Lekin...

Samir Niyogi lives in India and is assigned by the Government to travel to Rajasthan, evaluate a princely castle that once belonged to Raja Param Singh, take stock of all items, the condition of the building, and report back to the Government. Enroute to his destination by train, he permits a woman to enter his compartment, goes to sleep, and when he awakens finds her gone. A few days later, when he goes to the castle, he finds the very same woman cooking within the premises. When both enter the castle, he finds himself back in time and witnesses a scene that happened eons ago. When he recovers, he finds himself alone, and locked in. He breaks out and narrates this incident to his friend and local Collector, Shafi and his wife, Sharda. He does meet the woman again in the dead of night, and after showing him the way, she disappears. Then Sharda asks Samir to wear a amulet at all times as it will protect from evil spirits. He does meet the woman again, this time in the middle of the desert, and is not heard of for two days. When Shafi orders the castle to be searched, a dungeon in particular, is where they find Samir in a state of near-death. How did Samir end up in a dungeon that has been sealed for hundreds of years, and what exactly is the mystery behind the woman, who Samir now calls Rewa? —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)