Three crazy boys and a funny ghost
Maria Soosai, entered the room of Johnny with a glad news.
“Hey guys! From today onwards, we are millionaires!” He proclaimed.
But TeeKay and Johnny were engaged busily in stuffing the charminar cigarette with Baghavan, a euphemism used by the three roommates to mention marijuana, the narcotic grass. TeeKay replied dryly” see man, don’t kid us. We purchased one packet of cigarette and sweets from the Chettiar shop for debt. Tomorrow is Sunday. We have only ten rupees, just enough for the MGR movie tickets. Where shall we borrow money for quarter of bandy?” There was a sense of irritation in the tone of TeeKay.
“I am not joking guys. Tomorrow we are shifting to a huge mansion for no rent. It belongs to my maternal uncle. See, this is the key.”
Johnny and TeeKay looked unbelievably at the bunch of keys dangling from a key chain held by Maria Soosai.
The triumvirate had just joined first year English literature in Scott Christian College in 1973. Maria Soosai was an ex seminarian who joined the seminary with a pious commitment to become pope or at least an Arch Bishop. God alone knows what happened. He left the seminary within two years. But he lost his faith in God and religion, except Jesus.
Johnson, alias Johnny was the son of a Marxist entrepreneur who compromised Marx and Engels to justify his business. He inherited half-baked Marxist ideology from his dad. Moreover, he grazed a little bit of Bertrand Russell, Frederick Nietzsche and other rationalists. He claimed that he was an atheist.
T. Krishna Maharajan Sreenivasa Nalla Thambi was disgusted with his long name as it carried the names of his paternal and maternal grandfathers and one uncle. Hence he introduced himself as TeeKay to everybody. T stands for his initial and K stands for his maternal grandfather, Krishna, who used to give him money as and when he demanded. He was a typical gentleman. He would say Yes to God and No to God as the situation demanded. So he could co-exist effortlessly with anybody.
The three friends lived in the upstairs of Thanga Bhavan, Nagercoil with a monthly rent of Rs. 200/ person with a lot of restrictions by the house owner. As they all belonged to middle class families, they received just enough to meet both ends with a small pocket money of Rs. 100/per month. They looked unbelievably at Maria Soosai.
Maria Soosai was a person with practical wisdom. He jotted down the economic advantages and the luxuries awaiting them in the new mansion. Alas! All the three were not aware then about the pulse stopping horror in store for them in the new mansion.
He scribbled the expenses of the luxuries they could enjoy from the Rs. 600/ rent per month and Rs. 300/ pocket money.
“Guys! We shall drink 24 quarter bottles of brandy for a month during every Saturday and Sundays, smoke 36 packets of cigarettes, enough marijuana, every week end two films and special dinner every Sunday at Azad Hotel, Nagercoil. Still we have surplus.”
It was possible in the 1973 cost of living. Maria Soosai beamed with a smile.
TeeKay whispered” There is a brothel near Nagercoil and it costs Rs. 20/ per night”
Maria Soosai retorted back. ‘Nothing to do with brothel. If you want, you go. I don’t want to take any risk”
“What risk man?” asked TeeKay with an irritated voice.
“Police raid and sexually transmitted diseases” came the curt reply.
TeeKay raised a suspicion” Soosai, the mansion is located in the heart of Nagercoil, the capital of the district. Your uncle shall get handsome rent. Why should he give it rent free to us?”
“I also asked the same question. He told me that it is haunted by the ghost of Vijayalakshmi which is terrorising the occupants. Nobody dares to live in it. He also made several attempt to sell it. But the stigma of ‘ghost house’ prevents buyers.”
TeeKay, already harbouring superstitions on devils and evil spirits, was anxious to know the full story. He asked naively “Ghost? What ghost man? It sounds ludicrous. Tell me the full story” Soosai clarified elaborately to convince both guys to agree with his plan. He continued, “Ten years back an orthodox Brahmin family lived in the house. They are very rich and highly influential. The parents had a daughter called Vijayalakshmi. Her father Seshadhri Iyer* was a multi-millionaire as well as a reputed scholar of Hindu scriptures. He practised like a fanatic the code of varnashram – caste based social hierarchal system.
As such, he was proud that he belonged to the highest caste structure in India He imposed his ideals on his daughter who was his darling in life. But fate scripted a tragic climax for his family through Murugappan – a dashing youth from the dhobi community*.
Murugappan used to visit every Friday to collect soiled clothes from Vjayalakshmi’s house. The rigidity of Varnashram of Seshadhri Iyer was such that any oral communication or physical touch with an untouchable would pollute the purity of the Brahmin blood. So Murugappan would collect the clothes from the car shed, washed them and placed them in the car shed next Friday. So the story continued.”
Irritated Johnny interrupted “Don’t elaborate the story, tell the content only”. Soosai Marian obliged “Okay! The content is this; Vijayalakshmi fell in love with Murugappan. Her parents objected vehemently the love affair. So she decided to elope with him. Seshadhri Iyer smelled the foul play through some source.
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*Iyers are followers of the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the Smarta tradition.
* Dhobis are engaged in collecting soiled clothes from upper caste households, wash them and return back for a meagre payment. They are denied entry into households of Brahmins as Dhobis are considered untouchables as per Varnashram which justifies horizontal social stratification of Hindus based on caste.
One Friday midnight, she was found dead hanging in the ceiling fan. Some people claimed that it was suicide, others claimed that she was murdered and hanged.
Before her death, it is rumoured till today, that she cried aloud to take revenge on any males who dared to occupy the house. Some say she is now ghost, others say she is an evil spirit terrorising occupants of the mansion etc. Nobody dares to live in it. If you are scared of ghosts, we need not go”
Johnny shot back immediately “what? Scared? Who? If I believe in ghost or devil, then I must believe in God also. If I believe in God, I must reject Karl Marx. I cannot reject Marx”
Maria Soosai looked at TeeKay to get his opinion” It’s okay for me. Who believes in such cock and bull story in the 20th century?” But he struggled hard to hide his fear.
Next day, they conveyed their decision to vacate the house and shift to Arputham Mansion to the house owner. He exhibited a sense of shock on hearing the news. He shouted out of pity towards the young teen aged boys, “are you mad? Don’t you know the history of the house? It is haunted by a terrible blood thirsty devil. My cousin occupied the house and was able to stay there for two days only. Do you know what happened? On the night of the second day, his wife went to the toilet and she was terrified at the sight of a fiery looking woman in white saree and flowing hair. Two long scissor teeth jutted out of her lips with blood drops on the teeth. She screamed and ran into the bed room, took the Bible and Cross in her hands and then it vanished. My cousin woke up from the scream but did not see the devil. He consoled her that it might have been her imagination. But one hour later they heard weeping sound from the roof and loud noises. By the grace of God and Bible, they escaped the wrath of the devil”
He narrated the story in a state of agitation and started wheezing as he was an asthma patient. Maria Soosai struggled hard to control his sarcastic smile but there was visible fear in the face of TeeKay.
Back in the room, TeeKay narrated an incident in his village in Madurai district. He started the narration with an apology. “Hey guys, don’t mistake me if I narrate an incident in my village. There is a belief in our village that if a virgin girl or a pregnant woman is murdered by anybody, the her soul will transform into a fierce evil spirit and it will reside at the place of murder and terrify anybody who dares to enter the place. If she is murdered and hung on a tree, then it will take its abode inside the tree trunk. Five years back a poor girl was raped and murdered. Those who committed the crime had hung her on a tamarind tree. Nobody dared to go by the tree in the night. One day, a stranger from a distant village passed by the tamarind tree in the midnight. It was a costly mistake he did. He halted his bullock cart, let loose the bullocks and decided to take a nap under the shade of the tree. In the morning, our villagers found him dead in a pool of blood.” When he concluded the story, there was a shade of fear in his face.
Maria Soosai started kidding him again. “TeeKay, do one thing. You stay here in Thanga Bhavan. You need not come with us and die in a pool of blood. I and Johnny will go and stay there”
But TeeKay buckled in instantly. He was not prepared to lose the alcohol, marijuana, films etc. “I simply narrated the incident. That’s all. I don’t believe in it. Please don’t mistake me”
The next day, they vacated the house, got back the two months’ advance of Rs. 1,200. They hired an auto and thrust their belongings into it – three suitcases, three buckets, three mugs, three glasses and one can of drinking water. The auto driver enquired the destination and Maria Soosai said, “Arputham Mansion”
The auto driver turned back with a jerk and repeated the word Arputham Mansion. There was disbelief and suspicion in his face. To confirm it, he asked once again “you mean Arputham Mansion”
“Yes” Maria Soosai made a curt reply. His tone carried a bit of irritation.
“Do you know the background of the Mansion?” asked the driver.
Maria Soosai burst out with a sense of irritation in his tone.
“Yes! It is a haunted house. The ghost of Vijayalakshmi is terrifying the people who dare to live in it. Okay!”
Auto driver looked at the three guys with pity and said, “You are young boys! ah! You don’t believe in God and devils. As a brother I warn you. Don’t spoil your lives. Two years back, my uncle entered this house. He refused the advice of everybody because he was a staunch Marxist. He lived only three days and his wife found him dead on the fourth day in his bed room. Okay, it is left to you to believe it or not”
Maria Soosai murmured in a low voice to his friends “the fellow might have died of heart attack. Why should the devil take three days to kill the guy?”
But Johnny was a bit rattled by the two warnings – one by the owner of the house and now the auto driver. The death of the Marxist further disturbed him.
They entered the Mansion with a sense of hesitation. Even Maria Soosai felt disturbed at the sight of the Mansion.
It was built by the end of 19th century by some unknown British man. The roof of the ground floor and staircases were made of teakwood. The roof of the first floor had two ceilings. First a wooden ceiling, then it was covered by tiles with space within. A mango tree with a large canopy overshadowed the visibility of the entrance and denied entry of sunlight from the east. Buildings on the west, north and south reduced entry of light even during daytime.
TeeKay felt uneasiness over the dark eerie looking interior of the mansion.
They went for shopping and purchased T shirts, jeans, six bottles of brandy, 12 packets of cigarettes and sweets with the advance money.
The triumvirate sat in the sit out of the first floor under the huge branch of the mango tree at 9.45 PM. It was so calm with no trace of even a breeze. The leaves of the mango tree had already gone for a slumber.
Johnny carefully measured the brandy in equal quantity in three cups added some soda and said cheers. Others also joined the chorus of cheers. –
Sipping the brandy, crunching banana chips and cashew nuts, they started enjoying the luxury of life without having the faint idea of the horror waiting for them in a few hours.
TeeKay, whispered” suppose, I mean only suppose, don’t misunderstand me friends. I don’t believe in devils and ghosts though my family believes in them. Suppose…..”
Johnny ridiculed him” what suppose man, what do you want to say. If you are over boozed, go for sleep”
“No. no Johnny, I am steady. Suppose if the ghost of Vijayalakshmi appears now, what will we do?”
“I will break its head with this” Johnny raised the empty brandy bottle in his hand.
Maria Soosai calmed him” why should you do it man? She was a college girl during her death. She must have been beautiful. I will ask the ghost to sleep with me every night.” He, then, burst into a loud laughter and the other two also joined him.
It was midnight, around 12.15 a.m. when the huge branch overhanging the sit out shook violently in front of them. This was followed by heavy thudding sound above the wooden ceiling as if somebody was running wildly.
The hearts of the three stopped for a moment and restarted.
They jostled together with terror written visibly in their faces. Marx deserted Johnny and Jesus left Soosai. Poor TeeKay was shivering.
“Shall we go back?” whispered TeeKay feebly.
“Where shall we go? We vacated the house and spent the advance also. We have nowhere to go” replied Johnny in a feeble voice.
TeeKay suggested an idea that was acceptable to others at this critical time. “We shall go to the railway station and stay in the platform. Tomorrow morning we shall think an alternative”
They got ready to climb down, and then another terror struck them. They heard loud thudding noises of footsteps descending along the wooden staircase.
Shell shocked, they sat down in the sit out.
The silence was so heavy for them to bear. Finally Maria Soosai broke the impasse. “In the book of Job in Old Testament, God instructed Satan not to kill Job. We need not fear. Ghost of Viji cannot harm us.”
They sat together the whole night together, emptied another bottle of brandy, puffed out three packets of cigarettes. Fortunately the Ghost of Vijayalakshmi did not disturb them further.
They did not know when they slept. It was TeeKay who woke up first shook his friends to wake up.
It was decided that they would consult the magician Mooventhan, a temporary resident of Thanga Bhavan. He earned huge money by conducting magic shows in schools. He dumbfounded the three boys with illusions at times and claimed that he had enslaved a spirit called Jith which helped him in his magic and illusions.
Mooventhan listened to the horror incident with closed eyes as if in a state of meditation. He accompanied the boys to the mansion, surveyed every nook and corner, occasionally threw white powder at certain places and chanted prayers in hushed voice with closed eyes. The three boys followed him all through the building maintaining utmost silence.
Finally, the magician stood still in the main hall, closed his eyes again and a deep groan and certain words that sounded like Greek escaped his mouth. He opened his eyes and told them thus; “you are lucky to escape the blood thirsty revenge of the ghost and its assistant fiery spirit yesterday. It is a miracle. But don’t worry. I shall help you. But I must do some secret rituals inside this hall. It will be expensive. Can you afford it?”
“How much?” all the three asked in chorus.
“Thousand Rupees”, came the short reply with such firmness that no bargaining seemed possible.
Maria Soosai pledged the three sovereign gold chain, given by his mother when he entered the seminary, with a local money lender and gave the money to the magician. He asked the boys to go to college and return back in the evening so that he could perform the rituals without any interference.
When three boys returned back in the evening with agitated mood caused by suspicion and hope tearing their hearts, they found Mooventhan in deep sleep with an empty brandy bottle beside him.
TeeKay shook the magician back to consciousness from his slumber.
The magician murmured” Guys, I haaav cha…mmm.. yeah, changed the host of Gajalakshmi into a dog and the little spirit into a bat”
“It is not Gajalakshmi sir, it is Vijayalakshmi” corrected Johnny.
“Don’t worry, you can enjoy. There will be no ghost hereafter” said he and left.
Before leaving, he gave them a packet of black powder which they should paste on their forehead to protect them against any fiery devils .
The triumvirate sat behind the window in the hall with black powder on their forehead and kept vigil till midnight. Soosai had his Bible in his hand and Johnny kept a knife in his hand. Superstitions had it that devils were afraid of iron, cross and Bible. But the ghost of Vijayalakshmi jumped from the branch of the tree within a fraction of a second and ran berserk above the ceiling and later climbed down the stairs. But the boys were not as terrified as they had been in the previous day. Still they were scared and soon their fear turned into anger. Maria Soosai shouted with anger “that bastard Mooventhan cheated us. He drank and gave us useless black powder”
The death of the Marxist uncle of the auto driver after three days started haunting the minds of the three guys. They went back to Thanga Bhavan.
Next night in Arputham Mansion the Asian Palm Civet surveyed the balcony of the first floor, jumped from the branch through a hole between the wooden ceiling and the one feet high tiled roof and ran madly over the wooden ceiling, making a thudding sound. Baby civets were screamed wildly for food. After a brief lull, a big mouse appeared from the corner of the hall, jumped down leisurely along the wooden stairs as if a person was walking down. It disappeared through a hole in the kitchen to seek dinner for the night.
There was a lot of change among the three friends. Maria Soosai used to go to Church every Sunday and Johnny rejected Karl Marx and Che Guevara. TeeKay worshiped and chanted mantras before the portrait of Lord Shiva before leaving for college. The triumvirates still narrate their horrible encounter with the fiery ghost to their grandchildren and other computer kids of the 21st century. They listen with a sense of indifference, focusing on the tablet in their hands and enjoying Harry Potter.