MALAYALAM
Life after death
MARANANANDARA JEEVITHAM: V. R. Krishna Iyer; D. C. Books, DCB Complex, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 45.
JUSTICE V. R. KRISHNA Iyer's views on life after death deserve attention for two reasons. One, he has been studying the subject earnestly since his wife's death three decades ago. Two, he claims to have received messages from his departed wife through the wife of another former Supreme Court judge whom his wife had not even known in her lifetime.
However, anyone who picks up the book to learn more about his personal experience will be disappointed. Of his own experience, he says little more than what has already appeared in print.
For the most part he narrates what he has learnt about other people's experience by interviewing them or reading accounts provided by them. Thus most of the evidence that he presents comes within the ambit of hearsay.
He forcefully argues that death marks the end of one life and the beginning of another but it cannot be said to have established the point beyond reasonable doubt. All that can be said is that he makes out a convincing case for serious study of paranormal phenomena.
The text has been embellished with a long introduction and an annexure. In the introduction, M. K. Sanu draws attention to two salient features of Iyer's narrative — the sincerity of his views and the rationality that informs his analyses.
The annexure is an article by journalist Harish Bhanot on posthumous communications from his daughter, Neerja, the brave airhostess who gave her life to protect the lives of the passengers of her hijacked aircraft.
Shoddy editing leaves the reader confused on such matters as when Ms. Krishna Iyer died (in 1973, as given on page 37, or 1974, as stated on page 42?) and the identity of psychologist Konstantin Raudive (rendered variously as Radiv and Randiv), who claimed to have recorded the voices of the dead. Incidentally, scientists have offered rational explanations for the Raudive voices.
B. R. P. BHASKAR
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