Of ghosts and evil spirits in Himachal Pradesh – The Chaleda

Himachal Pradesh is a mountainous state in northern India. It has no railways and the connection between remote villages is only by roads or mountain trails. My father tells me that when he used to visit his village, which was on the border with Himachal Pradesh, he used to venture out for a walk in the wild mountains.

He told me that one day he and a friend of his decided to take a long hike up the mountain. After walking a mile or so, my father and his friend saw a black cat sitting on their path. As they approached, the cat continued to purr and refused to budge. Then my father’s friend, who was carrying a lathe (wooden rod), had hit the cat. But before the rod could descend on the cat, it was gone. My father and his friend laughed and thought it was an illusion. More continued and this episode was repeated. A slight alarm now sounded in his mind.

As they continued, they saw a boy standing on the road and he was crying. My father thought his mother must be close. So he picked up the child and called out to the mother. But my father says that the boy began to laugh and little by little his weight began to increase. Alarmed, my father dropped the boy and ran back to the village loudly reciting the Japanese prayer of Guru Nanak.

He clearly told me that what he had boarded was a chaleda. This was a term that I first heard. Although the tale was narrated by my father, I initially took it with a pinch of salt. But a study in this field and a visit to Himachal confirmed to me that a chaleda is very much a spirit that exists and has the power to appear before a human in different forms. It could take the form of a beautiful woman or an animal. He is an evil spirit and plays with the victim in different forms and then can maim or even kill him.

The chaleda according to popular belief is the spirit of a man who has died prematurely or violently. Such spirits are condemned to roam the earth until the day of their salvation, when they can enter the gates of the spirit world.

There is a great debate as to whether there is such a thing as spirits or an afterlife. But the phenomenon that I have narrated is difficult to explain. Yes, the chaleda has not been heard of anywhere else in the world or in any other part of India. This spirit seems to be peculiar to Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, there is a possibility that people have built a legend from a few different episodes. But this is a simplistic argument. For my part, I do not have a rational explanation of what or who is a chaleda.

Times are changing and scientific thinking has penetrated the world. But there are still many mysteries to be explained. Strange occurrences and events like the appearance of a Chaleda need further study.