Haunted: Chakwa

In India, we come across a vast variety of folklores. One of such scary folklores is "Chakwa". Chakwa is a paranormal entity that creates illusions and will deceive its victims. Generally, they are harmless and release their victims after they are entertained. 

Most victims of Chakwa have similar experiences. During the late night rides, they see a rabbit or hare running in front of their vehicle. After this the rabbit disappears and the victims are trapped in a travel loop. They repetitively reach the same spot after driving for a long time and do not reach their destination. Once released by the entity, the victim's journey continues without any hurdles. Yet, my colleague Bhuvan (pseudonym to protect the identity) had a unique experience with Chakwa. This is his paranormal experience.

Bhuvan was studying engineering. His college was in a small town, away from any metro city. He used to stay at a hostel. The distance between the college and hostel was approximately 2 miles. A forest of endangered plants would separate the college and the  hostel. The only way to reach the college would pass through the forest. Sometimes, students used to ride their bicycles to go to the college while other times they used to walk through the forest. Forest was dense but not scary by any measure (at least in the daytime). Though they have heard a few stories of hauntings in the forest. All students were instructed not to roam in the forest after the sunset.

Bhuvan was in 3rd year of academic when this incident occurred. Bhuvan and his group were working on a project which was soon due for submission. That unfortunate day they have stayed back after their lectures to complete the project. Around 8 o'clock they decided to head to their hostel. When they left the college, it was already dark. The college did not have lodging and boarding facilities, hence they had no option but to return to the hostel. They thought it will be a fun adventure, which turned out to be anything but that.

Bhuvan and his friends started walking towards their hostel. The path was known, yet it felt unfamiliar in the dark. They entered the forest but felt nothing unusual at first. They noticed no unusual sounds, smells, or movements. However, as they continued to stroll, they all were feeling a sinister presence. To ease the tension they decided to talk about one of the recent cricket matches. How the batting line-up could have been different, which the bowlers should have been used, how the fielding was subpar, and whether the captain and the coach should be sacked for the team's poor performance. As they started discussing, the fear was diminishing.

They were engrossed in the conversation and had already walked almost a mile. Suddenly his friend, Naresh said, "Wow! Look at that. The stadium is full." The conversation came to an abrupt pause. There was no playground in the middle of the forest. "Look our team is batting. We need 30 runs to win from 7 overs. We are winning this game" said Naresh. Everyone stopped and looked at the Naresh. At that time, Naresh was looking far off in a different direction, he was smiling, his gaze was steady. Naresh's behaviour was bizarre. Finally, a friend said, "Naresh, what is going on? What are you talking about?"

Naresh looked at his friend, pointed finger in the opposite direction, and said, "Look at the game. They are playing so well. Now 24 runs needed from 6 overs. We are going to witness an epic victory."

Everyone looked in that direction as pointed by Naresh. Only trees stood still. It appeared as if other than their group, nobody else was in the forest. There was no game, just some trees. Another friend came forward and scolded, "Naresh, enough of these pranks. Keep your mouth shut and let's leave from here."

Naresh continued saying, "No. Let's wait for 15 minutes. The match will end soon. We need just 10 more runs to win." He still had a hysterical grin on his face. Everyone was confused and scared by this time. 

This time Bhuvan came ahead and told Naresh, "It is getting too late. I guess if we move ahead to the hill, we will get a better view. Let's start walking." Surprisingly, Naresh agreed. Naresh was still looking in the same direction and continued to cheer for the team. 

Sometime later Naresh screamed, "Yes! We have won the match. We are the champions. Team India is at the top of the leader board." He was clapping and cheering. By this time, everyone was terrified, sensing a danger. They have realised that Naresh was not playing a prank but something was seriously wrong. 

A minute later, Naresh said in his usual tone, "Hey what happened? How did we walk so fast? We just left our college and we are already midway." Naresh's laughter and cheering was gone. He was sweating heavily. His face was pale. Before anybody could speak, Naresh fainted (adding an insult to an injury). All the boys carried him to the nearby hospital. By the time they arrived, Naresh had regained his consciousness, but was still disoriented. Doctors ruled out any major health event and attributed the fainting to exhaustion. 

After taking him back to the hostel, the boys asked him if he was pranking. Naresh denied and said he had no recollection of anything that happened after leaving the college premises. He did not remember walking into the forest, their cricket analysis, their discussions, or even what he saw. He remembered leaving the college premises and opening his eyes in the hospital. He had no memories of whatever happened in between. Boys believed him and did not ask him any further questions.

Next day, they went to college. Bhuvan spoke with an elderly staff member and informed him of what happened. The elderly man said that episodes like these have happened in the forest. If anybody goes to the forest after sunset, they may lose track of time, lose their way, or sometimes lose their mind. The forest is the residence of a Chakwa. Chakwa is a trickster and he plays tricks whenever it feels like. Chakwa can create illusions and hallucinations.. Though the entity has never harmed anyone, confrontation with Chakwa could be dangerous. That is why it is forbidden to go to the forest in the night. 

After that incident, Bhuvan and his friends ensured to leave the college on time. They had realised that some legends are true. That forest was a living, breathing archive of the forgotten. It was not a holy sanctuary, but rather the very residence of a malevolent entity. 

[Note: The above image is AI generated]