Nishi Daak
Also known as: Nishir Daak · Nishi Dak · Call of the Night
Nishi Daak is the dreaded night-call of Bengal: a voice in the dark that should never be answered.
- Region
- West Bengal
- State
- West Bengal / Assam (regional variants)
- Danger
- High
- Habitat
- Village edges, ponds, bamboo groves, paths after midnight
Appearance
Often formless. The legend centres on a voice—frequently one that mimics a mother, friend, or beloved—calling a person’s name from outside the house.
Behavior
Calls a person by name in a familiar voice late at night. Folklore warns never to answer or open the door. Some versions say answering leads the living into the dark, never to return.
Origin
Bengali and neighbouring eastern oral traditions about a midnight call that lures the living away from safety.
Full Account
The legend of Nishi Daak (the call of the night) is not primarily a story of a visible monster. It is a story about sound, trust, and the threshold of the home.
Households across Bengal and neighbouring regions teach that if your name is called after a certain hour—especially in a familiar voice—you must not respond. The caller may not be human. The safety of the living depends on silence and closed doors until dawn.
The tale encodes practical night caution and deep anxieties about separation, rivers, ponds, and the village edge. Related motifs appear under different names across eastern India.
Read alongside Shakchunni and Bhoot for broader eastern and pan-Indian spirit vocabularies.
Cultural Notes
Document the specific community version when possible. Closely related motifs appear across eastern India with local names and slightly different rules.
Sources & References
Bengali oral tradition motifs; educational composite account.
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