A Ghost Problem

Written by Anuran Chatterji

The hands of the clock proceeded towards 11 pm. The village had almost fallen silent. The night had settled in.



The door of a small house opened and Mrs Walia stepped out with her walking stick. She was well above 70 and was a little short of hearing. She looked to her left then to her right. She walked to the chair outside and moved it.



“Bhola…! Bhola..? Where are you dear?” Mrs Walia called out for her cat.



The cat was brought home as a kitten by Mrs Walia’s late husband who found it stray. He looked after it completely and when he passed away, Mrs Walia was almost clueless as to what was to be done with the cat.



The cat often ran away and Mrs Walia would call the boys playing around or the neighbours to find it and bring it back. But now at night she could see no one in sight and felt it was not right to wake someone up from sleep and ask him/her to find the cat.



Mrs Walia locked the door of her house and headed out to find the cat, she kept calling its name with hope of it running out to her from a corner or a roof. She walked beyond the row of houses and reached a clearing. In between the clearing stood a banyan tree.



The tree had stood there for years. Benches had been placed circling it for people to sit.



‘Could Bhola have gone up the tree’ thought Mrs Walia. She debated within her mind whether walking to the tree would be worth the effort and then thinking that her late husband would have wanted her to do it she walked to it.



Mrs Walia breathed heavily as she approached the tree. The age as it always does, had taken its toll. Mrs Walia slowly sat down on a bench to catch her breath. She heard movement behind and she slowly turned in expectations to see her cat and said, “Bhola..?!”



In the morning the villagers found the lifeless body of Mrs Walia lying on the ground near a bench.



“What was she doing out here at night? It had been years since she had walked over to the tree,” said Vishesh



“I met her yesterday and had a long conversation with her,” said a sniffing Latha



Vishesh noticed some children trying to peek from behind the people, “GO HOME NOW”, he screamed at the children and they ran off.



“I think this could be the ghost of the banyan tree,” spoke an elderly Mr Nadkarni



“A ghost?” said Biraj in a slightly irritated tone, “the last thing this village needs is another rumour of the ghost on the banyan tree.”



“How could there be a ghost? Hadn’t we dealt with our ghost problem few years back?” asked Divya



“Who said that there is just one ghost in the world? This could be another one,” said Mr Nadkarni



“This ghost can be a misunderstanding. Mrs Walia might have simply passed away due to old age,” spoke Vishesh



“The last time also you all said it was a misunderstanding, where did that get us?” said Sashi



Three years back from now, a string of deaths and mishaps had occurred and the elders of the village became convinced it was a ghost problem. There were many arguments regarding the matter but in the end a primary school teacher from the nearest city who had some knowledge in supernatural matters was called to drive the ghost away. Coincidentally since that day, things took a turn for the good and this resulted in more believers of the ghost.



“We cannot wait to find whether it is a ghost problem or not, because if it is, then we don’t want to be late about it. Call Mr Som at once before it’s too late,” suggested Mr Nadkarni



The rituals were performed to cremate Mrs Walia. She had no children. What was to be done with her property and belongings would come later but at present dealing with the ghost was of utmost importance and thus Mr Som was asked to come at once.



Mr Som arrived the next evening by bus, this time he brought along a young boy in his early twenties. Biraj came to receive Mr Som from the stop and the three of them walked back to the house where arrangements were made for Mr Som to stay.



“Who is the boy? Your assistant?” asked Biraj



“No. The boy is my nephew Harsh. He has some interest in ghosts and came along to see me work,” replied Mr Som



“To be honest, I didn’t believe it was a ghost three years ago and I don’t believe it is a ghost now either. But the villagers especially the elders seem to be quite convinced that there is a ghost,” said Biraj



“It is good that you have held on to your belief. Who knows you might just find something no one can see yet,” said Mr Som to which Biraj responded with a confused expression.



Mr Som and Biraj stopped in front of Mrs Walia’s house.



“The owner passed away yesterday. She died near the banyan tree, which is why you were called,” said Biraj

Mr Som took some time to observe the house and said, “I understand.”



“This is where you will stay. Everything you need is in there,” said Biraj



“You can’t expect us to stay in the house whose owner has just passed away,” said a worried Harsh



“Why what is the problem?” said Biraj trying to hide the expression which would reveal he had intentionally done so, “with your uncle by your side, things like this shouldn’t be a problem right?”



“Absolutely right,” said Mr Som, “I will get ready and at 10 pm I will begin, at the banyan tree.”



Mr Som and Harsh entered the house.



“Uncle I have a feeling that we might have to deal with more than one ghost,” said Harsh as they stood looking at the photo of Mrs Walia and it is at this moment that the photo fell forward and Harsh screamed, even Mr Som was surprised but only for a second or two before his eyes fell on the black cat who was just as surprised.



“Let’s get unpacked,” said Mr Som putting an arm on Harsh’s shoulder.



At 15 minutes to 10, Mr Som and Harsh walked out of the house and found Vishesh and Biraj waiting outside.



“Just like last time, everything you need for the ritual has been arranged. We will be on our way back, see you in the morning,” said Vishesh



“You both won’t stay with us?” asked Harsh



“Well for some reason your uncle has insisted that no one stays out during the ritual. But it seems there is no problem with you being out there,” said Biraj



“He is here to learn,” said Mr Som



“Well good night,” said Biraj and walked away along with Vishesh.



Mr Som and Harsh approached the tree. The banyan tree stood still and wide under the night sky, surrounded by silence and apparently a home to a supernatural entity.



“It certainly looks like a tree a ghost would be comfortable in,” said Harsh



Mr Som looked inside the bag left on the bench. He took out some candles and lit them, then he lit some incense sticks, made some markings on the ground with a chalk, placed some flowers on the right of markings and some dry grass on the left of the markings. He piled up some dry grass and wood shavings to light a small fire.



Meanwhile Harsh kept staring at the tree, the branches, the leaves, the sky that could be seen faintly through the branches.



‘Anytime now the ghost might appear,’ Harsh thought.



“Everything has been arranged, now we wait,” said Mr Som



Harsh’s eyes widened at the last word, ‘Wait? Wait for what?’ he thought, but he was too stricken by fear to ask Mr Som.



Mr Som sat down on a bench and signalled Harsh to come and sit as well. Harsh quietly sat beside Mr Som.

An hour passed as Harsh waited for the ghost to appear. Suddenly Mr Som stood up.



“Wh.. What is the matter Mr Som..?” asked Harsh frantically looking around. Harsh did not think the situation would be so scary. He had seen a few horror movies and had started believing he had gained sufficient experience to not be afraid of such issues.



The small fire had died down. Mr Som took out a bottle of water and poured it over it. The candles had burnt out.

Mr Som looked around and then he looked at Harsh and said, “Let’s go and sleep.”

Harsh was confused, “But… I mean.. is it done?”



Mr Som kept a finger on his lips and spoke, “We will not talk about this before we are on our way back to our city in the bus. It is an important part of the ritual.”



Harsh quietly followed Mr Som, he glanced at the banyan tree for a last time still confused about what happened to the ghost.



They went back to Mrs Walia’s house and fell asleep.



Next day morning Mr Som woke up Harsh. Harsh looked at the clock on the wall. It was 11 am.



“Get ready we leave at 12,” said Mr Som, “I have asked the villagers to pack us some food.”



“Is it done? What did you tell the villagers?” asked Harsh



Mr Som looked at the cat sitting on a stool, “Yes, it is done. I talked to the villagers in the morning. They even paid me.”



Harsh thought about it for a while, “You have to teach me how to do it. You were paid for doing something for two hours, what could be better than this.”



Mr Som packed his bag without any response.



At 12:15 Mr Som, Harsh and Biraj stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus.



“I hope there will be no ghost related problem now,” Biraj said



“Not any problem from this ghost for sure,” replied Mr Som as the bus came to a stop.



The bus moved once again with Mr Som and Harsh as its new passengers.



Harsh stared out the window for a while and then he spoke, “Now, will you tell me what happened to the ghost?”



“There was no ghost on the tree, not yesterday, not three years back,” Mr Som replied



“Then where was it?” Harsh asked



“In the minds of the people who believed in its existence. We relieved them of it, now they can rest assured that the ghost on the tree has been dealt with and the young generation seems to be quite free from it already. ”

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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