Tuesday, December 18, 2007

"Bhooton ka Bhangarh" Adventure to the most haunted place in India...!!!



Since a very young age, I have been a lot into traveling. This year (2007) alone I have already made it to Hong Kong, Bangkok, many places in Europe including London, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany etc., In India-Chennai, Bhandakji, Nainital-Bhimtal, Agra, Delhi etc. All of this either with my family or friends.

It was the first time that we were planning a trip with my colleagues. After a long question answer, I was able to convince them to a positive. Yes they were ready...!!

"But where ?"

"You suggest"

"You have planned an outing...any place worth visiting that we return back on the same day?"

"Bhangarh" I said

There were some moments of silence. A half of them had not heard of the place and seemed to be thinking if they had heard of it. And those who had heard of it were just silent. They knew what I was speaking of.


"Bhangarh, bhooton wala??" Goplaji said hesitantly



Then started a series of discussions and arguments whether or not it was worth visiting the place. We googled up the place and now everybody was keen to visit the place. All with just a single question in mind...kya hame bhooth dikhega

This is what the wikipedia said about Bhangarh.

"The local folks say that due to a curse the whole town was vacated overnight. According to the story of the curse, if the town was ever rediscovered the township would not be found, but only temples would show up.

True to the story, only temples dot the landscape and even far up on the mountains only shrines can be seen. It is said that nobody returns from there who stays after dark.


By the Government of India rules there has to be an office of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) beside every historical structure in India. But even government authorities did not dare to open an office there. They opened their office about one kilometer away from the ruins of Bhangarh. Even this office is close to a temple because of this myth. ASI has put a signboard at Bhangarh saying, "Staying after sunset is strictly prohibited in this area."'Bold text'"



The excitement kept growing as we kept discovering more and more about the place. For a week, anyone I met, this question was certain in all those conversations "Have you heard of Bhangarh". Net, shopkeepers, workers, relatives, friends noone was spared. I had heard of the place first from Ankur and Vikas, two of my very close friends in Jaipur. Since then I always wanted to see it. This came as one opportunity.

Sunday 16th Dec 07 was the day. Six in all we hired a qualis and started morning at 8:20 and first halt was 20 mins later for breakfast. Samosa, Kachori, Mirchi Bajji, Jalebi and all such stuff - some of my favorites. Then started a 2 hour drive to the place. It is near Alwar and falls near Dausa.

The first view of Bhangarh itself was much to its name. From a distance, we could make out mountains with some ruined palace like built up. The last three kilometers were among the worst roads, and finally we were there. It was all fenced with mountains on three sides and a wall built in the front with a gate which could open only partially just enough to allow a single person in at a time.



Outside the gate, an old lady was begging true to the Indian image on this. The first thing one saw on entering the ruined village was a temple of Hanuman. A pandit stood there.

"Bhangarh dekhna hai?"

"Haan"

"Chalo koi chinta mat karo...aap log pehle ghum aao phir main aapko saari kahani sunata hoon"

"Kahan ghume?" I asked

"Is gaavn mein koi rehta nahi hai, tho bas aap mandir, wahan mahal aur bazaar dekhlo. Yahan ki saari kahani woh upar jo dikh raha hai naa...ussi se sab kuch lena hai"

He pointed to a small dome built on top of the mountain which had all to do with why Bhangarh is now a deserted village and also haunted.

As we were about to start, another person was going inside. He was ready to be out guide (off-course not by profession but was a good Samaritan.) We saw some temples which now had many cracks, the ruins of what looked like a market of the yesteryears. It was Bhangarh where the shooting of a famous hindi movie Karan Arjun took place starring Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan (involves re-incarnation). Bhangarh was beautiful and makes one think...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Why did the village become vacated overnight??. There was a small water body with some water snakes and fish in it. Temples with some idols missing and a palace.

The palace was amazing. Though ruined, we could feel how beautiful it would have been during the green times. Built on a mountain, the palace had three floors above and four floors dug in underground. The only entrance below were some square shaped gaps which was just enough to allow a person at a time to enter. The small entrance was probably made so that the king, queen and some important people were safe even if attacked suddenly. We did not go in as it was quiet dark inside (and no one wanted to go in otherwise also...what if we were struck inside??? ha).




We felt no ghost or bhooth but rather found the place very interesting. A complete village and looked as if everyday it would be hustling and bustling with trade and people all around. But now, we could scarcely find people in that 6 km x 4 km village. We were also shown a tree from the roots of which water seemed to flow and off-course a crab in it and some kevedon ke ped.

Another attraction was the randiyon ka mahal (palace of the prostitutes). A very open built up, it added nice colour to the already interesting village of Bhangarh. I jokingly commented...

"Yeh abhi working nahi hai !!"







After spending some time around, we finally returned to the pandit to listen to the story of Bhangarh. Here is what it was in short...

" Bhangarh was the capital of the empire in Rajasthan around 565 years ago and was quiet popular at that time. It was named after its king Bhanu Pratap Singh. There also lived a tantrik (a person who performs various degrees of magic) who had always desired for the queen. The queen was very beautiful and faithful to the king...so the tantrik decided to use magic so that the queen come to him.

As the maid of the queen went to purchase oil, the tantrik applied some magic on it such that as soon as the queen touches the oil, she would come running to her. The queen however was very clever and came to know that something was fishy. To test, she poured some of it on a huge stone. The stone flew to tantrik and hit him on his chest. Just before dying, the Tantrik cursed that the village be emptied overnight else nobody would survive.

Most of the people fled the village, including the king and the queen (who later reached Amer then Jaipur became the capital of the empire as it is now). Those who were "brave" and wanted to see what would happen, died. Their souls which has not yet rested seems to haunt around. "





All of us were listening without a word as the pandit continued...

"abhi koi bhoot pret nahi hai"



Though i still do not believe in the story, he claimed it to be true as it has been told generations to generations. Figure:This leads to four floors below...dare to get in??? True or false, it was a fascinating experience to see the village.





It makes one think...why did the village empty overnight...if the story of Tantrik is false, what is the truth then...this answer still haunts me. (maybe some flood, or some other calamaties?)

Overall it was a wonderful experience. On our way back, we just had a look at Ajabgarh from the car itself and then headed to a dhaba to have dinner. After that we reached Jaipur at around 5pm. A fantastic trip had come to end but the question still remains....kya wahan bhoot aaj bhi raat ko aate hain??


Just a last view on Bhangarh which i think is most probably the answer...

Figure: The famous palace of the prostitutes...or randiyon ka mahal...!!!

Myth: No one is allowed inside after 4pm and is gaurded by police as ghosts wake up in the night. No one has ever come out alive after going in during the night.

Fact: There are high chances of some treasures being found there as the place was vacated overnight (due to unknown reasons). Probably the government encourages the story of Tantrik and ghosts so that it keeps away people who come in search of some treasures. Risky but money can drive anyone to do this.

Hope you enjoyed the blog...post your comments....!!!!

26 comments:

$*$ PaVaN $*$ said...

Hey..nice write up chaman..excellent one..and cool pics too..now..am gonna visit this place next month for sure,Intresting..

Ankur said...

Hey Chaman, nice pics with a very beautiful narration yaar.....well although i have been to the place earlier but after seeing your pics i desire to visit once again....and its quite obvious that you guys had a great day out....everyone is looking cool haan.....

Iarrod said...

That's a very interesting place you went to!!
I hope I can go there someday! The temples are very beautiful and also the story behind it.

ritesh said...

hi Charman,,i lived near bhangarh for more than 3 years,working with a luxery resort chain,,one things which i would like to add is that snap of stairs which you have taken goes all the way to Jaipur from Bhangarh & and was actually a hiddin underground subway which was meant for easy exit during attack & there is a green dot in that snap also which you cant see through naked eyes,,,it happens to most of the snaps....& since your visit is posted on dec it shows snaps after reconstruction,,,i have a lot older ones with me.... if you need any help on this write me up at ritesh bhatt7@gamil.com

Anonymous said...

hey check this out, a guy that went to bhangarh got took a shot at a similar place and got a green "spot". look for yourself http://ghostsofindia.com/bhangarh/

Its the last pic on the other guys site . Any idea what the hell is is? Also there is some weird ORB on the same green patch photo on your pic, maybe a flash glare , who knows....ALso on the last pic on your site, at the palace of prostitutes there is a LAMP? or what is that bright light ? email me whtguywithstyle@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

hey chaman it was nice, but had u feel anything strange there?
means any shadow or anything which is not easy to understand, some happening or u feel like someone is walking besides u but u can't see it?

Unknown said...

hey chaman it was really nice,even i wish to go there but at night to explore what exactly happening there at night,ofcourse with legal permission of asi

vinny sharma said...

hey chaman nice way to discribe the whole story . v r also makeing a plan to b out there.
first i wud like to see that randiyo ka mahal .hahhahah

jgud yaar

Unknown said...

kya sach me bhoot hai yaha

Anonymous said...

hi
i had visited this place with 2 of my frnds...
haa ye sach hai ki waha bhoot aate hai last to last year a day before diwali.. fort mein apne ap hi itni light ho gai thi jaise din nikal aaya ho ye baat ap waha rehne wale guard se b puch sakte hai unse ye b puch sakte hai ki waha 3 ladke aaye the delhi se bahut kuch bataege wo uss din ke bare mein jab hum gaye the... waha ke log zayada baat nai krte in cheeso ke bare mein.. soo maano ya na maano sab baate sach hai aur koi ap logo mein se koi aur haunted place jaanta ho ya ehsi jaghai jaane mein interest rakhta ho then mail me up at surabsaroha@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Gud pics but i am looking for the some pics which anyone have dared to take at night

Sanjay Jain (sanjaydungarwal@hotmail.com) said...

Hey even i was very excited to visit this place after i came to Jaipur.. Heard a lot abt it.. Let me introduce myself - I em a student in GTL, right nw pursuing my FGA. Heard a lot abt you from many people and had come across your blog tdy and the heading made me excited to read the whole story of Bangarh... Wud surely visit Bangarh sumday ( after 4 ...lol... :-) )

soumashree basu said...

cool ... we frnz are planning to visit this place ...

manish sharma said...

Funny palace.... bhutttttttttttttttttttt :P

Deepak Jangir said...

Hey, we are going to bhangarh tomorrow. it's really feeling great for me that i'm going bhangarh wid my frnds... lets see what type experience i would have...

Anonymous said...

Fact: There are high chances of some treasures being found there as the place was vacated overnight (due to unknown reasons). Probably the government encourages the story of Tantrik and ghosts so that it keeps away people who come in search of some treasures. Risky but money can drive anyone to do this.

i agree ! :)

Nez said...

Phew:))))) tht ws pretty decscriptive. Y weren't u possessed, we could hv seen a live bhut then:) lol.. I shall visit Bhangarh sometime in my lyf as ur narration has tempted me to risk myself atleast once to venture out for a haunting trip....

nidhi said...

hey.. nice blog.. we are planning to go thre tomorrow and hence ur blog came as a big help..

Unknown said...

i think about bhangarh that if we go there with the group then we didnt saw the ghost but we go alone we saw ghost at night is it true?.......

Kshitiz said...

i have visited this place during my college days in Jaipur with my friends.. it is quite gud and very attractive place to visit..

Madhu said...

hi........ nice blog....Gud pics
kya sach me waha bhoot hai or kya aapne dekha hai bhoot ko waha

Anonymous said...

nice story and very cool nd funny comments..... ab ye to bhoot hi jaane ki vo waha rehte h ya kahi aur ......
bhoot voot kuch nahi hota .... humare mind ki imaginations hoti h.. that's it ....

shruthi AJ said...

Hey very nice to hear n getting curious, but u didnt tried to see ghost..........

Anonymous said...

good job...very interesting read

Anonymous said...

Bhoot hote hain aur un sab chijo se Insaan jitna dur rahe utna hi uske liya acchaa hain.If anyone believes in God and he exists than ghosts and evil spirits exist also.Remember this people any idiot who denies Gods existence means to say that almost 70% of the world's population that believes in God are fools and he is the smart one i.e it's similar to a clinically insane person calling sane human beings insane.And in case of India there are many more such places that exist where spirits still roam around.

Unknown said...

why u not stayed there at night ........there is nothing like ghost or anything at night ,,,,,,it is just a rumour ........ to protect the treasure of the king which is burried there.......people are dying there just because of wild animals prey them.......just go one more tym there and stay there at night and experience the real truth that there is nothing like "BHOOT" and "PRET"......I had also experienced it...... it was amazing ...fabulus......interesting.......and much more discovering about the fort and bhangarh........specially the four floors which are below the ground explored all the things about the "BHOOT" nd "TREASURE" of bhangarh