some unseen force started throwing the burning logs from the pyre in the water. We shrunk in terror unable to move. We lost the sense of time. A sound of something rolling on the ground shook us from our numbness, grandpa’s body was rolling down to the river. I jumped over the burning pyre ignoring the flames and stopped the body from going into the watery grave. Sitaram and I lifted the half burnt muddy body of grandpa on to the pyre.

The night was giving away to the morning, in a while the dawn will break, suddenly Divakar shrieked in fear and pointed towards the pyre. What we saw was bone chilling… the burnt body of grandpa had risen from the pyre and walking towards the pond. I realised the scheming tantrik is trying to take the body of my grandpa. I was feeling helpless, with great courage I picked up a burning log and hit legs of my grandpa. The body crumpled with loud noise of breaking bones. With the help of Sitaram and Divakar, I pushed back the body on the pyre.

After a while, the dawn broke, grandpa’s body had become a pile of ash. I washed up the ashes, took a dip in the pond and felt relieved. Coming back home, I didn’t tell anyone about the unbelievable ordeal that I encountered. Who would have believed!!