Guys I AM HAPPY TO INFORM YOU THAT MY FIRST BOOK TITLED "THE EYE OF THE PREDATOR " IS GETTING PUBLISHED BY HACHETTE , THE WORLDS THIRD LARGEST PUBLISHING HOUSE....THE BRUNCH OF HINDUSTAN TIMES HAS EVEN SAID THAT MY BOOK IS THE ONE TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2010 ...REALLY EXCITED ...PLEASE READ A BIT OF THAT ARTICLE ....
Mon, Dec 28 11:45 AM
India, Dec. 26 -- If 2009 was the year of Stephenie Meyer, Dan Brown and Chetan Bhagat, 2010 promises a wider range - some big brands, many old favourites, and a lot of great books across the board. First (Debut) fiction: Homeboy by H M Naqvi features young Pakistanis in post 9/11 America. Rahul Mehta's Quarantine has stories about gay, young men between India and America; Serious Men by Manu Joseph is a humorous novel set in Mumbai and Shrabani Basu's Victoria and Abdul is both historical exploration and tender story about the relationship that had Victorian circles abuzz. Sarita Mandanna's Tiger Hills is a romantic saga set in Coorg. Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai portrays the travails of a young girl in small town India who is charged with the brutal slaying of her entire family. Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph focuses on middle Mumbai while The Last Song of Savio De Souza by Binoo John takes a deep look at multi-religious Kerala. But The Trains Are on Time, set in Delhi, by Vishwajyoti Ghosh is a graphic novel, as is Sudershan Chimpanzee by Rajesh Devraj about the chimp star of B-list Bollywood. Return to Almora by R K Pachauri sees its protagonist chase meaning, memories, and peace. Third Best by K V Arjun Rao is a gritty coming of age novel about boarding schools. Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan by Zac O'Yeah is an ingeniously stylised, dystopian crime novel set in the grunge of a futuristic Europe after it has been colonised by India. She's a Jolly Good Fellow by Sajita Nair is chick lit in boots and berets - a comic romance set against the rugged backdrop of the Indian Army. A new series, 'Metro Reads', focuses on debut fiction in its first clutch - Dreams in Prussian Blue, Love Over Coffee and Where Girls Dare. The Gamechangers by Fake IPL Player, is a tongue firmly in cheek take on Indian cricket by the best known anonymous writer in the country. Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin 'Einstein' Varghese by Sidin Vadukut, is a laugh-out-loud story about a loser who ends up winning. If I Could Tell You, a novel by Soumya Bhattacharya, has an unnamed narrator writing letters to his daughter, about life, longing, love and loss. Broken News by Amrita Tripathi (herself a TV anchor) has as its protagonist an anchor at a TV news channel. TV anchor to novelist seems a definite trend and Abhisar Sharma's Eye of the Predator is conspiracy theory fiction that looks at the killing of Baitullah Mehsud.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The haunting at Kausani ...concluding part
As we completed our dinner , we slowly and quietly started walking towards our room .We were not talking to each other. At least I did not have the guts to do so, because honestly speaking I was scared . As we walked to our room , I was looking at the slope downhill . All I could see was darkness and some light shimmering from the bushes .They were like eyes , watching me , watching us . I got this dreaded feeling that we were being trailed . I wanted to walk fast to my room, because I had this weird feeling that something was moving towards us , very fast .Something from behind the bushes . I shouted out to Shumana , “ Shums run!!!!!!”
“What???,” she said . “ I said run !!!!!” And like preys hunted by an unknown predator , we started running towards the door . Shumana was the first one to get in . I shut the door behind me, and bolted it . We were both gasping for breath . She stared at me with a puzzled look in her eyes and said , “Why????”. She was still panting . I just shrugged my shoulder and crashed on the bed behind me . I was staring at the blades of the fan in my room , old sharp blades. I was thinking why ? Why was this happening ? I looked at Shumana and asked her , “ Baby ,did we do the wise thing by staying here ?” I could see clouds of doubt in her eyes for the first time . “ I don’t know Abhi!!!. I just don’t know what to believe . I cant feel it , but the fear in your eyes is so real . Its so real that I just cant think rationally .” And then we heard something …!!!!
“ Did your hear it Shums ???” The bathroom . Someone or something was inside the bathroom . “ There was this surge of real fear in my heart . I actually heard something and this was not a figment of my imagination . And Shumana heard it too . I just raised my legs from the ground and sat on the bed . I looked at Shumana and gestured her to do the same . But the braver one needed further proof .She wanted to explore the bathroom . “ Abhi , I need to go in .” I was shocked . “What ???…Go in and do what , you daft girl !!!! Did you not hear the sound in the bathroom .I am sure its inside the bathroom.”
Shumana looked in my eyes .In the face of this nightmarish scene inacted in front of my eyes , she was immensely calm . She did not say anything . She just smiled and walked towards the bathroom. As she moved closer , she turned around and gave me yet another glimpse of her candyfloss smile that had set my heart aflutter so many times . But then suddenly , the realization dawned on me . Was this the last that I will see of her ? Is this the end ? God , what am I doing ? I should stop her !!!! And before I could react she entered the bathroom . I was frozen to my bed and could not move . As she walked in the bathroom , I felt a surge of horror in my heart.
Bammmm!!!!!! As soon as she walked inside the bathroom ,the door shut violently behind her . O my God!!!! What the hell was that ? I was petrified at the sound of the door shutting behind her . The sound was loud and unnatural , as if someone had shut the door behind her forcibly . But I just could not understand what to do . With immense effort ,I got up and stepped on the ground which was freezing . My legs were shaking and my spine was shivering .I just had lost control over my body . My mouth was open with slight froth bursting out of the sides of my mouth . I thought that my jaws had frozen .I knew that I could not shout if I wanted to .It was that kind of feeling . As I walked towards the bathroom , I thought , “ Should I run out of the room to call the caretaker or should I break open the door of the bathroom . But what if something is waiting for us outside the room .What if both of us perish ,one in the bathroom and the other one , that is me on the verandah of my room . I decided to break open the bathroom . Good idea , I thought .
I knocked , rather it was more like banging , but not forceful enough ,since my hands were trembling and had gone numb by then . “ Shumana , are you ok ?” I asked with fear in my eyes and my voice trembling . There was a pause , but then what I heard was the most scariest sound I had ever heard in my life ….
I heard muffles …I heard the muffled sound of someone from inside ..” Hello ,” I asked again . The sound repeated itself . As if someone was trying to say something , but someone else had his or her hand on her mouth ……The thought was horrifying !!!! It was Shumana and someone had clasped her mouth with its hand . I could feel the fear traveling from my spine to my head . I thought I would faint . The very thought of Shumana in trouble was horrifying . I started banging on the door . The sound of the muffled sound increased . “O my God” I said …Is someone trying so suffocate her . My banging on the door of the bathroom grew harder . I was frantic. There were tears in my eyes . Of horror !!!! And of the fear of losing the woman I love so much ….
“ Shumana ,please open the door for Gods sake , I cried . The tears wont stop flowing and I was becoming desperate . My knees were getting weaker and I thought that I was about to fall . But just then like that , the door opened ……
Shumana was standing there , with a confused look in her eyes. Her mouth was swollen like a la Hanuman . She had Listerine mouth wash in her mouth and she was looking at me and was wondering what the confusion was all about . She spat out the Listerine and said , “What????” I had understood by then . It was the Listerine in her mouth and hence the muffled sound and response to my frantic calls from outside . I wanted to laugh at the entire situation , but my bladder was about to burst .I knew that if I did not pee , I would end up wetting my trousers , after a long time in my life .
“ Please just stand outside the door and don’t let it shut .I wanna pee” I told Shumana . “You wanna pee in front of me “, she asked . “Yeah”, I said . “Unless you wanna discover me dead in exactly two minutes while the door gets shut behind me .” Well , with embarrassment writ all over her face and a light pinch of disgust , she held the door , as I let it flow ." Wat a relief.............
After peeing ,there was a miraculous change in me . I was not that afraid anymore . We came and sat on our bed . I could think clearly now . What had happened here, I thought . Thoughts were just flashing through my mind and the puzzle in my mind was getting solved with rapid speed . I looked at Shumana and said , “ I think , I know what happened here , Shums. The rape of the pregnant woman ,her spirit , the brutal strangulation of the chowkidaar . Something trying to suffocate me or atleast trying to convey something ,its all coming to me now .” I wanted to go to the nearest police station for further confirmation , but there was a long night before us .
“ Shums , can we go to the police station tomorrow ?” The concern in my eyes convinced Shumana that my request was a genuine one and that I really had to go there. “We will ,” she said . “ But before that , I need you and me to think of the most purest thought in our lives . Something that is common to us . something that can never go wrong for both of us.” Without blinking , we knew what it was .
You would be surprised that Mili was still not born then . But even before her birth, she was the most beautiful and purest thing in our lives . I had met Shumana in 1992 , first year of college and one thing about long courtships is that you end up naming your children .I guess lots of couples do that .We did that too and we got our MiLI too and yes Babush was the bonus !!!!!J
Mili was with us since we fell in love . And she came to our rescue even then . We slept off . Actually we did not realize when we had dozed off . We woke up the next morning to a beautiful dawn and pristine sunshine flowing through our window ,which we had forgot to shut .
As we checked out , we drove to the police station .The station in charge was overwhelmed to receive us ,since he was big fan of BBC short wave Hindi Service ,which I was a part of .
And then the confirmation ….The police of the area believed that the woman , the pregnant woman, was raped and strangulated by the previous chowkidaar and the police could not find proof to connect him to the murder . He went scot-free , but not for long . He was found strangulated , a few months later with horror bulging out of his eyes . Justice I thought ..But what the station in charge told me next is something I still can never let go ....
The pregnant woman was raped and murdered in the one of the rooms of the Daak bangalow ….the one we were staying in …….
“What???,” she said . “ I said run !!!!!” And like preys hunted by an unknown predator , we started running towards the door . Shumana was the first one to get in . I shut the door behind me, and bolted it . We were both gasping for breath . She stared at me with a puzzled look in her eyes and said , “Why????”. She was still panting . I just shrugged my shoulder and crashed on the bed behind me . I was staring at the blades of the fan in my room , old sharp blades. I was thinking why ? Why was this happening ? I looked at Shumana and asked her , “ Baby ,did we do the wise thing by staying here ?” I could see clouds of doubt in her eyes for the first time . “ I don’t know Abhi!!!. I just don’t know what to believe . I cant feel it , but the fear in your eyes is so real . Its so real that I just cant think rationally .” And then we heard something …!!!!
“ Did your hear it Shums ???” The bathroom . Someone or something was inside the bathroom . “ There was this surge of real fear in my heart . I actually heard something and this was not a figment of my imagination . And Shumana heard it too . I just raised my legs from the ground and sat on the bed . I looked at Shumana and gestured her to do the same . But the braver one needed further proof .She wanted to explore the bathroom . “ Abhi , I need to go in .” I was shocked . “What ???…Go in and do what , you daft girl !!!! Did you not hear the sound in the bathroom .I am sure its inside the bathroom.”
Shumana looked in my eyes .In the face of this nightmarish scene inacted in front of my eyes , she was immensely calm . She did not say anything . She just smiled and walked towards the bathroom. As she moved closer , she turned around and gave me yet another glimpse of her candyfloss smile that had set my heart aflutter so many times . But then suddenly , the realization dawned on me . Was this the last that I will see of her ? Is this the end ? God , what am I doing ? I should stop her !!!! And before I could react she entered the bathroom . I was frozen to my bed and could not move . As she walked in the bathroom , I felt a surge of horror in my heart.
Bammmm!!!!!! As soon as she walked inside the bathroom ,the door shut violently behind her . O my God!!!! What the hell was that ? I was petrified at the sound of the door shutting behind her . The sound was loud and unnatural , as if someone had shut the door behind her forcibly . But I just could not understand what to do . With immense effort ,I got up and stepped on the ground which was freezing . My legs were shaking and my spine was shivering .I just had lost control over my body . My mouth was open with slight froth bursting out of the sides of my mouth . I thought that my jaws had frozen .I knew that I could not shout if I wanted to .It was that kind of feeling . As I walked towards the bathroom , I thought , “ Should I run out of the room to call the caretaker or should I break open the door of the bathroom . But what if something is waiting for us outside the room .What if both of us perish ,one in the bathroom and the other one , that is me on the verandah of my room . I decided to break open the bathroom . Good idea , I thought .
I knocked , rather it was more like banging , but not forceful enough ,since my hands were trembling and had gone numb by then . “ Shumana , are you ok ?” I asked with fear in my eyes and my voice trembling . There was a pause , but then what I heard was the most scariest sound I had ever heard in my life ….
I heard muffles …I heard the muffled sound of someone from inside ..” Hello ,” I asked again . The sound repeated itself . As if someone was trying to say something , but someone else had his or her hand on her mouth ……The thought was horrifying !!!! It was Shumana and someone had clasped her mouth with its hand . I could feel the fear traveling from my spine to my head . I thought I would faint . The very thought of Shumana in trouble was horrifying . I started banging on the door . The sound of the muffled sound increased . “O my God” I said …Is someone trying so suffocate her . My banging on the door of the bathroom grew harder . I was frantic. There were tears in my eyes . Of horror !!!! And of the fear of losing the woman I love so much ….
“ Shumana ,please open the door for Gods sake , I cried . The tears wont stop flowing and I was becoming desperate . My knees were getting weaker and I thought that I was about to fall . But just then like that , the door opened ……
Shumana was standing there , with a confused look in her eyes. Her mouth was swollen like a la Hanuman . She had Listerine mouth wash in her mouth and she was looking at me and was wondering what the confusion was all about . She spat out the Listerine and said , “What????” I had understood by then . It was the Listerine in her mouth and hence the muffled sound and response to my frantic calls from outside . I wanted to laugh at the entire situation , but my bladder was about to burst .I knew that if I did not pee , I would end up wetting my trousers , after a long time in my life .
“ Please just stand outside the door and don’t let it shut .I wanna pee” I told Shumana . “You wanna pee in front of me “, she asked . “Yeah”, I said . “Unless you wanna discover me dead in exactly two minutes while the door gets shut behind me .” Well , with embarrassment writ all over her face and a light pinch of disgust , she held the door , as I let it flow ." Wat a relief.............
After peeing ,there was a miraculous change in me . I was not that afraid anymore . We came and sat on our bed . I could think clearly now . What had happened here, I thought . Thoughts were just flashing through my mind and the puzzle in my mind was getting solved with rapid speed . I looked at Shumana and said , “ I think , I know what happened here , Shums. The rape of the pregnant woman ,her spirit , the brutal strangulation of the chowkidaar . Something trying to suffocate me or atleast trying to convey something ,its all coming to me now .” I wanted to go to the nearest police station for further confirmation , but there was a long night before us .
“ Shums , can we go to the police station tomorrow ?” The concern in my eyes convinced Shumana that my request was a genuine one and that I really had to go there. “We will ,” she said . “ But before that , I need you and me to think of the most purest thought in our lives . Something that is common to us . something that can never go wrong for both of us.” Without blinking , we knew what it was .
You would be surprised that Mili was still not born then . But even before her birth, she was the most beautiful and purest thing in our lives . I had met Shumana in 1992 , first year of college and one thing about long courtships is that you end up naming your children .I guess lots of couples do that .We did that too and we got our MiLI too and yes Babush was the bonus !!!!!J
Mili was with us since we fell in love . And she came to our rescue even then . We slept off . Actually we did not realize when we had dozed off . We woke up the next morning to a beautiful dawn and pristine sunshine flowing through our window ,which we had forgot to shut .
As we checked out , we drove to the police station .The station in charge was overwhelmed to receive us ,since he was big fan of BBC short wave Hindi Service ,which I was a part of .
And then the confirmation ….The police of the area believed that the woman , the pregnant woman, was raped and strangulated by the previous chowkidaar and the police could not find proof to connect him to the murder . He went scot-free , but not for long . He was found strangulated , a few months later with horror bulging out of his eyes . Justice I thought ..But what the station in charge told me next is something I still can never let go ....
The pregnant woman was raped and murdered in the one of the rooms of the Daak bangalow ….the one we were staying in …….
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Haunting at Kausani .....
Kausani in Uttaranchal is any holiday goers dream destination ..Romantic and beautiful and surreal too. The drive is lovely ,the treks are breath taking . Every time you go there , one feels like grasping the beauty in your fist, pocketing it, and taking back the memories home . However, as we were about to discover, that one night in Kausani would be the longest and the scariest of my life .......and the memory that I took back home was the one that would never leave me .
We had just arrived after a lovely drive from Nainital and the sun had long set .the sky was crimson and I had this eerie feeling as if I was being warned by an unknown force, not to enter the guest house .As we parked our car, we met the caretaker who was smoking Bidi at the verandah of the rooms in the Daak Bangla . I was expecting some urgency in his behavior after seeing us , but he lazily extinguished his bidi and strolled towards the entrance to welcome us . He wore a very disinterested and bored look, like he was saying , " Phir aa gaye ..ab inke liye bhi khana banana padega " .
As he took us to our room, I realised that the rest house had a very pristine location . In order to get to the rest house , you had to first climb a steep road which was narrow but good enough for a TATA Sumo . As you reached the 4000sq feet rest house ,it started going downhill and you could see the entire jungle from the window of your room . There was a beautiful trek downhill with lot of mulberry trees and as soon as I entered the room ,I started thinking about devouring the Shahtoot, once we had settled down there .
"Please shut your door and the windows too" said the caretaker . Mosquitoes, I thought. To my horror, however, the answer was eerier than my guess . “Leopards”, he said “They enter the room through the horizontal bars of the windows which are a bit spacious for them . A tourist was mauled recently" , he said .” Not because he kept his door open ,rather he had this brilliant idea of going to the jungle to relieve himself .”
One hell of a shitty holiday he had, I thought to myself . The shahtoot trees did not look enticing anymore . Well ,mulberries ….ermmmm ….some other day. In fact my eyes started searching for any leopards stalking the branches of one of the mulberry trees . Had this eerie feeling that we were being watched.
As we settled down , we placed two chairs in the backyard of the rest house , that overlooks the slope of the jungle .To our left were the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas ,that looked beautiful, enmeshed in crimson , but again , something in the air made me uncomfortable .There was something sinister about the place, I thought .Sinister . Strong word , I pondered , but could not get that feeling out of my head . Neverhteless, I was happy to see the smile on Shumana’s face .She really felt happy in the hills, having spent most of her early life in Mussorie, Srinagar and Simla.. I did not want to spoil it for her, telling her that I was not comfortable here. Dinner was served at 0800 and I was not disappointed . I really wanted to have Kausani’s famous DAAL and I had it with rice and dollops of Ghee .
The Daak Bangla was nearly 100 years old . The caretaker told me that the British officers and their families would come here during their summer stay in Kausani. The rooms had this colonial air about it . Huge rooms with high ended roofs and those fans with huge blades that would start with a whirring sound . Food is always the most important thing for me during holidays and of course otherwise also . The only thing that tops my passion for food are the children and Shumana’s smile . So after we had a hearty meal, we settled down . An avid book reader , Shumana got busy with her “ Nora Roberts” as I started scanning the room with my eyes, still wondering that there was something strange about the place . My mind wandered to the time we entered the place, when I had felt that something in the house was trying to warn me .
I did not realize when I felt asleep ….the dreams that I saw were the most weird I can ever imagine . I dreamt that I was in a car and a hand scratching the window of my car. Just the nails . I dreamt that I entered a lift and that I could not see myself in the reflection of the mirror of the lift. And then in my dream I felt something .
I felt that someone was whispering in my ear and chanting some strange mantras …It was very unnerving .I wanted to open my eyes , but could not .The chanting wont stop , till it changed to whispers……
Aaaaaaarrrrrrrr…arrrrrr ….very faint ..and growing distant .But then …SUDDENLY !!!!!!!!! A hand started moving around my thigh and it moved up towards my waist……The feeling was so repelling that I woke up….Thinking that I was dreaming , I hoped that the thing , whatever it was …would stop …But ….
To my horror…my eyes were fully awake ,wide open ……and …someone… was still whispering in my ear…still chanting …..arrrrrrrrrr…arrrrrrr….And the sensation on my waist was moving up .It took me a second to realize that I was out of my dream ..but the nightmare was still on ….The hand was moving up from my waist to the side of my chest …and the whispering in my ear was getting scarier …I saw that Shumana was sleeping in front of me , with her back to me . I called for her …but I could not speak …my throat was choked ….I tried again …but what came out of my mouth was just a coarse faint sound that would not travel to Shumana . And then ….
The hand reached for my neck …I felt the grip tightening around my neck ….I felt this surge of horror in my heart .I thought that I would die of a heart attack…and then the miracle happened . I wriggled out of the grip of whatever it was and scampered towards Shumana ….I clasped her back . I started shaking her , but then I turned around too…..with immense fear in my eyes …What saw was something I had never seen before …..
A shiny apparition which was lifting in the air and which gradually touched the roof of the Daak Bangla . The shining was getting fainter …till it disappeared ….
Shumana woke up too and I narrated her the tale . First she dismissed it as a figment of my imagination, but then later what she saw, shocked her .What she was seeing at that moment was getting reflected in her eyes ..It was absolute horror ….She saw that my neck was red as if there was some struggle involved…it was a clear sign of something that was trying to suffocate me …We did not sleep after that ….
The next morning we called the caretaker and sheepishly asked him about the history of the place …What he told us was scary as hell ….He told us that the guard before him was once found dead at the archway of the Dak Bangla . Someone had strangled him . ..He also told us that a pregnant woman who used to stay in a village downhill was brutally raped and then murdered …..
What he said next was something that can be felt just by the person to whom it was narrated ..….. “People can still see her ..roaming in the jungle …and standing in front of the DAAK Bangla ……” We were stunned ….There was terror in our eyes and we couldnot dare to look at each other.
I asked Shumana, should we leave this place and move to some other place…..but before she could answer I got the answer myself ..If this thing ..whatever it was ….was after me ….it would follow me anywhere …..We had to spend another night in Kausani from where we had to drive to Corbett National Park .
We decided to stay on….I was waiting for the night to arrive ..and I was armed and ready to face it ....
TO BE CONCLUDED ...........
We had just arrived after a lovely drive from Nainital and the sun had long set .the sky was crimson and I had this eerie feeling as if I was being warned by an unknown force, not to enter the guest house .As we parked our car, we met the caretaker who was smoking Bidi at the verandah of the rooms in the Daak Bangla . I was expecting some urgency in his behavior after seeing us , but he lazily extinguished his bidi and strolled towards the entrance to welcome us . He wore a very disinterested and bored look, like he was saying , " Phir aa gaye ..ab inke liye bhi khana banana padega " .
As he took us to our room, I realised that the rest house had a very pristine location . In order to get to the rest house , you had to first climb a steep road which was narrow but good enough for a TATA Sumo . As you reached the 4000sq feet rest house ,it started going downhill and you could see the entire jungle from the window of your room . There was a beautiful trek downhill with lot of mulberry trees and as soon as I entered the room ,I started thinking about devouring the Shahtoot, once we had settled down there .
"Please shut your door and the windows too" said the caretaker . Mosquitoes, I thought. To my horror, however, the answer was eerier than my guess . “Leopards”, he said “They enter the room through the horizontal bars of the windows which are a bit spacious for them . A tourist was mauled recently" , he said .” Not because he kept his door open ,rather he had this brilliant idea of going to the jungle to relieve himself .”
One hell of a shitty holiday he had, I thought to myself . The shahtoot trees did not look enticing anymore . Well ,mulberries ….ermmmm ….some other day. In fact my eyes started searching for any leopards stalking the branches of one of the mulberry trees . Had this eerie feeling that we were being watched.
As we settled down , we placed two chairs in the backyard of the rest house , that overlooks the slope of the jungle .To our left were the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas ,that looked beautiful, enmeshed in crimson , but again , something in the air made me uncomfortable .There was something sinister about the place, I thought .Sinister . Strong word , I pondered , but could not get that feeling out of my head . Neverhteless, I was happy to see the smile on Shumana’s face .She really felt happy in the hills, having spent most of her early life in Mussorie, Srinagar and Simla.. I did not want to spoil it for her, telling her that I was not comfortable here. Dinner was served at 0800 and I was not disappointed . I really wanted to have Kausani’s famous DAAL and I had it with rice and dollops of Ghee .
The Daak Bangla was nearly 100 years old . The caretaker told me that the British officers and their families would come here during their summer stay in Kausani. The rooms had this colonial air about it . Huge rooms with high ended roofs and those fans with huge blades that would start with a whirring sound . Food is always the most important thing for me during holidays and of course otherwise also . The only thing that tops my passion for food are the children and Shumana’s smile . So after we had a hearty meal, we settled down . An avid book reader , Shumana got busy with her “ Nora Roberts” as I started scanning the room with my eyes, still wondering that there was something strange about the place . My mind wandered to the time we entered the place, when I had felt that something in the house was trying to warn me .
I did not realize when I felt asleep ….the dreams that I saw were the most weird I can ever imagine . I dreamt that I was in a car and a hand scratching the window of my car. Just the nails . I dreamt that I entered a lift and that I could not see myself in the reflection of the mirror of the lift. And then in my dream I felt something .
I felt that someone was whispering in my ear and chanting some strange mantras …It was very unnerving .I wanted to open my eyes , but could not .The chanting wont stop , till it changed to whispers……
Aaaaaaarrrrrrrr…arrrrrr ….very faint ..and growing distant .But then …SUDDENLY !!!!!!!!! A hand started moving around my thigh and it moved up towards my waist……The feeling was so repelling that I woke up….Thinking that I was dreaming , I hoped that the thing , whatever it was …would stop …But ….
To my horror…my eyes were fully awake ,wide open ……and …someone… was still whispering in my ear…still chanting …..arrrrrrrrrr…arrrrrrr….And the sensation on my waist was moving up .It took me a second to realize that I was out of my dream ..but the nightmare was still on ….The hand was moving up from my waist to the side of my chest …and the whispering in my ear was getting scarier …I saw that Shumana was sleeping in front of me , with her back to me . I called for her …but I could not speak …my throat was choked ….I tried again …but what came out of my mouth was just a coarse faint sound that would not travel to Shumana . And then ….
The hand reached for my neck …I felt the grip tightening around my neck ….I felt this surge of horror in my heart .I thought that I would die of a heart attack…and then the miracle happened . I wriggled out of the grip of whatever it was and scampered towards Shumana ….I clasped her back . I started shaking her , but then I turned around too…..with immense fear in my eyes …What saw was something I had never seen before …..
A shiny apparition which was lifting in the air and which gradually touched the roof of the Daak Bangla . The shining was getting fainter …till it disappeared ….
Shumana woke up too and I narrated her the tale . First she dismissed it as a figment of my imagination, but then later what she saw, shocked her .What she was seeing at that moment was getting reflected in her eyes ..It was absolute horror ….She saw that my neck was red as if there was some struggle involved…it was a clear sign of something that was trying to suffocate me …We did not sleep after that ….
The next morning we called the caretaker and sheepishly asked him about the history of the place …What he told us was scary as hell ….He told us that the guard before him was once found dead at the archway of the Dak Bangla . Someone had strangled him . ..He also told us that a pregnant woman who used to stay in a village downhill was brutally raped and then murdered …..
What he said next was something that can be felt just by the person to whom it was narrated ..….. “People can still see her ..roaming in the jungle …and standing in front of the DAAK Bangla ……” We were stunned ….There was terror in our eyes and we couldnot dare to look at each other.
I asked Shumana, should we leave this place and move to some other place…..but before she could answer I got the answer myself ..If this thing ..whatever it was ….was after me ….it would follow me anywhere …..We had to spend another night in Kausani from where we had to drive to Corbett National Park .
We decided to stay on….I was waiting for the night to arrive ..and I was armed and ready to face it ....
TO BE CONCLUDED ...........
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Night something crawled under my bed ......
It was late ..very late during the night . 0230 am . I was in the computer room typing some paper I was working on . Shumana and the children were sleepin in the other room . I just stretched out my arms as I could feel this stinging pain in my spine . Bloody cervical !!!! I have always had this strange feeling everytime I stretched out my hands . I feel that I would end up touching something , something that is not present in our dimension of existence . Yes I have been mortally afraid of Ghosts , having had some paranormal experiences myself in my childhood and later .
It was a hot summer night and everytime I used to perspire , the flowing sweat on the back of my neck would give me a feeling of someone scratching my spine with a gnarled fingernail . Creepy!!!! . But that is one of the downsides of being overtly creative and having a fertile imagination . I combed back my hair with my fingers and bowed down my head to close my eyes for some time . My eyes were burning by then. Terribly irritable .I decided to shut my eyes for sometime and could hear various sounds from different houses of my apartments. Someone was watching Sex and the City; distant sounds of a moaning Samantha. And someone not watching TV was also moaning somewhere . God bless them . Palak's newly born infant sister was crying too . Her mother irritably trying to put her to sleep and shouting , " Kha le Mujhe , Sotee kyon nahin , tu to mujhe maar dalegee " . Palak is incidentally Mili's best friend . And then the apartment's security man . Trying to scare away the thieves around with his whistle. A car had just got stolen a month ago .Yeah, so much for security . The cocktail of all these sounds seeping in my ears . I wanted the pain in my back to just ooze away . But then , I felt something .
I thought something just touched the back of my neck . It was very subtle , like someone touching the hair on my neck with a feather . It send a chill down my spine . I thought that my reaction would be probably jumping out of my chair and giving a loud shriek , but nothing like that happened . Instead I was so petrified that I stood frozen for some time , trying to actually figure out if it was the figament of my imagination or something had really touched me .I could feel that my feet were going numb and I was finding it hard to open my eyes . I wanted to call out for Shumana , but was just choked at the moment . And then I heard it .... heard something....something crawling...It was under my chair . My feet grew number and I was just frozen . I could hear the thing now . It was crawling . and moved towards the bed in the room . I lifted my head and opened my eyes . The light in the room just hit my eyes like a collage of colours smudged , crushed in someones fist and thrown on my face . For a moment , I thought that I could not hear anything , just the buzzing sound . I had that sensation when my Hindi teacher had once slapped me ...Whack ... right on my ear ...I still remember when her fingernail had scratched my ear lobe and I had bled till the collar of my shirt turned crimson ....Bitch!!!!
Anyways ...The crawling did not stop . With great difficulty ,I turned around and looked at my bed and the glimpse of what I saw , took away a few minutes from my life ....JESUS !!!!!!What the hell did I see!!!!! Did I just see something huge crawl away under my bed ...what was it ???? As a natural reaction, I just pulled my legs up the chair . I was shaking by then . My spine was shivering and my stomach was doing hullahoops. What should I do , I thought !! Should I walk towards my bed , bend down and check whats under my bed . I have to be rational I thought for a moment . There can be no ghosts. There are no ghosts , I thought...but what if there are . What would that f.... rationalist Idamurrukku know ? What if they come from a plan of existence that we are not aware of ? What if I am a unsuspecting victim ? What if they discover me in the morning , just like that grisly scene from the movie " The Ring " Eyes wide open , mouth wide open , nostrils bhi open !!!!! I mean , I cant be found dead like that, I thought . Imagine the news that the hindi channels , including mine would run the next day , with the close up of my petrified face . Nooo !!! No chance ... Sawaal hee nahin paida hota !!! All of a sudden I thought that one end of the bed just moved . My heart started pounding harder.The crawling got even violent . As if it was trying to come out of the bed . I was looking at the base of the bed . My eyes were getting narrower , trying hard to shut it . And then ......I felt something on the left part of my face . A gush of wind from the window in the bathroom ....And then it happened ...Someone just whispered .........ABHISARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.............
I shrieked and jumped out of my chair . I was lying on the ground and I was looking at the door of the bathroom next to my computer slightly open and a head peeping out of it ...It took me a few seconds to realise that Shumana had nearly given me a heart attack .It was Shumana peeping out of the door . Her eyes sleepy and her hair all over her face . Even a normally cute Shumana was looking scary .
" What happened to you sweety ,she asked. Why are you lying on the ground , as she came in and gave me her hand to lift me . By that time I had realised the gravity of the situation and my fear had changed into extreme irritation at Shumana.
" Why were you whispering like the witch of Kali Bari , for Gods sake,. Shumana? I asked .
"Because the children are sleeping in the other room and I did not want to wake them up ,!!!! ", she retorted back . I had forgotten about the crawling presence under the bed by then . Since I was on the ground , I felt something wet and sticky on my thigh . It was the orange juice that Babush had spilled last night and had asked me to clean , which I did not . I peeped under my bed and could not see anything . I looked back and saw Shumana still standing and looking at me as if trying to say , " sweety why are you embarrassing yourself? "
I got up and decided to call it a day , at nearly 0245am in the morning /night whatever you might want to call it . After the lights had been switched off, I could not keep my mind off the crawling presence under the bed. What was it , I thought . Whatever it was , I will be face to face with it soon maybe just in 24 hours ....
Watch out for this space .....
It was a hot summer night and everytime I used to perspire , the flowing sweat on the back of my neck would give me a feeling of someone scratching my spine with a gnarled fingernail . Creepy!!!! . But that is one of the downsides of being overtly creative and having a fertile imagination . I combed back my hair with my fingers and bowed down my head to close my eyes for some time . My eyes were burning by then. Terribly irritable .I decided to shut my eyes for sometime and could hear various sounds from different houses of my apartments. Someone was watching Sex and the City; distant sounds of a moaning Samantha. And someone not watching TV was also moaning somewhere . God bless them . Palak's newly born infant sister was crying too . Her mother irritably trying to put her to sleep and shouting , " Kha le Mujhe , Sotee kyon nahin , tu to mujhe maar dalegee " . Palak is incidentally Mili's best friend . And then the apartment's security man . Trying to scare away the thieves around with his whistle. A car had just got stolen a month ago .Yeah, so much for security . The cocktail of all these sounds seeping in my ears . I wanted the pain in my back to just ooze away . But then , I felt something .
I thought something just touched the back of my neck . It was very subtle , like someone touching the hair on my neck with a feather . It send a chill down my spine . I thought that my reaction would be probably jumping out of my chair and giving a loud shriek , but nothing like that happened . Instead I was so petrified that I stood frozen for some time , trying to actually figure out if it was the figament of my imagination or something had really touched me .I could feel that my feet were going numb and I was finding it hard to open my eyes . I wanted to call out for Shumana , but was just choked at the moment . And then I heard it .... heard something....something crawling...It was under my chair . My feet grew number and I was just frozen . I could hear the thing now . It was crawling . and moved towards the bed in the room . I lifted my head and opened my eyes . The light in the room just hit my eyes like a collage of colours smudged , crushed in someones fist and thrown on my face . For a moment , I thought that I could not hear anything , just the buzzing sound . I had that sensation when my Hindi teacher had once slapped me ...Whack ... right on my ear ...I still remember when her fingernail had scratched my ear lobe and I had bled till the collar of my shirt turned crimson ....Bitch!!!!
Anyways ...The crawling did not stop . With great difficulty ,I turned around and looked at my bed and the glimpse of what I saw , took away a few minutes from my life ....JESUS !!!!!!What the hell did I see!!!!! Did I just see something huge crawl away under my bed ...what was it ???? As a natural reaction, I just pulled my legs up the chair . I was shaking by then . My spine was shivering and my stomach was doing hullahoops. What should I do , I thought !! Should I walk towards my bed , bend down and check whats under my bed . I have to be rational I thought for a moment . There can be no ghosts. There are no ghosts , I thought...but what if there are . What would that f.... rationalist Idamurrukku know ? What if they come from a plan of existence that we are not aware of ? What if I am a unsuspecting victim ? What if they discover me in the morning , just like that grisly scene from the movie " The Ring " Eyes wide open , mouth wide open , nostrils bhi open !!!!! I mean , I cant be found dead like that, I thought . Imagine the news that the hindi channels , including mine would run the next day , with the close up of my petrified face . Nooo !!! No chance ... Sawaal hee nahin paida hota !!! All of a sudden I thought that one end of the bed just moved . My heart started pounding harder.The crawling got even violent . As if it was trying to come out of the bed . I was looking at the base of the bed . My eyes were getting narrower , trying hard to shut it . And then ......I felt something on the left part of my face . A gush of wind from the window in the bathroom ....And then it happened ...Someone just whispered .........ABHISARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.............
I shrieked and jumped out of my chair . I was lying on the ground and I was looking at the door of the bathroom next to my computer slightly open and a head peeping out of it ...It took me a few seconds to realise that Shumana had nearly given me a heart attack .It was Shumana peeping out of the door . Her eyes sleepy and her hair all over her face . Even a normally cute Shumana was looking scary .
" What happened to you sweety ,she asked. Why are you lying on the ground , as she came in and gave me her hand to lift me . By that time I had realised the gravity of the situation and my fear had changed into extreme irritation at Shumana.
" Why were you whispering like the witch of Kali Bari , for Gods sake,. Shumana? I asked .
"Because the children are sleeping in the other room and I did not want to wake them up ,!!!! ", she retorted back . I had forgotten about the crawling presence under the bed by then . Since I was on the ground , I felt something wet and sticky on my thigh . It was the orange juice that Babush had spilled last night and had asked me to clean , which I did not . I peeped under my bed and could not see anything . I looked back and saw Shumana still standing and looking at me as if trying to say , " sweety why are you embarrassing yourself? "
I got up and decided to call it a day , at nearly 0245am in the morning /night whatever you might want to call it . After the lights had been switched off, I could not keep my mind off the crawling presence under the bed. What was it , I thought . Whatever it was , I will be face to face with it soon maybe just in 24 hours ....
Watch out for this space .....
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The day I was threatened by a ISI official in Delhi
30 January , 2008
" Mr Sharma, mind telling me whats that on your neck " asked the official in the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi . " Its a mole " I said . " hmmm , be careful ....they say people who have a mole in their neck die a very violent death " retorted the official . " Look at Mohtarma Benazir and her late father ...both had moles in their necks and look what happened to them " . For a moment , I just did not know if I was threatened or was being advised to play it safe . Clearly my report on LAAL MASJID has ruffled many feathers in the Pakistani High commission . In fact , I was still denied a visa to Pakistan and continue to be denied one . I was amongst the celebrated few in the Indian journalists community who probably have been blacklisted . My fault ; for entering the LAAL masjid which was according to the officials at the High Commission out of bounds for me .
But clearly, anyone following the developments in Pakistan knew that the attack on LAAL MASJID was a watershed in the History of Pakistan . As a journalist I wanted to know what has become of the LAAL MASJID , that had witnessed such violent clashes on the 10th July 2007 , unprecedented in Islamabad and culminated with the death of the rebel leader Ghazi baba, who had put the Pakistani army on bay for so many days . I wanted explore the legacy of the attack on LAAL MASJID and I also wanted to see if the scars still remain . To my utter shock, what me and my cameraperson Satinder Singh Negi discovered was something much more sinister . We were in a place that had actually sown the seeds of the death of Benazir Bhutto . I still cant get over the words of the present IMAAM of LAAL MASJID AAMIR SIDDIQUE( who is the nephew of Ghazi Baba who was killed by Musharraf and his army ) .." Ek din Islamabad Baghdad me tabdeel ho jaayega " Islamabad will turn into Baghdad one day . Prophetic words indeed because Pakistan still bleeds and the fires of radical thought still burn unchecked . LAAL MASJID SEIGE is often quoted by extremists to recruit work force for the Jehadi factory . Consider this address by Osama Bin Laden to the Pakistani people released by the Alqaeda's media cell AS-SAHAB ...
" Be careful from being pleased with Zardari and Yousuf Riza, for they are both outside the fold of the religion of Muhammad (r), and fight it. It is obligatory upon you to reject all those who support them, even if it be with their speech, especially the evil scholars and the evil media, those who just yesterday gave cover to the former agent (Musharraf) for committing the great atrocity of attacking the Red Mosque, killing both its male and female students, holding spite for nothing other than the fact that they called for the establishment of Allah’s Shariah, spilling their innocent blood, this is how we reckon and Allah is the final Reckoner, over the places of bowing and prostration, all to please America who in turn praised him for this, may Allah punish him as he deserves."
I was just standing outside the Laal masjid ON THE 29TH OF DECEMBER , 2007 and doing what we in television call a "walkabout" translated as a walk in front of the camera describing the background . It was at this moment , I saw a bearded guy walking towards me , looking at me with a smile on his face . He was Syed Hussain , one of the characters in my special . I discovered that Hussain was in the LAAL MASJID administrative committee. I started talking to him and after much cajoling I convinced him to speak to him on camera. After the initial reluctance, he spoke openly criticizing President Musharraf and his misadventure in LAAL MASJID . All this while I was thinking of entering the Masjid and after the interview , that was the request I made to him . After a plain " no" , I told him that this is a show meant for the Indian audience and will reach a much wider world audience and that I needed to see what is happening inside the mosque and why has it now being painted to white and why has it been reduced to a pitiful condition of its glorious original self.
Hussain went inside and came back in half an hour to escort us inside . I was lucky because the ISI guys who usually traill all Indian journalist had left by then . Negi my cameraman and I entered the mosque only to be shut in a room in the mosque . I asked myself and Negi " have we made a blunder by entering the mosque ? Why have we been isolated like this ? " Images of Daniel pearl started running through my head . Luckily I had a mobile phone and I kept sending messages to my wife and my colleague telling them about my situation then . It was pitch dark outside and we were already shut in that room for over an hour now . My hands and feet were numb with fear by then . I wanted to do a piece to camera , but I just could not utter anything , maybe I was overreacting , which I discovered I was. Hussain entered and told us that he was just checking if the ISI guys were outside the mosque . And then , Aamir Siddique , the IMAAM of the mosque ( also the nephew of Ghazi baba ) made an entry . There was complete silence in the room . He said that he agred to give this interview only because mine was an Indian channel and that he did not trust any Pakistani channel . The interview started and ended in fifteen minutes . I was horrified to discover that Aamir Siddique did not have much sympathy for Benazir's death . To quote him , this is just the beginning . " aap dekhte jaiye Islamabad , Baghdad me tabdeel ho jayega " . I was shown around the mosque , was taken to places that had bullet marks and blood stains . Yes , blood stains , which have not disapeared after repeated washings . I was also shown gory images of a CD where allegedly the army was pouring phosphorus over dead bodies of militants, so that they melt . I obviously could not use it in my report .
I could feel that things were simmering to a break point there . At that time when I was told that this is just the beginning and that things will get worse in the coming days . I thought that this was just a remark made out of frustration . But now , I realize , it wasnt . As I discovered that Pakistan had witnessed a huge jump in militant violence after 10th of July, 2007 and that reached its most dreadful turn with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto . And as we know it did not end there . We still report on fears that the Taliban might take over Islamabad someday , rightly or wrongly so . We still analyse on what would happen if the Al Qaeda starts controlling Pakistans nuclear arsenal . The fear projected as real , has gained momentum after what happened in LAAL MASJID .
I came out of the mosque and to be sure I stuffed the tape in my socks , just in case the ISI guys were waiting for us outside . Before leaving Pakistan , I spoke to representatives from Benazir's PPP and Nawaz Shareifs PML ( N) and both believed that LAAL MASJID could have been resolved, but President Musharraf closed all avenues leading to a dialogue with the extremists holed up in the LAAL MASJID . LAAL MASJID is indeed a red chapter in the history of Pakistan's modern History and we explored this story with the limited resources at our disposal , knowing the perils involved and also paying a price by being blacklisted in Pakistan , hopefully not forever .
I returned to India and got a call by the Pakistani high commission after the show was telecast. Rest is history, since not only me but anyone from the TV Today network who went to a get a Pakistani visa was given a sermon on why Mr Sharma should not have entered LAAL MASJID and endanger his life .
" Mr Sharma, mind telling me whats that on your neck " asked the official in the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi . " Its a mole " I said . " hmmm , be careful ....they say people who have a mole in their neck die a very violent death " retorted the official . " Look at Mohtarma Benazir and her late father ...both had moles in their necks and look what happened to them " . For a moment , I just did not know if I was threatened or was being advised to play it safe . Clearly my report on LAAL MASJID has ruffled many feathers in the Pakistani High commission . In fact , I was still denied a visa to Pakistan and continue to be denied one . I was amongst the celebrated few in the Indian journalists community who probably have been blacklisted . My fault ; for entering the LAAL masjid which was according to the officials at the High Commission out of bounds for me .
But clearly, anyone following the developments in Pakistan knew that the attack on LAAL MASJID was a watershed in the History of Pakistan . As a journalist I wanted to know what has become of the LAAL MASJID , that had witnessed such violent clashes on the 10th July 2007 , unprecedented in Islamabad and culminated with the death of the rebel leader Ghazi baba, who had put the Pakistani army on bay for so many days . I wanted explore the legacy of the attack on LAAL MASJID and I also wanted to see if the scars still remain . To my utter shock, what me and my cameraperson Satinder Singh Negi discovered was something much more sinister . We were in a place that had actually sown the seeds of the death of Benazir Bhutto . I still cant get over the words of the present IMAAM of LAAL MASJID AAMIR SIDDIQUE( who is the nephew of Ghazi Baba who was killed by Musharraf and his army ) .." Ek din Islamabad Baghdad me tabdeel ho jaayega " Islamabad will turn into Baghdad one day . Prophetic words indeed because Pakistan still bleeds and the fires of radical thought still burn unchecked . LAAL MASJID SEIGE is often quoted by extremists to recruit work force for the Jehadi factory . Consider this address by Osama Bin Laden to the Pakistani people released by the Alqaeda's media cell AS-SAHAB ...
" Be careful from being pleased with Zardari and Yousuf Riza, for they are both outside the fold of the religion of Muhammad (r), and fight it. It is obligatory upon you to reject all those who support them, even if it be with their speech, especially the evil scholars and the evil media, those who just yesterday gave cover to the former agent (Musharraf) for committing the great atrocity of attacking the Red Mosque, killing both its male and female students, holding spite for nothing other than the fact that they called for the establishment of Allah’s Shariah, spilling their innocent blood, this is how we reckon and Allah is the final Reckoner, over the places of bowing and prostration, all to please America who in turn praised him for this, may Allah punish him as he deserves."
I was just standing outside the Laal masjid ON THE 29TH OF DECEMBER , 2007 and doing what we in television call a "walkabout" translated as a walk in front of the camera describing the background . It was at this moment , I saw a bearded guy walking towards me , looking at me with a smile on his face . He was Syed Hussain , one of the characters in my special . I discovered that Hussain was in the LAAL MASJID administrative committee. I started talking to him and after much cajoling I convinced him to speak to him on camera. After the initial reluctance, he spoke openly criticizing President Musharraf and his misadventure in LAAL MASJID . All this while I was thinking of entering the Masjid and after the interview , that was the request I made to him . After a plain " no" , I told him that this is a show meant for the Indian audience and will reach a much wider world audience and that I needed to see what is happening inside the mosque and why has it now being painted to white and why has it been reduced to a pitiful condition of its glorious original self.
Hussain went inside and came back in half an hour to escort us inside . I was lucky because the ISI guys who usually traill all Indian journalist had left by then . Negi my cameraman and I entered the mosque only to be shut in a room in the mosque . I asked myself and Negi " have we made a blunder by entering the mosque ? Why have we been isolated like this ? " Images of Daniel pearl started running through my head . Luckily I had a mobile phone and I kept sending messages to my wife and my colleague telling them about my situation then . It was pitch dark outside and we were already shut in that room for over an hour now . My hands and feet were numb with fear by then . I wanted to do a piece to camera , but I just could not utter anything , maybe I was overreacting , which I discovered I was. Hussain entered and told us that he was just checking if the ISI guys were outside the mosque . And then , Aamir Siddique , the IMAAM of the mosque ( also the nephew of Ghazi baba ) made an entry . There was complete silence in the room . He said that he agred to give this interview only because mine was an Indian channel and that he did not trust any Pakistani channel . The interview started and ended in fifteen minutes . I was horrified to discover that Aamir Siddique did not have much sympathy for Benazir's death . To quote him , this is just the beginning . " aap dekhte jaiye Islamabad , Baghdad me tabdeel ho jayega " . I was shown around the mosque , was taken to places that had bullet marks and blood stains . Yes , blood stains , which have not disapeared after repeated washings . I was also shown gory images of a CD where allegedly the army was pouring phosphorus over dead bodies of militants, so that they melt . I obviously could not use it in my report .
I could feel that things were simmering to a break point there . At that time when I was told that this is just the beginning and that things will get worse in the coming days . I thought that this was just a remark made out of frustration . But now , I realize , it wasnt . As I discovered that Pakistan had witnessed a huge jump in militant violence after 10th of July, 2007 and that reached its most dreadful turn with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto . And as we know it did not end there . We still report on fears that the Taliban might take over Islamabad someday , rightly or wrongly so . We still analyse on what would happen if the Al Qaeda starts controlling Pakistans nuclear arsenal . The fear projected as real , has gained momentum after what happened in LAAL MASJID .
I came out of the mosque and to be sure I stuffed the tape in my socks , just in case the ISI guys were waiting for us outside . Before leaving Pakistan , I spoke to representatives from Benazir's PPP and Nawaz Shareifs PML ( N) and both believed that LAAL MASJID could have been resolved, but President Musharraf closed all avenues leading to a dialogue with the extremists holed up in the LAAL MASJID . LAAL MASJID is indeed a red chapter in the history of Pakistan's modern History and we explored this story with the limited resources at our disposal , knowing the perils involved and also paying a price by being blacklisted in Pakistan , hopefully not forever .
I returned to India and got a call by the Pakistani high commission after the show was telecast. Rest is history, since not only me but anyone from the TV Today network who went to a get a Pakistani visa was given a sermon on why Mr Sharma should not have entered LAAL MASJID and endanger his life .
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