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Burning Incense Sticks

 

I am Mayank and I live in Patna, India. The story which I am writing dates back somewhere around the year 1993. I wasn't even born then.

In order to give you a proper introduction to the happening, let me take you back in time to a few years preceding the event, that was the year 1989. My mother had been recently married.

My mother hails from Tura, Meghalaya. All my maternal aunts, uncles, my nana (mother's father) and my Nani (mother's mommy) lived in Tura in a bungalow which was surrounded on all the four sides by empty plots with an immense overgrowth of shrubs. There were few humans who used to dwell in Tura at that time.

My Nani had been ailing for a few days and consequently she was taken to a hospital in Guwahati. Nearly all the family members went to the hospital to see Nani, as doctors had foretold that she might soon breathe her last! So, my father decided to stay in their bungalow to look after the house until the tenants returned while my mother was at the hospital.

One unfortunate evening, my Nani did breathe her last. One of my uncles informed my father over the telephone. My mother was distraught and did not talk with anyone. She was to return to Tura by the morning train along with the family members and the "Corpse". My father was also saddened and after he informed the servants, he went back to his room. He closed the door, sat on the bed, closed his eyes and was pondering over the fact that it would not be easy to console my mother.

It was about ten o' clock. All of a sudden the room was filled with the smell of burning Aggarbattis (they are long thin sticks which when lit sublime with a perfume like odor and are held in stands before the idols of deities, especially in Hindu custom). Gradually, the odor intensified and in two minutes it seemed like one hundred Aggarbattis were lit in the room. My father immediately opened the door and went out but he did not see anyone. Everybody was fast asleep. There were no Aggarbattis lit in the house. But when he went back to his room he could sense the odor again and this time the odor was further intensified. He was a bit frightened but he hailed the name of god and went to sleep. This did not recur in the coming days. A few days later my father revealed this incident to my mother but not to the other family members.

Now, let us proceed to the second part of this account. It was nearly four years after my Nani's death. My mother was blessed with a baby girl (my elder sister) who was now 2 year old. My parents lived in a joint family in Patna.

Let me describe the region. The locality in which they lived wasn't isolated but was sparsely populated. There were a couple of houses nearby but our house was surrounded by empty plots on all the four sides. (Patna was not a very much developed city at that time and would surely not be the first choice of plot seekers). It was Navratri (a festival) time. Unfortunately, there was some sort of feud growing between some of the family members (some personal matter). All the members would hardly be willing to eat or sleep. My mummy was both depressed and exhausted. She was the elder daughter-in-law and she had to coordinate the discussions. She was also running high fever.

On the last night of Navratri, my mother was trying to make her daughter fall asleep. Sometime around ten o' clock my mother also dozed off unknowingly. It was about an hour later that she suddenly felt as if someone smacked her feet. She woke up but saw no one. Everyone was fast asleep. My sister was also in somber sleep. My mummy then went to the kitchen to quench her thirst when she detected a faint odor of burning Aggarbattis. The smell slowly grew in intensity and within the time span of a couple of minutes it was as if hundreds of Aggarbattis were lit in the dining hall. My mummy recalled what my father told her. She got a bit frightened and she went to sleep. The smell was rather pleasant and eased her tension and helped her fall asleep.

There was no other house in the immediate neighborhood and the community worships were also held far away from the house so the smell could not have come from outside. But this was not it!

In her dreams my mummy saw my Nani. Nani hugged her and reveled to my mummy what was actually wrong with her. She told mummy that ever since the feud started she, in her distress, had forgot to offer her daily prayers. She advised my mummy to go to the temple the very next morning and apologize to God. She told her to be very punctual when it comes to religious worship. My mummy did as she was advised and in the following days the tension in the family did ease to a large extent!

Some days later my mummy got a chance to talk with a saint who had occasionally visited our house. She shared her experience with him. The saint explained that whenever our dear ones, who are dead, want to comfort us and make us feel safe their advent is always marked by something like the odor of Aggarbatti. And since the spirit had good intention it was more of a positive energy and the holy powers in the month of Navratri would not hinder but only help the spirit fulfill its wishes.

This may sound bizarre to the ears of a rational, but it is indeed a touching account of nature, God and spirits. Love never dies and never could death part those whose love each other! Thank you for reading!

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, mayank_holmes, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Paranormal_SN (8 stories) (25 posts)
 
8 years ago (2016-12-17)
hi mayank_that was beautiful reading... Thanks for sharing in😊
With Regards,
Paranormal_SN
sushantkar (16 stories) (533 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-11-10)
Dear mayank_holmes, I do have posted an experience of my mother. While she was taking some fresh air sitting at the terrace in the evening where she had seen her sister's daughter ghost. The story is under the title as 'The Spirit of my cousin'.

Regards
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-11-09)
thank you so much sushantkar for reading! Have you written any story related to your mother's experience on this site? 😊 😐
sushantkar (16 stories) (533 posts)
+3
10 years ago (2014-11-08)
Hello mayank_holmes! It was a brilliant story shared with us. My mother had similar experience just like your mother had. She had smelled fragrance of Rajanigandha (Tuberose) after her youngest brother's premature death. She smelled this flowery fragrance whenever she recalls the beautiful memories of time spent with his youngest brother as she was very closed to her.
Thanks again mayank for sharing it with us as your story reminds my mother's experience.

With regard and ❀ 😁
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-11-07)
thank you shady for reading my experience! It's a boon for an author when more and more people react to his story! 😊
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-11-07)
Hi bhataktiatma! Thank you for reading my story. I have read yours as well, it's great.
bhataktiaatma (5 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-11-05)
Hey that was awesome story... Thank you for sharing with us... God bless you...
Shady4u (2 stories) (188 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2014-09-26)
Hello Mayank, you wanted me to read your story, a little late though, but here I am. 😁. I usually skip the "Family/ Friends visits" section to escape the emotions, but I guess I couldn't miss this one. I couldn't help but comment that I really liked your story. Thank you so much.
-Shady.
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-17)
Thank you Rahul 643 for reading my story! 😊 😊... Thank you all for reading my story!
Rahul643 (2 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-13)
Hi Mayank nice story your nani tried to comfort your mother really touching
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
But my point is that my parents belonged to two different families who had no genetic connection whatsoever
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
TYPO sorry! I meant if this was Parkinson's disease then Parkinson's disease doesn't need any cure! πŸ€”
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
I this is Parkinson's disease then it Parkinson's disease doesn't need any cure! Since my parents lead a perfectly sound! It's true that my mother did have two other experiences after this one but she lead a perfectly normal life and never there arouse even the slightest of need to see a doctor! Plus my father never had any other experience! He goes to work everyday without hallucinating! If it was a disease then how was it cured automatically? My granny was a perfectly sound lady for her entire lifetime! With no other significant experiences!
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
My mother was not thinking about nani... She was only depressed... It was only after the smell intensified that my mother could recall what my father told her! 😐
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
why would anybody hallucinate only on a couple of days of the entire lifetime?
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
my mother and father were born of different parents... Who had no genetical linkage whatsoever! πŸ˜•
Triskaideka (2 stories) (388 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
I'd be inclined to agree with you, but the thing is... Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and such can be genetically inherited.

Alzheimers and Schizophrenia, in particular, which cause olfactory hallucinations, are generally seen multiple times within the same family.

This is why my mind leaped to the possibility. Shared experiences doesn't necessarily mean paranormal -- it could mean shared symptoms of genetically inherited disease.
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
Thank you Triskaidka for reading! 😊 still looking for shady4u... πŸ˜•
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
it's very unlikely that my father, my mother and my grandma (who had also sensed the smell the night my mother did) all three suffered from a disease and yet no other symptom could crop up in their daily routine in the following twenty years! πŸ˜†
Triskaideka (2 stories) (388 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
Gah, I meant to type "one of the first symptoms of Alzheimers, Parkinson's Disease, Stroke, and other aging diseases is olfactory hallucination." I'm so sorry!
Triskaideka (2 stories) (388 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-12)
As a scientifically-minded person, I feel the need to mention that one of the first symptoms of Alzheimers, Parkinson's Disease, Stroke, and other aging diseases.

That said, I think this is a very sweet story, and it sounds to me like your Nani was watching out for your family. I may have never seen ghosts, personally, but I have had certain spiritual experiences which have inclined me to believe that certain occurrences are even more likely to happen when the physical laws allow for them, which may be why your parents experienced these things when you and your sibling (s) did not.

Thank you for sharing this story!
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-11)
Thank you Sheetal and Anushkasabre for reading! 😁!Where is shady4u? Didn't he read this story? He had promised that he would read my story! πŸ˜•
Anushkasabre (15 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-11)
Which area mayank I also live in patna. Your nani did ease her daughter. That is why we are said to be guided by our parents. May be we can meet πŸ˜‰
sheetal (6 stories) (771 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-11)
Hi, Very nice story... I never heard anything like this. Thanks for sharing with us... 😁
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-10)
Thank you all for reading my experience! 😊
Thanks Swimsinfire and Thanks Lynev 😁
WiniPu4 (207 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-10)
Hello, Mayank:

Very nice story. I think many of us here have had experiences with departed loved ones making their presence known in ways that we are able to accept without being startled or frightened. We can find comfort knowing that they are never very far away, and are looking out for us.

Kind Regards,

Lynev
Swimsinfire (11 stories) (556 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-06-10)
That is the sweetest story I've read in a long time. 😊 Thankyou much.
mayank_holmes (5 stories) (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-06-10)
In paragraph 11, sentence 2, I meant "REVEALED" and not "REVELED"... 😐

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