Bhangarh - Haunted Ruins of Rajasthan

Eerie, creepy, scary, and spooky stories swamped every cell in my brain

As we pleaded with our cab driver to take us there, amidst a pounding rain

But he refused, for he could not see beyond the car wipers on the highway

“It will be dark before we manage to get out if it continues to pour this way”

So, we prayed hard to the invisible powers to bail us from what we feared

And lo! 2 kms before the Dausa intersection the skies mysteriously cleared

“Is it true that this fort is haunted? Who haunts it, the princess or the priest?

Why did he curse the entire village?” So many questions, I couldn’t resist

Speeding up, in an hour, we were outside the ramparts of the fort, excited

We took the first step inside, fingers crossed and an eerie silence awaited

I try hard to push back memories of all the horror movies I’d seen till date

Where friends decide to explore a deserted fort against the village dictate

Even though in ruins one can make out the shops on either side of the street

With many intact arched doorways alluring you to come in and have a seat

Here in ‘Jauhri bazaar’, Ratnavati’s maid would have bought that perfume

on which an evil spell was cast, to make the princess fall in love, I assume

Unamused, she had thrown back the bottle to hit that warlock as a boulder

But before he was crushed to death, he cursed her and the villagers forever

Condemned to battles and famines centuries ago, the fort faded to folklore

Thus, fell quiet the royal halls once full of revelry, with no one to deplore

Few minutes on top of the fort lay bare the outline of a well-planned city

Complete with a step-well, dwellings, and dancers’ palace in the vicinity

Unencumbered from the present, it now rests on the slope of the Aravallis

Its collapsed roofs and walls lie around, arousing further vicious allegories

Intrigued by local tales, together we decided to enter an impressive temple

A saga of stark splendor; it's stone carvings, a fine craftsmanship example

Wait, did I hear her? The footsteps of Ratnavati, eager to offer her prayers 

at the Gopinath temple or was it just my terrified heart unfolding my fears

A glance at the solitary cenotaph of the magician made us uncomfortable

As the rain clouds loomed to end the day even before the sun could settle

Not in a state to explore or question this strange experience or even shout

We darted towards the exit before the drizzle deepened into a full washout

But a troop of monkeys awaited us up on the banyan trees, ready to attack

And in no time, we were ducking a hail of monkey poop, quite taken aback

Driving back through the rain, we couldn’t be more amazed at our luck

Or was it those unknown forces who wanted us here? I was dumbstruck!