The ghost which existed only on cc TV!
Mangaluru: With the advent of new technology the nature of ‘spirits’ has also changed! While I am not commenting on those of the potable variety of which I can be called as a sampler but not a great devotee. Those of the supernatural category interests me the more as an investigator of the paranormal. When one of my old friends and rationalist colleague Hariyappa Pejavar approached me a few days ago with a so-called paranormal phenomenon taking place in the hose of one of his relatives, I could not resist investigating it because the alleged paranormal event had been captured on cc TV recording! That was something that was really interesting!
When we went to the home of the witnesses the family had gone for a function. But that did not prevent us from investigating the incident. It was narrated that this had happened on the night of Mahalya Amavasya the last day of the Pitra Paksha when the dead ancestors descend to the terra firma to receive their annual sustenance for the next year, after which they go back for the next twelve months. On that night it was said that the cc Tv had captured the footage of a roundish lump-like mass changing shape a little but still coming back to its old form!
The same disappeared after a few hours but to be replaced by a stick like figure with flashing lights floating around and swaying from side to side in a wide arc.
These incidents scared them so much that they had approached our friend Hariyappa Pejavar for a solution. Of course one of the easiest conclusions supported by a local oracle was that their neighbours with whom they had a dispute had performed black magic to send a few spirits after them which though were not visible to human eyes were captured by the camera. Around 5 GB of the video recording was brought for our perusal and comment. When we consulted our expert Kota Prashant Nayak who is a professional in the field, he went through the recording meticulously and reported that the blob was a translucent image captured by the cc camera which had gone into the infrared mode because of the darkness on that night as it was a new moon day and also cloudy. The camera had captured what was not visible to the human eye! This had convinced the occupants of the house who had already suspected some foul play involving ‘spirits’ that it was some evil force sent to harm them by the enemies next door! About the stick like figure in the centre of the other frame, our expert opined that it was due to some small pieces of leaves caught in a spiders web and swinging in the wind.
Anyway, the recordings have been taken by him for a detailed analysis. Our next task was to convince these superstition ridden people that it was not a ghostly phenomenon which was the toughest job. We finally went to their house with an opaque hood which covered the cc TV camera. But, they were surprised to see that though no light was inside they could see things clearly on the monitor! Then I put some coloured objects inside this hood to convince them that under infrared light all things would look black or white only the intensity of the brightness would vary! The neighbours with whom they had a dispute about some land had made use of their superstitious mindset and had been indulging in activities which apparently were connected with rituals allegedly used by the perpetrators of black magic and witchcraft! So, scared by this they had already consulted some oracle who had promised them that he could annul the effect of the evil done to them of course for the mutually affordable ‘consultation charges’! Due to intervention by us the business of the oracle was spoilt!
Narendra Nayak
President, Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
