LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

We all know what happens when one is alive. After all, don’t we all go through the same stages of life? A child is born, he grows to become a teenager, an adult and finally an old person. When one is born, we don’t remember anything. At least that’s what everyone thinks, but is that the truth? Or is it just because we don’t have the ability to talk at that time? There are a lot of questions related to life and death and most of them remain unanswered. But this is the story of Nallavan Murthy, the man who changed all dimensions of life and death.

“What’s the status on the latest report Nallavan?” asked Oliver Stone, Nallavan’s boss. “Almost done, Sir,” replied Nallavan, as he stared at the empty word file on his laptop. “You do know that you have only 30 minutes to finish this, right?” asked Amy, Nallavan’s colleague, as she turned around in her chair. “Don’t worry Amy, I’ll get it done soon,” said Nallavan with a smirk, “This is nothing, my mind was made for great things.” “Okay then, lets see you finish this great report,” added Amy with a laugh. He began writing the report as he thought to himself, ‘What am I doing in this company? It’s nothing related to what I’ve studied. I spent 5 years of my life in completing the course, and now I’m stuck here. I have to do something, otherwise I’m just wasting my time.’ He finished the report and was on his way to giving it to his boss, when he suddenly tripped on the carpet. As he fell down, his head hit the edge of the wooden table and he blacked out.

*

“Where is Nallavan?” hollered his mother as she rushed into the hospital, “Where is he? I have to meet my son!” “Calm down mom,” called out Reepal, Nallavan’s younger sister, as she rushed in behind her mother, “He will be fine, don’t worry.” They sat down on a bench as his mother rested her head on Reepal’s shoulder. Tears were streaming down her eyes, as Reepal ran her fingers through the mother’s hair again and again, in order to provide some sort of comforting. Just then the doctor walked out of the hospital room, and called out, “Who is Nallavan’s family member?” Reepal hurriedly got up and went towards the doctor, “I’m his sister,” she said. “Well,” the doctor said quietly, “I’m sorry but Nallavan has slipped into coma.” She sat down on the floor in shock, not able to process what was happening. In the back of her mind, though, she knew that she had to take care of her mother. With difficulty, holding her stomach, she got up. Looking at the size of her belly, she must have been in her last trimester. She slowly walked towards her mother and sat next to her on the bench. Both of them sat in utmost silence, unsure of what is to be done.

Nallavan got out of coma after six months. However, within those six months, a lot took place. Reepal gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and she was named Aadarshini. There was a baby shower and a naming ceremony, and many people were invited. Unfortunately, Nallavan’s grandfather also passed away. A funeral was held and there was sorrow in the air. Amy got a promotion and was shifted to a different branch. Now all these events took place, while Nallavan was still in coma, admitted in the hospital. Everybody went through joy when Aadarshini was born and experienced grief when Nallavan’s grandfather passed away. Even though Nallavan was not present, and was not experiencing life, everything else was still continuing to happen. A child was born, a girl transitioned into a mother, an old man passed away. Life events continue to happen, not waiting for anyone.

After Nallavan got out of coma, everyone was delighted. He had been on the edge, as if dangling between life and death by a thread. Miraculously, he recovered and was on his feet in no time. But he had experienced something strange while he was in coma. There have been many stories and testimonies what people have gone through during their coma phases, but Nallavan’s story was indeed fantastic. It was enlightening and opened up a completely different view towards life after death. Nallavan was a changed man, his experience had truly shaken him, and he was surprised with the discovery that he had made. He wrote articles and blogs about it, but whatever he wrote seemed to be unjust towards the actual experience and feeling. Nobody seemed to believe him, except for his close family and friends but Nallavan was determined to present everyone with his new-found knowledge. Finally, his efforts bore fruit, when he received an e-mail from the director of a very famous university. ‘Dear Nallavan Murthy,’ it said, ‘I am enlightened and impressed with your blog, titled ‘The light at the end of the Tunnel’. It is indeed extremely impressive and it is my honour to inform you that we would be pleased to have you at our annual function to present a speech on the above topic. I feel that your experience and knowledge would be beneficial for our students, and it would certainly be a privilege to have you grace this occasion on 24^th October at 5.00 p.m. Yours truly, Richard Davidson.’ Nallavan had been extremely delighted to receive this e-mail, and had immediately written back to him, saying that he would be more than happy to attend the annual function.

All afternoon, Nallavan stood in front of the mirror, reciting his speech, and what he had prepared. Things seemed to be happening too fast for him now, 24^th October had seemed to be far away, but with the days approaching faster, Nallavan felt like the time would never be sufficient for him to revise what he was going to talk about. Soon, it was time for the speech and Nallavan started walking towards the big stage as he heard his name being announced by the anchor. Nallavan was very nervous as to how the students would react to his findings, and whether they would be interested or not, in listening to him. He took a deep breath and began, “Good evening students. I am Nallavan Murthy and I will be talking to you about my blog, ‘The light at the end of the Tunnel’. Until seven months back, I was a normal person. I live with my parents, have an elder sister and do a regular 9 to 5 job. Recently, I hit myself at the back of my head and slipped into coma for the next six months. But what I experienced in those six months was exceptional. It was phenomenal and even now, when I think about it, it still confuses me. But this is what I have concluded. Nobody is sure of what happens after one dies. There are so many theories and ideas of what might happen, but nobody knows for sure. This is what I have experienced and would like to share with all of you. Often, we have heard that when a person slowly dies, it is described in a way that he can see a light at the end of the tunnel. But what if, when you slowly walk through the tunnel, once you reach the light at the other end, it slowly magnifies into the lights in a hospital room? And as you leave your body, you are reborn as a new baby. The baby cries because you, inside it, realise that you have to go through life’s hardships again and face them all over again. Gradually, within the next two to three months, the memories and experiences of your old life fade away, but whatever essence of your old life remains in you, is the reason why you experience Deja-vu.’ Nallavan looked up at the crowd, as he finished, and there was silence for a second. The whole audience burst out into a thundering applause with cheers and shouts, as Nallavan took a bow and the function ended.