Chir Batti
On dark nights over the Banni grasslands, people describe a light that moves like a lantern with no one carrying it.
What was reported
Herders and villagers in the Banni grasslands, on the edge of the Rann of Kutch, have long described lights that appear after dark, float above the ground, and seem to keep their distance when someone follows. Locally they are called chir batti.
Accounts say the lights can shift colour and are seen most often on dark, moonless nights. Stories of travellers who followed them and lost their way are part of local folklore.
Explanations offered
The usual suggestion is marsh gas or another natural glow from the wetland ground, like the will-o'-the-wisp lights described in Europe. No detailed scientific study has confirmed it.
- When
- Reported for generations
- Where
- Banni grasslands, Kutch, India
- Witnesses
- Local herders and travellers
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.