Sleep Paralysis - Terror Unleashed !

Its 5AM and it is time to sleep. I am now all set to retire for the day...ooops, I mean 'night'.
I am now strongly sleep induced and I drift away into sleep.


I don’t know what time it is or how long I slept or did I even sleep. I find am suddenly awake. Wait a second!! Something doesn’t seem correct!! Something is wrong.

I try lifting my hand, but I am unable to!!! I am now slightly worried. I am now not sure if I am still asleep or awake…. I try lifting my head…. But again, nothing moves. I force my mind to tell me if it is a dream or is it the reality. My mind positively tells me it is no dream!!

Now, panic was setting in. I desperately struggle to get up and shake this off!! But I am unable to. Nothing moved. My own body was lying there disobeying me…!! And worst part was, I was AWARE of what was happening.


Panic was now turning into fear and outright terror!! I could feel my body, my breath and my heart beat. But I was like frozen in time. My heart was beating rapidly. I kept struggling with no response from my body.

It felt like eternity, before I could slowly move my fingers. To my greatest relief, I could now lift my hand and my mind had once again become the master of my body!!

I don’t know what happened next; As soon as I regained control, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was around 12 PM in the afternoon. I remember what had happened last night, but I wasn’t able to ascertain  if it was a dream or reality, despite me knowing it deep down that it was for real. I quickly searched on net what I experienced and found that it was all for real and what I experienced was the phenomenon called SLEEP PARALYSIS (SP)!!!

Various articles on the net link sleep paralysis with the super-natural. Alien abduction, out of body experience, monster/demonic visitations etc…

SP has a very vivid and dramatic explanations in the various folklores and cultures. Most of these tales associated SP with demonic/evil spirit.

But in pure scientific explanation, it is a pre-conditional state of mind, triggered due to various factors including and primarily due to sleep deprivation and stress.

I don’t know how many of you have had a similar experience. But if you have had one, I am sure you still recollect the terror and the helplessness you felt!


For the rest of you, I am sure you would want to know more about this and the folklores associated with it. For that, please do visit the below links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

http://dreamsnightmares.com/sleepparalysis.html

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/sleep_paralysis/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1544705/Flying-in-your-sleep-may-be-a-paralysis.html

A beggar who danced and a Thief who sang!

It was a fine summer morning. I think it had to be 1995 as I was in 7th standard.


I was upbeat and all set for the fancy dress competition.

It was my 1st fancy dress competition; and later it also turned into my only one as well.

However, despite all the effort from my father in persuading me in not to dress up as what I dressed up; I did dress up as what I did.

I reached my school on my cycle amidst laughter and weird looks from the other kids. I was now even more happy due to the buzz I created.


In my little brain I was sure that I had a winner dressed up !!

All my joy and pretense of being the great masquerader came to an abrupt end when the teacher pulled me out of the participants’ queue. My embarrassment was only slightly lessened when I saw my class mate Murugeshan also being pulled out of the queue.


Everything now was turning into a blur!! I only heard that dressing up as a beggar cannot be allowed; more pearls of wisdoms were being dropped but my mind was not with the teacher telling me that the effort I put in tearing my kurta, courage I showed in wearing torn trousers, the ingenuity I showed in even carrying a plate that I hit with hammer some 100 times the day before to bring it to its present authentic shape were to go down the drain waste…!!! I forgot to mention, I had even emptied a full tin of cutticurra powder on my head…no details missed out . out and out, pakka beggar!!


I quickly recovered and looked around, I saw murugeshan, who by the way had dressed up as a thief with an eye patch and a handle bar moustache holding a real knife, almost breaking into tears. His actual reason for a teary eye was not the disappointment of his rejection, but the pearls of wisdom from the teacher was also accompanied by few swats of scale across his bums. That was for carrying a real knife!


I pulled him across and ran to the boy’s restroom and asked him if he knew the lyrics to “peta rap” from kadhalan (prabhu deva’s hit film). He said he knew it by-heart!! I was relieved at hearing that. I told him that we will be ROCK STARS performing!! It was soon decided that I would do the dancing and murgi the singing. We quickly did some master stroke changes to our costumes, like I half inserting the torn kurta and murgi deciding to use my plate as his instrument.

We ran up to the teacher and told her about our plan. She Okayed it and we were listed to ‘perform’ at the end.

At last, our names were called out, perhaps that was the only thing I heard with a sane mind. What happened next was insanity unleashed.


Murgi started singing and I started using my air guitar kicking my legs around. We showed full attitude, rolled on the ground and kicked our legs in air. We ran around the stage and what more? Even I joined murgi on the mike singing!!! We had gone crazy !!! the song now changed to Tarzan yelling and mouth music!! In the process murgi also got entangled with the mike wires and had a fall on the stage!! this unplugged the mike from the speaker and brought our colossal performance to an unintentional early end.


Later, there was no surprise when the winner of the competition was announced, it was Raghuram!! He had tonsured his head and dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi. Credit must be given, he did look like Gandhi, yeah…Gandhi who had flabby tummy and chubby cheeks!! (no offence Raghuram, you were the clear winner!! )

So, that day, even though things didn’t go exactly as what I planned, it ended up being one crazy day that was thoroughly enjoyed!!


Next time I was ever associated with fancy dress, it was when my kiddo brother dressed up as Sri Krishna and won the 1st prize!!! I made his bejeweled crown!!

So bro finished what I started off…!! Thatz the solace! ;-)

“Mommy! Didn’t I tell you!! Didn’t I tell You!!”

I still remember that day. I think, no, I am sure; I was in the 1^st standard.
We were all taken to the ground and asked who wants to run?

Almost all of us came forward, but the PT sir selected only some of us—I think about ten—and I was one of them.

We were all asked to stand in a horizontal line and were told that, when the whistle was blown, we had to run to the tree in front of us, where our class teacher was standing.

It seemed to be a long, long way away.

But then we were told that whoever reached the tree first would be given a chocolate and a trophy! Suddenly, it didn't seem that far away anymore!

We all became serious, and our ears were waiting to hear just one thing—the whistle!

Pheeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww!!!!

We all ran as if there were no tomorrow!

After we reached the finish line, I didn't even notice who had come first. I was just panting!

My class teacher came over to me and hugged me. She gave me a glass of water and two Melody toffees. It was only then that I realized I had come first!

I was told that I would be given the trophy on the Annual Day, which was that weekend.

That day, I eagerly waited for my mom to return from work. As soon as she came home, I told her that I would be receiving a trophy in front of everyone on Annual Day. My mom didn't quite know how to react to the little kid's excitement, but she played along and said, "Yes, you will."

On the Annual Day, my mom and I (my dad was out of town) were seated in the back rows of the hall. I kept excitedly telling her that my name would be called.

This time, however, my mom said, "I just hope they call your name. But even if they don't, it doesn't matter. I'll get you a trophy."

I realized she was worried that it might all have been a misunderstanding, and that I would end up heartbroken if my name wasn't called.

Then, suddenly, my name was announced!

My mom was ecstatic and visibly relieved. She nudged me to go up on stage, and I simply bolted towards it, received the trophy and certificate, raced back to her, handed them over, and kept saying, "Mommy! Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you?"

I could see a tear or two in her eyes.

That was the very first prize I ever won. I have won many more since then, but this one will always remain the most special.

Coincidentally, I also finished my school days by winning the gold medal in the 100-metre race in my 12th standard.

I began and ended my schooling with a gold medal in the 100-metre dash!