1. Kuldhara, Rajasthan
Rajasthan is one of India’s top tourist destinations for Indians as well as foreigners. While most people come here to admire the royal places and architecture of forts, many are also intrigued by the stories of the supernatural that do the rounds. Befriend a local or pay them a small amount and stories tumble out of the bag. If you have done the royal tour of Rajasthan, visit Jaisalmer this time, to admire the hauntingly beautiful Kuldhara village.
The village that is today maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, Kuldhara’s story is quite well known. A quaint village that looks spectacular in the day turns into your worst nightmare at night. The story of why this happened is equally chilling. It is an abandoned village over 200 years old but you can find houses and temples in near-perfect condition even today. What led to this abandonment?
About 200 years ago, on a fateful night, the villagers of Kuldhara who belonged to the Paliwal Brahmins community, fled from their homes, leaving behind their land and property.
If you are wondering what forced an entire village to do so, here’s the reason: The story involves a brutal prime minister, Salim Singh, who was rumoured to be even more powerful than the local king he served. Salim Singh (who was also called Zalim Singh for the brutalities he committed) was also infamous for debauchery. His tax collection methods were not fair and citizens were fed up with his ways. One fine day, the roving eye of Salim Singh fell on the beautiful daughter of Kundhara’s village chief. So mesmerised was he with her beauty that he declared his intentions to marry her! The Paliwal Brahmins were horrified by the proposal but were no match for the powerful prime minister who, by now, had threatened to levy heavier taxes on the villagers. Not having much of a choice, the villagers decided to pack their belongings and leave the village. Overnight!
To this day, no one really knows where the villagers went and settled after fleeing from Kuldhara but the question arises why haven’t others come and settled in this already established village? And this is where things get spooky.
According to the legend, the people of Kuldhara cursed the place as they left which prevented anyone from settling here. Since then, the village lies abandoned. To really test if Kuldhara is haunted, some people from Delhi’s Paranormal Society stayed here one night geared up with their equipment to record any paranormal activity.
After spending 12 hours here, not only did they record unusual activity on their devices suggesting the presence of spirits in the area, some of them also spotted shadowy figures in the night and were tapped on their shoulders by someone when no one was really around.
Some spirits also revealed their names to the members of the society. This spooky incident just adds to the story of Kuldhara and the village lies abandoned to this very day. Tourists do come here in the day to see the ruins and click photographs but no one dares to stay in this ghost town post-sunset.
Where is Kuldhara?
Kuldhara village is in Jaisalmer. If you are planning a visit, it is best to take your own car or hire a taxi. You can take photographs of the village houses and the visiting hours are from 8 am to 6 pm.