Ghost! Does the word sound familiar to you? Every other object which is not familiar to you, especially in the dark, appears to be a Ghost, right? I hope you and I are in agreement. If not, it's fine, the differences are good!!!

Here in the piece of writing, I am going to share my travel experience of Kodaikanal, the place doesn’t need an introduction, but it's worth mentioning that it's a beautiful hill station of Palani hills, situated on the western side of Western Ghats -  once again a tropical zone. If it is tropical, it means it experiences huge rainfall!

Well, I was preparing for a government exam, the syllabus and exam pattern was really tedious. As soon as my exam got over, I called up my friends, and planned for a short trip, somewhere near to Bangalore, and the destination was ‘Kodaikanal’ ( Sorry, Ooty, we had to ditch you. Though we are not bored of you, we were looking for something new, something exotic ? )

I am talking about October 2020, when the whole world was still fighting for COVID 19, and India had just lifted the Lockdown. Though our first preference was Munnar, we were not allowed to make an entry inside the state. Anyway, the road to Kodaikanal was open, we had required a travel document, COVID 19 entry pass, and we got into Kodaikanal!

Once again, it was an unplanned journey - we had started from Bangalore, and after driving for the whole night, and morning we managed to reach Kodaikanal. But Alas, we were not able to find a decent and safe stay, online bookings were not confirmed, and hotels were not taking our phone calls. Though we wanted to stay in a cottage, to enjoy the bonfire, and chilly weather along with a cup of Tea but unfortunately we could not find a cottage, it was raining heavily and we were looking for shelter. 

We reached Sterling Kodai Lake ( A sophisticated one, at times such hotels don't suit the wanderers and guess what most of the rooms were booked( Note: We guys(Indians, especially frustrated Indians, are not afraid of the corona, we fight back!!! We are only afraid of fines, which the government has imposed on us, haha!!)

Jokes apart, we managed to get a room inside the hotel, though it was a little small but good enough to embrace us! The Hotel is situated at Kodai Lake, it's a beautiful location. Here is a view from the Hotel -

Sterling Lake Side View, by Coolsage!!!

End of Day - 1 was approaching, and we were still looking for an ideal place to stay to satisfy our thirst for expeditions. We needed a cottage, where we could stay freely!

After spending some time on Google, we found a cottage - Ruban Guest House, In Vattakanal. For your information, Vattakanal is famous for ‘Magic Mushroom’ - it's a mushroom, but it can get you and works as a weed ( I have only read about it, I have never consumed weed, forget Magic Mushroom). Well, do not try to buy it - it's illegal, and you can be charged under the narcotics/ drug control act. It's an offense, I warn you!!

Back to Ruban Cottage, it looked promising, exactly the cottage we were looking for. It was an independent 1 BHK sort of flat, surrounded by lush green trees, with an amazing view of the valley from the Balcony/ Window. You don’t believe me? Here you go -

Valley view at Kodaikanal, from Vattakanal. Pic: Coolsage.in

We had to trek a little, say about 80 meters to reach our cottage, actually, it's built on a hillside.

Well fine, finally we found something we were looking for. Did we feel happy, yes we did! And, now we were all set for expeditions - but Day 2 got over!

Day 3 Morning, we thought of going to ‘Dolphin Nose’ - it's about 2 KM from Vattakanal village. Trek of medium difficulty, unless you’re 95 Kilogram. We started the trek, stopped a little in between to enjoy the weather, we ate some fruit, especially Star Fruit - it was tasty and juicy. It was drizzling, the weather was pleasant so was the crowd. I could young couples, kids were roaming around and enjoying the trek ( I am still young though!)

And, finally, we reached ‘Dolphin Nose’ - it might look attractive, and easy at the same time, but it's dangerous too! One small mistake, and you might fall into the valley, don’t forget your shoes if you go for a trek.

Dolphin Nose at Vattakanal, Kodaikanal. Pic : Coolsage

We finished our trek, but we were pathetically tired. Remember that 95 KG, yes that’s my weight( haha!!)

I was tired, and dizzy at the same time. We halted at ‘Altaf cafe’ in the corner, they serve continental cuisines. After finishing our snacks we went back to the cottage to take a little nap but we could not take it.

We called Ruban, the cottage owner, and asked to arrange firewood, it was cold and we also wanted to enjoy the warmth of heat.

Did I forget to mention, it was raining, we had little intervals? We were able to hear the cold breeze and the sound of water droplets falling from trees' leaves. Anyway, we managed to fire the wound in the hall, and Avijit, Ramji and I sat there for some time ( Unlike girls, We boys don’t have much to talk about so we talk about girls, and what they talk about!! But still, we have had spent so much time together, we were reminiscing our journeys, and memorable time and trips we have had embarked on)

Guys are mean too, mark my word! Avijit, and Ramji, wanted to stay in the hall since it was warm, and there was warmth in the hall. As usual, I sacrificed ( I am good at it) - and I headed to the bedroom, which was empty. There were two beds, left and right, and the room was freezing cold. But, before I could go to bed, I thought of losing a little weight, I went outside to pee!

As I told you, I was not completely in my senses, I was feeling dizzy, it was raining - I went outside.

I came back and slept( actually, I was struggling to sleep). Unlike the hall, the bedroom was freezing cold and damped as if no one has used that room for ages. Though it was clean still, it was struggling to prove the existence of humans inside the room! Seems it was empty for a long ( Obviously COVID 19 lockdown).

Our cottage was surrounded by trees, and there was a hill in the backyard. Ramji and Avijit had slept by now, and here I was still struggling to sleep - I was not able to get rid of the cold breeze, sound of water droplets, the sound of frogs and insects ( Have you ever heard the sound of frog and insects after rain? 

After some time, the atmosphere was pitch dark, the weather was already cloudy and nothing was visible. It was scary, and I am a strong man, but still got scared( even a man gets scared trust me!)

I was still in bed, I rolled my blanket, and tried to sleep, and somehow I was able to sleep. At sharp 3, O’Clock I opened my eyes, as if someone had pushed me, asked me to get up, and urged me to vacate the room. Guess, there was none! I feel a little scared, but thought it's just a bad dream and tried to sleep again. But, I had the same feeling, I heard the same noise, someone was urging me to vacate the room immediately as if it was a warning. 

Guys, I did not have time. I gathered all my courage, rolled my body in a blanket, and quickly came outside the room. As soon as I came out, though I did not make any noise, Avijit also woke up and asked me whether everything was fine or not? Seems he felt my situation but said nothing!

Actually, when I tried to Ignore that sound when someone was urging me to vacate the room I had a horrible dream. What I saw was, Ramji was sleeping on the floor, and his bedsheet caught fire, and Ramji was not conscious. Seems it was a hint that, if I do not obey the request, they were all set to harm us ( trust me, by now I was wide awake and I was in my senses)

I slept in all for 2 ~3 hours, and in the morning I asked Avijit to vacate the cottage. It was not normal, there was something that can be regarded as paranormal. 

I am a spiritual person. Though science does not agree on ghosts and says it's an Old Wives Tale, ghosts are talked about in each and every religion. Each and every tribe present on the planet, if there is a god there must be a  ghost, We can’t deny that.

Even if you consider the energy, if God is +ve, to balance it or to maintain the equilibrium there must be a ghost which is -ve.

Anyway, I was scared by now and was worried about the wellbeing of my fellow mates, and we left the cottage in the afternoon and headed for Bangalore. 

The logic was simple, I own a house, and if there is an unknown staying in my house without my permission I would request to vacate the house. I felt the same, I was trespassing a boundary, in a rainy season! The good part is, whatever it was, it did not harm us, and I am happy about it.

There is a saying, if there is a ghost, there will be a lack of warmth. There is an Urdu phrase - ‘Khaali Chhodo Na Makan, Aaseb Rahne Lagte Hain Wahan’ {खाली छोड़ो ना मकान, आसेब रहने लगते हैं वहां!}

Meaning - Don’t leave a house empty, ghost occupied such houses where there is no disturbance!

The thing which I learned here is, do not disturb a thing that is in isolation. Respect, and obey your inner self, your inner voice. Trust your instinct, your mind doesn’t have all the answers. Being spiritual doesn;t mean you start praying god day and night but to respect the creatures built by god, and explore your inner self!

With this note, I am leaving it here - it was my stay at the hillside, during the rainy season, full of the tropical forest!

See you soon!

By Coolsage