Author Archives: aarushik

An Ancestral Possession

Collector’s Name: Aarushi Kumar

Gender: Male

Occupation: Employed, Computer Engineer

Performance Date: November 30, 2024

Relationship: Father

Age: 54

Nationality: South Asian/Indian

Primary Language: Hindi

Context:

I asked the subject if he’s had any encounters with spirits and if he would like to share. He said of course and gave me the synopsis of 3 options to choose from. I asked him to recite the story you read above because he experienced it first-hand and it was a story that held many morals that hold true with other ancestral ghost stories as well as the culture my interviewee grew up in.

R is the interviewee, A.K is the interviewer.

Transcription:

[R] This is the time when my grandpa was on death bed and uh and everyone was there, all the family was there, and as soon as my grandpa passed away, then, uh,  my, uh, papa’s younger brother- he started acting a little bit differently and he started speaking in my grandpa’s tone- when she had passed away before my grandfather. My grandma, basically, she was inside my dad’s brother and he started speaking in my grandma’s tone and saying that, oh, uh, I wanted to see how my grandpa was leaving this world And so that’s why she came- she wanted to experience that. My dad’s younger brother– he was crying and talking in her tone and crying. So for 5/10 minutes, he was like my grandma- behaving like how my grandma would behave if she was in the world. After 10 minutes or so, she basically left his body and he was normal. This was more than 30 years back. 

[A.K] But you were there?

[R] I was there, yes.

[A.K] How old were you?

[R] I was in, uh, 8th grade. Yeah

[A.K] And you saw it happen?

[R] I saw it happen, yeah.

[A.K] Did you realize what was happening [in the moment]?

[R] I realized something was not normal, but at that time, everyone was going with the flow. I was told later that my grandmother was there in his body. There was many people- everyone was there at that time.

Their thoughts on the story:

[A.K] So why do you think it happened?

[R] So, in Hindu mythology, uh, religion, we believe that- that- soul, we call it as “athma”, it never dies. But then, if the soul never gets peace, then they are basically traveling in the world only. They haven’t gotten peace, so they will find a way to travel and come back to the family and then say what they need. THey may help also- they will come back and forth and back and forth. Also in our Hindu mythology, we say that when your parents die, like both your mother and father, you should do “Pind Daan”. There is a place in India to liberate the soul and they never come back. My dad and the younger brother- my dad’s younger brother- after a few years, they did Pind Daan and my grandma never came back. I think she’s in peace and she never came back. 

[A.K] Do you know why she wasn’t at peace?

[R] She might have had some unfinished business to take care of. That’s what we believe.

My own thoughts:

First and foremost, I think it is very interesting that the interviewee brought up “unfinished business” as a reason for why his grandmother was not able to rest in peace because it is a motif that comes up constantly in studying ghost stories in class and across cultures. 

I chose this subject to tell their story because I knew it would relate directly to their culture. Despite, in class, us briefly discussing how in faiths like Hinduism have no space to logically believe in ghosts because of their beliefs in reincarnation, this subject tells me that many, if not the majority of, Hindus believe in ghosts and have had encounters with spirits before. Despite logic, the majority of individuals believe or have seen ghosts– a common dichotomy seen in many other cultures as well. 

The “Pind Daan” ritual in Hinduism reminds me of another classic motif when analyzing ghost stories- improper burial and rituals. Although the ghost was given a proper burial, in order to fully exercise it, the subject’s family had to perform a ritual to properly send the spirit off. In Hinduism, Pind Daan is a part of a proper send-off, and, therefore, is a part of what makes a proper burial, so it is understandable why the spirit stayed in the real world prior to the ritual– it hadn’t received a full send-off ritual.

Family Comfort

Collector’s Name: Aarushi Kumar

Nationality: Indian

Relationship: Mother 

Occupation: Employed

Performance Date: November 30, 2024

Age: 53

Primary Language: Hindi

Context: When talking about ghost stories with another subject, K willingly chimed in with her story. To maintain confidentiality, names and adjectives suggesting relations to the interviewer have been removed. This recollection has been transcribed from the interviewee’s native language, Hindi, to English. 

A.K is the interviewer, K is the interviewee

Transcription: 

[A.K] Do you see any of your loved ones who have passed away in your dreams?

[K] I have very vivid dreams, yes. I see “Daadi” (the subject’s mother-in-law) more than [her husband] does– he never sees her, but I do. 

[A.K] And what is she doing?

[K] Oh, she’s always doing what she did before she died. Cooking food, sitting at the dining table, chatting on the phone. It’s like she never left.

[K] I often see my mom in my dreams. She appears usually, uh, after big events, like when I got into the car crash– the one by the stop sign– and she’s always there to give me advice. She never speaks- she normally gives me, like, a nod or a smile from the corner [of the room], but that- that is her way of saying what she needs to say. Like when I got married– I did not want to get married at all. I really didn’t! I argued so much with [her father]. But, the night before the wedding, I saw my mother in my dreams with a reassuring smile. That’s how I knew I would be okay, and only then did I feel ready to marry. 

The Subject’s Thoughts: 

[A.K] Why do you think you see her so vividly and only in crucial moments of your life?

[K] She is watching over me. I think she is resting peacefully, but she died so young. She didn’t get to raise her children properly, and I think that is what makes her reappear in my dreams. She wants to raise me, so she.. I think she does it in the afterlife by showing up in my dreams.

My Thoughts: 

K’s story demonstrates a very heartwarming instance of an ancestral ghost story. 

It’s common for people to see their loved ones in their dreams, and, like in K’s story, they often are there to provide some sort of reassurance. For K, her mother appears to her in very anxious moments of her life, and K always feels calmer and more in charge after her appearance. Often, as an adult, there are fewer sources of comfort for people to turn to because you are usually emotionally and physically farther away from your birth family, and this is the case for K as well. Having her mother make appearances, therefore, is very important to K because it’s one of the only times when she can feel not alone. This is especially important to note for K’s instance because K immigrated to the United States and away from her family 3 decades ago. She has been very isolated from her birth family due to this, so these appearances by her deceased mother help bridge the distance between her childhood and her adulthood. 

It is also important to note the cultural background of this story. K had an arranged marriage, a custom that was very standard at the time in India, and her reluctance to get married makes more sense in this context. She would have rather stayed in India with her birth family, but the marriage opened the door to a new family and, soon after, a new home across the globe. Although she is very happy with her life now, K describes how she always misses home. Seeing her mother in her dreams is a way to go back home without physically going back, adding to why it is so comforting for K.