The Other Side(70)

He rang the bell and waited. A balding middle-aged man opened the door and looked at him questioningly.

“Uncle, I am Dr. Rajiv Gupta from the Medical College. I was looking for Prem Gupta who is an old friend of mine from School,” Rajiv lied.

“Well, he is not at home. In fact he is not in town. Last year he joined HDFC bank and has been posted in Haridwar. But… wait I can give you his mobile number,” the man said.

“Oh, that will be nice. I do have his old number but apparently he has changed that,” Rajiv said.

“I do not understand your generation at all,” the man grumbled, while giving him a scrap of paper with the number written on it. “Change, change! Always looking for a change.”

Rajiv thanked him, made his way back to the hostel and hit the bed early, as he was tired after the long journey.

This time he dreamt that he was sitting in the OPD in the PHC seeing patients. He called in the next patient after checking on a balding middle-aged man who complained of uneasiness in his chest. As soon as the next person in line, came in Rajiv shuddered looking at her. Poonam stood in the familiar dress but looked very distraught and unkempt.

“Can you cure me, Dr. Rajiv Gupta? I am suffering from the consequences of unfulfilled desires and unkept promises. No



The Other Side

277 answers, no answers…” And her voice echoed around becoming louder and louder till it reached a crescendo. Rajiv woke up with a start and realised that his nightmares were becoming increasingly lucid.

“I'll have to get to the bottom of this otherwise I will not have peace,” he muttered as he tried to go back to sleep again.



After trying in vain to go back to sleep Rajiv gave up. He got up, lit a cigarette and sat at the study table with a paper and a pen. He decided to put all the information he had gathered on paper and draw some kind of conclusions. His medical training prevented him from believing in ghosts. But he had encountered Poonam twice. Both times he had been in full possession of his senses. He was neither sick nor intoxicated at that time. He had not known the story of the girl's body being found floating in the PHC well before so there was no possibility of him imagining what he saw the first time. Poonam's mother also corroborated the story about Poonam, her boyfriend, refusal of parents to accept the relationship and her body being found in the well. The bank manager further confirmed the fact that Poonam's boyfriend was a certain Prem Gupta, which he had already being told by Poonam's mother, and Poonam herself.

The only thing that did not tally was Prem Gupta's joining HDFC bank last year, so that must have been immediately after quitting ICICI. And the manager had said he had quit because of depression. Was there a clue here? And why did Poonam keep asking him for help talking about unkept promises and unfulfilled desires? And why did birds never come to his PHC? 'Questions, questions and more questions!' Poonam's voice rang in his ears.

Yes, the only logical conclusion was that there was some unexplained presence in his PHC. Was Poonam somehow influencing him? He knew that if he told this strange story to any colleague, they would certainly conclude that he was suffering from delusions and take him to Prof. Mitra, the Chief of Psychiatry.

So no help from friends, he concluded. He had three days of leave left. The only thing to do was to visit Muzaffarnagar again and find some clues. He could even visit Haridwar and talk to Prem Gupta. He had to do it, if not for Poonam, then for his own mental peace.

He took the first bus to Muzaffarnagar and was at ICICI Bank by 9.30 AM. He made his way to the manager's cabin and reintroduced himself.

“Yes doctor, I do remember you. What can I do for you?” the manager greeted.

“I have been following up on the information you had given me. It seems that Prem Gupta joined HDFC Bank immediately after leaving you guys,” Rajiv informed.

“Now that is strange! For one he appeared to be too depressed to work when he left. In fact he forfeited a month's salary as he had not served any notice about quitting. And as far as joining another bank is concerned, the recruitment process there takes at least three months!” the manager said.

“I thought so. Can you do another favor and give me the address of the place Poonam lived in when she was working here?” Rajiv asked.

“Well, I have no clue but her local address should be in the records.” He punched a few keys on the keyboard and jotted the address on a paper before handing it over to Rajiv. “I don't know



The Other Side

279 why I am doing all this but I have a feeling that you are a good man and mean well.”

Rajiv made his way to the address and found out that it was a paying guest accommodation for working women. It was not a conventional hostel but a house converted to accommodate maximum number of paying guests.