WEBVTT - S03 Episode 10: Here is Always Somewhere Else

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing better than feeling comfortable in your own shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>and loungers at Alberts dot com. That's alll bi rds

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. On January eighteenth, nineteen o two, in the

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<v Speaker 1>Indian town of Matara, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, a

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<v Speaker 1>young couple, Yagti and chatterbudg Bay, celebrate the birth of

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<v Speaker 1>a baby girl. Ten years later, the child, whom they

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<v Speaker 1>named Lugdi, is given up for marriage to a local

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<v Speaker 1>shopkeeper named Kedanat Choubey. After many years of marriage, Lugdi

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<v Speaker 1>fell pregnant, but was devastated to learn only a week

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<v Speaker 1>before she was due to give birth that the baby

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<v Speaker 1>had died some years later. By then twenty three, Lugdi

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<v Speaker 1>was overjoyed to discover she was pregnant once more, but

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<v Speaker 1>again there were complications. Fearing for his wife and unborn child,

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<v Speaker 1>Kedanad rushed them to the much better equipped hospital in

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<v Speaker 1>the city of Agra, thirty miles away. It was there

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<v Speaker 1>the next day, on September twenty fifth, nineteen twenty five,

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<v Speaker 1>that Lugdi gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Nabanid.

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<v Speaker 1>For Lugdi, however, the pregnancy had taken a hefty toll.

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<v Speaker 1>She would not live to see the child she had

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<v Speaker 1>brought into the world, dying nine days later on the

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<v Speaker 1>morning of October fourth. Five years later and roughly six

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<v Speaker 1>hundred miles to the south, in the coastal town of Dandy,

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<v Speaker 1>a gentle looking man, modestly dressed in a pristine white

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<v Speaker 1>doughty and shawl, reaches down into the wet mud at

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<v Speaker 1>his feet, lifting a handful of it into the air.

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<v Speaker 1>He turns to the fifty thousand strong crowd of men

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<v Speaker 1>and women who have waited twenty six days for this

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<v Speaker 1>very moment, and declared, with this, I am shaking the

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<v Speaker 1>foundations of the British Empire. Next, the man filtered salt

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<v Speaker 1>granules from the mud and placed them in a pot

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<v Speaker 1>of boiling sea water. He watched with a smile as

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<v Speaker 1>the water slowly began to evaporate, liberating the salt from

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<v Speaker 1>its bonds, until with the water having all but vanished,

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<v Speaker 1>the salt was all that remained at the bottom of

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<v Speaker 1>the pan. The man was Mahandas Karamchant Gandhi, perhaps better

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<v Speaker 1>known as Mahatma Gandhi. With this powerful, peaceful gesture, Gandhi,

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<v Speaker 1>who had walked for twenty six days to get to

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<v Speaker 1>the coast, had shone a light on a greedy and

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<v Speaker 1>restrictive salt tax that had been imposed on the people

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<v Speaker 1>of India by British colonial powers. As with all empires,

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<v Speaker 1>there comes a time when the ruling powers are no

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<v Speaker 1>longer able to reconcile the myth of their great nation

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<v Speaker 1>with the truth of what it takes to sustain it.

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<v Speaker 1>And so it would prove with Great Britons. With Gandhi's

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<v Speaker 1>iconic Salt March proving an irresistible catalyst, opposition to British

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<v Speaker 1>rule among both the local Indian population and the British

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<v Speaker 1>public intensified, though at the time the empire's Viceroy, Lord

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<v Speaker 1>Erwin quipped that Gandhi's Salt campaign would be unlikely to

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<v Speaker 1>keep him up or night. Only seventeen years later, the

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<v Speaker 1>Indian nation achieved independence. After the Salt March, Gandhi's position

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<v Speaker 1>as a leading statesman and as the head of the

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<v Speaker 1>Indian independence movement had been thoroughly secured. As such, his

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<v Speaker 1>trust and judgment was often sought on a number of

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<v Speaker 1>wide ranging events and incidences, provided they were of sufficient importance.

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<v Speaker 1>None were quite as strange, perhaps as that which was

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<v Speaker 1>presented to him in nineteen thirty five, regarding a peculiar

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<v Speaker 1>case of a young girl who claimed to have already

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<v Speaker 1>died ten years previously. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Richard McClane Smith. Born in December nineteen twenty six, Shanty

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<v Speaker 1>Deevi rarely cried as a baby, despite living in the

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<v Speaker 1>intense bustle of inner city Delhi. Having grown into a

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<v Speaker 1>shy and quiet toddler, it was all the more surprising

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<v Speaker 1>when the young girl became suddenly agitated afternoon. This wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>her home, she complained to her perplexed mother. My house

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<v Speaker 1>was much bigger, she said. Shanty's mother, naturally, assuming her

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<v Speaker 1>daughter to be playing a game, did her best to

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<v Speaker 1>ignore her strange proclamations. It was far harder, however, for

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<v Speaker 1>her to ignore Shanty's insistence that she wasn't her mother

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<v Speaker 1>at all. Her real mother lived in the city of Matra,

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<v Speaker 1>over ninety miles away, as did her husband and sisters.

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<v Speaker 1>For the next year, Shanty continued to talk about another life,

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<v Speaker 1>claiming that her name was in fact Lukdi. One evening,

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<v Speaker 1>at the dinner table, after her mother had dished out

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<v Speaker 1>the food, Shanty screwed up her face and pushed her

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<v Speaker 1>plate away. It isn't right to eat animals, she said,

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<v Speaker 1>I won't do it. The now four year old, Shanty

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<v Speaker 1>went on to explain that she and her husband only

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<v Speaker 1>eight sat for food, a group of foods that pertained

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<v Speaker 1>to the Hindu modes of existence, consisting only of meat free,

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<v Speaker 1>energy enriching foods. Only Shanty's parents weren't Hindus, nor could

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<v Speaker 1>they fathom how a four year old child could have

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<v Speaker 1>learned such a thing. A few years later, with Shanty

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<v Speaker 1>showing no sign of dropping the charade, she explained blankly

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<v Speaker 1>one morning that she had died giving birth to a child,

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<v Speaker 1>and that she wanted to see her husband again. But

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<v Speaker 1>when Shanty's mother asked who he was, she would say

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<v Speaker 1>only that when she knew him, he sold fabrics, and

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<v Speaker 1>that he owned a shop near the Dua Kadis temple

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<v Speaker 1>in Matra. Though Shanty's parents try to reassure themselves that

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<v Speaker 1>their daughter's behavior is only a phase, it is hard

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<v Speaker 1>not to be concerned. It is said in the Vedic Scriptures,

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<v Speaker 1>the most sacred text of Hinduism, that any child who

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<v Speaker 1>could remember a past life was destined to die young.

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<v Speaker 1>Growing increasingly unsettled, Shanty's parents forbade her from talking any

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<v Speaker 1>more about her past life, But Shanty never lost sight

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<v Speaker 1>of her dream to return to her long lost family

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<v Speaker 1>in Mattera. It was sometime in nineteen thirty five that

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<v Speaker 1>Babu Bu Shan Chand first heard about Shanty's strange obsession.

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<v Speaker 1>Chand was a teacher at Shanty's school in the Daria

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<v Speaker 1>Ganj district of Delhi. Being a relative also, he couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>help but being trigued after overhearing the now eight year

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<v Speaker 1>old girl telling yet another friend how she needed to

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<v Speaker 1>find a way to get to Mattera to visit her husband.

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<v Speaker 1>Determined to see if Shanty was telling the truth, Chand

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<v Speaker 1>demanded that she'd tell him the name of her husband.

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<v Speaker 1>When she refused, Chand offered to take her to Mattera

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<v Speaker 1>himself if she would only give him his name. The

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<v Speaker 1>young girl hesitated, explaining that it would not be correct

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<v Speaker 1>to speak his name, but finally relented. She gestured for

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<v Speaker 1>Chand to bend down and whispered it into his ear.

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<v Speaker 1>Cared a nat choube, but that wasn't all. She knew

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<v Speaker 1>his address as well. Before rushing off to visit the man,

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<v Speaker 1>Chand suggested they write him a letter first to see

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<v Speaker 1>if he can help verify her claims. Together, they composed it,

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<v Speaker 1>putting in everything that Shanty had said that she was

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<v Speaker 1>once married to a man named Chaube who had owned

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<v Speaker 1>a fabric shop near the Dua Kadish Temple i Matura.

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<v Speaker 1>She added also that one of their homes was painted

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<v Speaker 1>yellow and that she believed her name to be Lukdi.

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<v Speaker 1>After posting the letter, Chand waited for almost two weeks

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<v Speaker 1>before finally receiving a reply. I did have a wife

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<v Speaker 1>who died named Lugdi, it said, and I have a

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<v Speaker 1>shop very close to the Duwa Kadish temple and my

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<v Speaker 1>name is Kennedat. Chaube in Matra. Kadanat had barely slept

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<v Speaker 1>since first receiving Shanty's letter. Having sent his reply to Chand,

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<v Speaker 1>he contacted a cousin, Pandit Kanjimau, who lived in Delhi,

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<v Speaker 1>and asked him to visit Shanty and her parents on

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<v Speaker 1>his behalf. A few days later, an astounded Pandit sat

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<v Speaker 1>with the young girl and her parents as she detailed

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<v Speaker 1>the layout and location of the house that lugd A

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<v Speaker 1>use to live in with his cousin, also describing perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>the streets close to it that she had walked many

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<v Speaker 1>times before. When she asked about the health of her son,

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<v Speaker 1>a stunned Pandite can only mutter that he is doing well.

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<v Speaker 1>When Cadenat's cousin bids farewell to Shanty later that evening,

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<v Speaker 1>it is with the absolute conviction that he had just

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<v Speaker 1>spoken to Cadnat's deceased wife. The following day, he traveled

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<v Speaker 1>to his cousin's home to deliver the incredible news. Are

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<v Speaker 1>you always taking care of your family? Do you often

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<v Speaker 1>take care of others and not yourself? Now it's time

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<v Speaker 1>to take care of yourself, to make time for you.

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<v Speaker 1>You deserve it. Tell adoc gives you access to a

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<v Speaker 1>Download the app or visit teledoc dot com forward slash

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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's t e la

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<v Speaker 1>d oc dot com slash Unexplained podcast. It was only

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<v Speaker 1>a few days later, on November twelfth, the Pandit returned

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<v Speaker 1>to Shanty's home along with Kedanat and his new wife,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as ten year old Nabanite, the son that

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<v Speaker 1>Lugti had died after giving birth to. When they arrived,

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<v Speaker 1>Shanty's mother, who was clearly troubled by the situation, was

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<v Speaker 1>there to greet them at the door. She explained that

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<v Speaker 1>Shanty had not yet returned from school, but invited them inside,

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<v Speaker 1>none the less to sit and wait for her. When

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<v Speaker 1>the young girl returned home half an hour later, it

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<v Speaker 1>had been decided that they would try and catch her out,

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<v Speaker 1>having been informed that more people had come to speak

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<v Speaker 1>to her about her supposed past life. Shanty was led

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<v Speaker 1>into the living room and introduced to a few of

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<v Speaker 1>the guests, including Kdanad, who was introduced as an older

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<v Speaker 1>brother of Lugdi's, but Shanty was confused. No, she said,

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<v Speaker 1>that is my husband. Walking straight up to him, she

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<v Speaker 1>bowed her head and stood by his side, as was

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<v Speaker 1>customary for the time. Kdnat could only stare dumb struck,

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<v Speaker 1>but the strangely confident little girl stood beside him. A

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<v Speaker 1>moment later, Nabanite was shown into the room. At the

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<v Speaker 1>sight of the young boy, Shanty's eyes widened and began

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<v Speaker 1>to well up. She rushed towards him and hugged him tightly.

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<v Speaker 1>My son, she cried, you are my son. Immediately, Shanty

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<v Speaker 1>turned to her mother and asked her for all her

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<v Speaker 1>toys to be brought for the young boy, but she

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<v Speaker 1>refused as she tried to comprehend what exactly was happening

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<v Speaker 1>before her. Shanty eventually gathered them up herself and offered

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<v Speaker 1>them to the boy. Later, Shanty's parents watched their daughter

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<v Speaker 1>leave the house with the chowbees, with the creeping sensation

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<v Speaker 1>that maybe she hadn't been making everything up after all.

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<v Speaker 1>That afternoon, having taken a trip round the city with

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<v Speaker 1>Kedernat's family, it was said that Shanty held on to

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<v Speaker 1>Nabanite's hand the entire time. That evening. The two families

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<v Speaker 1>gathered again to talk, but something was ailing the young girl.

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<v Speaker 1>She couldn't stop staring at the jewelry on the arm

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<v Speaker 1>of Kehdanat's wife. It was as if she recognized it.

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<v Speaker 1>You promised you would never marry again, she said, turning

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly to Khednat. The man's eyes turned to the floor,

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<v Speaker 1>sensing the awkward shift in the mood. Shanty's father asked

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<v Speaker 1>his daughter to talk more about the house she had

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<v Speaker 1>apparently lived in when she was lugdy. The young girl's

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<v Speaker 1>eyes lit up as she recounted the place in great detail,

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<v Speaker 1>including how she loved to bathe and relax the well

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<v Speaker 1>located in the middle of a grand courtyard in the

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<v Speaker 1>center of the property. Her apparent recollections drawing tears from

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<v Speaker 1>Kedanat's eyes at the memories. It was late evening when

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<v Speaker 1>the Choubey family left the house, though Shanty was inconsolable. Together,

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<v Speaker 1>they promised to make arrangements to meet again. It wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>long before Shanty's extraordinary story reached the media, and in turn,

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:41.160
<v Speaker 1>Mahatma Gandhi. It has been alleged that Gandhi's interest in

0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.640
<v Speaker 1>the story stemmed as much from political motives as it

0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:48.320
<v Speaker 1>did from personal interest, being as it was an apparent

0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:53.800
<v Speaker 1>vindication of the Hindu belief system. Nevertheless, his involvement was

0:16:53.880 --> 0:17:00.000
<v Speaker 1>hugely significant. Having now met Kedanat, Shanty had only grown

0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:04.760
<v Speaker 1>more determined to visit her apparent former home in Mattera.

0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.280
<v Speaker 1>But every reference to her past life as Lugdi was

0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.280
<v Speaker 1>just one more break in the hearts of Shanty's parents,

0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.920
<v Speaker 1>who feared their daughter might be lost forever if they

0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:19.600
<v Speaker 1>agreed to let her go. It was Gandhi who finally

0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:23.440
<v Speaker 1>convinced them to let whatever her destiny might be play out.

0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:29.000
<v Speaker 1>Such was the faroor surrounding the story. Gandhi also organized

0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:32.480
<v Speaker 1>for a committee of journalists and government ministers to accompany

0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.320
<v Speaker 1>the young girl to Mattera to determine for themselves whether

0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:40.879
<v Speaker 1>her claims were true or not. And so it was

0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:45.440
<v Speaker 1>that on November twenty fourth, Shanty and her family boarded

0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:49.840
<v Speaker 1>a train to Mattera, escorted by Gandhi's committee, which included

0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:56.160
<v Speaker 1>among them, the respected Member of Parliament des Pandoux Gupta.

0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.680
<v Speaker 1>That cool morning, as the train trundled through a green

0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.879
<v Speaker 1>and dusty countryside and a warm, pink haze settled across

0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:08.280
<v Speaker 1>the land, a quiet eight year old girl gazed absent

0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:13.040
<v Speaker 1>mindedly out of the window, dreaming of a former life.

0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:23.080
<v Speaker 1>Having arrived at matter of station. As the committee disembark,

0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>a crowd of thousands are there to greet them, all

0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:31.080
<v Speaker 1>desperate to see the miracle child. As Shanty is led

0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:34.840
<v Speaker 1>from the train, the crowd surges forward and a middle

0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:40.720
<v Speaker 1>aged man steps into her path. Shanty stops. After taking

0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.639
<v Speaker 1>a moment to look up at the man, she bows

0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:47.760
<v Speaker 1>down and touches his feet. Before the man can say anything,

0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:54.159
<v Speaker 1>Shanty is already back up Babu ram Chaube. She says hello.

0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.679
<v Speaker 1>The man cracks the wide smile and turning back to

0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:01.800
<v Speaker 1>the crowd them away to give the child and a

0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:05.639
<v Speaker 1>committee room to get through. As they push on to

0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:08.920
<v Speaker 1>the front of the station, one of the committee asks

0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.000
<v Speaker 1>Shanty who the man is, to which she replies, he

0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:18.440
<v Speaker 1>is my husband's brother. Outside, the girl is led into

0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 1>a tanger, a small horse and cart, where she is

0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:26.439
<v Speaker 1>joined by Deschbandou Gupta and another committee member, with the

0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:33.040
<v Speaker 1>others arranging to follow on behind. Much to Gupta's surprise, Shanty,

0:19:33.400 --> 0:19:36.639
<v Speaker 1>who has never been to matter Of before, wastes no

0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:40.560
<v Speaker 1>time in instructing the driver on where to go, telling

0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:45.240
<v Speaker 1>him to look out for a yellow house. As they

0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:48.800
<v Speaker 1>make their way through the streets, Shanty points out all

0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:52.000
<v Speaker 1>the places she remembers and the ones that have changed

0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:57.240
<v Speaker 1>since Lukedi's time, all of which the astonished driver confirms

0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:02.160
<v Speaker 1>to be true. Turn into one street flanked by a large,

0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:06.960
<v Speaker 1>colorful building fronted by a series of delicate arches, Shanty

0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.240
<v Speaker 1>points out that to work at each temple, and on

0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:12.960
<v Speaker 1>the other side of the street the shop where her

0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:18.760
<v Speaker 1>husband worked. Reaching across roads a short time later, she

0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:23.359
<v Speaker 1>asks the driver to pull over. But I don't understand,

0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:26.800
<v Speaker 1>she says, as she steps down from the cart. It's

0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:32.840
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be yellow. The committee members exchanged concerned glances

0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:36.040
<v Speaker 1>as they followed the young girl across the road toward

0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:41.320
<v Speaker 1>a decidedly white house. Though the color is wrong, the

0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:45.240
<v Speaker 1>large crowd of people gathered outside suggests they have indeed

0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:50.000
<v Speaker 1>come to the right place. Shanty points out two men

0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:53.520
<v Speaker 1>standing by the entrance as her brother and the brother

0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:56.240
<v Speaker 1>of her father in law, who both greet her warmly

0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:03.200
<v Speaker 1>before leading her inside. Moving from room to room, Shanti

0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:06.399
<v Speaker 1>amazes every one with her apparent recollection of how the

0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:11.160
<v Speaker 1>house had been set up when Lugdi had lived there. However,

0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:16.880
<v Speaker 1>one committee member is unconvinced. After all, wasn't the house

0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:21.080
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be yellow, but it was explained one of

0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:25.280
<v Speaker 1>the new residents, it had been painted over after Lugdi

0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:34.520
<v Speaker 1>had died that afternoon. As the crowds continue to grow,

0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:38.000
<v Speaker 1>the eighty year old girl from Delhi is hoisted on

0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:40.919
<v Speaker 1>to the shoulders of one of the committee members before

0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:45.520
<v Speaker 1>effortlessly guiding them all to the next property. It is

0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:49.640
<v Speaker 1>the last place that Lugti had lived and Kedannat's current home.

0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:53.520
<v Speaker 1>She is especially pleased to find him waiting there for

0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:59.520
<v Speaker 1>her when she arrives. After being led inside once again,

0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.879
<v Speaker 1>Shanty seems able to recall the layout of the house,

0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:07.000
<v Speaker 1>but when she moved into the courtyard, something is wrong

0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.560
<v Speaker 1>the well, says one of the committee members. You said

0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:15.280
<v Speaker 1>there was a well here that you used to bathe beside,

0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:21.800
<v Speaker 1>but there is not. Without uttering a word, Kedanad walks

0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:24.320
<v Speaker 1>into the middle of the square and pulls up a

0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:28.000
<v Speaker 1>large paving slab, inviting the committee members to have a

0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:33.000
<v Speaker 1>look underneath. It was the well the family had paved

0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:38.800
<v Speaker 1>over it only a few years ago. Later, having moved

0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:41.040
<v Speaker 1>up to one of the bedrooms on the second floor,

0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:47.320
<v Speaker 1>Shanty lets out a short gasp. I remember something, she exclaims,

0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:51.159
<v Speaker 1>turning to the group. Under the floor, I hid a

0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:55.520
<v Speaker 1>money box full of savings for a special occasion. Just there,

0:22:55.600 --> 0:22:59.879
<v Speaker 1>she says, pointing to the floor. One of the group

0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:03.040
<v Speaker 1>pushes at the spot and finds the floor board to

0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:06.840
<v Speaker 1>be loose. He pulls it up and, to the amazement

0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:10.760
<v Speaker 1>of all, reveals a small rusted tin nestled in the

0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:18.000
<v Speaker 1>space below it. The tin was empty, however, The girl, disappointed,

0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:23.359
<v Speaker 1>turns to Caedanad, who can only apologize he had found

0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:26.679
<v Speaker 1>it some time after Lugdi had died and spent the

0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:32.560
<v Speaker 1>money on himself. Satisfied they had seen enough for the day,

0:23:33.400 --> 0:23:38.640
<v Speaker 1>Shanty made one more request that they visit the River Yamuna,

0:23:38.800 --> 0:23:42.560
<v Speaker 1>where as Lugdi, she had apparently also enjoyed spending lots

0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:45.880
<v Speaker 1>of her time. After a short ride to the river,

0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:51.280
<v Speaker 1>Shanty's parents, who had endured so much already, watched with

0:23:51.320 --> 0:23:55.600
<v Speaker 1>a strange uncertainty as their young daughter gazed out across

0:23:55.600 --> 0:24:00.800
<v Speaker 1>the water. Suddenly she was running far along the bank

0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:05.240
<v Speaker 1>toward a house in the distance. As the committee members

0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:08.320
<v Speaker 1>tried desperately to keep up, they were relieved to see

0:24:08.359 --> 0:24:12.240
<v Speaker 1>Shanty stopping outside another home, where a small crowd of

0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:17.200
<v Speaker 1>people had gathered to meet her. It was Lugdi's parents house,

0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:22.639
<v Speaker 1>and there standing at the front where Yagti and Chatterbuchbai

0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:29.360
<v Speaker 1>looked these parents themselves. Shanty already had tears in her

0:24:29.359 --> 0:24:33.959
<v Speaker 1>eyes as she approached the elderly couple. When her parents

0:24:34.040 --> 0:24:45.280
<v Speaker 1>arrived moments later, Yagti invited them into the house. As

0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:49.399
<v Speaker 1>the congregation of committee members and Lugdi's family sat and talked,

0:24:50.240 --> 0:24:53.480
<v Speaker 1>the young girl's parents can only watch with increasing dread

0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:57.919
<v Speaker 1>as their daughter, now sitting in Yagti's lap, continued to

0:24:57.960 --> 0:25:02.480
<v Speaker 1>amaze everyone with her supposed collections of her life as Lugdi.

0:25:04.400 --> 0:25:07.600
<v Speaker 1>But although Shanty seems elated to be with her old

0:25:07.600 --> 0:25:11.719
<v Speaker 1>family again, she is equally struck by a deep melancholy.

0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:16.840
<v Speaker 1>Turning to Lugdi's mother, she asks, why did he not

0:25:17.000 --> 0:25:22.400
<v Speaker 1>keep bringing me flowers like you promised? Just like with Kedanad,

0:25:22.960 --> 0:25:26.919
<v Speaker 1>Yaghti can only apologize, holding the girl tighter in her

0:25:27.040 --> 0:25:32.040
<v Speaker 1>arms as she wipes their tears away. Then comes the

0:25:32.119 --> 0:25:36.800
<v Speaker 1>moment that Shanty's mother had been most dreading. It was

0:25:36.840 --> 0:25:41.160
<v Speaker 1>clear that a decision had to be made. Both Lugdi's

0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:44.720
<v Speaker 1>family and the Chowbees were far more wealthy than Shanty's

0:25:44.720 --> 0:25:49.600
<v Speaker 1>parents not to mention of a higher cast, and if

0:25:49.640 --> 0:25:52.920
<v Speaker 1>it was true that this place really was her home,

0:25:54.000 --> 0:25:56.719
<v Speaker 1>would it be wrong to deny her the opportunity to

0:25:56.760 --> 0:26:01.160
<v Speaker 1>live here? Yaghti suggests the only fair thing to do

0:26:01.720 --> 0:26:07.280
<v Speaker 1>is to ask Shanty herself what she wants. Shanty's mother

0:26:07.480 --> 0:26:12.240
<v Speaker 1>reluctantly agrees, taking her daughter by the hand and trying

0:26:12.240 --> 0:26:15.520
<v Speaker 1>not to cry as she asks her the devastating question.

0:26:18.240 --> 0:26:20.760
<v Speaker 1>All in the room are silent as they watched the

0:26:20.800 --> 0:26:26.760
<v Speaker 1>little girl think on her decision. Then, after a moment's pause,

0:26:27.560 --> 0:26:32.040
<v Speaker 1>she turns to Ludi's parents, embraces them one after the other,

0:26:32.680 --> 0:26:37.680
<v Speaker 1>and asks for forgiveness, telling them quietly through her tears

0:26:37.720 --> 0:26:43.560
<v Speaker 1>that she had another family. Now, turning back to her parents,

0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:46.679
<v Speaker 1>Shanty took them each by the hand and led them

0:26:46.840 --> 0:26:52.760
<v Speaker 1>out of the house. That evening, Shanty Devi returned to

0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:57.439
<v Speaker 1>Delhi with her mother and father, escorted by Gandhi's committee members.

0:26:58.880 --> 0:27:01.720
<v Speaker 1>None were in any doubt that the child they had

0:27:01.720 --> 0:27:05.679
<v Speaker 1>taken to Mattera was nothing less than the reincarnation of

0:27:05.800 --> 0:27:10.200
<v Speaker 1>Luk Dubai, the young mother who had tragically died over

0:27:10.280 --> 0:27:20.960
<v Speaker 1>a decade ago. In April the following year, a nine

0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:24.600
<v Speaker 1>year old Shanty is taken back to Mattera by another group,

0:27:25.480 --> 0:27:29.480
<v Speaker 1>this time led by prominent journalist Saint Nihal Singh and

0:27:29.560 --> 0:27:34.879
<v Speaker 1>the psychologist doctor Indra Sen. Again, the girl's claims are

0:27:34.880 --> 0:27:39.280
<v Speaker 1>put to the test, with varying degrees of success. Both

0:27:39.320 --> 0:27:43.760
<v Speaker 1>men returned to Delhi convinced that her extraordinary claims were true.

0:27:45.840 --> 0:27:49.800
<v Speaker 1>A few weeks later, doctor Sen arranged for Shanty to

0:27:49.880 --> 0:27:53.720
<v Speaker 1>undergo a process of hypnotic regression, where she is alleged

0:27:53.840 --> 0:27:57.639
<v Speaker 1>to have documented Lugdi Bai's journey from death to the

0:27:57.720 --> 0:28:01.720
<v Speaker 1>moment of her rebirth before later the child Shanty Devi.

0:28:04.440 --> 0:28:10.440
<v Speaker 1>Soon after this session, doctor Senn learned something else. Although

0:28:10.440 --> 0:28:13.800
<v Speaker 1>it was true that Shanty had never been to Mattera,

0:28:14.200 --> 0:28:18.280
<v Speaker 1>not only had Lugdi's husband, Cadnat Choubey, been to Delhi

0:28:18.400 --> 0:28:21.760
<v Speaker 1>a number of times. One of the places he visited

0:28:21.800 --> 0:28:27.320
<v Speaker 1>most frequently was a fabric shop directly opposite Shanty's family home,

0:28:28.680 --> 0:28:31.879
<v Speaker 1>and he had done so since Shanty was only a baby.

0:28:34.880 --> 0:28:38.600
<v Speaker 1>Either way, for the rest of her life, Shanty Devi,

0:28:38.920 --> 0:28:43.160
<v Speaker 1>who had become a highly qualified teacher, never wavered in

0:28:43.200 --> 0:28:47.760
<v Speaker 1>her belief that she had lived a previous life. She

0:28:47.800 --> 0:28:50.640
<v Speaker 1>would eventually die at the age of sixty one in

0:28:50.760 --> 0:28:55.160
<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty seven, having never married out of respect for

0:28:55.320 --> 0:29:05.400
<v Speaker 1>her apparent former husband. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained

0:29:05.640 --> 0:29:08.040
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0:29:21.560 --> 0:29:24.800
<v Speaker 1>elements of Unexplained are produced by me Bridge McClain smith.

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