Phantoms in my head?

Phantoms in my head?

Stills taken from Volkswagen ad video

My post did not appear last Saturday because I did not write at all. It is true that I have granted myself the freedom of not being bound by subjects or specializations. I can babble about anything under the sun with almost equal enthusiasm, so there should be no dearth of topics for someone like me.

Besides, I want to catch you on Saturday mornings Indian Standard Time before all of you get into the weekend mode.

So, what happened? I am ashamed to admit that I got distracted. I wallowed in the distractions and by the time I came to my senses, it was too late.

The irony is I watched videos (forwarded) on You tube about fighting distractions and how some people who have done great in life, are focused on the job at hand. I can see most of you doing eyerolls! So, I am not going to elaborate on that.

Instead, I want to ask you about another distraction. Has anyone ever seen a ghost? Although one does get a spooky or eerie feeling at some place once in a while, I have not believed in them.

But now I have this sneaking suspicion that one such thing lives in our building. Some nights I am woken up by the sounds of loud hammering which always seem to start after 12.30 am. I presume that no sane human being would undertake any repair/construction work at those ungodly hours, so it must be a witch or a ghost of some species. 

I am fine with any noise made during daytime. Nights I think, are meant for rest and sleep.

During weekend nights and sometimes on other ones, I can only groan and bear the loud music being played in the bars in our building arcade for the basic reason that I have no control over it. I console myself with the thought that it must be doing some good to the visitors who come to party, and of course, a lot of good to the owners running them.

But this noise is of something being nailed into place, scratching of furniture, interspersed with human voices. It may continue from an hour to a couple.

I understand that there are the proverbial night owls who find it easier to read, watch films etc., work or even raid the fridge during the undisturbed quiet of the night, but that in no way, interferes with other people’s usual time to rest.

I tried to think of reasons for this disturbance when everyone else is supposedly sleeping. Perhaps these are children who had long naps during afternoon and are now wide awake like blinking headlights. Perhaps the resident has insomnia and must do something physical to tire himself/herself out, so the body and mind may hit the snooze button.

After all, what kind of construction can one do off and on? Don’t the other occupants of that apartment or the neighbours, have a problem with that? Yet so far, even the most active among the various whatsapp groups from the complex have not complained about it.

Most residents of the building cannot be deaf, so is it only me who is hearing these noises? Can one jolt out of sleep to have hallucinations? You can understand how catastrophic that revelation would be for me and disturbing for all of you!   

My other question is if it indeed is a spirit, do you think it is safe to ask it (what are their pronouns?) to come and do the household chores which I absolutely detest? Or does it specialize in repair and renovation of human dwellings? I can perhaps call it to even out the floor of one bathroom to help water drain off well.

As your well-wisher I must warn you that the festival season has started. I received scores of whatsapp messages (they are free) wishing me a happy Dussehra/Vijayadashmi. The most forwarded this season seemed to be the one saying how two names राम (Ram) and रावण (Ravan) begin with the same alphabets रा (Ra), but the main difference is in the character of the two men who bore these names.

I am not a Maths genius so this algebraic equation failed to filter into my cranium. I wonder if म (m) and वण (van) on their own, have a meaning. If anyone has an explanation, please feel free to share so that I am wiser.  

Although a woman and a wife, I always liked this irreverent message where…

A burning Ravan haplessly asks the crowd, “Why do you burn me every year? I did not kidnap your wife.”

One man among the crowd shoots back, “That is why!”

The only Dussehra message I liked this season, was a dear friend’s video of Volkwagen where Ram, the hero of epic Ramayana, offers a lift to Ravan, the villain(see top photo).

It is Sharad Purnima today, the full moon night of the Hindu month of Aashwin. Lord Krishna is believed to have danced the whole night away with his beloved Radha and the Gopis. It is said that Lord Shiva Himself took the form of a Gopi to come to Earth and participate in that.

People keep kheer (rice pudding) out under the sky this night in the belief that the rays of the moon touching it, would turn it into elixir. Push the fact that earthlings already landed on the moon more than half a century ago or right now our very own, ‘made in India’ Chandrayaan-3 Rover is sitting there, aside. 

But there is a lunar eclipse tonight, so people would either avoid keeping the kheer out or follow some other ritual to keep it 'pure', I am told.

But Karwa Chauth, one of perhaps the busiest days on the moon's calendar, falls on Wednesday, when many Hindu women keep a fast for the safe, long life of their husbands, breaking it only after offering it (moon) water.

I guess the length and quality of these husbands’ shelf life on this planet depends solely on the intensity and steadfastness of the faith these couples have in the efficacy of wives staying hungry and thirsty for their spouses’ sake!

A true well-wisher, I wish peace, quiet and good humour in all such homes!

                                                                                            - Anupama S Mani