Producer Ekta Kapoor has come up with her latest film Ek Thi Daayan and the buzz around paranormal activity has peaked in the cyber world, thanks to her innovative marketing skills. In the backdrop of all this talk around who or what a daayan is, Shalini Saksena talks to some nether world watchers to tell you how folklore has brought in a world of variety to the twilight zone with daayans, chudails and djinns, to name a few, vying for space in the parallel universe

The fascination with the unknown is ageold. Religious books mention the existence of prets, djinns and shaitans. Therefore, it was not surprising when people started seeing them and narrating tales of horror. Films on the subject became a source of new genre — horror. The Ramsay Brothers became known to churn out film after film on bhoots in a haveli or a dead man walking out of his grave to scare the heroine. Titles like Booth Bungla (1965), Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1972), Bhoot Returns (2012), Aatma (2013) and the released film from the Ekta Kapoor kitty Ek Thi Daayan have caught the viewers’ imagination. But the question remains — do these elements actually exist, or are they just a figment of our imaginationIJ If they do exist, is there a difference between pretatma, chudail, daayan, bhoot, djinns and a genieIJ

Do they have something in common besides hailing from the nether world and being associated with Indian folklore, or are they different forms of the same thingIJ Most people will tell you that these forces are nothing but various forms taken by djinns or shaitan. If a djinn takes the shape of a wicked woman, he or she appears like a chudail and in case the djinn decides to look like a spirit, he or she takes the shape of a bhoot or a daayan. If the djinn sheds its body, the appearance is that of a pretatma.

Believers agree. “A chudail is considered to be someone very horrible to look at and with very long teeth. Her face is burnt with puss flowing down her cheeks. Her eyeballs, too, are large in comparison to normal humans,” a 79-year-old resident in Allahabad tells you adding that if a girl dies in childhood or while giving birth, she becomes a chudail. According to this man, they are found in remote areas hanging from old trees. People can’t see them unless they want to be seen, but their presence can be felt.

The daayan, on the other hand, is beautiful. She has the ability to attract a man. The only way to identify a daayan is by her feet but since she is supposed to be wearing a sari most of the time, it is difficult to spot her. Usually, a woman becomes a dayan if she commits suicide after being raped or sexual assaulted. What sends the chill down the spine is the folklore that a daayan doesn’t limit herself to remote areas. She can be found in populated cities as well. The fact that she can be seen and her beauty can enthrall men means that she has hypnotising powers.

Interestingly, not everyone who believes in the spirit world has the same definition of chudail, daayan, aatma and djinns. “A chudail is not ugly. She is a normal looking person. The only way to recognise her is by her feet. She has long hair and can be tamed into doing household work. One has to catch her and chop off the hair. This turns her into a normal person. But she wants to go back to her world and keeps asking for her hair which acts as a portal to go back into her world,” Suman lata, a resident of Bhopal, tells you, recalling an incident that she had heard from a friend.

The incident took place in a village near Jhansi during the 1920s. “My friend’s grandmother, who was married to a rich zamindar, would be told stories of chudails by house servants. But the young bride never paid heed to such narratives and dismissed them as figment of imagination. But a day came when she had to change her view. She was busy cooking in the kitchen when she saw a woman come out from the edge of the forest. At first, she didn’t pay much attention. But as the figure drew nearer, it was the walk that caught the attention of the 13-year-old,” Suman lata recounts.

The woman appeared to be gliding rather than walking. Wearing clothes that resembled villagers, she walked up to the kitchen and asked for some kheer, extending a bowl. “My friend’s grandmother got scared when she saw that the woman was floating in air. But she had heard enough from servants to know what to do. She quickly grabbed a burning log from the chulha and shoved it into her face. The woman gave a startled scream giving my friend’s grandmother the opportunity to get hold of her hair. Taking a sharp knife, she cut the hair. Another scream followed — the chudail had been tamed. For the next few days, this chudail worked like a slave, doing everything in her power to please her enslaver and look for the hair. One day she found the hair. She was never seen again,” Suman lata recalls.

Maulana Mahfooz-ur-Rehman Farooqui, who claims to have been hunting ghosts for more than 20 years but prefers to call himself a specialist of spiritual illness, tells you that most religious books mention a djinn or shaitan. But he points out that most tales associated with the world of spirits are just tales and there is not much truth in their sightings. “The existence of pret, djinn and shaitan can’t be ruled out. God has made more than 18,000 creatures that walk this planet, these include creatures in the spirit world as well. But this doesn’t mean that stories that one gets to hear have any authenticity to them. Of the 100 stories that are in circulation only 10 may have some truth. When people say that a chudail has ulte pair, has anyone investigated what she looks likeIJ It is hearsay and just the brain playing tricks,” Farooqui insists.

But he tells you that djinns exist even today. The reason why they can’t be spotted is because they can take any form. They can become a woman, a child or even a snake. Does this mean they have a body. Can they dieIJ Do they eatIJ A popular story that most visitors to Nainital would have heard is about a shop where djinns would visit in the dead of the night to buy meethai.

The story dates back to the early 50s. It is said that a couple of days in a week, the shopowner would ask his workers to leave early. When all was quiet, a few men — very tall, covered from top to bottom and speaking in a nasal voice — would visit the shop and ask the owner to pack a few boxes of popular meethai. Of course, there were instructions. The person behind the counter could not look at them or speak with them. The men would talk to each other. The wares packed, these djinns would put a few coins on the counter and walk away. “The story is very popular here and there has to be some truth in it,” says Namrata, a resident of Nainital, narrating another incident that happened to her.

like all stories that revolve around the nether world, this one too took place in the dead of the night in the winter of 1957. “I was sleeping when I woke to strange noises coming from outside my window. Peering out, all I could see was mist and a strange glow. I went out and tip-toed towards the sound coming from the garden. I was scared but curious. At the end of the garden, I could see some people sitting around a fire. I could not make out their faces nor understand what they were saying. All I heard was some gibberish in a high-pitched nasal tone. I crept up and sat down near a bush to observe them. Suddenly, a shadowy thing got up from the group and appeared to be handing out something. I extended by palm. He gave me a strange look but handed me what looked like a laddoo. I ran back, holding the sweet and got into bed shaking with fright. Holding the laddoo, I fell asleep. In the morning when I opened by palm, it was a lump of gold,” Namrata says.

Soumen Kotal, a paranormal investigator with the Paranormal Research Society based in Kolkata, differs. “Truth is that what is shown in TV serials or in movies is an incorrect account of the unknown.

But it has to be larger than life. After all, films and serials are made for entertainment and the producers/directors want to make profit. If they don’t go over the top, the audience won’t enjoy it. Therefore, it is the viewer who has to analyse. This doesn’t mean that things that go bump don’t happen, but not everything should be attributed to the paranormal,” Kotal states.

The 28-year-old mechanical engineer, who has been an investigator for five years now, tells you that it is not right to call the unexplained bhoot, chudail or even daayan. “For us, it is the energy. This energy is present in all of us. Once the body dies, the energy is released into the environment. If the energy is good, sensitive people can feel the vibes. These are called good vibes. If the energy is negative, one can get bad vibes. Hence, the term achhee aatma and buri aatma by a lay person. But fact is that there is no such thing as achhee aatma and buri aatma,” Kotal says.

For paranormal investigators the world over, the classification of the unknown is done on activities instead of calling them chudail, djinn or even bhoot. If an object has moved from one place to another, it is called intelligent haunting. If people hear voices, it is called poltergeist. The word comes from the German words poltern (to make sound) and geist (ghost) — the literal translation — a noisy ghost. If people can see a shape, it is called residue haunting. Therefore, stories that talk of a woman taking a lift in the dead of night may have some truth in them.

“Residual hauntings happen when a person dies in a sudden accident and the person has not been able to come to terms with the fact that he is dead. In such a situation, the action is repeated again and again,” Kotal explains.

But not everything that Kotal and his team of 17 have investigated can be called paranormal. For every 100 cases that the team investigates, only two per cent are true. The others are just a figment of imagination. “People in our country are brought up to fear the unknown. Though the existence of the unknown can’t be denied, it doesn’t mean that people should fear it. Any unexplained event must be looked at logically,” Kotal states.

However, Farooqui who has authored a book Jinnat, Jadoo aur Tavizat negates spirit folklore. “Has any authority on ghosts come across these creatures talking in a nasal voiceIJ I have traveled the world to investigate and find a solution to ghost sightings but am yet to come across a chudail with ulte pair and a djinn talking in a nasal tone. Of all the investigation I have done, 50 per cent turn out to be fake,” Farooqui explains.

The reason for these wrong notions about a chudail or a djinn, is seeped in our psyche Farooqui opines. “The media and films have not helped matters. The way movies and now TV serials portray the world of spirits is incorrect. Probably the reason why they appear larger than life is because there has to be some entertainment quotient to keep the viewers glued. If a spirit appears normal, people will not go to watch these movies. Pret and djinns are part of our lives but they seldom venture into our world,” this Aurangabad-based member of the All India Muslim Personal law Board says.

Definition of entities

Chudail: Most stories around them describe them as horrible looking with long teeth, faces burnt and puss flowing down the cheek. The chudail lives on old trees in remote areas. One can see it only if it wants to be seen

Daayan: They are said to be beautiful women who can entice men. They can be identified by their feet that are ulta. Unlike a chudail, a daayan can reside in cities as well. Ekta’s film is about this paranormal entity

Djinn: Said to be tall men wearing black, they are spotted in hilly regions. They are known to interact with humans on a regular basis. Stories around djinns talk about a death of a djinn and even their marriages

Aatma: When a human being dies, the soul or the energy released is called an aatma. Most stories where people have seen an aatma or a pret is because it has not come to terms with the fact that its human form no longer exists