A Supernatural Tale of Rebirth and Love

The beginning of the tale

Patrick Savage was a third-generation Englishman in India. He had never been to England and had grown to love the country where he had been born. Like his father Colonel John Savage, Patrick also decided to join the British Indian Army. As he was fond of riding, after his stint at Sandhurst he joined the 9th Hyderabad Lancers.

When Patrick got his commission he was just 21, young and vibrant. He enjoyed his tenure with the Hyderabad Lancers and during World War II saw action in North Africa. Towards the end of the war, his regiment was sent back to India. For a short time, it was located close to the state of Rampur. This is a small state nestled in the mountains and at one time was ruled by a powerful Nawab. All that is past now and the only memory of the rule is an old dilapidated palace in the jungles on the foothills of the Himalayas.

Many a time Patrick would leave the officers mess and ride down to the jungles and slopes of the Himalayas. Here is some of the best scenic beauty in the world, almost like an ideal world that is free from pollution and everyday life. He would often ride past an old dilapidated palace and his mind would revert to what life would have been once this Palace was a center of culture.

Patrick's father had settled down in Mussoorie which was not very far away and many a time he would go home to meet his mother and father. His father spoke to him one day and said, "son you are 25 now; isn't it about time that you got married?"

Patrick laughed, " dad India is in turmoil now and we do not know what is going to happen and many British are leaving India but I have decided to stay on here and I would like to marry a girl whoever she maybe but would like to continue living with me and not think of going back to England."

"That means you're thinking of marrying only a white girl"

"No, not at all, if I get a nice Indian girl, I will marry her but so far I haven't come across anybody who fits my taste."

He returned and joined the unit after his leave. Then came the day of the Bara Khana ( regimental food). This is a peculiar tradition of the Indian army when officers dine with the men in a sumptuous feast. It was during a Bara Khana that his subedar Major came up to him and said, "Sir, how are you liking this place?"

"I like it very much Shamsher Singh, can you suggest any place to see'

Shamsher Singh smiled and said," Sir, I am a local but there is one place which I will recommend to you. It’s a place deep into the jungle, and if you go there, you will find a beautiful waterfall with a crystal clear pond. If need be, you can take a dip in the pool which is only waist deep. Sir, I used to go there very often, when I was a young man but now have not gone there for a long time."

"What is the best time to go there?"

"You can go any time, Sir in the daytime but I will suggest going on a full moon night and then see the beauty of the place with the cool breeze blowing and in the moonlight, the cascading fall will keep creating a magical atmosphere and that is something you will remember for a long time to come."

On a Sunday, Patrick rode out and it was not long before he found the place and the pool. He had however ventured deep into the jungle and the only thing he regretted was that he should have brought his rifle with him in case he was to be accosted by a wild animal.

The place looks so calm, serene, and beautiful that automatically Patrick thought of God and everything beautiful. He resolved to come back on a full moon night and maybe have a dip in the pool.

The full moon night came and Patrick mounted the horse and rode out into the jungle. it was very quiet and a cool breeze blew and the moonlight brushed the trees. He soon reached the pool and tethered his mount to a small stump. Then he looked around but there was all quietness and a cool breeze blew making everything look wondrous.

He had bought his trunks with him and was thinking of changing to them when something attracted his attention. He was in shock when he saw under the falling water a beautiful girl bathing. He was some distance away from the pool so he just stood where he was and looked at the girl. She emerged from the pool and Patrick sucked in his lungs, for the girl was nude and hair clung to her body as they were wet. What an enchanting sight. Patrick was taken in by the beauty of the girl. She had a sculpted body and she was now waist-deep in the pond. She was almost like a damsel from Paradise, a girl who was fit to be in the court of the God Indra. In the moonlight, he could make out that she was exceptionally fair with a slim waist and a sculpted bust that perhaps had not known any master.

Patrick continued looking at the girl mesmerized by her beauty. Patrick was thinking about what to do and he thought to enter the pool in swim trunks but he dismissed the idea and kept on looking at the girl. He was captivated by her as her beauty radiated.

Just then the mount neighed and the girl looked towards the direction of the sound. She quickly got out of the pool and for a split second, Patrick had a panoramic view of her body and what he saw enthralled him. The girl seemed to glide towards the trees and then she vanished. Patrick was a little surprised and wondered how the girl had not walked but glided and how she had vanished. He decided it was an optical illusion as it was night and with the moonlight, maybe he was dreaming. Afterwards, he had a dip in the pool and came back to the camp.

The next day he met the subedar and called him to his room.

"Shamsher, "he said, "yesterday I had gone to the pool and you will be surprised I saw a girl bathing there."

The subedar was suddenly excited, " sir is it true?"

What do you mean, " it is true, I saw her with my eyes"

"You are very lucky, Sir something good is going to happen because what you have seen is only what I have heard, that a beautiful damsel from heaven comes and takes a bath in that pool."

" Don't be silly"

"Not being silly sir but many say that she is the princess of Rampur who lived about a hundred years back."

The tryst

The information given by the subordinate to Patrick only intrigued him. He did not believe a word of it because he was sure that there was nothing like what subedar had said. He was sure that the girl was from the local village and she had come for a dip in the pool, that's all. But at the back of his mind, there was a nagging doubt and he resolved to go there once again during the next full moon night.

The four weeks passed in a jiffy and on the next full moon night, Patrick again went to the pool. This time he took care and tethered the mount some distance away and changed into his trunks and entered the pool. He was wondering if that girl from the village would come again. He was in for a shock when he saw that right up inside the cascading fall was the same girl washing her hair. Patrick was taken aback; how could this girl have come here? he hadn't seen her enter but then he thought maybe she was already behind the cascading fall and she had just appeared now. The girl looked beautiful and once again Patrick could make out that she was absolutely nude. She turned her head and smiled at Patrick.

He opened his mouth and asked, " who are you and what are you doing on this lovely night all alone in the pool?"

She did not reply but came out of the fall and now she was just about 3 feet away from Patrick. He could now see clearly that apart from her fairness, she had extremely expressive eyes and an aquiline nose. The moonlights enveloped her torso revealing a pair of sculpted breasts. She appeared to have a glow around her body and the thought crossed Patrick's mind that she must be a princess.

The desire for this beautiful creature of God swelled in the heart of Patrick and he held out his hand to her.

"Will you not speak?" he asked

The girl did not reply and just kept looking at Patrick. She was not shy of her nude body as she looked at Patrick with clear eyes. "I am captain Patrick of the British Indian Army"

The girl nodded her head indicating that she knew it.

"What is your name, are you a princess?" he asked. All the time his mind and heart were beating furiously that he could if given the chance, cradle such a lovely girl in his arms. Now the girl took a step forward and was close to Patrick. She hadn't uttered a word. Patrick took a step forward and put his hands on the shoulders of the girl. He realized the body of the girl was cold, almost icy cold and he was a little wonderstruck.

The girl bent forward and softly kissed Patrick. She then turned back and began to move away from Patrick to leave the pool.

"Hey," he asked, " where are you going?"

Patrick also followed the girl out of the pool and then the girl began to move into the woods. Again Patrick realized that the girl was only gliding along the ground but in the moonlight and the pervading atmosphere all around he put it down to an optical illusion. Patrick walked for some distance and then suddenly lost sight of her. The girl had vanished. Patrick wondered where she had gone. He looked around. He found he had reached the old dilapidated palace of the Nawab. He was a Little wonderstruck by this and the disappearance of the girl, maybe he thought she's a local and she knows all the lanes and has gone away.

But now his inquisitive mind began to think of many possibilities. What if the apparition was really the Princess of Ramnagar. He however dismissed the thought from his mind as he was not ready to believe that such a beautiful girl could actually be a ghost or something else.

Towards the end

Patrick did not talk about this to anybody but decided to do some research on his own. He also decided he would go to the pool again during the next full moon. Before that, he visited the local temple of Lord Shiva. The man saw him and came towards him. It was not often that an officer of the British Indian Army came to this temple.

"Sir can I help you," he said

"Yes I have a question but first let me pray to Lord Shiva"

The man nodded his head and later took Patrick to a small room by the side of the temple. Patrick narrated the tale of his encounters in the pool. Suddenly the man put his hands on Patrick said and said," you are a blessed man, Sir you are going to be a general of the Indian Army, besides, you will marry a princess."

"Nonsense, I am asking you about the incident and you are talking all these things"

The man replied, "I am also talking of the same thing. The person you saw at the pool was not a real human being but a spirit"

"What spirit?"

The man continued," the girl you saw in the pool was the princess from Rampur and she died in the palace when it was stormed by the invaders. Her body was never found and perhaps her last rites were also not done. Till her last rites are done she will remain in this form and once they are done then she will have salvation and rebirth. You, my son, are to do this thing"

" What thing?"

"You have to complete her last rites and then she will get rebirth. Once more she will come into your life and be your woman; this is ordained by Lord Krishna"

"How do you know all this?"

This man smiled, "I am over 90 years old and I have communion with the Lord. Other things I cannot tell you."

The next day Patrick took two soldiers from his regiment and went to the same dilapidated palace. He remembered the girl he had met had vanished somewhere nearby the old Palace. He entered with the soldiers and told them to look for some bones or other remains of any human being.

"Sir, nobody comes here,"

" Do what I tell you," Patrick instructed.

Patrick entered one of the rooms and realized that it was the bedroom. There was a lot of rouble on the floor and he told the soldiers to bring a spade and look around.

After pottering around for an hour, one of the soldiers said, " sir there are some bones here." Patrick came towards the soldiers and then his eyes looked at the wall where a small cracked painting still hung precariously. He moved closer to the painting and was pleasantly surprised that it was the painting of the girl he had met in the jungle pool. He concluded this could be the bedroom of the princess.

Patrick and the men put the bones in a big bag and with that, they went over to the temple. He narrated the entire incident and the man of God replied " these bones are definitely of the princess, we will now cremate them."

Patrick asked, " how come these bones have been lying for all these years and why nobody came and carried out the last rites"

There are two reasons for it. Firstly, nobody knew about these bones there, and secondly, the princess has herself chosen you to help her get salvation. She likes you and she will get rebirth after you finish the ritual."

Patrick was surprised but said, " I don't know whether I should believe you but all the same I will carry out all the rituals."

"My son, rebirth, and reincarnation of the soul is the essence and the bedrock of the philosophy of Lord Krishna. He has ordained it and this girl will meet you again and be your wife."

Two decades later: the finale

Patrick had gone back the next full moon night to the pool. He swam for over an hour but there was no girl. Time now began to pass and in no time two decades passed. Patrick had many liaisons with women but somehow he never got married as every time when he decided to get married something would happen and the event would not take place.

The next part of the story is in Jind when a polo match was on. It was a match between the services team against the Raja's team. Before the match, both the teams were introduced and Patrick's heartbeats began to rise. One of the riders was almost a carbon copy of the girl he had met in the pool. It transpired that she was the Princess of Jind. She was a Muslim but that didn't matter as Patrick realized that there was some truth in what the priest had said and now he knew that this princess would be his wife.

The girl looked at Patrick and said," you seem to be stunned seeing me"

"It looks like your highness that I've seen you before "

She laughed," that is so nice to hear because I do not know but it looks like that I have also seen you somewhere."

As Patrick played the game and scored the goals with his Mallet, he began to wonder at the mystery of nature. Did the Muslim princess marry Patrick and did the prophecy come true? Maybe yes, maybe no but that is another tale to be told at another time.