We bought bus tickets for the town and set out on the road. A constant drizzle kept following us on the road but it had magical feel to feel the rush of monsoons in the desert.  We saw an oasis as the water gushed through low lying lands flooding the roads. Dark low hanging clouds tanked-up with rain took over the sky. The parched desert seemed too willing to embrace the downpour. And the locals were celebrating, as we came across a few on the roads rushing to their homes for a sumptuous lunch.

The desert looked bewitching but we were on the eerie trail .We took a detour and reached Kuldhara. An old man dressed all in white, sporting a long flowy grey beard appeared out of nowhere, looking almost like an apparition all by himself. He had an ageless feel, the wrinkles around his face and his sunken eyes seemed to tell a different story of their own, but he was very much interested in narrating the tale of the Paliwal Brahmins who lived here in the 18th century.

The Paliwals were harassed by the local ruler and were paying huge amounts of money in the form of taxes to them. But one day, the ruler set his eyes on one of the girls in the community, mostly the Chief's daughter.  The Paliwals weren't given any choice in the matter, they were granted just a day to accept his proposal. Overcome by remorse and desperation, the entire community left their homes and hearths behind, cursing the king and escaped in the dead of the night.

We climbed an old rickety flight of steps inside one of the abandoned home to reach the terrace where we saw the broken remnants of the village. Puddles of water had been collected in the narrow lanes reflecting the crumbled ruins. The village wore a desolated look and cursed airs seem to surround it. Only a lone temple stood renovated amidst the ruins.

Many stories float around. Some say the witches walk around in the night, haunting the place. Others say that nobody lived there anymore as mysterious deaths had taken place one upon a time. And then the voice of the old man floated through the air  saying "No one knew anything about them, some say they came from Pali which is in Jodhpur, some say they went back to Pali but only their souls are what rest in Kuldhara ."

The entire story gave me the spooks. The journey and the stories give you the chills and make you wonder what exactly happened or went wrong in the place. And now here i am buying bus tickets back home still wondering about the old man and his story.