Spoke Media

Hello Ghost Family.

Welcome to Family Ghosts.

Back in 2012, Mira Sharma was traveling around India for a few months with her partner,

Henry.

And one day, in the city of Chennai, also known as Madras, they went to visit Mira's great

uncle, who Mira called, Peripa.

Peripa means older father.

He's my grandfather's oldest brother.

Peripa lived with his wife, who I call Perima, and his sister, Kunjate.

I was excited for Henry to finally meet them.

Yeah, so we got to this apartment, which was one apartment in a block of apartments.

And I think we took an old elevator up to theirs.

One of those elevators that has a grill, you slide across instead of the solid doors.

In the house, the walls and floors were made of concrete.

It was dark and austere.

To see these three elderly people living there, in what vaguely resembled a prison cell,

was a bit jarring.

But there was some warmth, piles of books, the smell of spices, a big comfy couch.

The three had been sharing a house for decades, and they always reminded me of the grandparents

from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, mostly homebound, frail, nearly a century old.

But they took care of each other, entertained each other, relied on each other.

...