Bhangarh- A visit to the ghosts
Having lived in Jaipur for quite a few years I soon learned about this place called Bhangarh in Rajasthan which is regarded as one of the most haunted places in India. Before visiting the place I had heard a lot about the place form a number of people. Some even said you won’t be able to click pictures inside the fort there because of the supernatural activities. Now that increased my excitement many folds and I along with my group of friends decided to go and explore the palace.
How to reach
We set for the place early in the morning with loads of excitement and a bag pack of food. Bhangarh lies at a distance of 78Km from the capital city of Rajasthan. It took us almost 1 and a half hour to reach the fort by road. It lies in the district of Alwar. The roads are smooth so you can expect a buttery ride till you reach the fort.
History of the place
The fort of Bhangarh was built in 1573 by Raja Bhagawant Das who was the ruler of Amber city at that time. The fort was home to Prince Madho Singh who was the second son of the king. From 1630 to 1783 the fort saw the death of Chhatr Singh who was the son of Madho Singh and a destructive famine that resulted in its complete abandonment.
The story behind the haunted place
Legends have told many stories regarding the place and its ill fate and I bring to you two stories that I found to be the most interesting ones. The first story says there was a beautiful princess of Bhangarh called Ratnavati whose beauty was considered matchless in the whole city of Rajasthan. Many people wanted to marry her. Keeping the wish to marry the princess in his heart was a magician of Bhangarh who desperately liked her. One day while the princess’s maid in the market buying scented oils for her mistress. He made a wicked plan and using his black magic he added a spell to the oil that would have hypnotized the princess and caused her to surrender herself to him as soon as she would have touched the oil. But the princess foiling his plan threw the bottle of oil that pushed a rock that rolled down towards the magician crushing him badly. Broken in heart and body the magician while dying cursed the palace with the death of all those who lived in it without any rebirth. It is said that the very next year Ratnavati died.
The second story talks about Bhangarh being cursed by the Guru Balu Nath who had at the time of establishment of the town warned the king that “The moment the shadows of your palaces touch me, the city shall be no more!" Ignoring his warning the town was raised and thus it lead to the destruction and complete evacuation from the area. The small Samadhi of Balu Ram is still there.
What we saw
As I entered the small fort area I could only see ruins of the palace far up to the point my eyes could reach. There was some unusualness in the place that attracted me and many tourists present there. The first thing we came across was the sign board that read that entry after sunset is prohibited. That was an unusual guideline by the Archaeological Survey of India leaving a lot to your imaginations to think. A local dressed in a dhoti and turban added to our anxiety when he warned us that, “you girls must cover up your head before entering the palace to stay safe from spirits”. The place has a sense of loneliness in its air as it stood in ruins disserted since ages. Firstly you come across the market ruins that might have flourished some ages back. The shop ruins looked as if the market was cut down at the same level. It must have been a big one though. A local said the market is still lively during the mid nights but not for the living. A temple was present in the fort and another one at a higher level above the fort area. People had piled stones making house like structures in front of the temple; it’s said that those who come here with a wish make these structures as a ritual to house their wishes. The barren hills around the fort added to the unusualness of Bhangarh.
We took many pictures in and outside the palace and if you want to know about the clarity then I tell you each moment captured by us was picture perfect. The innumerable stones and rocks that once adorned the beautiful walls of Bhngarh fort now lay on the ground carrying with them the untold mysteries surrounding the Bhangarh fort. They might be the only witnesses to the fate of the fort and whether the place has some supernatural visitors after the world sleeps.
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