Looking back at those horrific 30 minutes...almost a decade later : Part 1

My this post was supposed to put forward my view on the question thrown in by Big B on the way India is perceived in the western world. I realized that I needed more time and a little bit research to put in before I bring my views before people. So, I began to think about something else but nothing concrete came to the mind. In the morning, while browsing through news websites, I saw a news which reminded me of something - something very chilling that had sent shivers down my spine. I decided to share that short tale from my life when for the first time, I had nightmares.

Getting scared or afraid is as natural as the feelings of joy, anger or sadness. But unlike other feelings, fear leaves its footprints profoundly in heart or mind, sometimes for a very long time. As a kid I was scared many times - sometimes by watching a spooky serial like 'aahat' or a horror film like 'The Evil dead'. Here I'm not talking about the fear of a bully, or a very strict teacher or something like it. What I'm talking about is the fear instilled in a kid's mind via any visual medium. That's where the movies, or serials or books come in. Though latter doesn't comes in the category of a visual medium, books can be as powerful as any other media when imagination runs wild. But here I'm not talking about a book nor a movie. It's about an episode from a serial. And let me tell you before you read further - THAT WAS NOT A HORROR SERIAL.

I still remember the year and the month very well. I was about to leave my old school and go in new one. The Cricket world cup 1999 had ended a few days back only and we were looking forward to rains in a week or so. It was the month of June in 1999. That night I was alone at home. Dad had been transferred to Nagaur about a month back and Mom had gone to my maternal grand parent's home with my sister. I had nothing to do, so I switched on the TV. After browsing through different channels I finally settled on Sony as rest of the channels didn't have anything to offer of my interest. The serial which was about to be telecast on Sony was one whose name I had heard a lot but never watched before. I reckon few of you would remember its name. It was BHANWAR.

I intended to watch it only as a time pass, by the time my mother and sister returned. I didn't know then that those 30 odd minutes would leave such a psychological effect on me. I will continue in my next post with what I watched that day and what was it all about?