When Dilukshi was two years old her parents became rather disturbed by the fact that she always called them aunt and uncle instead of mother and father. The child also repeatedly begged them to take her home to her real parents in Dambulla. Her parents scolded her for talking such nonsense, but the child was quick-witted saying, “My real parents never scolded me, instead they called me ‘darling’ and ‘dear little daughter’.” She also told her parents that she had drowned in the river near the village. Finally her parents went to seek advice from the monks in the nearby monastery. They were so fascinated by this case that they told Mr. Abeypala, the journalist. He then wrote an article for the Weekend magazine telling the girl’s story.

 

A rice farmer from Dambulla read this report. It reminded him of his daughter Shiromi, who had drowned in a nearby river on 19th September 1983, which was one year before Dilukshi’s birth. The farmer and his wife wrote to the newspaper telling them about the death of their daughter, and also of their willingness to be introduced to the girl. I can well imagine how pleased the journalist must have been, to be given the opportunity to research this case for his newspaper. As a journalist he was used to reporting on past events, whereas this case was yet to unfold.

 

The journalist arranged to meet Dilukshi and her parents, and together they drove about 100 kilometres, which brought them within walking distance of the village. From there they walked the last few kilometres along the paddy fields. The journalist’s report went as follows: “This was a strange story – to be reborn and then to find her parents from a previous life once more. Things like this are extremely rare, even in Sri Lanka. I was fortunate enough to be witness to the girl recognising her parents from the past. She not only recognised them, but also her brother, her sister, her aunt and her grandmother. I was witness to all of this. I had seen enough not to need any further proof.” They then fetched the toys and clothes that had belonged to the deceased girl, all of which Dilukshi recognised immediately. Apart from her clothes there was her drinking flask for school, her blackboard, her pencils her sunglasses and many other things. When she was given a book of her drawings from the past, she found one that she had not been able to finish at the time, so she immediately sat down and completed the picture.

 

When Dr. Haroldsson later heard about these events, he wanted to carry out further investigations using all the scientific means available to him. He claimed that this case was lacking in hard evidence. He thought the girl should have been presented with all sorts of things, instead of only her own. In this way she could then have been asked to point out the ones she recognised as her own from her past life. They had missed a good opportunity, but there was still enough material that could be used as evidence for this case. For instance, when the girl was taken down to the river, she pointed out the exact place where she had drowned. She picked up a stone and threw it in that direction full of contempt. Children often react like this in situations where they want to demonstrate their anger.

 

Some years later, when Professor Haraldsson took the English publisher Jeffrey Iverson to show him the river, he mentioned that before Dilukshi was taken there, she had mentioned seeing a suspension bridge directly above the place where she had drowned. By the time she was taken there the bridge had been demolished. Even so her claims had been correct. Before being taken to the river Dilukshi had also mentioned that the roof of her parents house could be seen when standing on a small rock. When Mr. Iverson stood on the rock, sure enough he could see the roof of the house. During a film that Mr. Iverson was making based on the theme of reincarnation, Dilukshi and her parents were asked for their co-operation. The girl felt completely at home with her previous family, and had brought her ‘parents’ a small present. Geoffrey Iverson realised that he had witnessed a family reunion that was both joyful and sad. The rice farmer’s family must have rejoiced at the fact that their deceased daughter was once more alive, but may have been a little saddened by the fact that she now belonged to another family.

 

Professor Haraldsson informed the English journalist, that there are 17 proven facts regarding this case, 15 of which have yet to be proven for certain. Dilukshi had talked about a vegetable stall, which now no longer existed. She had also mentioned that the owner had been a very thin young man, but until now no one had been able to trace a man of this description. Haraldsson showed the film crew where the shop had once been, at which moment a thin young man happened to come out of his house. Professor Haraldsson asked the young man whether he used to sell vegetables here. The man told them that that was correct. When asked about Shiromi, he said that he remembered her well, since she regularly used to come into his shop. When they asked him about the thin young man Dilukshi had talked about, he explained that he was that man and that he had always been called the ‘thin brother’.