'My dead wife conveyed her wish to me'

We asked Get Ahead readers to send in firsthand experiences of supernatural phenomena. Here, Atul Modi shares his story:

It was November 30, 2001 -- my birthday and a fateful day for me that would change my life forever. At around 1:30 pm that afternoon, my wife suffered a severe asthamatic attack, followed by cardiac arrest. Since it was my birthday, I was at home with my family; my son had just returned from school. With the help of our neighbours, I rushed my wife to the hospital where the doctors immediately started getting things ready for her treatment.

There was only one vacant bed at the hospital to accomodate her and the room did not have emergency equipment. While we were waiting, I called my father and narrated what had happened. My whole family rushed to reach the hospital, but it was too late. By the time everything was arranged, my wife had passed away. She was gone before we could help her.

Time came to a standstill for me when my wife died. I suffered a bout of high blood pressure just after her passing and the doctors put me on a treatment of sedatives for the next 24 hours, instructing my family to take me home. My cousin, who is also a doctor, ensured that I woke up only to meet the basic human requirements.

The funeral rites were completed the next day. After that, I went to stay at my father's place for awhile. My sister and brothers were all as shellshocked as I was, but no one spoke of my wife in my presence. Once the traditional Hindu fortnightly death ritual was over with, I was stable enough to return to my own house.

I resumed going to the office as I needed some distraction from my personal life. My son and daughter were still very much depressed and in shock at losing their mother, so I left them in the care of my brother at his home. I would return to my own empty house from work late each night, at 10 or 11 pm, and would watch a movie before going to bed.

A few days passed like this. Then suddenly I got a phone call from my late wife's sister, who stays about 40 kilometres away from me. She sounded a little disturbed and anxious -- she wanted to discuss something private and wanted to know if she could do so on the phone itself. I told her that it was okay to do so.

What my sister-in-law said fully shook me out of the lifeless stupor I had been in since my wife's death. She said that her neighbour was a psychic, who had the capability of seeing and communicating with spirits -- that he had spoken to my wife. She wanted to convey that she was glad the children and I were able to cope with the shock of her demise and were trying to move on with our lives. However, she was not able to 'release' herself because something was holding her back.

I did not fully understand what this meant, so my sister-in-law explained to me that when she was alive, my wife used to light a diva, a sacred oil lamp, next to a water pot, in our home every evening, at 6 pm -- a ritual I was well aware she used to perform. However, since her death, no one had been doing so and she requested the psychic to convey to me that her lamp should be lit daily.

From that day on, I ensured that my wife's diva was lit every evening, next to the water pot. Why did I believe the psychic? Because I was staying alone at the time and it was impossible that anyone should know the diva at home was not being lit since my wife's passing.

Have strange circumstances ever caused you to believe in ghosts or in the supernatural? Mail your experiences and beliefs to getahead@rediff.co.in, and don't forget to add your name, age, occupation and contact details -- we'll publish the best stories righ here.