TARANATH TANTRIK AND OTHER TALES FROM THE SUPERNATURAL by Bibhutibhushan Translated by Devalina Mookerjee

Author:Bibhutibhushan Translated by Devalina Mookerjee [Mookerjee, Bibhutibhushan Translated by Devalina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-26T23:00:00+00:00

An Open Door

Khola dorjar itihaash

SANTOSH DUTTA WAS a son-in-law of our village. He didn’t live in these rural parts, just came in about once a week to check on his wife’s property. She was an only child, so the husband and wife were to inherit everything that her father owned. This is how he was known to us. But in Kolkata where he lived, he was known to be an expert in the afterlife. So much of an expert, in fact, that he was often called by clubs and societies to give talks on the subject.

To our mutual satisfaction, Santosh was also an accomplished storyteller. We would invite him to our gatherings when he visited. There would be hot tea and snacks, and he would tell us about strange happenings and ideas to which we thrilled, but also treated with a measure of disbelief.

At the time of the events in this story, a gentleman called Ram Chakravarty lived in the local teacher’s hostel in our village. He taught science and logic at the village school and was a regular at our little get-togethers. Ram was a sceptic to his bones.

‘Can you prove that there is an afterlife?’ He demanded of Santosh one evening, when the latter was halfway through a story.

‘No,’ returned Santosh, with equal belligerence. ‘There is no room to prove anything here, but I can tell you about all these things that have happened—’

‘Yes, tell me, what things have happened?’

‘But, better than that—’

‘Do you personally believe in this nonsense?’

‘Yes, I do.’

‘How did you come to know about the afterlife?’

‘Knock, and the door will be opened unto you.’

‘All this is very vague talk.’

‘Nobody has been able to be more specific than this in conversation. I can’t prove the afterlife while sitting here and drinking tea with you. It would be better if I could bring Rekha here, and she could bring down the afterlife and show it to you.’

‘Who is Rekha?’

‘She’s a medium, and very good at it. Our Psychic Society is so impressed that we pay her enough retainer to run her entire household.’

‘How old is she?’

‘About seventeen or eighteen. She has astonishing ability. Several disbelievers have joined our Society after seeing what she can do. But unfortunately, we may have to soon let go of her.’

‘Why?’

‘She’s a medium for spirits, like an open window. Various kinds of spirits from the afterlife treat her as a channel. They enter her once the window is open. Not all of those spirits are good.’

‘What do you mean, “enter her”?’

‘She’s a medium. So when she opens the window to her being, spirits come and enter her physically. They possess her. Of late, it seems like too many bad spirits know about her window, they are making it very difficult for her to keep being a medium.’

‘What a strange fairy tale this is.’

‘You’re an educated person. What is proof for you? Is it seeing something with your own eyes—what do your books of logic say? Would you trust as proof something you experience for yourself? Come with me then.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.