One sunday evening, I was enjoying pakora with my family. My spouse brought up the topic of a family tour. It was long time we did not go for any outing. In 2019, we went to Kasmir with a local tour operator. It was a memorable tour. I called up the tour manager to enquire about the upcoming tours in the coming months.

We decided on a tour of Guwahati-Sillong. Till then, I did not explore the north-east. It was slotted for November 2023. I applied for a LTC in advance. It was granted.

But fate had some other plan for us. My spouse embroiled in emergency work in her office. My mom's knee pain also flared up. We decided to drop the tour. The tour operator was charging a 50% cancellation fee. 

I was sharing this with one of my friends. After listening to my story, a proposal came from my friend. He wanted to swap our tour on one condition: I have to go with him on this tour. I reluctantly agreed. 

As per schedule, our train to Guwahati started from Kolkata. It was my friend, his parents,and his sister. His sister was about fifteen years old at the time. She was joyful and charming. Her name was "Kuhali." We three younger ones jelled well. We played cards together. Kuhali sang songs while my friend played guitar. The time on the train passed quickly. 

We reached Guwahati, and a cab was waiting for us. We were about twenty people in the team travelling together. The cab took us to the hotel. We checked in. I and my friend stayed in the same room. After a shower,  we had lunch. We three planned a walk in the neighbourhood in the afternoon. After an energy  restoring nap, we three roamed in the market. We had some street food together. 

In the evening, we sat on the hotel roof with chips and pokora. Kuhali was singing Rabindra sangit. We were enjoying our time together. The next day, we were supposed  to visit the famous temple of the goddess  "Kamkhya."  The temple is situated in the Nilachal Mountains.

During the journey, I narrated many legends about the temple. Kuhali was listening to my stories aptly, and she asked a few questions in between the stories. By coincidence, that day was a new moon day, favourable for mystic practices. This Kamkhya Pith  is regarded as the most powerful among all Saktipiths. 

We were stranded in line for Darshan of the Devi. It took us two hours to complete the darshan. We decided to explore the place. Nilachal mountain is serene and beautiful. We found many aesthetics in and around the temple. We were offering our obeisance to those Jogis. One of them, with a daunting look, called us. We offered him 50 rupees as pranami. He blessed us by murmuring something obscure. He asked us to sit. We were seated before him. He first looked at me. He made straight eye contact, and I felt uncomfortable. He then shifted his focus to Kuhali. I sensed the girl was feeling uncomfortable. We were about to leave. The Jogi suddenly grabbed the hand of Kuhali. We were awe-struck. I shouted at the trespasser. He looked at me, and the colour of his eyes changed; they were bright red. My heart shrank in fear. Kuhali was trying to get rid of the man. With a mystic smile on his face, he asked Kuhali to be his yogini, or accomplice. We three cried out loudly for help. Kuhali's parents and other team members arrived. But the man was unperturbed by their presence. The fierce man was still holding Kuhali's hand. It created chaos. A few police personnel arrived. Five police personnel were unable to move the mystic man. At last, he started roaring angrily and let go of Kuhali. 

The girl was drenched in sweat. She shrank in fear and surprise. No one spoke much for the rest of the day. The next day, I learned that Kuhali had a high fever from last night. So we stayed back in the hotel. I was feeling weary. I slept for most of the day. I went to see Kuhali, but she behaved oddly. I saw fear in her eyes. The next day, Kuhali's fever came down, but she was far from normal. I came to know from his parents that she was tilting on her bed and murmuring in unconsciousness. 

The next day, when I saw Kuhali, she was looking skinny and tired. She did not acknowledge me at all. Her eyes were wandering in the room. 

We decided to call off the tour and go back to Kolkata. I booked our return ticket. The return journey was a silent one; only one episode baffled all of us. In the night, Kuhali had to go to the toilet on the train. She came out screaming. Her eyes were coming out in fear. Her mom cradled her for a long time. When she came back to her mind, she told her mother that she had seen a dreadful face in the toilet. We dismissed it as her imagination. 

Our train reached Kolkata at midnight. My friend requested that I stay with them for that night. We were not hungry at all, so we skipped dinner that night. I was sharing a bed with my friend. In the next room, Kuhali was with her parents. I was exhausted and went to deep sleep. There was some noise that made me awake in the night. Suddenly, my eyes went to the ceiling. Something was hanging from the ceiling. In the dim light of the night lamp, I saw a figure crawling on the roof. A chill ran down my spine. A faint sound came out of my mouth. The figure turned to me; her face was dead white, with scars on her cheeks. I recognised the face; it was Kuhali. I closed my eyes. When I looked back at the ceiling, there was nothing. I do not know how long I was in that state. I woke up when my friend called me. We rushed to the other room. Kuhali was behaving abnormally. I saw fear in everyone's eyes. Kuhali's body was crooked like a bow. Her face was white, and there were scratch marks on her cheeks. Her mother started crying loudly. I suggested that Kuhali be taken to a hospital. I tried to call an ambulance, but my mobile was out of connection. We checked each other's phones; all were out of network. My thoughts started jumbling up. Kuhali's mother couldn’t bear the situation; she collapsed. I was thinking of going out to seek help. But the door was dead closed. I and my friend put all our might but couldn’t open the door. Kuhali's condition was deteriorating rapidly. She was breathing noisily. My friend closed his eyes and started sobbing. 

I was just at the pre-moment of losing my mind. Then, to my astonishment, I saw Kuhali floating above her bed. I couldn’t bear more; tears came out of my eyes. I screamed for help. 

Then, in a sudden turn of events, Kuhali ran towards her brother and attacked him. My friend was not prepared for this. He cried out in fear. 

Suddenly some power worked within me. I started chanting the Sri Krishna Maha Mantra, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare. I was chanting Lord's name with full strength. Kuhali turned a little bit amicable. She was trying to escape from the vibration of the mantra. Slowly, she cringed at one corner of the room. Taking cue from me, my friend also started chanting the Maha Mantra. We closed in towards Kuhali. She put her hand in her ear and started screaming. 

At that time, I sensed that something in my pocket was radiating energy. It was a Rudraksh bead that I bought during the tour. I threw that towards the possessed girl. As the Rudraksh touched her, she screamed loudly and collapsed. The doors and the windows opened with a bang.

By that time, Kuhali's parents had come to consciousness. Kuhali was placed on the bed. I checked the wall clock. It was 4.30 AM. We decided to stay awake for the rest of the night. In the morning, I found myself sleeping in bed with my friend. 

My friend never took up discussion about that event full night during any future interaction. I also never came up with that topic any time till now.