The Ghosts Of IIT,Delhi:Was That A Hallucination?

-Joel Mangboi Haokip

I bet , and hardly anybody would be in confrontation with me. Supernatural, is the unprofitable but the most alluring theme.
I still curse the day of 13 April 2009 when I was supposed to meet Mr. Amitabh Tripathi from the Deptt. of Mathematics at IIT, Delhi. This was in connection with asking him few mathematical problems related to my Course and Mathematical Olympiad questions. My best pal, Gaurav insisted to come along but I requested him to stay back. It was around 6 pm and most of the students had left for their respective hostels as most of the classes got over by the time.
After letting my friends to wait for me in front of the Textile Deptt., I proceeded towards Maths Deptt. It is on the second floor of the main building which is known for its architectural marvel. Once you enter inside, you have a feeling your are at a strange place. It is so haunted and seems to be singing the serenade of solitude. When I started walking across the road, the cold waves seemed to be chilling down my spine. There was no one at the gate and I entered the building.
Once you move forward there is a staircase that guides you to the second floor. I climbed the steps and then I proceeded toward Deptt. of Mathematics. It was a lonely corridor in which I was listening to my tapings of shoes and heavy breathing. The atmosphere really made me nervous. But I kept myself hopeful to meet a living soul and then to become my normal self. But my misgivings yielded to be true. The door of Maths Deptt. was locked. A strange silence descended over the alley. The 40 Watt bulb was glowing dim.
I suddenly heard footsteps. I was relieved. At least I would meet someone. The person introduced himself as the peon. He was sturdy-built with shabby clothes. His eyes were bloodshot. He switched on his 6-Cell Eveready torch that was enough to make me blind for 3 days. When I asked him the reason why the Deptt. was shut, he said I would come to know very soon. With a mysterious smile he moved on. The confusion of the jiffies made me swooned and now I wanted to come out of the place somehow. But then again I decided to wait for some more time in order to get more information.
As I was sitting, I could see three figures emerging from the dark at a distance. They were crooning, and later it changed into echoes. They seemed to be singing a math rap. The song was something like this, “Get the dead ducks, just for ten bucks.”
Now it was totally unbearable for me to stay at that place any longer. I made a headstrong, and in hurry, I had to avoid a collision with an almirah. I could see a feeble light toward the main entrance and ran with full might. At the gate, I saw the peon. He was having a wicked smile. I was not in a position to say anything. I slowly realized that it was no mere illusion or say, hallucination.
Later, one of my friends told me that the ghosts of great mathematicians like Lucas, Nuton and Russell love to pay a visit to the Maths Deptt at IIT Delhi. I still patronize under the effect of the adage “If you believe in ghosts, you don’t need evidence.”