Tome And Plume: Whispering Tales Of Culverts, Bridges In Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Fog was outdoors, hanging over the river, creeping in and out of alleyways and passages, swirling thickly between the bare trees of all the parks and gardens of the city and indoors, too, seething through cracks and crannies like sour breath, gaining a sly entrance at every opening of a door– Woman in Black, Susan Hill

There are many spooky stories about old houses, hospitals, forts, and bridges and culverts on highways in Madhya Pradesh. Only a few believe in those stories. But at nightfall, when traffic drops off, crossing such culverts and bridges becomes an unsettling experience.

As a bus or a four-wheeler passes by those places surrounded by hillocks and forests on a rain-lashed night, a more sensitive passenger or a driver can understand the pulse of nature.

The experience is thrilling. A stretch of highway – NH 47/NH 27 between Biora and Shivpuri – passes through remote timbered belts, like Madhav National Park. Any vehicle traversing this place at night does not stop because of the haunted tales that locals often tell.

Local lore calls these culverts ‘Khooni Nullahs', or accident-prone ravines. Collisions often occur, particularly during the rainy season, when these roads become a little more dangerous for driving, but there are no verified paranormal activities.

Reptiles and wild animals often cross these roads at night because Madhav National Park is located in the area, so bus drivers remain cautious.

The haunted stories, however, stem from the history of accidents, deserted stretches, and unlit roads. Locals say a man and a woman in white try to stop moving vehicles at night, which leads to accidents near the culvert on the Karera-Shivpuri highway over a small water body. Bus drivers do not support such claims, saying they often pass through these stretches and that too at nights, but they never encounter any such figures.

Besides accidents, there are accounts of individuals jumping into the water body, a stretch of the Sindh River, which originates in the Vidisha district and flows through the Badarwas and the Karera regions in the Shivpuri district.

As the sun goes into the western vault of the sky, the area falls into the lap of an eerie silence, and traversing this region at this time is awe-inspiring. People may not encounter a ghost, but they are set to experience the call of the wild.

There are similar scary stories about the Kasrawad bridge in the Khargone district. The tales send shivers down the spine of even the intrepid individuals. Located across the Narmada River, the bridge has an ominous reputation of being a suicide point among locals. Several suicides have taken place and accidents have occurred since the government built the bridge in the 1990s.

Locals believe departed souls present on the bridge cause suicides, but such cases happen because youths take selfies standing near the bridge. Their carelessness causes the fatality. The poor ghosts have nothing to do with such incidents.

Locals, however, say whenever they go to the bridge, particularly at night, they have a weird feeling of being watched by someone unseen.

The real story is, however, different. From the bridge, the breathtaking Narmada River attracts the visitors. To treasure that feeling, they go down the bridge and take selfies, which leads to accidents. 

A few people lost their lives during religious ceremonies. The police records confirm such accidents. Some of them died after trying to jump from the bridge into the river.

Such incidents have spawned fear among locals who avoid crossing the bridge at night. There are stories that the bridge collapsed when it was under construction, but there are no official records confirming such accidents.

Another bridge, with which legends are associated, is the Kesali bridge in the Sagar district, built in 1980. Many people avoid crossing the bridge at night. Locals say a shadow often stands on its railings, scaring those who try to pass through it. Many people hear eerie sounds. But again, there are no documents to verify such folklore. Such stories develop because of frequent accidents on these bridges and culverts for the high speed of vehicles, poor lighting, and sharp turns.

Arup Chakraborty