The Ghost Village of Bonacaud
Bonacaud or Bonaccord as named by the British was once home to a sprawling tea plantation at the base of Agasthya Hills. Bonakkad, as the locals call it today, is situated closer to the capital city of the State of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, in Southern India. Today, it is widely known as the base station for trekking up to Agasthyarkoodam (6126 ft tall peak, part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve).
In the early 1800s, it was a bubbling village that saw heavy domestic in-migration from neighboring villages. Most of the tea plantation workers came from the southern districts of the present-day State of Tamil Nadu. The village surrounded the Bonacaud Bungalow (GB 25), built-in 1951, the primary residence of the English Overseer of the Tea Plantation. It was synonymous with prosperity until the advent and implementation of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in the late 1900s. GATT essentially lifted the restrictions on the cheap import of cash crops which adversely affected plantations across the country. But trouble was brewing in Bonacaud for some time and GATT was the last nail on the coffin.
A tragic accident at the Bonacaud Bungalow killed the children of the English overseer which left them scarred and traumatized, soon after, the overseer and his family left India for good. Owing to this incident, the bungalow garnered a lot of negative attention and the alleged siting of ghosts, creepy noises from the bungalow added fuel to fire.
Subsequent owners of the plantation could not maintain its operations and eventually, the plantation was shut off indefinitely, and lately, the state government proposed to take over the estate.
But the bungalow is not what makes Bonacaud haunted, it’s the emptiness of the village with very few of the descendants of plantation workers remaining which makes it dark and creepy. The frequent mist and fog give it a mysterious look as if Bonacaud is hiding her grief behind a cold veil.
Once a thriving ground for humans has now been taken over by nature. It is surprising to see if left unattended, how quickly nature takes over its place. The bungalow now stands as a mere shadow of its former glory, the windows broken and the interiors and exteriors beat by wind and rain; currently, it is home to all sorts of reptiles that you can find in the Western Ghats. Once darkness settles in, it also acts as a refuge for the local miscreants, a haven for drinking and smoking.
You can hear the stream flowing and crickets chirping happily in the woods of Bonacaud but you cannot deny the heaviness of the air as if it is carrying a burden of despair. A destination preferred by ghostbusters, paranormal investigators, and hikers lies dormant, waiting for a revival, reminiscing its lost glory and fortune.