Saturday, June 26, 2010

BOOO........


I dont believe in ghost stories, I honestly dont.



I am the guy you see laughing @ a good ghost story when everyone around is squirming with fear. So, it came as no surprise to my friends when I told them that I was taking the Aarey road when going home after a late night party.

Aarey road is long and winding, covered with greenery. Legend says that this place was a robbers paradise where lonely travellers were robbed and murdered. Stories of murder victims being dumped in this remote area are well known. It is believed that these spirits still continue to haunt this area. Infact, this stretch of road in Mumbai is believed to be so haunted that no one is allowed to take it after 11 in the night to upto 5 in the morning. But, bribing the guard works and you do get a few people who come here looking for adventure, hoping to get spooked. I, on the other hand, prefer taking this route because it cuts my travel time by nearly 40 mins.

So there I was, cruising away on my bike when I notice an elderly man on an antique scooter phut phutting away in front of me. In no time, I zipped ahead of him. A few minutes later, I saw the man and his scooter again, riding ahead of me as if I had never overtaken him. Surprised, I zipped ahead again, but this time I managed to take in the make of the scooter and what the man was wearing. A few minutes later, when I saw him ahead of me again, I knew something was wrong. I hadn't seen him overtake me (there was no way his old Bajaj could have overtaken me anyways) and there are no shortcuts as the road is flanked by a lake on both sides. Intrigued, I overtook him and turned to take a quick look at his face. What happened next, I do not remember, but I woke up at home the next morning with no memory at all of how I got there.

I had to go back. I had to. I couldn't let a weirdo with an antique scooter knock me unconscious. Plus, I couldn't stand all the jokes my friends were now cracking at my expense.

Gathering a few friends, I decided to go back the next night. No, I wasn't scared. I just didn't want to take a chance. I mean there could be robbers and stuff and I didn't want to get mugged now, did I?

We took our bikes and parked right in the middle of the road where I had seen the weirdo the previous night. It was a clear night with the half moon throwing pleasant light. The crickets chirped and a light breeze carried with it, the sounds of the night. Flanked by the lake, the road looked breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful. As we waited for the weirdo to materialise, we indulged in friendly banter.

Suddenly, we heard a rustling sound coming from the lake. The hair on the back of my neck started tingling and there was a sudden chill in the air. Turning back, we saw what seemed like a figure running towards us at top speed. Running on water!!

Screaming as loudly as our lungs let us, we got on to our bikes and got the hell out of there. Atleast the rest did.
My bike refused to start. It was almost as if some weird force was keeping it glued to the spot. I felt someone something breathing down my neck. And then the inevitable happened.

I fainted.

Nothing untoward hasn't happened after that apart from the unexplained knocks I hear on my door at times. Or the weird voices and languages that my room mate says I speak in. Or the way Browny whines at times. I am in perfect shape but avoid taking the Aarey road. No, I am not scared. The roads have become too slippery in the rains and its too foggy in winters. I still enjoy a good ghost story but haven't really attended any late night parties in a while now. Work commitments.

And ya, I still don’t believe in ghost stories.


This is a true story. I tried telling it in third person par maaza nahi aa raha tha...thght the 1st person account did justice. So ya, this story isnt abt me..its abt a guy I know :)

44 comments:

Lucifer said...

scooter ka bhi ghost tha?

Shanu said...

LOL..Ho sakta hai..U never kno!

Blunt Edges said...

reminded me of a story i had heard a long time ago.
there was this road pretty much like this aarey road (u aren't talking of the aarey colony wala road na?).
n just like the dude in this incident, the hero of this story too took this road late in the night to get home soon. but as luck would have it, his bike gave way n he was left with a flat tyre half way into the dreaded lane. he was a bit scared n started walking n pushing his bike along. every gush of wind, every sound, every tiny noise startled him. he started getting increasingly terrified with each passing moment. he then decided to leave his bike there n run home as pushing the bike was really slowing him down. as he started running, he realized that the street seemed all new n he couldn't recognize it at all. he stopped n looked around n realized to his utter despair that he was lost!

tears started rolling down his cheek as he started wondering what would happen to him. all of a sudden he saw an old man sitting at the road side. he was a book vendor. he ran towards the vendor n stopped 10meters away from him.
"what's a book vendor doing here at (looks at his watch) 1.27am?" he wondered.
something didn't seem right. the guy just didn't look up at the dude. he kept arranging his books.

"er..excuse me? can u tell me how can i get to 5th cross?"
no response
"excuse me?"
no response
"are u deaf or something?"
the old man paused n just stayed still, but he still didn't look up. the dude was tensed again.

old man: "what do u want?"
dude: "can u tell me the way to 5th cross?"
old man: "only if u buy a book from me?"
dude: "what?"
old man: "i said i'll tell u the way only if u buy a book from me"
dude: "errr...ok"
old man: "ok...select your book"

*tired of writing a story in a comment section, blunt decides to take a break*

Blunt Edges said...

*a couple of stretches n two glasses of water later, blunt is back*

the dude looked at the collection n realized that all the books had some or the other reference to ghosts n the like. completely spooked he selected the book that lay closest to him. it was called "the ghost of the librarian".
dude: "i'll take this one. how much?"
old man: "250"

the dude paid him n the old man told him how to get to 5th cross. all this without still showing his face. just as the dude was about to leave, the old man caught his hand n pulled him towards himself n whispered into his ears:
"whatever happens, never read the last page of the book!" n he left his hand.

the dude who was completely terrified by now just ran home without even turning n looking back even once.
he reached home safe n sound n never told anyone about that night. he told his friend to get the bike the next day n swore to himself that he would never take that road again.
days passed n one night when he was about to hit the bed he saw the book lying on his bedside table. curiosity engulfed him n he opened the book n flipped through it. he wanted to check out the last page, but somehow he couldn't muster the courage to do so.

sleep evaded him that night. restless, he woke up in the middle of the night, sat up on his bed, switched on the light n took the book. he glanced at the watch n the time read 1.27am. he remembered it was the same time that night when he had met the old man. the old man's words about not reading the last page kept ringing in his ears, but he knew he just won't be able to sleep peacefully till he knew what exactly was written in the last page. finally, he decided to go for it. with trembling hands he directly opened the last page of the book. what he saw left him shocked. he tore the page n tried to scream, but no voice would come out of him. the book fell out of his hand n he collapsed onto his bed, still clutching onto the paper.

next morning his sister came to wake him up. she called him twice but there was no response from him. that's when she saw the paper he had in his hand. she took it from his hand n looked at it. it was a blank sheet except for one line at the bottom. it read:
MRP: Rs.50

hamaarethoughts.com said...

Good..u r kinda smart to ..go back, but for me....I will never go to that street agin!

Anita Jeyan said...

OMG shanu! They really exist, dont they? Ohhh... ! U only fainted. I wud've died.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Nice narration Shanu. Ur friend had a visit from Jaadu :P

Shanu said...

@ Bluntu

Such a scary story..abhi mujhe raat ko neend nahi aayegi!! I have to go chk the last pages of all my books now :P

Shanu said...

@ Harman

Wapas nahi jaata toh story ka maaza nahi aata na!

Shanu said...

@ Anita

Ya, they do! How scary na!

Shanu said...

@ Spike

Thanks.

Its jadoo not jaadu :P

Jaadu is used for sweeping...Jadoo on the other hand, is the adorable alien from Koi mil gaya!

Sangitha said...

Ghost stories give me the chills but i thot there wud be some funny twist to this one since its on 'fullon bakwas'.. but but but u scared me shanu.. :( Mummmmyyyyyy!! :S

God bless that guy!!

@ blunt u r quite good at copy pasting stuff from email fwds.. :D

HaRy!! said...

where did yu say the street is?? !ll note it down....to check it out for sure! :) and blunt edges comment...lol

Kanishk said...

Happened with me once... Coming back late from Kandivali and the rickshaw waala refused to take Aarey colony route :P I thought it's just bcoz he's afraid that if his rickshaw breaks down then he wont be able to get any help there but I didn't know about all these horror stories... Interesting ! :)

Anita Jeyan said...

And blunt I will kill u for that story.
Che. U built up so much suspense and curiosity. GRRRRRR.

NIM said...

the aaray colony road IS creepy! At least it looked creepy the last time i drove up there... I too have heard of crazy stories about that place. But really? That Really happened to this friend of yours?
I loved the story though. I bet a few people I know will definitely think twice before getting in there after reading this incident :)

Harini said...

Spooky. I dont believe in ghost stories but some people near me have first hand experience so may its true.

Blunt Edges said...

@Shanu
i wrote such a huge story n all u could come up with is one line?? :o

@Sangitha
i agree it wasn't an original story...i even mentioned it at the start...but it wasn't a copy paste!!
i remembered the story vaguely n wrote down the whole thing!!

@Anita
buhahahahahahaha
blunt-2 anita-2 :D

its fun replying to multiple people on others' blogs...makes me feel like i'm commenting on my own ;)

Gauri said...

Spooky!

Never been to Aarey road at night, will try prolly.

moonlite:D said...

don't you, DON'T YOU, really believe in Ghost stories??
But,i love to listen to fantasies :D

n bluntu - Ctrl+c, Ctrl+v, eh, eh??

Sangitha said...

@ blunt u really wrote that whole story on ur own?! Wow.. I wudnt go beyond 10 lines.. :D neways sorry! :)

IceMaiden said...

OYE! I take the Aarey wala road everyday. LATE NIGHT. :| :P I have been traveling thru that stretch all my life actually so I aint scared :P

So once me and a friend gave a surprise bday party to a frnd and we were getting late for that :P so we took the aarey road (party was at powai) and we were going really fast on the bike :P and I tell my friend (while he was doing almost a 120 :|) "so.. did you knw there are ghosts around here" and he goes "annie shut up shut up!" and this was a turn and we almost skidded off the road.... aah fond memories :P :D

Also there is this little pond in the middle of that greenery that looks veryyyy spooky in the night - no lamps no light nothing for miles in sight :P awesome to sit and share spooky stories :P

Cheers,
Annie.

gayathri vishwanathan said...

i thot aarey road mein sirf panther aate hain :) but sahi rey i think i should try this road at night...agley din bhoot mara huva milega :)

aur woh inta chintu se font mein kyun mention kiya kii its not ur story??

gayathri vishwanathan said...

arre blunty...bookwala uncle bahut shaana nikhla...sahi rey...kal se main bhi bookwali banti hoon...5 times munafa...

eye-in-sty-in said...

Dear Shanu,
I know who Jadoo is.. I was not referring to him ... or it....

I was referring to the ghost of the story as being fat aka Jaadu... get it?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Shanu said...

@ Sangitha

LOL..actually i dont mind adding a funny twist..how abt the guy fainting bcoz the ghost had bad breath?

Shanu said...

@ Hary

Its the Aarey road near powai..its very famous..ask ne1 wen u are here!

And yes, the thunder stealing bluntu is funny..hmpt!

Shanu said...

@Kanishk

Aaare dont take the road at nite re baba..the stories are all true..bfr this happend with my frnd i didnt blv either..but now i have no shaq!

Shanu said...

@ Anita:

Allow me to join u :P

Shanu said...

@ NIM

yes this is a true story and trust me I have toned it down..u dnt wanna hear the real version..will scre the shit outta u!

Shanu said...

@ Harini

Wow..tell me some na! I love ghost stories!

Shanu said...

@ Bluntu

Stop hogging the limelite on my blog!

Shanu said...

@ gkam

Nahi na..dnt..its too scari..trust me!

Shanu said...

@ Moonlite

Maaza aaya story sunke? I am glad!

Shanu said...

@ Annie

Yea..that pond is so beautiful na..and eerie! That place looks spooky..wldnt dream of goin there at nite!

Shanu said...

@G3

Haan bhoot, panther sab milenge! Chintu font so that ppl kno itz a true stry!

Shanu said...

@ Spike

refer to email for reply!

As the Mind Meanders said...

Awesome... Both you and bluntly.

This was the most dun I have had reading in a long long time...

As the Mind Meanders said...

I meant fun... I did...

Thousif Raza said...

ispooky.... whew... well you can never be too careful...(Does that line make me feel scared ;))

take care and keep writing.....

Reema said...

oohhhh I would have died!

Shanu said...

@ ATMM

Thanks

@ TR

Arent u :P

@ Reema

I wld have too!

♪♪Happy Go Lucky♪♪ said...

That was awesome!!! :)