Bhoot Bacchha (The Devil Child) - a form of Chhalava (Chalava)

A Personal Encounter by Maahi (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)

This event happened with the most bully guys of my college. I was a student of Babu Benarsi Das Lucknow. My college was in a bit distant area Chinhat after the last stop of city bus either we had to walk for 2 kms or take auto. 

Few kilometers far from our college there was a town known as Barabanki - this place is mostly dominated by jungle and villages. 

 

This incident happened in the winter season when five of my friends Guddu, Pankaj, Chandel, Bittu and Manoj went to a marriage of one friend in Barabanki on two bikes. Manoj, Guddu and Pankaj were on one bike while Chandel and Bittu on the other.

Chhalava (छलावा) – The Undead – Incarcerated between earth & hell

As described by Pradhuman (Pune)

India is full of myths and legends – the roots of which sometimes take you back by centuries. The historical monuments, excavation sites, abandoned villages and dark forests – each of them have a typical set of haunts attached to them. Indians have always cherished these haunts & the Indian ghost stories associated with them – the legends run through generations.

Chhalava (pronounced as ch - huh – laava) is one such age-old legend which still haunts north-Indian villages. This legend is quite popular in the remote villages of the state of Uttar Pradesh. According to what Pradhuman narrated me – a chhalava is not a ghost as such (no mantrik would be able to locate and destroy it). He is rather a spirit trapped between earth & hell. A chhalava, is supposed to be a legend dating centuries back, a notorious warrior who was punished to be trapped in transition for centuries. He is known to haunt single men (generally those who have their marriages scheduled in the near future).