A Manipur Man Reunited With His Family After 40 Years, Thanks to Social Media
A YouTube video helped the 66-year-old Khomdram Gambhir reunite with his family.
Image credits: Firoze Shakir / YouTube
Social media can do wonders.
Last year, Twitter came to a man's rescue who had found a 3-5 day old baby in a closed auto in Mumbai.
Now, a 66-year-old Manipuri man is all set to be reunited with his family-- thanks to his fondness for Bollywood songs and a video clip posted on YouTube.
Back in 1978, Khomdram Gambhir, 26, left his Imphal home for reasons unknown and later went missing.
The family was unaware of Singh's whereabouts for 40 long years until their nephew, Romen Leichombam, brought a video of a grey haired and bearded man singing old songs to their notice, Indian Express reported.
The video was shot and uploaded on video-sharing website YouTube last October by a Mumbai-based photographer Firoze Shakir who saw Gambhir singing on Mumbai streets.
In the clip, the singer identified himself as Khomdan Singh of Manipur, which caught the nephew's attention.
“I could not believe when a nephew of mine came running to me with a video footage of my brother. When I saw the video, I could not stop crying. I could neither sleep nor eat thereafter. I was very happy to know that he is alive. This is like waking up from a nightmare,” Khomram Kulachandra, Gambhir's younger brother told Indian Express.
The video further caught the attention of Aheibam Dinamani, an assistant professor at NERIST university of Arunachal Pradesh, who contacted the nephew Romen and informed him about the man living on the Mumbai streets.
Unable to get Gambhir back on their own due to their financial conditions, family contacted Mumbai Police and lodged a complaint with Patsoi police station.
"They sent a photo of the young Singh to us. Based on that, we located the person at the Bandra railway station and brought him to the police station," said a police official.
His family members have been informed and they are on their way to Mumbai, said the official from the Bandra police station.
As for the photographer Firoze Shakir, he had developed a rapport with the singer.
"I began shooting him more as a case study than anything else...children would tease him on the streets calling him a Nepali and he would shout back at them, saying he was a Manipuri, an Indian and not a Nepali," Shakir added.
Earlier, activist Angellica Aribam sent out a request to Mumbai Police to trace the missing man.
“Hi @MumbaiPolice, This man was untraceable for around 40 years and his family has been looking for him. This video taken by a photographer at Bandra has surfaced. Please help in finding him. Family can be contacted at **********,” she tweeted (now deleted).
And lauded them after he was successfully traced.
(With PTI inputs)
Last year, Twitter came to a man's rescue who had found a 3-5 day old baby in a closed auto in Mumbai.
Now, a 66-year-old Manipuri man is all set to be reunited with his family-- thanks to his fondness for Bollywood songs and a video clip posted on YouTube.
Back in 1978, Khomdram Gambhir, 26, left his Imphal home for reasons unknown and later went missing.
The family was unaware of Singh's whereabouts for 40 long years until their nephew, Romen Leichombam, brought a video of a grey haired and bearded man singing old songs to their notice, Indian Express reported.
The video was shot and uploaded on video-sharing website YouTube last October by a Mumbai-based photographer Firoze Shakir who saw Gambhir singing on Mumbai streets.
In the clip, the singer identified himself as Khomdan Singh of Manipur, which caught the nephew's attention.
“I could not believe when a nephew of mine came running to me with a video footage of my brother. When I saw the video, I could not stop crying. I could neither sleep nor eat thereafter. I was very happy to know that he is alive. This is like waking up from a nightmare,” Khomram Kulachandra, Gambhir's younger brother told Indian Express.
The video further caught the attention of Aheibam Dinamani, an assistant professor at NERIST university of Arunachal Pradesh, who contacted the nephew Romen and informed him about the man living on the Mumbai streets.
Unable to get Gambhir back on their own due to their financial conditions, family contacted Mumbai Police and lodged a complaint with Patsoi police station.
"They sent a photo of the young Singh to us. Based on that, we located the person at the Bandra railway station and brought him to the police station," said a police official.
His family members have been informed and they are on their way to Mumbai, said the official from the Bandra police station.
As for the photographer Firoze Shakir, he had developed a rapport with the singer.
"I began shooting him more as a case study than anything else...children would tease him on the streets calling him a Nepali and he would shout back at them, saying he was a Manipuri, an Indian and not a Nepali," Shakir added.
Earlier, activist Angellica Aribam sent out a request to Mumbai Police to trace the missing man.
“Hi @MumbaiPolice, This man was untraceable for around 40 years and his family has been looking for him. This video taken by a photographer at Bandra has surfaced. Please help in finding him. Family can be contacted at **********,” she tweeted (now deleted).
And lauded them after he was successfully traced.
Thanks @MumbaiPolice for locating the man and safeguarding him in your custody. His family will bring him back to Imphal after 40 years. Thanks everyone for your help.
I'm now deleting the original tweet. https://t.co/pEhDFHc7Jm
— Angellica Aribam (@AngellicAribam) April 15, 2018
(With PTI inputs)