THE WHISTLING WITCH

MAYUR KALBAG

Copyright © Mayur Kalbag All Rights Reserved. This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

Contents Preface

v

Acknowledgements

vii

Authors Bio

ix

1. The Whistling Witch

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Preface An exciting, enthralling, spine chilling story set on a beautiful island of Phookiru which has a dark history. Manav, the protagonist of this story discovers strange morals and rituals followed by the locals and learns about a vicious witch who tricks, haunts and hypnotises people. The locals on the island worship the Goddess who is known to protect the devotees from the clutches of evil. The story takes an interesting turn when Manav unearths the secret of the Witch and vows to fight back. The story maintains a perfect balance between supreme thrill, hair-raising encounters and a mysteriously nerve-touching fear!

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Acknowledgements The love and guidance of my Guru, Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram along with the teachings that he has bestowed upon me has been the true inspiration to all my passionate pursuits, couple of them being writing poetry and prose. Swamiji’s love and blessings have been the wind beneath my wings to let me fly to different and unexplored horizons of thoughts and imagination and that truly has enabled me to write my stories and also my poems. His words of wisdom have been the oxygen to keep my mind vibrantly awakened and for it to think not just outside the box but above it! I dedicate my book, Aghori; an untold story to my beloved Guru who means more than the world to me and who I love and respect from the core of my heart.

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Authors Bio A motivational speaker, leadership coach and behavioral trainer by profession, Mayur’s hobby of writing poetry and prose evolved into a serious and an inspired avocation twelve years ago. He has written two books of poetry titled, ‘Smile at Stress’ and ‘Rising Waterfall’. ‘Adventures of Poorna’ is his first book of prose . The evolution from poetry to writing an adventure story happened upon his return from a spiritual sojourn to the Kailas & Manasarovar Lake in the Himalayas, in the year 2001, along with his revered Guru, Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram. Apart from this Mayur is a passionate painter/artist and has made his mark in the abstract and contemporary genre with art exhibitions in India and Switzerland. An adventurer at heart, Mayur is an avid trekker and rock climber. However, apart from all this his true passion is imagining, exploring and then articulating new realms of philosophical fiction and spiritualism through writing and painting.

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ONE

The Whistling Witch “Do you love hunting?” my cousin Heembra asked with a mischievous smile. “What? No!” I responded completely shocked. “Killing animals! Never!” I replied with an agitated expression on my face. Why are you asking me something like hunting my brother?” I quipped at him. “Hey bro, I think you got me totally wrong. I meant hunting with cameras and not guns!” Heembra replied with a big smile. We were in an amazing place, on an island called Phookiru, very close to the Andaman Nicobar Islands. To say that the place was pristine will be an understatement. The forest ranger there was a distant cousin of ours. His name was Raghupati, although we always addressed him as Raghu. He was slightly older than us but all the three of us we extremely close having studied in the same school as well. It was due to his posting that we thought it as a great idea to go to this island to visit him and also explore the island. Although it as an amazing island it was a place not frequented by tourists and there was a reason for this. The island of Phookiru was infamous for kidnapping and ●1●

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murders of tourists. Hence, as the news spread internationally the number of tourists almost reduced to zero. Except for a few over adventurous and zealous people no one really visited this island. To be honest, we too were a bit hesitant but went there only because our cousin was living there with his wife and two children. We arrived on the island on a Sunday at approximately 11AM by boat and were picked up by Raghu. His place was quite deep in the forest. I noticed that there were many cottages close to one another. As I stepped out of the vehicle, I saw that the entire place was fenced. Interestingly it was not a very large area as such. Heembra and I were greeted by Raghu and his family. “It is not a very big place but surely can accommodate the two of you” saying this Raghu’s wife, Sita ushered us to our room. “Please refresh yourselves and then come for lunch” she told us. The room was actually very nice. It had its own toilet and bathroom and also a small balcony. I washed my face as I waited for Heembra to get ready I went to the balcony and looked out. Just a few meters away was the forest. “That close!” I whispered to myself. In the background I heard nice old songs from Hindi movies. In fact, it was one of my favorites. Instinctively I began whistling nonchalantly along with the music. “Stop please. Don’t whistle. If you do then she will come” Since I was in the balcony and facing the outside I did not initially realize who it was. I turned immediately only to see my nephew staring at me. “Uncle, please don’t whistle” Saying this he ran out of our room and towards what looked like an attic. I did not really understand why he said that. I was only whistling and that too, to a nice tune. By now, Heembra had refreshed and we went to the drawing room where Raghu and his wife were waiting for us. “Come, let us have lunch” he said. It was while we were eating that Raghu enquired about his son. “Hey Sita, where is ●2●

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Subbu?” Sita heard the question and nervously replied, “He is in the attic”. Raghu simply nodded and continued to eat. After the lunch the three of us went for a short stroll within just outside his cottage when he asked a question which triggered a very bizarre conversation. “Just a silly question to the both of you. By any chance was any one of you whistling while at home?” I was quite perplexed by the question. “It was me. I was the one whistling to a tune that has been my favorite since childhood; and in fact, you too love it, right?” I responded with an expression of intrigue and surprise. Why are you asking about my whistling? Is it something prohibited here?” I asked with a mischievous smile and expecting Raghu to take it as a joke. “Interestingly Mayur, it is actually prohibited. To be honest, I am at fault. I should have told you about it before” he said. The conversation was getting all the more bewildering. “Are you serious? Prohibition from whistling! Are you out of your mind Raghu? Are you on some medication?” saying this both Heembra and I started laughing. “My brother, I am actually not joking. On this island and especially in and around this location not a single soul whistles” “What are you saying? Are you all crazy? I was just whistling bro which I am sure would not disturbing anyone or anything.” I anxiously reacted. “Actually, it would. The whistling awakens her and that is when it all starts. Listen, you are here for a few days and I want you both to have an amazing vacation. Just forget about what I said. I request you both to please never whistle while you are here on this island. You have had a long travel and then a heavy lunch. Let us all rest for some time and then in the evening I will take you out of the compound and into the forest. There is something fantastic I want you to see” Saying this we returned to the cottage and had a long much needed nap.

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It was 5.30 PM when we heard a knock on the door. It was Sita. “I am sorry to have woken you up. Actually, Raghu wants to take the both of you to the forest and return before dark. Let us have tea along with crisp steaming samosas. Raghu is outside getting the car cleaned from the inside. He will join you in a minute” saying this she hastily went to the kitchen to serve us. “Excellent Samosas!” Heembra exclaimed with a big smile. Raghu who was still out fixing has joined us. “Come guys, let us leave. We have to drive deep into the forest and then return soon before darkness sets in” Just as I was about to step out of the cottage, I remembered my nephew, Subbu. “Hey, I have not seen Subbu. Where is he?” I asked. The moment Raghu heard me he suddenly looked towards Sita and looking at me he answered. “Subbu is in the attic. He will be there for a few more hours.” Do you mean to say that he has been there since the time he left our room?” I responded. “Yeah bro, the whistling does that to him. But please don’t get worried. It isn’t your fault. I should have told you both about the whistling rule even before we arrived. Subbu will be okay. He needs time to recover. Let us leave soon” Saying these words we sat in the jeep and left. “Listen Mayur, don’t worry about Subbu. He is absolutely fine. Just enjoy the drive through the forest” “Okay Raghu. I will do that” I responded with a smile. I knew something was different but then after Raghu’s advice and reassurance I decided to forget about it. After about forty-five minutes Raghu stopped the vehicle. “Heembra and Mayur, we are deep inside the forest. But there is nothing to be scared of, at least from the wild animals!” Raghu’s words were reassuring and yet a bit cryptic. “What did he mean by not from animals at least” I thought to myself. “Do you see anything?” he asked. As Heembra and I looked around we initially did not see much except for dense foliage. But when he ●4●

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told us to look more keenly to our right side and a bit towards to the top of the tree is when I noticed something. “Is it some ancient temple?” I asked. “No dear, it is not a temple. It is a statue and a big one at that” he said. “A statue and that too so deep in the jungle?” Heembra reacted. “Yes, we have to seek its blessings first. Come, follow me” saying this we trekked through the bushes and only within five or so minutes I saw myself standing in front of what looked like an ancient and quite a scary looking figure. “Who is he?” I asked. “She not he, is the protector of this entire island and especially this forest. Any new visitor that visits this island needs to first come here and seek the blessings and protection of this entity.” Raghu told us in an intense tone. “But Raghu, who is she? What is her name?” I asked anxiously. “Sure, I will tell you. Her name is Patti Chingamma. She is part of the indigenous tribe known as ‘Chingamma Hoolagi’. She lived in this forest as its protector for more than a hundred and fifteen years and this was five hundred years ago. It is said that although she passed away long time ago her spirit is still alive and vibrant. She will always protect the ones who truly believe in her powers” “Do you?” I asked hastily. “Absolutely! Without her Subbu would have been up there. Not just me, but everyone believes in her and her powers.” He replied. “Have you seen her?” I asked although i knew it was an extremely silly question as she had died five hundred years ago. “I have seen her, yes.” he answered with a half-smile. Raghu’s words about actually seeing her sent shivers down my spine. The words Ghosts and spirits began floating in my already perplexed mind. “Raghu, bro, you are not making any sense. Can we please just change the topic? I am beginning to feel scared bro” It was Heembra and he really was looking tensed up. From childhood he was always the scared kinds and Raghu and I would always play the ghost pranks on him. “Guys, we still have another half an hour in the forest after ●5●