chatterbox

His home: a cremation ground the well-known Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna river that flows through the outskirts of Delhi.

His job: to carry the wood for cremations from the storage area to be weighed, and then transported, usually manually - to the site earmarked for a cremation.

Sometimes, Nandu Din was asked to lay the wood at the site in such a manner that when lit, the flames from the funeral pyre consumed the dead body quickly and efficiently. Nandu Din’s job didn’t end with that. Once he had carried the wood for a particular cremation, he became entitled to clothes and coverings, generally shawls draped over the dead body as a mark of respect and a “last offering” by relatives and friends, and any traditional donations in cash or kind. He then had to wait for the mandatory waiting period - four days in most cases, before relatives and friends returned to collect a small portion of the ashes and partially burnt bones for immersion in the holy Ganges at Haridwar or elsewhere at a time and date specified by a priest. Once this ceremony was complete, Nandu Din too could complete his job of collecting the remainder of the ashes for disposal, usually in the Yamuna river although in recent years pollution related outcries have made him very cautious about admitting this officially or on the record. Having cleared all the ashes from the cremation site, Nandu Din would then sweep and wash the place ready to receive another dead body for cremation.

At times, he handled between five to six cremations in a day and between them, his younger brother Rati Din and Nandu Din handled anywhere between two to fifteen cremations in a day. But the number of cremations to which they contributed their labour had nothing to do with the amount they were paid by the contractor at the cremation ground. They were paid a flat daily wage of Rs 70 per day. This meager amount they supplemented by selling to shopkeepers the coverings and shawls, often very expensive ones - draped over the dead and removed before the pyre was lit. The shopkeepers in turn sold them to customers without of course informing them of the source through which they had come. How did it matter, the shopkeepers reasoned: the shawls or sheets were after all brand new and were placed on a dead body for at the most a few hours. Neither did Nandu Din and Rati Din have any qualms about revealing the truth about the coverings to shopkeepers. They were after all, Doms, entitled since countless generations to anything that came off a dead body or was given as a donation. Many shopkeepers declined to purchase such coverings but Nandu Din and Rati Din though always on the lookout for better rates, had been doing the rounds for so long that they knew by now who would and who would not buy from them.

For grieving relatives and friends accompanying the mortal remains of a departed soul, both the beginning and the end of the cremation were understandably highly emotive. For Nandu Din and Rati Din and other Doms at the cremation grounds, both the beginning and the end of every cremation they “handled” was very important too - but for very different reasons. Their reasons had more to do with living, and never mind if that living was directly associated with the dead and death in general. As explained, the beginning of the creation was important for them because they received the dead body’s coverings and sold them for a good price. The ending of a cremation was often more important. How? Because in the ashes they often found the remains of gold ornaments such as earrings, a nose ring, finger rings, or a necklace that the dead body might have been wearing.

Many families remove such ornaments from a dead body but other families do not have the heart or have other reasons for not removing them from the body of a beloved family member. “When the body is placed on a funeral pyre, we usually keep a look out for ornaments,” disclosed Nandu Din. “If we spot any, we return to the cremation site once the ashes have cooled and if any half or partially melted pieces catch our eye, we pick them up without disturbing the ashes - that would be wrong.

“We don’t like taking the ornaments at this stage before the relatives have returned for the final ash collection ceremony, but if we don’t there’s no guarantee that some relative may not pick them up to give away to some one else or whatever. If we can’t see any ornaments, we wait till the ash collection ceremony is over and then we go through the ashes very carefully, passing them through a sieve and often we find melted pieces. See,” and he pulled out a small pouch from his pocket and emptied it on the palm of his hand. A half melted earring of a very good design was clearly visible. There was a small piece of a chain and the rest were unrecognisable pieces of melted, mis-shapen gold which must have been in the centre of the heat or perhaps the wood at that particular pyre burnt for longer or was of a larger quantity.

“We do manage to find something or the other almost every day and a collection of four or five pieces is enough to send us to a jeweller. But mind you, this is always at great risk to us.” “If you get caught?” I queried. “No,” he answered. “But first let me go and sell these, then I’ll tell you how we often stake our lives to earn a worthwhile amount.” It took some persuasion for Nandu Din and Rati Din to agree to let me accompany them on their excursion to Chandni Chowk Dariba Kalan - to be precise. Once there, as we wove our way through the crowded street, strange feelings were seeping through me. We stopped and they pointed at a small jewellery shop. “We have been coming to this particular jeweller for many years. He knows, doesn’t ask too many questions every time and gives us a good price in the end,” they confided. “But don’t say you are with us as he may not then deal with us,”

I nodded but entered just a minute after them, in time to see the jeweller pull out a red velvet covered tray and place it on the counter. I sat down on the long bench, a foot or so away from the brothers and pretended to be absorbed in looking around at the pieces on display. Nandu Din pulled out his pouch and emptied the contents on the tray. The jeweller didn’t touch the pieces. Instead, he pulled out a pair of forceps from a drawer and inspected each piece before weighing them together. He then poured something on them from a small bottle, lit a small blow lamp, and proceeded to melt them. This took some doing and some time - the jeweller was obviously not used to keeping his cheeks blown and holding his breath for long periods. After completing the melting process, a liquid was once again poured on the now shapeless metal, it was patted dry with a piece of cotton wool and was then tested on a “kasauti” or touchstone. Obviously satisfied with the results, the jeweller flipped open a small electronic calculator, and handed over Rs 14,000 to Nandu Din. But both the brothers protested at the amount.

“The prices of gold are so high and you’re giving us so little.”. After much haggling, the jeweller added another Rs 400 to the amount and the brothers left, still grumbling. I hastily asked the price of a pendant, shook my head and followed them out. “Now tell me how this is a great risk to you, everything seemed so organised,” I asked.

“We are at great risk, first of all, from the living who, knowing we are Doms, try and give us as little as possible. As you saw, we had to fight for the price and this we have to do each time. More than that, our lives are at risk from the dead. Once, we recovered gold from the ashes at a particular site and in less than an hour, the spirit of the woman who had been cremated caught me by the hair. ‘How dare you take my ornaments,’ she screamed so loudly in my ear that I’m still hard of hearing. ‘Those ornaments were a gift to me from my husband and he refused to take them off my body despite pleas from relatives. The ornaments and his refusal to take them off my body are a mark of his love for me. Let them remain with my ashes and become a part of eternity. It pains me tremendously to see them in your hands and it will pain me to see them in other hands. If you don’t do what I say I will hound you till you do what I say.’ Normally, since we deal with death almost all the time, we are not afraid of the dead. But the spirit of that dead woman was so persistent and so angry that she even tried to drag me to the Yamuna and drown me in it. Every time I would try to set out to sell them she would assault me physically. And then one night, she won: the pouch containing the pieces of ornaments just disappeared and with that her appearances and her constant badgering too stopped so I knew that she had got her way. This is just one amongst several life threatening instances that I’ve experienced.”

The living and the dead fighting over an object important to both, but the values governing the fight are so different.

                   By all appearances, it’s a humble dhaba (makeshift eating place), but the food here is wonderful, great, super - and these are just some of the adjectives that the range and taste of food at this dhaba invites, and indeed, deserves.

Open from nine in the morning till eleven and sometimes even later at night, this dhaba has a remarkably varied clientele, and it seems to keep growing. “Whoever eats here once, comes again and again,” admits the owner proudly. Lunch time particularly witnesses brisk business with a lot of laughter and lively chatter in the air and there is often a long wait for a table.

Invariably, somebody comments, “great food, let’s try this is as well” and most people end up ordering more than they had intended or planned. Who are these people usually? It varies on what time of day it is, with lunch time drawing office goers and students from the many prestigious institutes and offices in the vicinity, all across the road, actually. In fact, even though this very popular dhaba has no name, it is located at a fascinating spot, with a recent addition just behind it lending a whole new dimension, often questionable, to the eating experience. But first, a glimpse of its age-old backdrop, now known as Sanjay Van. For those who missed earlier columns on this distinctive forest, amidst trees and bushes, outcroppings of smoothly chiseled reddish brown rocks are interspersed with man-made wells and an artificial “lake” with wild ducks and other water birds inhabiting it, unmindful of the algae. At one end, a miniature waterfall has been created and its run-off forms a small, shallow stream which runs through the forest and ends near the dhaba, forming a small waterbody here as well. Half submerged tree trunks add a surrealistic look to both these waterbodies, formed, we were informed by a forest guard, with recycled sewage water from the residential areas fringing the forest and others further around. But perhaps the most striking feature of this unusual forest is the number of samadhis (last resting places of sadhus ) and graves. In the ancient temple of Goraknath, for instance, there is the samadhi of a sadhu dated 1876, along with other samadhis.

Further up, there are the twin graves known as the “Sayyad ki kabar”. Recently, a small temple of Goddess Durga-Kali has been erected against one of the walls of the Sayyad ki kabar, along with a temple of Hanumanji against an adjoining wall. Closeby, there are other graves. In another part of the forest, under the spreading boughs of a keekar tree is the unostentatious grave of “Pir sahib”. An old wall built by royal rulers runs near this grave. At one corner of this wall now half hidden by bushes and vegetation, there seems to be a guard house with a staircase leading up to another graveyard. It is said that these graves, and another grave at a lower level are those of royal disciples of the ‘Pir’.

Towards the Mehrauli side, is a Dargah popularly known as the Dargah of Ashiq Allah. There are many graves here and an old well whose water is credited with magical qualities. A fakir or Baba who lives at this Dargah is supposed to possess great powers, but he is curt and entertains “requests” only when “in the mood”. People come from long distances to this Dargah and many get lost in the forest because trees and rocks obstruct a clear view - one moment you can’t see anything and in the next few steps you’re suddenly at the Dargah. In any case, from the rooftop of the Dargah, where there are several graves, you can obtain a panoramic view of not just the forest, but also a large part of Delhi. Drawn by the peace and serenity of the envi rons, people who “discovered” the forest, go for a walk in the area and later, sometimes stop at the dhaba for a quick bite. In the evenings and mornings, there are a few joggers and exercise buffs on the fairly wellmaintained, shady pathways in the forest. In the afternoon, there are a few strollers from offices located at the adjacent Qutub Crescent.

And almost throughout the day, at odd spots in the forest, can be spotted DDA (Delhi Development Authority) employees who take care of the forest, a couple of goat herdsman, a handful of village women collecting firewood and some children collecting berries. But once again, coming face to face with them is a matter of chance. What you do encounter frequently are peacocks in gorgeous plumage, squirrels, the seven sisters, hoopoes, occasionally deer, nilgai, beautiful butterflies, parrots and many other birds and smaller animals.

There is also a quila or fort dating, it is said, from the time of the early 11th-12th century Muslim rulers of Delhi. This quila is known as the Kutta-billi ka kila (fort of the dog and the cat) because it is believed that two graves here are those of the beloved pets of a Muslim ruler. It is in the vicinity of this quila that murders seem to take place and just recently, in the first week of December, a decomposed body of a man was found in the bushes.

Certainly, there is something eerie about this quila and you suddenly realise that unseen forms often shadow you in the forest, particularly when you’re close to or passing by any of the graves. Sometimes, you hear the patter of feet right behind you and a discreet cough, but there is no one around. This pattern is repeated after every few yards, even when you’re on a short stretch clear of bushes and trees. Often, you hear the sound of voices close at hand, but again there is no one to be seen. At other times, peacocks and other animals and birds give out alarm calls, but don’t flee from the area, and soon you begin to sense an unseen presence. Naturally, such a forest impats its own aura to the dhaba.

Till some time ago, such supernatural experiences were confined to the forest, the Spirit Forest, as I call it. But now, a cremation ground had been constructed just behind the dhaba. In fact, the dhaba and the cremation ground share the same wall and use the same water taps and this is what initially and sometimes mid-way when you’re eating at the dhaba, raises questions in the mind.

It is indeed a strange experience to be concentrating on your food when less than a stone’s throw away, a dead body is being cre mated. But as the owner says, “We are helpless in this matter. Fortunately, cremations take place rarely here and they’re soon over in any case”. Even more fortunately, the dhaba’s regular clients have taken the cremation ground in their stride - a testimony to the taste and quality of the food at the dhaba. Obviously, losing clients is not not a cause of worry for the dhaba owner. But what had been worrying him lately was the disappearance of food from the dbaba, and it usually happened late at night, making it even more baffling. For quite a bit of its storage, the dhaba uses a large old deep freeze, using ice to keep it cool in the absence of electricity. It was from this deep freeze that the food started vanishing. At first, the dhaba owner suspected one of his half a dozen or so employees who slept on the premises, cooks, waiters and utensil cleaners of stealing the food. But that puzzled him, because they were all old hands and in any case he left them free to eat and drink what they wanted and as much as they wanted.

Nevertheless, he gave all of them a warning, but still the food continued to vanish, at which point the dhaba owner decided to keep a secret vigil at night. At around one o clock at night, he heard somebody lift the lid of the deep freeze and immediately shone his powerful torch. There was no one near the deep freeze, yet the lid was open. He checked on his employees, they were all fast asleep and too far from the deep freeze to have made a dash back to their bedding. And when he looked in the deep freeze, several one-serving packets of butter had disappeared. The next night, the same eerie sequence was repeated, with three packets of Frooti, a fruit drink, vanishing this time.

It was clear that an unseen agency was at work, and thinking back, the dhaba owner co-related the construction of the cremation ground with the mysterious disappearance of the food. Was a hungry ghost or a ghost who loved food haunting the dhaba? The employees too confirmed that they often felt uneasy, as if somebody unseen was present, before they turned in for the night. The dhaba owner is a very practical man. A hungry ghost or a ghost who loved food, he had an answer for both.

The cremation ground was now there to stay, he reasoned, and so was the ghost till as long as it chose to. Therefore, instructions were given to the cook to prepare a special plate of assorted food last thing at night and leave it on the deep freeze.

The hungry or food loving ghost is obviously pleased, because no more food is stolen and the employees have reported that ever since the special plate is left on the deep freeze, an unseen form can be heard humming happily in the dead of night. The dhaba’s food is obviously wonderful, great, super for the living as well as the dead.

Bangalore - any place that has been known for any appearance of any kind of spirits or any kind of abnormal activities which is believed to be ghosts/spirits

Bombay Supreme Court - for over 30 years whenever a murder trial is conducted here a vengeful bilingual ghost makes itself known by cursing and terrorizing anyone brave (or foolish) enough to enter.

Delhi cantonment- Most of the times, people see a lady standing in white dress asking for lift. if you go thru she will run as fast as the car runs & people reported her sitting there.

Gujarat - Surat - Dumas - If you walk towards the ocean at night in Dumas then u will hear noises that will tell you go home don’t go forward and all scary things happen. Dogs will even start chasing you sometimes but they say that the dogs run because they are trying to get away from that place as well. This all happens because Hindus burn their bodies after they die over there and the ghosts in there body stay in the air.

Hyderabad - Ramoji Film City - It is a big film city in Hyderabad,(like universal studios) the hotels in Ramoji film city are haunted. They say that the film city is built on war grounds of the Nizam sultans. Witnesses report the lights kept on top keep falling off, the light men- who sit with the lights on top have been pushed so many times and many have had grievous injuries. The food left in rooms also gets scattered around the room and strange marks are left on the mirror, some script…. resembling Urdu…the language spoken by the sultans. Girls are the ghosts’ favorite to haunt. They trouble the girls so much, they tear their clothes, knock on the bathroom doors while the outside doors are locked. They create havoc. Many preventive measures have been taken to prevent hauntings……but of no use…they keep coming back after sometime.

Maharashtra - Raj Kiran hotel - Reports of bedsheets being pulled off and continue to be pulled even after the guest is woken up. This room is in the corner and at the backside of the reception on the ground floor itself.

Meerut - GP block - It has been always seen that 4 guys are sitting inside the house with a single candle lighted and drinking beers. It happens to be most common sight for people passing through that area but few person also added that even they have seen girls in red dress coming out of the house. The house is double stored and people have seen the scene happening on the roof top. People have left moving through that place now.

Mumbai - Mahim - Near Canossa primary there is a chawl named d’souza chawl, there is a local well from whwere people used to fill water and even wash clothes.This well did not have any boundary walls around it and once when a lady was filling water the whole thing collapsed.The lady too fell in that well and died.After this incident she is said to appear everyday near that well and many of the locals have even seen her. She does not harm anyone just strolls around the place and before morning hours she dissappears.

New Delhi - Sanjay Van (near Qutab Institutional Area) - Sanjay Van is a huge forest area spread over around 10 kms. There is a cremation ground also there, many people have reported having seen a lady dressed in a white saree appearing and disappearing suddenly.

Pune - Shaniwarwada Fort - When Peshwas ruled the western Indian province, Narayan the heir of the kingdom was assassinated on his uncle Madhavrao’s wife’s orders. Narayan was chased by his assassins across the entire fort. It was said that while running for his life he called “Uncle save me”, and even today locals say that they hear his cries for help at midnights on new moon day.

Rajasthan - Alwar / Bhangarh-Ajabgarh - Bhangarh ruins - Bhangarh is a place on way from Jaipur to Alwar city in Rajasthan state of India. Today Bhangarh is known for it’s ruins where nobody dares to stay after sunset. Going to history we find that this town was established by Madho Singh, younger brother of King Akbar’s General Man Singh, in 1631. But the city seems to have been abandoned in a hurry some centuries later. As per local folks, due to some curse the whole town was vacated overnight. According to this curse It was also said that if the town was ever rediscovered, the township would not be found, but only temples would show up. True to the story, only temples dot the landscape and even far up on the mountains only shrines can be seen. People say that nobody returned from there who stayed there after dark. The biggest thing is that as per Govt. of India rules there has to be an office of Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) beside every historical structure in India. But even Government authorities couldn’t dare to open an office there and they opened their office about one kilometer away from the ruins of Bhangarh. Also ASI has put a signboard at Bhangarh saying, “Staying after sunset is strictly prohibited in this area.” People who visit this place out of tourist interest say that there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere of Bhangarh, which causes sort of anxiety and restlessness.

Thane - Vrindavan Society - Its said a Man had committed suicide in one of the Buildings in Vrindavan Society(Bldg. No.66 B).The security guard’s patrolling the area around have come across weird happenings. Once a guard was slapped so hardly that he got up from his chair and hit the other guard who was near by him thinking he was the one who hit him.

West Bengal - Kurseong - Dow-Hill - The forests have an uncanny feeling. Its damp, cold and sometimes dark. People up here tend to be depressed and countless murders have taken place. On the stretch between Dow-Hill road and the Forest Office, wood cutters returning in the evenings have sited a young boy walking head-less for several yards and then walk away from the road into the woods. Other than this, footsteps are heard in the corridors of the Victoria Boys School when the school is closed for long holidays from December to March.

The Vedic Sages gave no name to their religion.They only wanted to share their spiritual discovery with their people as with other people.”
YajurVeda 26.2

Years and Events

1109 A.D => Alcohol was first distilled.

1648 A.D =>Taj Mahal at Agra(designed by Turkish architect Isa Offendi) completed by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ,in memory of His beloved Queen Mumtaz .

The earliest evidence of Jewish community settling in India is provided by a charter of Vijayanagar King.

Henry kissinger , the former us secretary of state , once

According to the recently released declassified documents , Nixon had called indira Gandhi an ‘old witch’ , blaming her for the Bangladesh war .

ALEXANDER’S INVASION OF INDIA TOOK PLACE IN  326 B.C., AT THE BEGINNING OF SPRING .

                  MEGASTHENES , THE GREEK WHO LIVED AT THE COURT OF THE INDIAN KING SANDROCOTTUS FOR SOME YEARS FROM 302 B.C. AS THE AMBASSDOR OF SELEUCUS NICATOR , WROTE A VERY POPULAR BOOK ENTITLED “INDICA”.THE BOOK ITSELF IS LOST , BUT IT HAS SERVED AS THE SOURCE FOR SEVERAL CLASSICAL AUTHORS’S ACCOUNTS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE AMBASSDOR HAD SOJOURNED.

THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS BASED ON MEGASTHENES OCCURS IN DIDOROUS { 1ST CENTURY B.C.}. REFERRING TO THE GANGES HE WRITES : “NOW THIS RIVER WHICH AT IT’S SOURCE IS 30 STADIA BROAD , FLOWS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH , AND EMPTIES ITS WATERS INTO THE OCEAN FORMING THE EASTERN BOUNDRY OF GANGARIDAI, A NATION WHICH POSSESSES THE GREATEST NUMBER OF ELEPHANTS AND THE LARGEST IN SIZE . OWING TO THIS , THEIR COUNTRY HAS NEVER BEEN CONQUERED BY ANY FOREIGN KING ; FOR ALL THE OTHER NATIONS DREAD THE OVERWHELMING NUMBER AND STRENGTH OF THESE ANIMALS . THUS ALEXANDER THE MACEDONIAN AFTER CONQUERING ALL ASIA , DID NOT MAKE WAR UPON THE GANGARIDAI , AS HE DID ON ALL OTHERS ; FOR WHEN HE HAD ARRIVEDE WITH ALL THE OTHER TROOPS AT THE RIVER GANGES , AND HAD SUBDUED ALL THE OTHER INDIANS HE ABANDONED AS HOPLESS AN INVASION OF THE GANGARIDAI WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THEY POSSESSED 4000 ELEPHANTS WELL TRAINED AND EQUIPPED FOR WAR .”

GANGARIDAI {SOMETIMES MIS-SPELLED GANDARIDAI , ONCE GANDARITAI} –GANGARIDES –GANGARIDAE [OR GAGARIDAE ] . THESE ARE THE NAMES UNDER WHICH GREAT PEOPLE IN ANCIENT INDIA WERE KNOWN TO GREEK AND LATIN WRITERS OF ANTIQUITY .

                         English is a Germanic language of the Indo-European family.The History of English can be traced back to the arrival 3 Germanic tribes to the British Isles in the 5th century A.D. Angles,Saxons and Jutes reached the island by crossing the North sea from what is present day Denmark and Northern Germany. The Language of the original inhabitants of Britain was Celtic.This was soon displaced .Many of these people were even pushed into Wales and Scotland.One group migrated to the coast of Brittany in France .Their descendants speak the celtic language even today.The Angles were named after their land of origin ,Engle.The anguage of Engles was ‘Englisc’

from which is derived ‘English’.

From the very beginning English was a hybrid language.It was influenced by Latin and Greek during the conversion of England to christianity by St.Augustine and His Followers.

It was greatly influenced by the Danes and after the Norman conquest of Britain,was more transformed by the french speaking Normans.

                In ancient Bhavisya Mahapurana attributed to Vyasa,21st sloka to 31st sloka-2nd Adhyaya,3rd Khandha,Prarthi sarga Parvam in 8th divison,we are told that Raja Shalewahan went out one day to walk in the mountains and in Voyen,near Srinagar,he saw a distinguised person dressed in white with a fair complexion,”HUNA DESAYA MADAYAME,GIRIHASTHAM PURISHAM SUBHAM DADARSA BALAVANRAJA GAURANGAM SWETHA VASTRAKAM ” ! {sanskrit}

on enquiry,the King was told,”EESA PUTRAMCHAMAM VIDDI KUMARI GHARABHA SAMBHAVAM“, which means :Know me as the SON OF GOD ,born of a virgin.

the King asked Him,”What is Your religion?”.The Saintly man replied,”It is Love,Truth and Purity of Heart.For this I am called the Messiah(healer)“.

Many are of the opinion that this dialogue was a later interpolation.However there are hundreds of books authored by Muslim and Christian(Europeans)historians ,which deal with travel of Christ in the middle east,India,Ceylon,Tibet etc.

According to a learned author ,St.Thomas had also fled along with Jesus and Mary.We are also told that Thomas remained with Jesus till his death and raised a tomb over the mortal remains of His Master [Rozbal in Srinagar].

In the year 1348 a Russian ship moored in Genova,Italy,carried a dreaded disease called bubonic plague.At that time it was known as Black Death.It spread all over Europe like fire.

One Italian who survived the Black Death gave the chilling account of terror.

“Neither relatives nor friends,nor priests accompanied the corpses to the grave.In many places in the city,trenches were dug,very broad and deep and into these the bodies were thrown and covered with little earth;and then layer after layer the trench was full and then another trench was begun and I Igniolo di Tura with my own hand buried five of my children in a single trench and many others did the like and no bells rang and nobody wept no matter what his loss because almost everyone expected death and people said “This is the end of the world“

The Black Death, or The Black Plague, was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history, widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis. It probably began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 85 million people; there were an estimated 20 to 30 million deaths in Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of Europe’s population.

It has been popularly thought that the name came from a striking late-stage sign of the disease, in which the sufferer’s skin would blacken due to subepidermal hemorrhages (purpura), and the extremities would darken with gangrene (acral necrosis). However, the term most likely refers to the sense of “black” (glum, lugubrious or dreadful)

It has been found out that Bubonic plague originated from the foothills of Himalayas.

Persecutions

Lepers, and other individuals with skin diseases such as acne or psoriasis, were singled out and exterminated throughout Europe. Anyone with leprosy was believed to show an outward sign of a defect of the soul.

Differences in cultural and lifestyle practices between Jews and Christians also led to persecution. Jews were charged by some with having provoked the plague. Because Jews had a religious obligation to be clean, they did not use water from public wells. And so as previously mentioned, Jews were suspected of causing the plague by deliberately poisoning wells. Typically, comparatively fewer Jews died from the Black Death, in part due to rabbinical laws that promoted habits that were generally cleaner than that of a typical medieval villager. Jews were also socially isolated, often living in Jewish ghettos. Because isolated people were less likely to be infected, there were differences in mortality rates between Jews and non-Jews and this led to raised suspicions in people who had no concept of bacterial transmission.

Women also faced persecution during the Black Death. Within areas of the Middle East, notably in Cairo, Muslim women became scapegoats when the plague struck.[79] In 1438, the sultan of Cairo was informed by his religious lawyers that the arrival of the plague was Allah’s punishment for the sin of fornication.[80] In accordance with this theory, a law was set in place stating that women were not allowed to make public appearances as they may tempt men into sin.

In the Muslim world, particularly in Makkah, the disease was blamed on non-believers who had entered the city.

Other Effects

Liquor, originally made by alchemists, was commonly applied as a remedy for the Black Death, and, as a result, the consumption of liquor in Europe rose dramatically after the plague.

Flagellants practiced self-flogging (whipping of oneself) to atone for sins. The movement became popular after general disillusionment with the church’s reaction to the Black Death

Signs and symptoms

The three forms of plague brought an array of signs and symptoms to those infected. The septicaemic plague is a form of blood poisoning, and pneumonic plague is an airborne plague that attacks the lungs before the rest of the body. The classic sign of bubonic plague was the appearance of buboes in the groin, the neck and armpits, which oozed pus and bled. Victims underwent damage to the skin and underlying tissue, until they were covered in dark blotches. Most victims died within four to seven days after infection. When the plague reached Europe, it first struck port cities and then followed the trade routes, both by sea and land.

The bubonic plague was the most commonly seen form during the Black Death, with a mortality rate of thirty to seventy-five percent and symptoms including fever of 38 - 41 °C (101-105 °F), headaches, painful aching joints, nausea and vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise. Of those who contracted the bubonic plague, 4 out of 5 died within eight days. [41] Pneumonic plague was the second most commonly seen form during the Black Death, with a mortality rate of ninety to ninety-five percent. Symptoms included fever, cough and blood-tinged sputum. As the disease progressed, sputum became free flowing and bright red. Septicaemic plague was the least common of the three forms, with mortality close to one hundred percent. Symptoms were high fevers and purple skin patches (purpura due to DIC (Disseminated intravascular coagulation)).