About five kilometres from the big city of Aligarh, in Utter Pradesh, on the road leading to Aligarh Muslim University, stands an old temple that was last occupied by a Brahmin priest named Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla. Since 1992, no one has visited nor did Pundit Ji live in it and nor is anyone likely to live in or visit it again.
Demographic changes, time and the disrespect of people dwelling there almost changed the scenario and once a beautiful and revered temple converted into a rather picturesque ruin. An observer very well familiar with the history of the temple would not place it into the type of "haunted temple," yet in all the area surrounding Muslims made such of its' evil reputation. Its windows are without panels, its entrance without any gate or door; there are large breaks in the pebbles roof, and due to lack of paint and polish the boards and furniture became a dun older. But these reliable symbols of the weird are fairly masked and significantly diminished by the plentiful plants of a large trailing plant overflowing the complete structure. Apart from these vines, a peepal, burgad and mango trees also grew in the temple premises. These vines, which have no botanical names, have a key part of the temple.
The Shukla family consisted of Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla, his wife Tulsi, Km Sita, who was her sister, and two young kids. Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla was a quiet, good -mannered learned priest who made many friends in the vicinity and actually cared everybody. He was about fifty years old, careful and hardworking, and made a living from the temple and by performing Hindu rituals in the homes of the modest area which is now densely populated with the arrival of Muslims in the area, as most of the Muslims have a large number of children. He and his sister-in-law Sita were openly criticized by their new neighbours, who seemed to believe that they were seen too often together--not wholly their fault, for at all these times they never challenge their evil watching. The religious or moral cypher of urban Aligarh Muslims is pretended as strict and tough although they all have more than one wife. Moreover, eve teasing was a sport to them.
At some time in 1992, it came to be known that Tulsi had gone to visit her father and a holy bath in Ganga River, in Varanasi. That was what her husband Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla said in reply to inquiries, and his way of replying it did not push for any further inquiries. Tulsi never came back, fearing the new neighbours. Almost three years later, without handing over the charge of the temple to anyone or selling anything that was his, or appointing a new priest to look after the temple, or taking his household items, Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla, with the rest of his family, said goodbye and left the temple and the city. Nobody has any idea where he went; nobody at that time bothered. Unsurprisingly, whatever was movable in the temple soon vanished and the abandoned temple declared, "haunted" by the people of the area.
One winter evening, six or seven years later, another priest Pundit Dev Prayag Bhardwaj, from Haridwar, and a local priest named Pundit Hari Ram Dubey met, while on a walk in front of the temple. Having religious issues to talk about, they looked for roaming cows and visiting the temple, they sat on the raised platform to talk. Some amusing allusion to the sad reputation of the temple was made and elapsed as soon as expressed, and they talked and discussed their religious matters until it became almost dark. The evening was harshly cold and foggy, the air dull.
Suddenly both religious men stood from their places in surprise: a huge peepal tree that covered half the frontage of the temple and swung its branches from the border of the veranda above them was clearly and noticeably shaken, trembling fiercely in every stem and leaf.
"There is a storm," Bhardwaj Ji yelled.
Pundit Hari Ram Dubey said nothing, but mutely directed the other's attention to the plants to the next of peepal tree, which demonstrated no movement; even the fragile tops of the branches exhibited against the dark and cloudy sky were unmoving. They speedily moved inside the temple steps to what had been a small jungle and looked upward at the peepal tree, whose complete huge size was now visible. The violent storm was continuous, yet they could recognize no worrying reason.
"Let us leave," said Pundit Dev Prayag Bhardwaj.
Ultimately, they left. They forgot the right direction and travelled a long way to reach their residence. They stayed together. They went to the old city where they narrated their weird incident to a number of prudent friends. The next day, same time in the evening, accompanied by four other friends they were again in the temple, and yet again the mystifying phenomenon happened: the peepal tree was not fiercely agitated while below the adjoining scrutiny from root to tip, nor did their united strength applied to the trunk serve to budge it. After about two hours watching they again went back, no less prudent, it is visible, than when they had come to see it.
It required no persuasion, nor long time for these curious truths to stir the curiosity of the entire neighbourhood. By day and by night mass of persons gathered at the temple "looking for a poof." All failed to get any proof or sign, yet so convincing were the eyewitnesses brought up that none has any suspicion about the authenticity of the "warning signs" to which they gave evidence.
By either a blissful inspiration or some vicious curse, one day it was proposed to clean the temple of vine, bushes and creepers but no one appeared to know from whom the idea came- -to clean the temple premises, and without any debate and opposition, all joined to clean the temple. Nothing was found in the courtyard and in the outer area of the temple, yet nothing could have been more weird and wonderful!
For nine five or ten feet from the sanctum sanctorum, (The garbhagriha) which had at the exterior of the red bricks floor, a diameter of some meters, it ran around the sanctum sanctorum, solitary and straight, encircling the sanctum sanctorum, cracks in the floor; then it separated and subdivided into wallless chambers, pillars and interiors, most inquisitively intermingled. When cautiously cleaned of the soil and bushes, it showed an outstanding structure. In the structure and on the walls tiles themselves, they made a dense arrangement, having in dimension and figure a wonderful similarity to the figures of humans, animals and birds. Head, chest and other body parts were there; even the fingers and toes were markedly clear, and many appear to see in the shapes and figures the display of the holy figures in the spherical mass representing the identity of Hindu deities or a fantastic idea of their shape. The figures were vertical and horizontal, and all gave a meaning and message of the creation of this universe.
In point of likeness to the human form of those images were so imperfect, as if the temple was never abandoned. At about eight inches from one of the elbows, the shape forming that arm had gradually made straight and shaped their course for proper growth. The figure had the right arm also.
Now, all moved to the outer room or outer entrance of the sanctum sanctorum were standing two cows, as if they were guarding the sanctum sanctorum against the wicked visitors. On the threshold of the sanctum sanctorum, were seated two monkeys like two dutiful guards. A parrot welcomed all the curious and unknown visitors with chanting Om! It rang the temple bell hanging above the smiling deity of Lord Krishna as if He (deity ) was welcoming all.
I wish I could turn back the clock and bring the wheels of time to a stop.
It was a magical scene. All were mesmerized by the blissful scene inside the "Holy of Holies" The garbhagriha. I was blessed to be a witness to that scene. All were silent and could not utter even a single syllable.
There was but one opinion --the clear one; but in the resulting pleasure as many lines of action and advice were planned as there were many wise co scholars and counsellors. The issue was settled by Pundit Hari Ram Dubey of Aligarh, that Pundit Dev Prayag Bhardwaj, from Haridwar, will be the permanent priest of the abandoned temple and it was also decided that the renovation work will be carried out in the temple with the help of the devotees.
Later, investigation carried out, brought only one fact of relevance and consequence: Mrs Tulsi had never visited her father and other relatives in Varanasi and took Jal Samadhi (Water Grave) while taking a holy dip in the holy river Ganga tired of the tantrums of the new neighbours of the vicinity but no one knew that why and where was supposed to have done so.
Of Pundit Brahma Nand Shukla and the rest of his family, nothing is known. The temple again started vibrating with blissful reputation, but the watered and worshipped peepal tree is as orderly and well behaved a tree as tired devotees and persons could wish to sit under in a satisfying place. Now temple became a talk of the town about its' immemorial disclosures and the mystical environment denoted the idea of Holier than the Holy about it.
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