Before your read ahead---->
THIS IS NOT A TRAVELOGUE, THIS IS NOT A DO's & DON'Ts OF KULDHARA, THIS NOT A PIECE TO GIVE YOU INFO ON ANYTHING ABOUT KULDHARA, RATHER, THIS IS A PIECE OF "INTERESTING/CO INCIDENTAL/CREEPY" INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED WITH ME WHILE I VISITED KULDHARA VILLAGE.
So as to begin, we all know Kuldhara holds a dubious distinction of being one of the most haunted places of India. A piece of land depraved completely of civilization and it's history so much contorted and twisted by myths and urban legends that the reality lies hiden somewhere amidst all the folklore that surrounds the Village.
With all the trepiditions and excitement of a small kid visiting his "First Ever Haunted Village", it was the mid afternoon of a blazing October back in 2015 that I made my way to Kuldhara. With hardly any signs to mark the road, neither any soul to guide us to the village, we were left stranded on the Highway hoping to find any tell tale signs of the entry to the village. Luckily for us, a group of Bengali tourists were on their way from Sam Sand Dunes and their helpful driver stopped by at our plight and offered us to show the way that leads to Kuldhara. We realized we were at walking distance from the diversion to the village and thanking the Group, we made our way to the village.
The very thing that hit me initially, was the fact that such a village devoid of any life did exist for real and in that sandy patch of land, at the entrance to the Gate, was an old man busy puffing down his Beedi. He is supposedly sort of a collector and asked us to pay 10 rupee per head to gain entry to the premise. A paltry sum for what lays ahead, we coughed out the money and drove along well into the village.
NOTHING WAS THERE!!!! Initially that was the very thought that rushed in our minds on entering through the Gate. Dusty village road with bushes and shrubs scattered all over the terrain. I thought, DID WE FALL FOR THE SCAM OF A HAUNTED VILLAGE???? Not to lose hope, we drove along the road and finally after 5 minutes or so, we got to see the medieval ruins of the village at the distance. Ohhhh the Joy!!!!
Finally on reaching the sort of "Village Square" near the Village Temple, we set off on our foot to explore this place and actually to see if there is any sort of creepy stuff that this place is actually associated with. Now is when the fun starts!!!!
In my part of the country, Assam, there is a comon belief that 12 pm to 3 pm is a bad time to be near a water body, old houses/forts/buildings or even under a Banyan/Mango Tree as so called Apsaras/Devtas/Celestial Nymphs descend down to earth. Something I clearly laughed off once I was able to differentiate myth from reality. But something that day definitely spooked me up and it was the constant irritation and itchy feeling on the back of my neck that really made me feel suspicious. Heat can cause skin rashes, or so I thought!!!!
Jaisalmer being a dry and arid region, with temperature soaring into the 40s, I for my entire trip had a small towel tucked at the back pocket of my Pants. Not for a single time this "Loyal" towel of mine fell off my back pocket, let it be in Sam Sand Dunes, Khaba Fort, Bada Bagh, Gadisar Lake, Shonar Quila or even the Scam Camel Safari!!!! That little piece of cloth was safely tucked in my back pocket only to come out when I needed it to!!! Funny thing is, the moment I stepped foot inside the Temple locted at Kuldhara, it fell off. No such spooky feeling came into my mind thinking that maybe I tucked it away in a casual manner. This time, I tucked it away properly. Yet again, once I came out of the temple complex, IT FELL OFF!!!!!
Now, is the time to get second thoughts!!!! Why so the second time???!!! With a little bit of trepidition, this time I tucked it completely into my back pocket and started to walk my way through the village. Nothing happened for a while and I can feel the bulge the towel was making in my back pocket, a safe reassurance that the towel is intact. After half and hour or so, as we were making our way back to our rides, the pocket seemed light and the bulge of the Towel was not felt. This, scared the living daylights out of me and I frantically retraced my way back through the houses we went into, only to find it on the top of a fallen stretch of wall of one of the village house. I vividly remember that while I was near that section of the wall, the bulge aka the towel was felt and it was safely tucked in. Few of my friends laughed it off, few got nervous and few just were eager to leave the place.
After all this "Display of Love" shown towards my towel by Kuldhara Village, I decided not to bring back my towel, rather I left it there itself thrown away into one of the innumerable dilapidated houses.
Two years has passed and till date I don't know what or why and how it happened. Many may call it simple co incidence, many may find it funny or weird, few may actually believe. For the believers, next time any of you ever visit Kuldhara, try to locate the "White Towel" among one of the village houses.
Rajasthan--JAANE KYA DIKH JAAYE indeed!!!