Television programmes based on paranormal activity are gaining in popularityMore than belief,its the fear they are feeding on that seems to be the only way to explain the surge of paranormal programmes on the television. From Raaz Pichchle Janam Ka and The Chair,production houses are on a spook hunt,accompanied by psychics,psychiatrists,daredevils,paranormal investigators and healers. The latest is MTVs Girls Night Out,where you have to stay the night at a haunted location and take home Rs five lakhs. Girls are more expressive and easily confess when scared, says MTV VJ Rannvijay as he drops in town with paranormal investigators Gaurav Tiwari and Akanksha Kaushik from the Paranormal Organisation of India,coming up with an all-candle press conference at The Taj. Starting September 24 on MTV at 7pm ,Girls Night Out will challenge three girls to survive a haunted location. The 13-part series showcases the girls as they experience the paranormal to prove the existence of supernaturals. There will be no crew,no phones and no connection with the outside world, says Rannvijay,assuring us that the show is not fabricated. The investigators,Tiwari and Kaushik add that the approach of the show is scientific. The investigations will be done with tmodern equipments like K2 Meters,EMF Readers IR Thermometers,Night Vision HD cameras and various softwares for analysis of the haunted locations, say the two. What attracts people to paranormal shows is plain curiosity. Are these hallucinations or is it the subconscious talking to usthese questions intrigue people, they say. But arent such programmes planting fear and superstition in viewers? We cannot ignore the fact that we are surrounded by energy and spirits. What we are trying to say is face your fear,for there is a logical,scientific explanation to all this, says Tiwari. A haunting is a frequently visited place,and ghosts and spirits are intelligent elements of a human being. Its a consciousness that survives physical death and lingers on, explains Kaushik,adding how if the energies are too strong and disturbed,they do not venture there. Its advisable to avoid that place then, she says. We know very little about the paranormal,which is an unexplored realm, says psychic healer Swati Prakash. Imagines Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka tried to unravel the secrets of life with clinical psychologist Dr Trupti Jayin. According to Ravi Kishaan who was the host for Raaz,audiences are seeking new ways to be entertained and paranormal as a genre is rousing interest. Coincidences,inexplicable fears and déjà-vu may be related to ones past life, says Dr Jayin who uses Past Life Regression technique to help address phobias and physical ailments. We are all recycled souls and its not clear whether were living our past life or the present for time is neither linear nor logical, she adds. Talk to city-based psychotherapist and past life regressionist Dr Renee Singh and she feels the world wants to know more. I believe there are hundreds of parallel universes and its difficult to quantify time and place, she says. I remember when we used to attend past life regression seminars,the attendance was thin,now its full, she says. The media always catches on with whats making news, she signs off.
