CHENNAI: A 22-year-old woman from Maharashtra, working at an IT company in Chennai, could not leave the city to attend her father’s funeral who died on April 24. However, she could attend the rituals at her home a few days later thanks to two Chennai women who escorted her to Maharashtra.
While her company had arranged for transportation, it insisted on allowing the employee to travel only if any woman offers to escort her all the way to her hometown, Ratnagiri. The woman, Unnati Zagade, and her family members took to Twitter and sought help from the authorities and politicians from Maharashtra.
DMK MP K Kanimozhi, who learnt of the young woman’s plight from her counterpart in Maharashtra, Supriya Sule, had sought help from the party’s women wing.
Two women -- N Kalaiselvi and E Ponmani -- volunteered to escort the young woman to Maharashtra. On April 28, the techie, the two city women and the company’s two drivers set off on a 1000km journey to Ratnagiri.
“As soon as akka (Kanimozhi) posted the message in our WhatsApp group, I came forward,” said N Kalaiselvi. “Akka expressed happiness and asked whether I really would be able to go.”
Kalaiselvi runs a wholesale flower shop at Thiruvanmiyur market and has two children.
The group started from Chennai around 11 pm on April 28 and reached Ratnagiri around midnight the next day.
Kalaiselvi said the young woman had been lost in her own thoughts throughout the journey. “I am not fluent in English. Unnati knew only Marathi and English. So I could not even console her properly. Thankfully, one of the drivers knew her language, and he translated what we were telling her,” Kalaiselvi told TOI.
When they reached Ratnagiri, Kalaiselvi was moved by the gratitude the family showed to them. “We were not expecting anything. After all, there was a death in the home, and I did what I would do for anybody. But, for a few moments, there was happiness that Unnati reached home. Her mother thanked me and Kanimozhi akka. We were very well taken care of during the 10 minutes we spent there,” Kalaiselvi said.
“The last rites were performed earlier. The family is happy that Unnati could join for the remaining rituals,” Pranil Malgundkar, Unnati’s cousin, told TOI. “Since she was in a state of shock, Unnati could not convey her thanks to those who escorted her and the company’s staff. We are thankful to the women who safely brought Unnati home,” Pranil said.
The group returned to Chennai the next day. Member of Parliament, Kanimozhi, on Wednesday tweeted her appreciation to the women’s wing members who escorted the IT employee to Maharashtra.
Kalaiselvi said that her family members were aware that she would do whatever “my beloved sister” (Kanimozhi) asked her. So they did not try to persuade her against taking the trip.
On her return from Maharashtra, Kalaiselvi got herself tested as she runs a business at Thiruvanmiyur market, where a vendor tested positive last week and the market was shut. “The results have come negative,” she said.
While her company had arranged for transportation, it insisted on allowing the employee to travel only if any woman offers to escort her all the way to her hometown, Ratnagiri. The woman, Unnati Zagade, and her family members took to Twitter and sought help from the authorities and politicians from Maharashtra.
DMK MP K Kanimozhi, who learnt of the young woman’s plight from her counterpart in Maharashtra, Supriya Sule, had sought help from the party’s women wing.
Two women -- N Kalaiselvi and E Ponmani -- volunteered to escort the young woman to Maharashtra. On April 28, the techie, the two city women and the company’s two drivers set off on a 1000km journey to Ratnagiri.
“As soon as akka (Kanimozhi) posted the message in our WhatsApp group, I came forward,” said N Kalaiselvi. “Akka expressed happiness and asked whether I really would be able to go.”
Kalaiselvi runs a wholesale flower shop at Thiruvanmiyur market and has two children.
The group started from Chennai around 11 pm on April 28 and reached Ratnagiri around midnight the next day.
Kalaiselvi said the young woman had been lost in her own thoughts throughout the journey. “I am not fluent in English. Unnati knew only Marathi and English. So I could not even console her properly. Thankfully, one of the drivers knew her language, and he translated what we were telling her,” Kalaiselvi told TOI.
When they reached Ratnagiri, Kalaiselvi was moved by the gratitude the family showed to them. “We were not expecting anything. After all, there was a death in the home, and I did what I would do for anybody. But, for a few moments, there was happiness that Unnati reached home. Her mother thanked me and Kanimozhi akka. We were very well taken care of during the 10 minutes we spent there,” Kalaiselvi said.
“The last rites were performed earlier. The family is happy that Unnati could join for the remaining rituals,” Pranil Malgundkar, Unnati’s cousin, told TOI. “Since she was in a state of shock, Unnati could not convey her thanks to those who escorted her and the company’s staff. We are thankful to the women who safely brought Unnati home,” Pranil said.
The group returned to Chennai the next day. Member of Parliament, Kanimozhi, on Wednesday tweeted her appreciation to the women’s wing members who escorted the IT employee to Maharashtra.
Kalaiselvi said that her family members were aware that she would do whatever “my beloved sister” (Kanimozhi) asked her. So they did not try to persuade her against taking the trip.
On her return from Maharashtra, Kalaiselvi got herself tested as she runs a business at Thiruvanmiyur market, where a vendor tested positive last week and the market was shut. “The results have come negative,” she said.
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