Glowing Lights, Discs, And Ancient Vimanas: The Persistent UFO Encounters Of The Indian Region

India has a long history of unidentified flying objects and futuristic aerial vehicles that, if the ancient texts are to be believed, stretches back thousands and thousands of years. And these UFO sightings continue today in abundance.

What’s more, many of the countries that border India or reside a (relative) short distance away across the water have their own small mountain of UFO sightings on record, which while taking place across international borders today, if the claims of UFO activity in antiquity are accurate, are likely operating over the same widespread airspace as they did thousands of years ago.

What is particularly interesting about the ancient Sanskrit texts is they appear to speak openly of beings from another world, machines that fly on Earth and in space, as well as ancient wars with advanced weapons. And what’s more, many people (including scholars) who have studied them take them as absolute fact. Indeed, this general widespread belief in the realities of such texts is perhaps vindicated in the many instructions on how to construct and operate these advanced vehicles contained within their pages.

Before we examine some of the claims of ancient flying machines in this part of the world, we will spend most of our time with the many sightings and encounters of the modern era.

The Chennai City UFO Sighting

Perhaps one of the most intriguing UFO encounters unfolded in the late 1980s in the Madras region of India. In fact, as we shall see, the witness in this particular sighting would go on to experience several other encounters. The sighting was eventually reported to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) in 2002. ^[1]

On the evening of 30^th June 1988 over Chennai City, the anonymous witness returned to the hostel where he was staying. As he usually did, he shut the door and went about opening the windows in order to let in some fresh air. After doing so he went to remove his shoes. It was then that things turned strange.

Suddenly, “the windows slammed crazily with a sudden gust of wind” and everything became very dark. Wanting to know what was happening, the witness went out onto the balcony of his room. As he did so he looked upward to the sky and noticed how a certain part of it had “turned into an inky blue, but only to a limited area”. Then, he noticed a “flash of red light” coming from above the clouds.

He at first thought it was a helicopter about to land. However, he soon realized that the light was not flickering like that of a helicopter and what’s more, it was merely hovering in the same place. When he realized that he couldn’t hear any sound whatsoever, he completely dismissed any notion that it was a helicopter or any other terrestrial aircraft.

The next thing he realized, the light had changed from red to orange, and of more concern, it was growing larger. It was at this time that the light took on a distinct oval-shaped appearance. The lights then began to change color once more, from pink to yellow to orange and back to red. As well as changing color it also appeared to grow brighter.

Suddenly the realization dawned on him that he was alone and consequently, feared that no one would believe him if he reported it. It was at this point he ran out of the room to grab another tenant from across the hall. Dragging him back to his window, the pair each viewed the “unbelievable phenomenon” for several more moments.

Then, the object appeared to head in their direction before coming to a stop once more. It remained motionless for several seconds and then took off at a relatively fast speed, skimming through the air at an altitude similar to the 10^th floor of a building. As the pair watched, the object then began to decrease in size, becoming no more than a faint light within a matter of seconds.

The story for the witness, though, would not end there.

A Second Encounter With Multiple Witnesses!

Several nights later the witness was sat on a balcony with several other people who lived at the hostel. It was around 10 pm and the subject of the bizarre object came up. As the witness began to tell them of the encounter, he realized that they were not taking his account seriously, even though he had a corroborating witness to the event (although this witness remained tightlipped during the relaying of the account).

As the exchange grew slightly heated, the witness could not believe his eyes when he looked upward and saw the exact same object once again. He quickly got the attention of the gathering and had them divert their attention upward.

Although they would offer explanations that it was an airplane or a helicopter, the longer the group watched it, the harder it was to make such assertions. Ultimately, they would back down and admit the object was indeed strange, and it didn’t appear to be anything they had witnessed before.

These sightings, though, would continue for some time.

Yet More Connections Between Water And UFOs

Over the course of the following months, the witness would see the strange craft on several separate occasions. And the more he witnessed the object the more details he began to note about it.

For example, it would always seem to appear in the direction of the airport and head out toward the sea. This is an interesting detail as, as we have mentioned many times, more UFO sightings than not appear over or near water. Might the fact that the craft was heading out to sea suggest it was on its way to an underwater base?

He would also note that the objects would move with a “lazy” feel to them until they reached the coast. At that point, they would increase their speed dramatically.

Perhaps one of the most bizarre encounters he witnessed, though, was the strange object approaching a fighter jet with great speed. Upon catching up to it, it came to a stop above it and then maintained its distance at that point.

The witness would conclude that these objects were likely flying over the city, and likely other areas of the country, all the time. As we will examine next, though, the witness might be correct as there are many sightings of strange objects over the Indian skies on record, particularly so in the 2000s.

UFO Sightings Over India In The 2000s

As the 2000s began to unfold more and more UFOs began to be reported over India. And while this is likely due to the advancements in technology such as the availability of mobile phones to capture footage, as well as the Internet which ensures such sightings are not forgotten over the course of time, the fact is, it is most likely that these sightings are a continuation of events that have occurred here for a considerable time longer.

Some of these sightings, as we might expect, are more intriguing than others. And many of them share very similar details, perhaps lending them a little more credibility. We begin with a sighting of a triangular craft in early 2001, a sighting that was seemingly witnessed by several people and would receive coverage in a local newspaper.

Triangular Object Over Dharwad

Perhaps the first of these occurred a little after midnight on 10^th April 2001 over Dharwad in Karnataka. The main witness – a student at the time – was sitting outside of their room along with two friends. They were talking together when one of them happened to look upward, noticing something strange in the dark sky overhead.

After first reasoning that the strange object was merely a “big airplane”, they soon realized that it had a distinct triangular shape to it. The object would eventually come so close to them that the witness claimed they would have been able to touch it if they had been on the second floor of the building.

As they continued to watch the craft, noticing how it had a light at each corner on the underside, it headed toward the mountains. They began to follow it, doing so for around five minutes, estimating that it was moving between 20 to 25 miles per hour. The object disappeared over the other side of a hill. By the time they had made it to the top of the hill, the object had vanished. Interestingly, the following day a local newspaper ran an article claiming that several other people had witnessed the strange object.

Similar Sightings Take Place Over The Following Years

Around a year later, in April or May 2002, at around 2 am in Pune, Maharashtra, a local resident was laying on the terrace of the building where they were staying watching the stars in the night skies overhead. As they did so, they noticed a bright, orange-colored object.  The object was distinctly round and appeared to be at an extremely high altitude.

To begin with, the object appeared to maintain a steady speed. However, suddenly, it changed direction with no warning whatsoever and increased its pace considerably, approximately now moving around four times faster than it had been previously. It would eventually disappear from sight. The witness estimated it was within sight for no longer than a minute.

A similar sighting unfolded around 18 months later over Navi Mumbai at just after 7 pm on 20^th December 2003. The witness, who was on their way to a night class at the time, noticed a glowing object in the early evening sky. Like many people who first notice a glowing object overhead, the witness at first believed what they were seeing was an airplane or a helicopter. However, as they looked at the object again, they noticed that there was something strange about it.

As they focused more intently on the object, they realized it had a triangular shape to it. What’s more, the light was actually three lights – one at each corner (much like the sighting in April 2001). They would estimate that each side of the triangle was around 3,000 feet in length and appeared to be flying at an altitude of around 1,000 to 1,500 feet. Even stranger, the witness heard no sound whatsoever from the object.

The object remained in sight for around two minutes before disappearing. The witness would proceed to their class. Despite watching the skies intently on their return journey, they didn’t see the triangular craft again.

Circular And Triangular Craft Continue To Be Seen

Just over four months later, on the evening of 10^th May 2004 at a little before 10:30 pm in Jaipur, Rajasthan, a triangular or boomerang-shaped object was spotted by a local astronomer. On the night in question, the witness was watching the stars overhead when they suddenly focused on a “rather big object with several lights below it”.

Although the object was moving very decisively, it was moving at a relatively slow pace, especially for its size. The witness noticed that there were also lights around the edges of the craft. Even more amazing, some of the lights appeared to be “focused” in a specific direction as if they were “searching for something”. Realizing he was seeing something truly out of the ordinary the witness rushed inside, calling out to their parents to come outside. However, by the time they did so, the object had completely vanished.

Around the same time, between Bangalore and Hyderabad, at around 2:30 am on the night in question, came another sighting of a strange, glowing object. The witness to the event was staying with relatives and was traveling to Hyderabad on the train. Despite the time, the witness was still awake and so gazed out of the windows while the train stood motionless on the tracks waiting for another train to pass ahead of them so they could continue on their way.

As they scanned the scene outside, they suddenly noticed a bright object in the night sky. They at first believed they had spotted Venus. However, when the light began to change color they realized they were not looking at a planet or a star. At this stage, they began to focus on the object with more urgency.

To their astonishment, the object appeared to be a distinct circular shape and appeared to be “slowly rotating on its axis”, the lights continuing to change as it did so. It was at this time the witness woke their wife who was asleep in the seat next to him. After she viewed the object for several seconds, they each decided to head toward the door in order to get a clearer view. However, by the time they had reached it, the train began moving once more. When the witnesses managed to return their view outside, the object had disappeared.

Many Local Residents Regularly Witness UFOs

Early in the morning of 10^th February 2005, at a little after 6 am in the town of Katni, Madhya Pradesh, a local resident who was brushing up outside the family home witnessed a hemispherical-shaped object overhead. It appeared to be traveling in a “curved” motion and appeared to be unlike any other object they had witnessed before.

He immediately called out to his father of the strange craft, who ran onto the terrace on the roof. He too witnessed the craft as it continued to move across the night sky. The witnesses would estimate that the altitude was equivalent to a 20-story building. It eventually disappeared into the clouds.

A little over a year later at just after 7:50 pm on the evening of 7^th April 2006 over Karwar, Karnataka, a local resident would witness a bizarrely shaped object as they stood on the terrace of a friend’s house. They had been merely watching the skies lazily at the time when they suddenly picked up on the strange craft.

They would describe it as being yellow in color and appeared to change from a square shape to an oval one. It only remained in sight for several seconds before it disappeared at great speed, leaving a “golden trail” behind it as it did so.  However, around 30 minutes later, another strange event unfolded.

At just before 8:30 pm, as the witness was still watching the sky, they suddenly noticed a “bright golden light” which was seemingly hovering motionless overhead. The witness called out to anyone who might be listening in order that he could ensure there were other witnesses to these bizarre events. His cries, though, went unanswered. Then, after around 15 seconds, the glowing object began to descend with great speed. Within five seconds, it had disappeared from sight.

The witness would continue in his report that he and other local residents had witnessed such strange objects on a regular basis going back to the late 1990s. What’s more, it is the belief of many of the local population that whatever intelligence is behind these strange objects is benevolent.

Glowing Object Descends And Then Disappears!

In Pune, Maharashtra at a little after 6 am on the morning of 22^nd February 2007 another sighting of a glowing spherical object was reported. The witness had gotten out of bed in order to get a drink or water and fully intended to return to bed for a little while longer. Although it was beginning to turn light, the stars were still visible in the early morning skies as they looked out of the window from the third story of their house.

On this occasion, however, as they looked at the sky outside, they noticed something strange – a “spherical, bright object”. The witness knew immediately that this strange glow was not a star and was not Venus or any other planetary body. And when he saw the glowing orb move, he fully realized this.

As it moved, it appeared to “pulsate” somewhat, emitting a distinct orange-reddish glow from what he assumed was the bottom of the object. He continued to watch the object as it moved calmly across the sky, noting how calm he felt despite the truly bizarre nature of the events. That was until the object began to descend, still at the same, calm pace as it had previously been moving across the sky.

Then, it stopped dead, blinked for a moment before vanishing, as if into thin air. He continued to stare at the spot it had been only seconds earlier in case his eyes were playing tricks on him and he would suddenly spot it again. However, this wasn’t the case. He was certain when he made his report that the object had not taken off at speed but that it had literally just disappeared.

As he continued to watch the spot in the sky where the object had been only seconds earlier, he noticed the blinking lights of a passenger plane fly across the sky – in the exact same spot where the glowing object had been only moments earlier. This would make him wonder whether the object had disappeared so quickly in order to avoid a collision with the aircraft.

Unfortunately, it appeared as though the young man was the only witness to this event. Despite speaking with many people in the area, no one else appeared to have seen the bizarre, glowing craft, and there were no reports of the incident in any of the newspapers in the days that followed.

UFOs Seemingly All Over India

Another intriguing sighting of a strange craft unfolded around three months later on the evening of 28^th May. It was around 8:45 pm when the witness (who declined to say exactly where he was in the country in his report of the incident) was sitting on their balcony watching the sky overhead after dinner.

Although it was dark, the white clouds were still visible overhead which had captivated the witness’s attention. Suddenly, though, a “huge, bright strange thing” appeared out of the clouds, oscillating as it did so. He watched the object for around 20 minutes, even noticing how a passenger jet passed by at one stage, reinforcing the fact that he was viewing something truly extraordinary.

Eventually, the witness rushed downstairs to get his sister in order that she could see the bizarre object. Upon leading her up to the balcony, she too witnessed the glowing craft. Each of them remained where they were for several minutes before the craft began to move off into the distance.

Although he believed he and his sister had been the only people who had witnessed the event, he would discover an article in the Daily Thanthi newspaper several days later which described the same object they had seen.

Another rotating disc-shaped object was witnessed at around 11:15 pm on the evening of 22^nd January 2008 over NDA Hill. The witness, a local man, witnessed the strange object overhead as he parked his car. He immediately called his wife informing her of what he was looking at.

After speaking with him, she ran to grab her binoculars and attempted to locate the object her husband was describing. Amazingly, she had it in her sights almost immediately. She would recall how it was definitely “disc structured” with “stable lights on its circumference”. What’s more, it was clearly rotating on its own axis.

It remained in this position for around 30 seconds before it began to descend to the ground in a drifting motion. It would ultimately disappear out of sight behind a nearby hill.

Shiny Disc Over The Himalayas, Nepal, 1927

According to a 1964 NICAP report by Richard Hall, a strange encounter with an unidentified flying object unfolded a little after 9:30 am on the morning of 5^th August 1927 over the Himalayan Mountains. The witness – explorer, Nicholas Roerich – was by his caravan along with several members of his team when they noticed a “big, black eagle” flying overhead. As they were watching the bird one of the group noticed a “shiny, oval-shaped object” moving through the bright morning sky.

The person in question suddenly exclaimed that “there is something far above the bird”, bringing the rest of the group’s attention to the disc which was reflecting the sun brilliantly. It was moving with great speed and changed direction several times.

Despite the speed of the craft, it was visible long enough for the witnesses to view it through their binoculars. Roerich would recall that they could see “quite distinctly the oval form with the shiny service”. It would eventually disappear into the “intense blue sky”.

What the object might have been is clearly open to debate. There has been, though, plenty of theories put forward to explain the bizarre sighting in Nepal that morning in 1927. UFO researcher, Leon Davidson, for example, would claim that what the group saw was nothing but a weather balloon that was released by another expedition nearby (led by Sven Hedin Sino).

However, as Hall points out, given that weather balloons of the time would have been between two and four feet in length, for it to have been visible to Roerich and his team would have meant the Swedish expedition would have to have been only a mile away. Essentially, they “would have almost literally bumped into each at such short ranges”. What’s more, Roerich would have been able to see the launch, as well as hear it. We know, however, that this wasn’t the case (the two parties were around 400 miles to each other at their closest meeting point) meaning the chances of it being a weather balloon are almost non-existent.

What’s more, Roerich and his team claimed they viewed the object with their binoculars for several moments and could clearly see the detailed shape of it. Each would have been more than familiar with weather balloons and we might expect that they would have easily recognized the object as such if that is what it was.

Equally Intriguing Sightings Over Sri Lanka

We might do well to turn our attention south of India to Sri Lanka, where UFO sightings are also on record. Perhaps one of the earliest occurred on 18^th January 1960 when, according to Flying Saucer Review, three “experienced witnesses” observed a strangely shaped object in the clear morning sky for just short of five minutes.

The Sri Lanka Unidentified Flying Object Research Association (SLUFOA) has investigated many such sightings since. One of the first occurred in 1984 ^[2] over Mahawewa in Polonnaruwa. On the day in question, three schoolchildren and a teacher witnessed a “blue spherical object” hovering overhead at around 12:30 pm.

Even stranger, according to the four witnesses, the object descended, even landing in a nearby school. Following this, a “humanoid creature” emerged from the object and began examining the area around it. So panic-stricken were the witnesses that they turned and ran from the scene.

As intriguing as these encounters are, however, some, particularly those that have taken place in the contemporary era (relatively speaking) stand out somewhat, not least as it is one of those sightings that forces us to ask questions regarding what “aliens” might actually be and where they reside.

Saucer-Shaped Object “Blasts “ Out Of The Ocean

According to the 10^th April 1990 edition of the Weekly World News, a saucer-shaped object was witnessed by several crew members of a tanker vessel, the Kim Seng, flying “out of the ocean” ^[3] and circling their ship. The bizarre craft would do this for around 15 minutes before ultimately returning beneath the waves and disappearing. The incident unfolded around 200 miles south of Matara in the Indian Ocean.

Rasika Mawatha, the 47-year-old captain of the ship claimed it was “at least five times the size of our ship”, adding that, to begin with, he was “so shocked I nearly fainted from fright”. In fact, the entire crew all fell to the deck, covering their heads from the bizarre and monstrous object that had suddenly appeared.

He would continue that the object (which he called a “spacecraft”) “glowed and pulsated with a silvery light”, continuing that a “beam of light” appeared to shine from the underside of the craft. He also claimed that he had the feeling that “whoever was in the craft was scanning” the vessel.

Mawatha would further add that “all the ship’s instruments went haywire” at the appearance of the object, adding that the radio was completely dead and the “needle on the compass kept spinning around and around”. Incidentally, the moment the object vanished back beneath the waves, the instruments, radio, and compass returned to normal.

Although no one was injured during the incident, the tanker itself suffered structural damage due to the “towering waves” that hit it as the UFO blasted out of the waters.

Following Mawatha’s report of the incident, authorities would search the area for several days in an attempt to locate the strange object. However, no signs of it were found.

Multiple Disc And Moon Shaped Objects Witnessed By Members Of The Same Family

Although the exact date is uncertain, a late-afternoon sighting in 1993 featured multiple disc-like objects over several Sri Lankan towns.

The main witness, a school student, was sitting outside their house with other members of their family when they noticed a strange, orange “moon-shaped” object in the eastern part of the sky. He pointed to the object, asking his father if it was the moon. However, after his father informed him that the moon didn’t rise in that direction, they realized they may be seeing something a little more intriguing.

By this time, several other members of the family had noticed the strange, glowing, spherical object, and they continued to view it as they wondered aloud what it might be for around 30 minutes. Then, things turned even stranger.

Slightly to the south of the object, a star-like light appeared which appeared to change into an oval shape right before the onlookers’ eyes. The next thing they knew, the object “released a moon-shaped object” almost identical to the first one although the color this time was red as opposed to orange.

As the small group of family members continued to watch the aerial display, several more star/oval-shaped objects appeared, each time sending a similar moon-shaped object into the sky almost identical to the first two. In total, the family watched the display for between three to four hours before the objects appeared to fade and disappear.

Perhaps amazingly, no other residents of the towns witnessed the bizarre crafts, much to the disbelief of the witness. Whatever they might have been remains unknown.

UFO Lands In Primary School Playground

According to an account in the 10^th May 1998 edition of the Sri Lankan Sunday Times, on the afternoon of 30^th April 1998, another sighting with schoolchildren as the witnesses was reported at Adikaram Primary School in Bandarawela. ^[4] On the day in question, 8-year-old Indika Dissanayake arrived at school at around 6:30 am as he did most school mornings. He went along to his classroom and dropped his bag off inside when a sudden “sharp noise” reached his ears. He would later recall that he thought the building was collapsing.

He rushed outside fully expecting the building to begin crumbling around him. However, as he stepped outside, he witnessed a “large disc-shaped object” with what appeared to be “legs” protruding from the underside resting on the surface of the playground.

He stood, rooted to the spot, and watched the strange object as lights began to flash red and yellow. He continued to watch for what seemed like only a few moments before it suddenly rose off the ground and took off into the air with tremendous speed. When the young boy checked the time, it was almost 7:45 am meaning over an hour had passed.

Unbeknown to Indika at the time was that another student at the school also witnessed the bizarre landing – 10-year-old Harsha Ellawalagedera. As he was a senior student (as well as one of the brightest) it was Harsha’s responsibility to unlock all of the classrooms before the start of the school day. It was as he was doing so that he heard the same sudden loud noise that Indika had heard.

He turned around and looked out of the classroom window which overlooked the playground. There, resting on three legs, was the disc-shaped object, flashing red and yellow. He would recall how only “a second later, I saw it in the sky. It climbed higher and floated off over the mountains”.

He would further recall to the newspaper reporters that it was around eight feet across and seven feet high. What’s more, despite a soft buzzing sound when it left the ground, the vehicle didn’t make a single sound.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of adults at the scene at the time, many of the imprints that had been left in the sandy playground had been smeared by people walking over them. However, when staff arrived, they did manage to capture a photograph of one of them. You can see that picture below.

Perhaps most interestingly, the witnesses claimed that these kinds of objects are often seen flying overhead. In fact, later that evening another sighting occurred at a nearby school. And it is there where we will turn our attention next.

The St. Joseph’s Grounds Incident

At 7:45 pm, around 12 hours after the UFO landed in the Adikaram Primary School playground, a 16-year-old student from St. Thomas’ College – Sheran de Silva – was walking home after having visited his grandmother. As he walked near the St. Joseph’s Grounds, he noticed a strange “column of bright light” that appeared to reach the ground from the sky.

He looked up and saw the unmistakable shape of a disc-shaped object overhead. Before he could move, a bright red-yellow light emerged from the craft and hit his body. Although it didn’t cause any injury, the episode was enough to make the student turn and run as fast as he could. He would later state that he “knew instantly that it was a spaceship”.

There were, though, even more witnesses to these strange events of April 1998. A short time later Dr. Ramachandran from the Bandarawela District Hospital also witnessed something strange while driving home from work. As he happened to look at the sky, he witnessed a strange light heading skyward. At first, he believed it was merely a flare from a nearby camp. However, as he continued on his journey, he eventually discovered that the light appeared to be coming from a lonely field near the AMO quarters.

Dr. Ramachandran would later claim that the light was “strange because it went straight into the sky, like a laser beam”. He and his wife – who also saw the incident – would describe the light as a definite “red-yellow” color and like a “beam”.

One of Dr. Ramachandran’s colleagues Dr. Kamani Pushpa Kumara of the Diyatalawa Hospital had witnessed an almost identical display several weeks earlier as she watched the stars with her three children. As they did so, a disc-shaped object flew overhead with “flashing red, yellow, and green lights”. Although she wasn’t sure of what they had seen, she was certain it wasn’t a helicopter or a plane, adding “this was different” and “unlike anything I’ve seen before”.

Although local police were aware of the sightings, they were unable to explain what they were and they remain unsolved.

Glowing Object Speeds Over Kosgama

Another intriguing encounter unfolded over the Bollaththewa, Kosgama in January 2000. On the night in question, three local residents would report a “glowing ball-like object” which moved across the sky with great speed. Even stranger, the object “zigzagged” in different directions several times before it simply disappeared in an instant.

The incident was investigated by SLUFOA and while it appeared to be a genuine report because the three witnesses each saw the object from different locations the details offered were themselves different.

For example, the size, color, or general descriptions all differed slightly. However, the basic details of a glowing, spherical, or orb-like object, the presence of strange lights, as well as the speed at which they move all sit nicely with the general descriptions given by those in Sri Lanka who have witnessed them.

Wave Of Sightings Over Polonnaruwa

Around two years later, ^[5] at approximately 10 pm on 8^th June 2002, a wave of sightings occurred over Polonnaruwa over a period of several weeks. Once more, the sightings were investigated and well-documented by SLUFOA. Their files state that over 100 people reported seeing strange objects flying overhead. What’s more, many of these sightings contained almost identical details in terms of the general description of the vehicles, as well as how they moved.

Many of the reports stated these strange crafts were “glowing spherical objects” that simply hovered in the sky before disappearing with lightning speed. On many occasions, several of these glowing orbs were seen together in “clusters” and they often emitted “colored lights” that sometimes reached the ground.

The sightings were so frequent and well-reported that they not only gained national interest, but UFO investigators came from as far away as the UK in order to investigate them for themselves. Interestingly, some of the reports even contained details of “alien entities” seen in quiet locations around the area who would “run away” when approached. This detail, as we shall see shortly, comes up again in a bizarre incident that would take place several years later.

Further UFO encounters that took place around the same time as those in Polonnaruwa were documented in the 16^th June 2002 edition of the Sri Lankan Sunday Observer. ^[6]

According to the article, several reports of a “strange ball of blue light” had been reported going back to the middle of May. And what’s more, they were often seen around a sacred cliff in nearby Dimbulagala.

This would ultimately lead to several UFO researchers suggesting that the appearances were possibly a reconnaissance mission of sorts that concerned itself with the ancient mysteries of humanity.

Strange Blue-White Lights Over The Parakrama Samudra

A further flurry of UFO sightings was reported the following month in July according to an article in the 4^th July 2002 edition of the Daily News of Sri Lanka. ^[7] And once more, many of the details of these sightings were remarkably similar to each other.

One particular witness, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that “more than 100 villagers” witnessed at least one of the sightings while he was camping near the Parakrama Samudra on the evening of 15^th June. On the night in question, at around 11:30 pm, he and many others witnessed a “blue-white light” beam that was “unlike any other light we have seen before”.

These light beams, according to the anonymous witness, would rotate before disappearing and then reappear moments later in a different location in the sky. The witness would continue that the light beams appeared to emanate from the dense jungle that surrounded the area where they were camping.

According to the report, one of the witnesses (an “Advanced Level Student”) was familiar with these strange glowing objects. He would claim that when they moved through the sky they did so with “high velocity”. However, when they chose to fly at a lower altitude, a faint hum or buzz can be heard. They could also change direction in a split second.

The objects were witnessed for several consecutive days before stopping as quickly as they had started.

The Thanamalvila Aliens Encounter

Four years later in July 2006, over several nights, an even more intriguing encounter was reported. And what’s more, the events were reported by a local newspaper, The Daily Mirror.

On the evening of 23^rd July 2006, at around 6:30 pm, an 8-year-old student from Thanamalvila National School, G.W. Suranga, was making his home with his grandmother and sister. However, as they did so, all three of them saw “three persons, not more than two feet in height” ahead of them at the junction in the road. Suranga would describe them as being “dark-complexioned and wearing hats”.

The young boy would raise his hand and point to them attempting to alert his sister in case she hadn’t spotted them. As soon as he did so, though, the figures turned and ran, disappearing into the jungle at the roadside.

Two nights later on the evening of the 25^th July, when local UFO researchers arrived in the area to investigate the encounter, another bizarre incident unfolded.

Led by Dr. Nissanka Jayadeya, the head of the Universal Research Society, the group arrived to speak with the witnesses, examine possible alien footprints left in the dirt, and to inspect the area of the sighting for themselves. In fact, it was these apparent footprints that investigators followed into the jungle. To their amazement, they soon found themselves looking at three strange beings, with one of the team managing to get to within 20 feet of them.

When Jayadeya visually examined the creatures’ feet, he noticed they had three “toes” which matched the impressions in the ground they had been following (they also had three long fingers on each hand). And, as Suranga had described, they were each around two feet tall and were grey in color with no sign of any body hair.

One of the members of the investigative team, W.M. Chamara claimed that after following the footprints they suddenly “heard a rattling noise from the thickets”. It was this that caused the group to stop. Shortly after, after scanning the scene in front of them, they spotted the apparently alien creatures.

Suddenly one of the creatures turned to look at the group, specifically Chamara. He noticed straight away how “blue and bright” the creature’s eyes were. Of more concern, however, was how “faint” he felt the longer he looked at it. Perhaps letting the moment get to him more than he should, Chamara lurched toward the group of strange figures, rising a club he was carrying in one hand. Before he had covered any meaningful ground, however, they had “disappeared into the jungle”.

What the creatures might have been is perhaps open to debate. It is perhaps interesting that there were no sightings of flying objects during these encounters, meaning that their craft was perhaps well-hidden in the depths of the jungle, or that they were terrestrial creatures, unknown to the modern world who discreetly shared the region with the local population.

While the grey skin and the height of the creatures certainly matches that of a typical grey alien, the bright, blue eyes don’t. Might it be possible that these creatures were some kind of alien hybrid? The incident, as bizarre as it sounds, should be treated with a serious mind and the region perhaps most certainly requires further exploration and study.

Incidentally, the report in The Daily Mirror also mentions that several weeks previously, in Galle and Neboda, there were reports of similar “aliens being sighted”. Just what was taking place in the mid-2006 in Sri Lanka?

Boomerang-Shaped Object Witnessed Over Karachi, Pakistan

To the north of India lies Pakistan, and a sighting there in 1988 – around the same time as the Chennai City incident – is worth examining here.

At some point between 6 pm and 7 pm one evening in October 1988 a local resident was flying his model plane from a field in Karachi along with a friend. After he had packed up his model craft, he stood for a while watching his friend finish with his model plane so that they could set off home.

Although the sky was beginning to darken slightly, the sun was still visible in the sky. As he was watching his friend’s model plane, he noticed something in front of the plane pass by that briefly reflected the sun.

The witness would focus on the object and realized that it was a distinct boomerang shape with a white color to it. What’s more, it appeared to be spinning. He would estimate that it was approximately the size of a Boeing 737 airplane and didn’t appear to be moving particularly fast. Before he could focus on it any further, it disappeared.

The Prolonged UFO And Alien Encounters Of Thailand

It is perhaps also worth our while examining several sightings that have been reported in Thailand, which lies across the Bay of Bengal to the east of India. For example, in late November 1968 at ATakhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, the Ground Control Approach reported two unidentified objects that were moving slowly at a low altitude. They continued to track them until they were within several miles of the base before they simply disappeared.

Around three months later in March 1969, the crew of a KC-135 witnessed a large, black cylindrical object that appeared to follow them for several moments before disappearing.

As the twenty-first century loomed into view, though, sightings appeared to become more and more frequent.

Strange Lights And Glowing Objects

Three decades later in 1997, at around 9 pm in Phuket, four local residents witnessed a strange luminous object moving across the sky. The light stopped for several moments, before setting out again at great speed. The witnesses recalled that the object didn’t make a sound.

On 1^st November of the same year, over Hua Hin, Prachuap Kirikhan at approximately 11 pm, according to a report made to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), a husband and wife were laying on the roof of their condo watching the skies above when they noticed a strange object. The object was a rectangular shape and appeared to be “semi-transparent”. On the underside, were four, clear, constant lights. Although the object appeared to be at a high altitude, it was still surprising to the witnesses that they couldn’t hear any sounds you would normally associate with a flying vehicle. Within around 15 seconds, it had vanished from their sight.

Just short of two months later on 24^th December, further strange sightings were reported to the NUFORC from Phuket. At a little after 10 pm on the night in question, around 12 glowing objects were spotted moving slowly across the sky. The lights glowed a strange pulsating reddish-orange color and moved together but not in any strict formation. The witnesses each agreed that they were unlike anything they had previously seen.

Four years later in October 2001 in the Chiang Mai Province, an unnamed witness was returning to their guest house when they noticed a bizarre formation of lights in the western sky. He would estimate the glowing objects, which shone a brilliant yellow, were around fives miles from his location.

The light remained hovering “in formation” for several moments as the witness continued to observe them, going over the rational possibilities for what they might be in his mind. However, each time, whether it was night lights from the ground or weather balloons, he had to dismiss them as unlikely at best.

Suddenly, several of the lights “took off at the speed of light”, all in different directions. The last light shot off toward the east leaving the sky as clear as if they had never been there. Perhaps because of this lightning speed departure, the witness had only one option but to suspect the lights were the result of technology from another world.

Although there is very little known about the sighting, a picture allegedly captured over Bangkok at some point in 1977 is certainly interesting. You can view that picture below.

Without a doubt, though, one of the strangest UFO encounters to come out of Thailand occurred in the late summer of 2005.

The “Balloon Man” Incident

According to an article in Thailand’s The Nation newspaper, on the morning of 1^st September 2005 in the Mae Chan district, several local residents had a truly bizarre encounter with a strange creature that would be given the name “The Balloon Man”.

On the day in question, Sawaeng Bunratchasak was driving through Huay Nam Rak at around 8 am when something in a field along the roadside caught his attention. He slowed his vehicle and focused on what he perceived as a “moving scarecrow”. Even stranger, this “scarecrow” appeared to stare straight toward Bunratchasak, giving him the impression that it was asking for his help. After several more moments, he drove away from the scene, a little unnerved.

However, within several hours, news of the incident had spread to other parts of the town. One resident, Sawaeng Boonyalak, heard of the strange creature – already being described as an alien – that had landed in the rice field that morning. He immediately headed to the area, eager to see it for himself. According to what he later told reporters, he wasn’t disappointed.

He described the creature as having yellow skin, big eyes, and around two feet tall. Its head was completely bald and contained a small mouth. He further stated that the strange alien creature appeared to look around the field for several moments before floating upward and settling into a tree. By the time further villagers came to observe the strange goings-on, the creature floated upward and disappeared into a bright light.

One of those other villagers was Buakaew Intaweng, who when she first saw the strange figure she believed it was a doll. Others, like the first witness, believed it resembled a scarecrow. All agreed, though, that the creature appeared as though it had “very little energy” while walking until it began to float upward. This is perhaps an interesting detail and might suggest that – if we assume the creature was an alien – that it had trouble adapting to our atmosphere.

News Spreads Fast!

Following this incident, the news spread even faster around the community. In what seemed like no time at all, UFO investigators and enthusiasts, as well as reporters and television crews descended on the small village.

Despite the initial curiosity of the locals, as the day went on and darkness neared, a feeling of fear spread through the community, with people afraid to go near the field in case they were “kidnapped by the alien”. In fact, the panic seemingly took hold to such an extent that the district chief, Wisit Sittisombat visited the village in order to investigate the apparent sighting for himself. Although he and his team could find “no evidence to consider the entity seen by the villagers was an alien” they still stationed several officers at the location, both to calm the community and police the steady stream of visitors.

After several days of speculation as to what the strange figure might be, a local man, Tongmuan Pochailoet, stepped forward with an apparent confession. He had, he claimed set the whole thing up and the “alien” was, in fact, his scarecrow. He claimed he hadn’t come forward earlier as he hadn’t wanted to upset the villagers.

However, upon inspection, almost all of those who had seen the strange entity refused to believe that the scarecrow Pochailoet put forward was what they had witnessed. What’s more, many of the villagers now recalled a “shooting star” the night before the alien had appeared, which they were now questioning whether it had been a shooting star after all, and instead might have been an alien spacecraft. Further still, how had the “scarecrow” managed to float up to the trees, and then up into the sky and disappear?

Ultimately, local authorities would agree to set up a video camera overlooking the field so that footage of the creature – whatever it was – could be captured if it returned.

UFOs And Advanced Technology In The Indian Region In Ancient Times?

Although there are apparent examples of UFO activity in many ancient writings, those found in some of the ancient Indian texts are without a doubt some of the most intriguing. And while we don’t have space to go into a fully detailed examination of apparent ancient Indian flying machines here – called Vimanas – it would be amiss not to at least examine them in passing given the sheer amount of UFO encounters on record in the modern world.

We will explore these flying machines of ancient India as well as the notion that the gods of the era were flesh and blood entities as opposed to myth in an upcoming article. However, it is worth our time pointing out here that not only do these texts speak of vehicles that could traverse the Earth, but they mention ones could venture into the far reaches of outer space. Some even speak of gods taking humans onboard these spaceships and visiting other planets.

This advanced knowledge, though, spread much further than just aerial vehicles.

Signs Of A Highly Advanced Civilization

The Sanskrit texts are full of detailed writings not only on technological flying vehicles but advanced building designs and highly advanced medical procedures. For example, according to researcher Praveen Mohan, advanced medical knowledge is contained in the Sanskrit texts known as Shushruta Samhita, which was recorded around 100 years before similar writings of Hippocrates, regarded as the “Father of Modern Medicine”. What’s more, although these texts were only recorded around 800 BC, they had been passed on orally for thousands of years (some researchers suggest around 10,000 to 12,000 years – essentially around the end of the last ice age). Incidentally, a translation of Shushruta Samhita is “The original knowledge cannot be credited to Shushruta but it was only compiled by him”, which perhaps backs up the claims that this knowledge was known long before it was recorded.

While we will not go too deeply into this medical knowledge here as it is beyond the scope of our subject, it is perhaps worth noting some of the details, if only to show the high level of advancement of ancient Indian civilizations. For example, one text that Mohan translated explained detailed procedures for “Incision, Excising, Scraping, Puncturing, Probing, Extracting, Secreting fluids and Suturing”, as well as information on hundreds of medicinal plants, over 60 mineral resourced concoctions, and over 50 similar concoctions from animal resources. Even more interesting, is that some of these procedures elude us today.

Much can be said for many of the ancient buildings in India, perhaps not least the Temple in Sirpur that was recently rediscovered – largely intact – after being buried in the debris of the surrounding city from an earthquake in the eleventh century (after already having stood for 400 years before it). The one-time superintendent of the Archeological Survey of India, Dr. Arun Sharma, claimed the building is a perfect example of Vedic Architecture, which used heavy stones sealed with Ayurvedic paste, said to be so strong it lasts for over 1500 years compared to only 70 years for cement. What’s more, the building was built with specially designed vertical shafts or chambers that led straight down and helped assist against damage from an earthquake. This not only shows that they aware of the possibility of such a natural but devastating event (and ultimately their environment), but they had learned to overcome it.

Instructions That Could Be Used Today

If we return to the notion of flying vehicles in ancient India, it is worth noting the lecture and submitted paper of a principal at a pilot training school, Anand Bodas, who at the 2015 Indian Science Congress claimed that ancient Indian texts provided blueprints for flying machines that could be built and flown today, just as they had been in the ancient world.

While many were critical of Bodas’ claims – with some scholars even petitioning the convention to not allow him to speak – it is worth noting the experiments of Aerospace engineer, Travis Taylor, who would use a 3D print of a model, designed from instructions in such ancient Sanskrit texts, to prove that it was, in fact, aerodynamically sound.

You can view a brief news clip about Bodas’ comments below.

What is also interesting is a paper around the same time as Bodas’ claims of ancient flying machines, in the Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2014 paper by the International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology (IJEIT), titled Vedic Ion Engine the findings of several engineers ultimately reported that “the Vaimanika Shastra describes in detail the construction of what is called, the mercury vortex engine, the forerunner of the ion engines being made by NASA”.  Furthermore, NASA has since used ion engines in space (following a launch by conventional means) in the years since the paper was published.

We might also consider, given that the high-ranking inner circle of the Third Reich had an intense interest in these same Sanskrit texts (and indeed spent considerable time there in the run-up to the Second World War on archeological expeditions), that the alleged “Nazi Bell” might have been based on information gleaned from such writings. According to the book The Truth About The Wonder Weapon by Igor Witkowski, the futuristic craft was powered by a “mercury-like substance”.

Indeed, the more we study the Sanskrit texts, the more intriguing and eye-opening they become.

The short video below examines the writings of Vimanas a little further.

An Important Location For Historical And Contemporary Study

Much like the same as any other part of the world when there is a focus put on them, it appears clear that UFO activity is as rife here as anywhere else on the planet. And, also like many other locations around the world, it appears equally clear that this activity has been taking place for thousands of years, at the very least.

However, unlike many other parts of the world, the ancient writings and texts that speak of these flying machines and advanced beings (the gods) are seemingly written as fact and, for the most part, have been well preserved and remained in the consciousness of the indigenous population. If we are looking to find absolute proof of an extraterrestrial presence on Earth thousands of years ago (or at the very least, a civilization so advanced it had flying vehicles – some of which could reach other planets) there might be no better place to find it then in these ancient Sanskrit texts.

When we factor in some of the apparent underwater ruins in the region – documented brilliantly in Underworld by Graham Hancock – then the idea of an advanced civilization, possibly with advanced technology existing in this part of the world thousands of years ago grows even more possible, if not probable. And we might also consider the vast Indian Ocean to the south of the region, an ocean that could easily allow for discreet movement around the planet and even for underwater alien bases.

If there was an advanced civilization in India thousands of years ago, one that not only had knowledge of advanced building techniques and medicines but also of aerial vehicles that could even venture into space and the great beyond, do they share a connection with the many UFO sightings that persist in the modern era? Are they the same extraterrestrials that visited the planet in ancient times, essentially, the gods?

If there is a connection between these apparent advanced aerial vehicles of ancient India and UFO sightings in the modern and contemporary era, what might that connection be? Did these apparent gods simply pull away from society (as many creation legends state) but maintain a discreet presence here on Earth? Or are they indeed visiting us from afar, either to observe humanity’s progress or for reasons unknown? Or perhaps, if we accept the modern UFO sightings here are the result of extraterrestrial visitation, might these more recent cosmic visitors be an entirely different alien race? Perhaps one that has an entirely different agenda from those in ancient times?

The possibilities and the questions are many, but, at least for now, the answers and explanations are few.

The short videos below look at UFO activity around this region of southern Asia in ancient times.