Nale Ba · Four Words on the Door

In Bangalore in the nineties a rule went around: at night, write “Nale Ba” on your door in charcoal. It means “come back tomorrow”.

The story was that a female ghost went from door to door at night calling the same words, and that people wrote the phrase on their doors before she arrived, so that she believed the household had already been given an appointment and went on.

Today the writing on those doors has mostly been covered by nameplates and advertisements. In the old parts of the city it can still occasionally be seen.

Urban Legends / Bangalore · India / 1990s