Munjia: A timeless scary classic by C.A. Kincaid

 The recently released Munjya (2024) horror comedy movie is a glimpse into the urban legends of Maharashtra. The (Munjya) malevolent spirit of an ancestor scares the daylight of the protagonist when he unknowingly awakens the spirit trapped in a peepal tree of Konkan. The Munjia unleashes his ghostly terror on the protagonist and orders to find his long-lost love Munni. The Munjia won’t be calm until the protagonist searches Munni. How the protagonist succeeds to overcome Munjia forms the crux of the story.

These Munjias – tormented spirits of Brahmin boys who untimely died 10 days after the thread ceremony turn into a ghostly presence. Author C.A. Kincaid’s short story – The Munjia is also about a brahmin boy who dies an untimely death due to plague. His parents’ plan to get their son married take a tragic turn with his demise. To their horror, they discover that their son will turn into a Munjia as he has died untimely before his marriage. Thus begins the terror of the Munjia who terrorizes the village residents of Nashik. He even possesses a British officer and creates a havoc in the regiment. The short story ends with British officer getting killed and the salvation of the malevolent spirit. This short story was my foray into the world of supernatural elements and writings of C.A. Kincaid who had written several spooky short stories like ‘The Werewolf’, ‘The Panther People’, ‘Graveyard at Sirur’ and ‘The Kathi Robinhood’. Despite being a foreigner, Kincaid was well verse with Indian culture. His short stories are set during the times of British Raj. Even the short story Munjia is set during the British era. While reading the short story of Munjia, I had literally got scary goosebumps of watching Tumbbad on print. Such was the powerful impact of Kincaid’s writings. The rural settings, the gothic atmosphere and the spooky vibes are thrillingly described by Kincaid. The peepal tree is the refuge of the malevolent spirits like Munjia. They scare and terrorize humans from the confines of the peepal tree.

 The 2024’s horror movie – Munjya is set in 1952 in a fictional place called Chetukwadi where the ghostly presence of the deceased boy Gotya haunts the area. The accidental death of Gotya turns him into a Munjia. The evil spirit even kills its own sister who happens to be the grandmother of the protagonist. I found the short story of Kincaid more terrifying than the movie. The urban legend of Munjia is similar to Blair Witch Project, Na le ba ghost from Bangalore (remember movie Stree) and ghosts of Bhangarh fort. Konkan is a tourist spot for aspiring photographers, travel bloggers, foodies, tourists and writers. It is truly heavenly destination during times of monsoon. Besides its scenic beauty, it is also destination of ghostly presence. The origin of Munjya or Munjia is rooted in Konkan. My fascination for supernatural genre inspires me to write about the other side of nature which is full of fear. Do such ghostly beings like Munjia exist is a topic of debate. I will end this blog post on the famous lines written by Shakespeare in the play Hamlet.

‘There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt in our philosophy’.