Ghostbusters are in the news after the death of Gaurav Tiwari, CEO of the Indian Paranormal Society. It is pertinent to remember that the tragedy took place in Sector 19, Dwarka, which is not very far from the cemetery and crematorium developed is Sector 24. His mysterious death has been attributed to suicide by self-strangulation at a time when he was under great stress because of what he claimed was a negative force that was opposing him. One recalls that many years ago an Afghan staying in the Jama Masjid area after fleeing his country following a blood feud was found dead, sitting in his chair and looking up at the ceiling with a weird expression that reflected intense horror. Khan Sahib was an old man and one who was greatly interested in the supernatural, which often kept him occupied till late at night. His death was a mystery that was never solved. Some thought his hereditary enemies from Kabul were responsible for it but most residents of the area were convinced that it had something to do with ghosts and spirits. The Maulvi Sahib who sold perfume in Matia Mahal market and acted as exorcist too was convinced that supernatural forces were to blame.
The second incident was that of another old man, popularly addressed as “Mamma” (maternal uncle) who was found naked beside the nude picture of a weird deity and an arthi lamp still burning in his hand (something unusual for a Muslim). Mamma was a bachelor, who used to dress in sherwani-pyjamas and slowly cycled about wearing a turki topi. The expression on his face was also one of intense horror, as though he had seen some ghastly sight. Sheikh Farooq, who never worked since he was the son of a nawab, was famous for calling up spirits of the dead. On a visit to Karachi when he was holding a séance he (sic) conjured up the spirit of the singer Saigal and uttered some abusive words for the apparition’s reluctance to answer his questions. Soon after whenever Farooq went out, a black dog would follow him. He got perturbed and his favourite medium told him that he had offended the singer and unless he apologized he might have to pay with his life. He did as told and the dog stopped following him.
Back in Delhi Farooq Mian was holding a séance and those present were his close friend, Kunwar Sahib, noted shikari Cyril, Chunu Khan and two boys, Maxie and Marris. The inebriated Kunwar said, “Call the spirit of the young lady doctor who committed suicide some months ago and I’ll meet her under the peepul tree in your kothi compound for a romantic rendezvous.” The spirit did not come but a voice was heard from the garden saying, “Aaja bahar aur dekh kya hota hai” (come out and see what happens). The Kunwar got up as if to answer the call but Farooq Mian admonished him, telling him about his own experience in Karachi. “Never be rude to spirits,” he cautioned.
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Amir Rajpal, who used to stay above a famous shop in Connaught Place, went to the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Agra where he intended to spend the night in search of the paranormal. Just before midnight he saw a chilling sight, screamed and fainted with fright. Luckily two chowkidars and a caretaker of the cemetery, who lived near the gate, came running and revived him. Rajpal lived many years after that but never forgot the experience about which he wrote in Sun Magazine. Satyajit, Raj contributed a story, “Anath Babu’s Terror” for an anthology of ghost stories edited by Ruskin Bond, in which he related the tale of a man he met on a train to Raghunathpur. Anath Babu was keen on visiting the house of Haladhar Datta, supposed to be haunted. After he and Ray had inspected the haveli, Anath Babu decided to spend a night there all alone. He had been a renowned ghostbuster who collaborated with Prof Norton of England and wrote many articles on the paranormal. In the morning when Ray went to the house with some tea, he found Anath Babu sitting on an easy chair, his eyes transfixed on the ceiling and a horrible look on his face which was reflected in his fear-stricken eyes. The veteran ghostbuster had met his end the same way as the owner of the mansion, Haladhar Datta many years earlier.
As Eliphas Levi, 19th Century authority on the paranormal, put it: Ghosts do no kill –– they can’t because they are dead entities but they can instil horror, so much of it that it can cause death due to cardiac arrest. In local parlance this is termed as “dehshat se dil phat jana”. That nearly happened in the case of an orphaned boy’s aunt whose mother had died while giving birth to him. The boy used to long for her at night. One night he was more than usually insistent, causing his aunt to come running to see what he was up to. What she saw made her swoon. But on recovering she found a bottle in the boy’s hand and the milk in it was of a human mother which, believe it or not he drank till the age of three. But his aunt died suddenly one evening and the cause could not be ascertained though some said she had seen her dead Bhabi. Sheikh Farooq commented that the expression “Bhootni Ke” did have some basis after all. But his sudden end in Karachi not long after in a way confirmed the belief that ghostbusters too are not immune to fatal consequences arising from actions which could be influenced by uncanny force or whim. Gaurav Tiwari’s death may also be one such case.