"Welcome to the fifth chapter. In this chapter, I will tell you about a wrestler and how he wrestled with a ghost for an entire night.
This is not a recent event; it dates back to my grandfather's era. My grandfather was young back then, about 20 years old. He described this village incident to me with great clarity.
There was a wrestler in the village who was so powerful and talented that no one from his village or the surrounding areas could defeat him. Everyone was terrified of facing him in a wrestling match (Dangal). The mighty wrestler actually yearned for someone who could give him a tough competition and satisfy his thirst for a real fight. He took no joy in his victories because he would win far too easily.
Then, one day, an incident occurred.
The wrestler was sleeping on a cot at his home. Suddenly, someone woke him up. He opened his eyes and saw a man standing near his bed in the darkness of the night. That man said to the wrestler, 'Hey! Are you still sleeping? Wake up, it's morning already. I want to wrestle with you. Won't you fight me?'
The wrestler looked at the man and smiled, saying, 'Oh brother! Just let it be. You look so frail and thin; you won't be able to wrestle.' The wrestler couldn't see the man's face clearly, and he had never seen this person in the village before.
The wrestler was deep in thought, wondering who this man was who wanted to wrestle so early in the morning. In reality, it wasn't morning at all. It was around 1 or 2 o'clock in the night. Since there were no mobile phones or clocks nearby at that time, the wrestler believed him and thought it was indeed dawn.
The man (the dark shadow) said again, 'Come on, move fast! If you are truly a capable wrestler, then come, let's have a match.' He added, 'A true wrestler never refuses a fight. If you have the courage, come to the wrestling pit (Akhada).'
Hearing this, the wrestler immediately got up from his bed. You might be wondering why the wrestler didn't get suspicious since the man entered his house without opening a door. But you are mistaken; in villages, people prefer sleeping in open spaces. Similarly, the wrestler was sleeping out in the open. Secondly, many houses in villages didn't have main gates back then, so there was no reason for the wrestler to be suspicious.
The wrestler and the shadow both set out toward the wrestling pit. However, on the way, the wrestler felt no movement or sound. He saw no one on the road, nor did he hear any voices. Everything felt strange to him. He kept thinking to himself that although it was morning, why was no one visible in the village? There was silence everywhere—even the sounds of dogs and cats were missing. The wrestler and the man (the dark shadow) were walking through a place surrounded by fields.
You might know that in villages, people often sleep in their fields to protect their crops from animals. Similarly, a man was sleeping on his cot in a field. Suddenly, he woke up to drink water. He saw the village's most famous wrestler walking alone toward the wrestling pit. He thought it might be morning, but as soon as he checked the time on his watch, he was stunned. It was only 1 or 2 o'clock in the night, yet the wrestler was heading for a match.
The man called out to the wrestler several times, 'Hey brother! Where are you going so late at night?' But the wrestler heard nothing. When the man saw that the wrestler had gone too far, he went back to sleep on his bed.
What do you think will happen next to the wrestler? I will discuss this further in the next chapter. Until then, stay connected with us! Thank you!"