Imagine you are possessed. By a human from the afterlife who grows close to you but remains invisible to others. Cheerfully goes on to help you cope with the difficult decisions in life. Will you cherish such a partner or rush to exorcise it?

In the movie Sarvam Maya, the main male character is an atheist who turns priest while waiting for an opening in the profession that is his passion, music. He is befriended by a sprightly young girl; the same one he, as the priest, had managed to spirit out of a patient. Only he can see and hear her. She begins by being attached to his mobile. Then they go on to become very attached to each other. In the process they find closure. 

Let's think beyond the movie for a minute. What if gaining such a mystical friend were a natural part of every life? No, not to make one a superhuman with the super strength to do good or wreak havoc. Just a partner you are very comfortable with, you trust fully and with whom you can’t help falling in love, almost.

Will this make us view death differently? Will death stop being the dreaded end, but a natural stage in life?

Will we turn more compassionate towards those who are approaching that stage? Will we stop turning our head away in fear (and some element of disgust) when the body of a fellow patient in the hospital ward is being rolled away?

Once we have such a companion, will we turn more grateful to the life we have been granted? Will it make it easier for us to find true closure? 

Just as the hero in the movie reconnected with his father, found human love, stood up to the goons he used to run away from, and made a mark in music. All thanks to her. And, in turn, she who befriended him finally became aware of who she was and how she had died.

We may not be able to choose such a companion. However, chances are there will be something in common, finished or in progress. 

The movie title Sarvam Maya means "all is an illusion". Indeed, when all is illusory, why lug a grudge, why just plod along and abandon the life you truly want? That could be the path to being the true you, to that coveted closure. 

You got a job in the hospital you were born in. You took care of the trash and cleaned the patient rooms for about 10 years. Now, you are all set to work at the same hospital, as a doctor. Is this a plot for the next Munnabhai MBBS movie? No, this is for real.

Shay Taylor-Allen was born in Yale New Haven Hospital, Connecticut, US in October 1993. She was raised by a single mother of three.

She was in the top 10 percent of her class when she graduated from high school in 2010. As no one in the family had been to college, she had no clue about the college application process. Might as well start earning. 

When she got the job as a janitor at Yale New Haven Hospital, Taylor-Allen was 18. The work kept her very busy but the rewarding bit for her was the opportunity to connect with patients.

“I think a lot of patients come in with mistrust of doctors and nurses, so they build trust with service workers because they feel like they’re one of us,” Taylor-Allen told The Washington Post. “Sometimes they just needed somebody to talk to about anything else in the world other than their sickness.”

During medical school, Taylor-Allen always hoped to return to New Haven and complete her residency at Yale. A rotation in anesthesia in November 2025, solidified her desire to work there.

She could not help jumping up and down in elation when she got the big news on March 20. “I am going to Yale!”

Taylor-Allen wants "to build a bridge between doctors and other service workers”. “When I was there as a janitor, I felt like I couldn’t speak to the doctors … they were so untouchable.”

In the Hindi movie Munnabhai MBBS, the hero does not become a doctor but heals people with love, the jadoo ki jhappi, the magical hug. Would Taylor-Allen go on to combine this magic with the more clinical version of medicine practiced in hospitals? Will she build the bridge as she wants to?

May she succeed! ​