Thail Dada: A Modern Garhwali Ghost Story

Critical Review of Modern Garhwali Stories -103

                      Let Us Celebrate Hundredth Year of Modern Garhwali   Stories

                                      Bhishma Kukreti

[Notes on Modern Ghost stories; Garhwali Modern Ghost stories; Uttarakhandi Modern Ghost stories; Mid Himalayan Modern Ghost stories; Himalayan Modern Ghost stories; North Indian Modern Ghost stories; Indian Modern Ghost stories; South Asian Modern Ghost stories; Asian Modern Ghost stories; Oriental Modern Ghost stories; English Modern Ghost stories, Russian Modern Ghost stories]

  The folk literature of every language and culture is full of ghost stories. There is tradition of ghost stories in modern literature.

   Lalit Keshwan wrote a couple of modern stories about ghost. This author asks him about these ghost stories and Lalit Keshwan stated that these ghost stories were based on real events happened in his area.

 Thail Dada (Hilans, January 1985) is based on true story of a folk ritual performer Mantrik. Barmanand is famous for eradicating the effects of Ghost and vampires in his area. Barmanand not only eradicates the effects of ghost and vampires but he gets them out from the area through his Mantra and tantric.

 One day, two persons come to invite him for eradication of Bhoot/Ghost/supernatural souls/vampires. They gave him money in advance. They were in fact ghosts and they brought Barman Nand where othergghosts and vampires were gathered to teach lesson to Barmanand baman . They beat Barmanand baman with all means.  Barmanand was brought back seriously ill by two ghosts. From that day, barmanand never came out of his room till his death.

  The story is told as folk stories are told that Thail dada telling tale to his grand children. The story telling style is simple and Keshwan avoids thrill and fear in the story.

   Surprisingly, Lalit does not use his humorous style in Garhwali stories as he uses humor in his poems.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, 15/9/2012

Notes on Modern Ghost stories; Garhwali Modern Ghost stories; Uttarakhandi Modern Ghost stories; Mid Himalayan Modern Ghost stories; Himalayan Modern Ghost stories; North Indian Modern Ghost stories; Indian Modern Ghost stories; South Asian Modern Ghost stories; Asian Modern Ghost stories; Oriental Modern Ghost stories; English Modern Ghost stories, Russian Modern Ghost stories to be continued..

Let Us Celebrate Hundredth Year of Modern Garhwali   Stories!

                             Appendix

              Brief Notes, List and annotates on Ghost stories in modern fiction literature

  Bhishma Kukreti provides details of modern ghost story writers of 190 languages his long article ‘Kathaon ki Katha  (2012) ) being published in series in weekly, Shailvani, Kotdwara, India.

   In the book ‘Discovering Modern horror Fiction’ by Darrel Schweitzer (1985), there are ghost stories and bibliographical list and annotates about the subject.

Mike Ashley provides the works of modern fiction writers those wrote ghost stories in his book “who is who is in Horror and fantasy fiction’ (1977).

‘The Check list of science fiction and Supernatural fiction’ by Bleiler (1978) offers biographical details of modern ghost stories and science fiction.

‘Guide to Supernatural Fiction (1983) provides the details of 700o stories of English language from mid eighteenth to modern time dealing with ghost and supernatural stories.

Readers find references of ghost stories of modern time in the works of Lovercraft, 1983, A Critical study: contribution to the study of science fiction and fantasy’, Vol -5 (1983).  

The book ‘Shadow of shade: A Survey of vampirism in Literature’ by M.L. Carter surveys of 300 British stories of English language related to vampirism and ghost tradition in Britain.

L .Daniels (1975) provides historical background of horror, ghost, in fictions, films, magazines, comics, radio plays, television plays, stage plays and poems’

R. Reginald (1979) presents standard bibliographical data of ghost and supernatural fiction and other supernatural subject writings in the book ‘Science fiction and fantasy Literature.

Nicholas Rzhevsky (2005) put forwards modern Russian ghost stories in book ‘An Anthology of Russian Literature from earliest writings to Modern fiction’.

Laurence C. Bush (2001) provides Ghost story as genre in Asia in his book ‘Asian Horror encyclopedia’.

 Dorothy Scarborough (2006) offers readers a summary of some greatest known and unknown works of English literature about Ghost subject in the book ‘The supernatural in Modern English Fiction’.

Janice Rossen (2006) presents the examples of women writing modern stories about ghost in ‘Women writing Modern fiction’.

‘The Mammoth book of modern Ghost stories’ by Peter Haining (2007) provides  twenty five masterpieces to chill the blood (ghost stories) of famous fiction writers as Martin Amis, P.G Woodhouse, Steinbeck and Rankin

‘Gothic Realities: The impact of Horror fiction on modern culture’ by L.A. Cooper (2010) provides the details of modern ghost stories of last three centuries and their effects on culture.