When Pradyum of Rajapur village in Uttar Pradesh received a call from a stranger in Mysuru a few days ago, he could not believe his ears.
Imagining it to be a prank, Pradyum asked for a video chat to confirm if what he had heard was true. As the person in Mysuru came online, there was disbelief and tears of joy on both sides. For, it confirmed to Pradyum and his family that their father Karam Singh, 70, who had gone missing four years ago from their village and was presumed dead, was alive.
“It was the peak of COVID-19 lockdown sometime in April when the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) health officers Jayanth and D.G. Nagaraj approached us to take care of a homeless man living on the streets and accommodate him in one of the ad hoc shelters,” recalled M.P. Varsha, Managing Trustee of Centre for Rural Education Development and Innovative Technology of India (CREDIT-i), an NGO working on social and development issues.
Initially, there was resistance because the temporary shelter for the homeless at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry opened by the MCC was already full. Yet, given the frailty of the person, the NGO decided to take him.
With unkept beard and hair, it was initially presumed that the person was mentally unsound. However, closer interaction indicated no such sign though he appeared depressed, said Dr. Varsha. He was segregated from the rest and they heaved a sigh of relief when the test results proved that he had tested negative for COVID-19.
The NGO used to conduct musical programmes for the inmates and it was observed that Karam Singh too would hum along. When given a mike to sing, he rendered a few old Hindi songs with flawless pronunciation and it was clear that he was from north India.
After a week of interaction Karam Singh opened up slowly and one day saw Dr. Varsha wearing a t-shirt with an image of an elephant printed on it. “He immediately connected it to the BSP party symbol and said this belongs to our Mayawati,” recalled Dr. Varsha who was now convinced that Karam Singh was from Uttar Pradesh.
After a few more days of continuous engagement, Karam Singh opened up a little more and recalled that he was from Rajapur village in Saharanpur, U.P. “He had left his village for Haridwar in search of a job and ended up doing odd chores and shifted places before ending up in Mysuru. He does not remember since how long he was in the city but the family members say he was missing since four years and they had presumed him to be dead,” said Dr. Varsha
Finding himself in a strange place with a different language and no money, Karam Singh is suspected to have taken to begging for survival and lived on streets. That is until his rescue during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Karam Singh will now embark on his return journey home to be reunited with his family. He will leave for Delhi by train on Friday and his children will receive him there on Sunday.