Bhangarh Fort- first ranked haunted place in India !!

Are there ghosts in the world ? How many of us believe in such mysterious spirits?  Haunted places, world over, attract lots of people, including women, but the riddle attached to them always remains unsolved. Is it a mere hearsay or figment of some adventure seeking people's mind? No acceptable answer is available so far with solid proof. However, such places where paranormal forces are believed to be active never fail to get the attention of the people who are keen to understand the mystery behind them. Obviously, they have a penchant for these weird places.  In India, there are many haunted places across the states in the forts, palaces, mountains, etc. Not many of them deserve our attention. The historically old Bhangarh fort in Rajasthan is an exception. it is more famous for the tales of haunting than for its historical significance. 

A trip to such places may give us a unique experience as it is packed with anxiety and unwanted imagination. Once you get there and see for your self the much-talked about  eerie stuff,  you may feel satisfied or perplexed when you get get back home with a lingering question: Are there ghosts in this world?  

Exterior of Bhangarh Fort, en.wikipedia.org.

The 17th century  Bhangarh Fort in Alwar district of Rajasthan is a famous tourist spot for a different reason. It is not a richly embellished and stately 
fort as one may imagine, but it ranks first in the list of haunted places in India. There are tales of how the fort became a haunted place. Yet another mystery is many of the dwellings here are roofless!!. Why is it so? It's rich history is overshadowed by incidents of paranormal activities within the fort, hence it a major tourist destination for people who seek adventure and heroism.  Built in 1573 AD by Katchwaha ruler of Amber Raja Bhagwant Singh for his younger brother Madho Singh I, it was named by Madho Singh after his grandfather Man Singh who was  Mogul ruler Akbar's  celebrated general.

Bhangarh fort, rjasthan, Hindu temple. Holidify

The fort is at the foot of the hills on a sloping terrain in the Aravalli range of hills bordering  with Sariska Reserve  and the nearest village is Golakabaas. The lower slope of the hills has ruins of the king's palace that is surrounded by trees and pond with small water falls. 

The notice board displayed by the ASI warns that no one is allowed to remain in the fort after sundown. This is in consideration of the purported paranormal activities  in the fort  after the fall of darkness!! As for the mystery, there are two versions. One version has it that a tantrik (magician), who was well-versed in black magic wanted to marry the local princess of Bhangarh by the name of Ratnavati (daughter of Chatr Singh), a beautiful woman. Stories of her amicable nature and beauty were thick in the air and many royal families wanted to take her as their bride. Knowing that there were many suitable royal princes ready to seek her hand, the tantrik decided to get her at any cost, using his magic. One day, when the princess was buying local scent (Ittar) from a shop, the magician managed to replace  it with his love potion so that it would put a spell on the princess and make  her oblige him. Being an intelligent woman, she understood the magicians ulterior motive and threw the potion on the near by boulder. In a jiff, unexpectedly, the boulder came down the slope and crushed the magician to death. 

 At the time of dying, the magician cursed that  Bhangarh would be destroyed soon and become deserted as no one could  live within its boundaries. In the later years, the Mogul army invaded this place and killed the people, including the princess. 

The fort has a forlorn and wretched look and appears to be spooky and this being due to  the curse of the  tantrik. Local people believe that the fort is haunted by none other than the magician with unfulfilled ambition and the princess  who died a spinster. The  place is condemned to desolation for ever and if any body builds a roof over his dwelling, it will collapse mysteriously.

 The other version has it that a Sadhu  by the name of   Baba Balu Nath was living in a small stone house atop the hill on which Raja Bhagwat Singh built a fort in accordance with the wish of the Sadhu that the shadow of the building in the fort should not fall on his dwelling. Sadhu was quite pleased, however, it was not so in the case of  Raja Ajab Singh who constructed additional structure whose shadow fell right on the sage's dwelling. The hermit who had been living peacefully there for a long time without any outside intrusion was quite furious that the ruler went back on his word and disrespected a venerable sage. His curse caused this place to become deserted, gloomy and uninviting. There occurs a small stone hut called  tantrik ki chatri overlooking the fort. 

After the death of Chatr Singh, Ajab singh took over the reigns. At that point of time, the population had begun to dwindle for various reasons and soon after the famine in 1783, the remaining villagers migrated to other places for their livelihood and survival. 

Inside the fort, there are ruins of old structure and they were believed to be jauhari (market) bazaars, houses of dancing girls (nachan ki haweli). The fort has four beautiful gates through which one can enter the town and a three storied structure to be explored.  Also lie within the fort are Someshwara  and other Hindu temples and a step well. In the interior part lie temples dedicated to Shiva and Hanuman.  Many parts of the fort and its precincts are fairly  preserved. Its ramparts and fortifications stand amidst the ruins of the ghost town by the same name.  The fort and the surrounding establishments around it were a self-contended thriving place.

 That this beautiful, but deserted fort  is really haunted or not is a moot questions and  many local people say they never saw or heard of any paranormal activities. This mystery behind this spooky place attracts more people to visit this site. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhangarh_Fort