I know I will get flak for this one. Remember I am just trying to make sense of some experiences. Most of these have been narrated over drinks. So one cannot vouch for them.
In nineties, Rani Jhansi Road, Jhadewalaon was the address of two of the largest media advertising agencies in Delhi. However, if you were coming for the first time, you surely needed directions. So, while approaching Jhandewalan from Connaught place, you pass the Cycle market on your left. Continue going straight and you will see the famous Devi Jhandewala Mandir on your left. Cross that and continue further for some 800 meters and take the right just before the flyover. Now the Ball-Bearing market will be on right. You have reached your destination. The agency was on 1st floor accessible by a narrow corridor.
Old offices and building have their own stories. This one was no different.
It is said that a Ghost lived on the client servicing floor of the agency. No there never been any confirmed sightings. However, the people who know are confident that it was a female ghost. One who was not interested in disturbing or be found. However, there were instances when employees working late in the night would experience something that remained unexplained.
Let me reiterate, this was a shy ghost. There was no typewriter banging, no doors opening and closing, no crazy movement of doors or even the flicker of lights. It was said that the ghost lived on the Client servicing floor and rested in the studio, half of which was occupied by a team working on a beverage account.
The client servicing floor had a series of cubicles; the kind you see in Dilbert cartoons. They were neatly laid out with enough gap for two people to crossover between the two. The layout this created 3 alleys. The water cooler was at the end of the middle alley.
The paranormal experience was primarily a sound of someone walking towards the cooler and then would walk back. The sound clearly was of the heels hitting the tiled floor. And thus the ghost was categorized as female.
These experiences were not so rare. Most of us never believed in it. Anyway, no one was afraid of her. There were no stories of ghost disturbing or trying to scare anyone. Most oldies in the office outright denied its existence, and the other set would add masala to the story.
Nevertheless, if anyone was to work alone late in the night, they would remain in the servicing floor. And once the studio team left; no one would willingly go to the studio floor.
In 1994, suddenly these stories died their own death. There were no further experiences reported. This was after an incidence that is hard to believe and known to very few in the industry. Now, I am not claiming that there was a connection between the two.
Mahesh ( Name changed) was a young Account Executive (AE) and was tired of leaving late and coming early to the agency. AE is the entry level, and they were often over burdened with operational work resulting in late nights.
He was the street-smart juggadu type of person, and he just shifted to the office. No one was aware of his scheme.
One week, when he was on leave and a certain file was urgently required. The file would be with him and was normally kept locked in the cupboard allotted to Mahesh. In those days, there was no mobile. It was easy to replace the lock than to connect with him on a trunk call.
When his cupboard was broken in, the team was surprised to find more items of personal use inside the cupboard. There was the required file and few other working papers, but it has neatly ironed shirts, trousers, cosmetics, male grooming articles, etc.
The story goes like this. Mahesh, post work would step out in evening, move around Connaught, have his meals and was back by 930 PM. He would sleep in the General Managers waiting area, which had the best sofa. In the morning, he would rush to railway station and take the shower in the waiting room and be returned to the office for work. This was going in for 9-10 months, the period when the experience was reported.
It is he who was taking those short walks to the cooler to have water. However, it did not explain the sound of heels hitting the tile. Though, one cannot link, it’s true that after this incidence, there were no more paranormal experiences. It was last if the ghost of Rani Jhansi Road decided to leave for another agency.
OTHER IN THE SERIES
● Thank You ● Rain Clause – I ● Lethal Combination ● APPETITE ● Puncture ● Adultery- the moment ● ASSET ● I am Sankar ● The Count ● Introduction ● Time Bomb ● Small Tile ● Shoot Report ● Sardar Khush Hoga ● Shoot At Mud Island ● Kaali Peeli Picture ● Upgrade ● Juhi Effect ● Power Of Punjab ● Out ● Two More ● Eleven Minutes ● The Cherry Win ● The Presentation ● Black Gold ● Buffered ● Continue With Client ● Not Fired ● One Less Decision ● The Problem ● Imported Art Card ● Banyan Tree Agency
In case you do have some experiences that are worth sharing- please do connect and send me a message .
