A sane and practical person would not believe in superstitions. Then how do you explain certain incidents? Coincidences? My weekend train journey reminded me of one such incident.
There is a Bengali superstition which says that ‘If someone dies unexpectedly, he takes his near and dear ones with him.’ A distant relative of mine had died some years back. His grandson Raja, a cousin of mine (third/fourth cousin) was his favourite. Raja, then working in Bombay, when informed of his grandfather’s sudden death, was heartbroken and had said he would travel back to Calcutta for the last rites. The day of his arrival came and went but he had not come home. His frantic relatives had called up Bombay and had been informed that he had left for Calcutta as planned. Finally, his relatives called up my dad, who works in the
Railways, thinking that he might be able to help them.
Raja’s body was found three hours away from Calcutta, between two obscure stations lying next to the tracks, rotting, recognisable only by his severed head.