CHENNAI: The super smooth two-lane East Coast Road that connects Chennai and Puducherry is a motorist’s delight. Yet, there is a badly lit stretch that gives the jitters to many drivers, particularly when they have to cross it late at night. There have been instances of vehicles ramming onto the crash guards because they were spooked by an apparition that suddenly became visible right in the middle of the road.“There is a stretch some 20 kilometres past Kalpakkam which is haunted by katthu karuppus,” says Mathi, a driver, in a quiet voice. He claims he has seen many a demon in the middle of the highway at night, and it forbears death and destruction.This urban legend has a simpler version originating in the depths of rural Tamil Nadu, where people are advised not to sleep or walk under trees at night for fear of a demon attacking or possessing them.“The karuppu takes different forms in the eyes of different people. To some it is a girl in a white saree. To others it is a cat or a toddler,” explains Mathi. Elaborating on the more horrific details, he says, “It will climb down from a tree and stand in the middle of the road. If the driver has slipped morally before the journey it will sit in the vehicle as you pass through it. Your luck will turn rotten as the karuppu will punish you by ruing your chances of surviving the trip.”Mari, another driver, recalls how he tried to swerve his vehicle to avoid letting the demon taking its place on board. That’s how, he says, he ended up ramming his car into the railing on the side of the road. “I saw it as a baby that was crawling across the road at great speed. It turned and looked at me with red eyes and I panicked,” he explains, going to to say piously, “I hadn’t done anything wrong before the journey, but you never know what angers the spirits.” His breath quickens at the memory as he declares, “That stretch is evil,” and takes an oath not to drive there after 9 pm.Bus drivers too recall similar experiences on that stretch. “I have seen the demon many times. Sometimes I will see it from inside my bus. But it climbs into a car or bus ahead of me. Then I can breathe easy, because I know I will reach safely. But I usually pull up to the motorist ahead and motion to him to slow down,” says Velu, a State Express Transport Corporation bus driver.As Velu narrates his experiences to this reporter at the Koyambedu bus terminus, a colleague stands by, sniggering. “These fools would have seen a cat running across the road. Or their minds would have wandered,” he says, as his colleagues throw incriminating glances at him. “Of course I too have gone through experience that I have not been able to explain, but that doesn’t mean they are ghosts,” he adds, recounting how his steering wheel wouldn’t budge for about 30 minutes before he ground to a halt. “Spooky,” he agrees before returning to his earlier argument. Of course, belief in demons, ghosts, vampires and other assorted supernatural beings are common across rural Tamil Nadu. But now we know that people living in metropolitan cities too have the same fears. The sight of BMWs, Audis, Hummers and other high-end cars and buses zipping through this modern expressway round the clock makes it an unlikely haunted spot. Or so, we thought!
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