Hindu woman lost for 43 years, adopted by Muslim village, reunites with her family
Damoh district, situated in the Bundelkhand region in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, has set a unique example of religious harmony.
Here a Muslim family kept an unknown, mentally disabled Hindu woman with them for almost four decades and finally succeeded in reuniting her with her family.
When 93-year-old Panchu Bai’s family members came from Nagpur to Damoh's Kota Tala village to take her with them, all the residents of the village gathered to say tearful goodbyes last month outside the three-bedroom house of Noor Khan, the man who found Bai more than 40 years ago and first gave her shelter.
Khan used to drive a truck and lived in a rented two-room house in the village at that time. Later he built his own house where his son Israr currently lives with his mother and other family members.
Many people in the Muslim-majority village were eagerly waiting for the elderly woman's family members to arrive and soon a red car stopped in front of Noor Khan's house. People surrounded the car as soon as it stopped. Children, women and the elderly gathered said they were sad because their beloved “Achchan Mausi,” or aunt, was leaving forever.
Bai's grandson Prithvi Kumar Shingne had arrived to take his grandmother with him. He was accompanied by his wife and friend.
Shingne was also overwhelmed to see the locals' love for his grandmother. He said he was touched by how the locals looked after his grandmother.
“She spent so many years with Israr's family, just like a family member,” Shingne said.
Israr Khan and his family members were relieved as their untiring efforts were finally successful and their beloved “Mausi” was going to spend the last years of her life with her family. But at the same time, they wondered how they would adjust to a life without her as Bai was treated no less than a grandmother not only by Israr but many other residents of the village.
Bai had gone missing from a village in Nagpur, Maharashtra, 43 years ago. Israr Khan said, “One day, over four decades back, my father Noor Khan was passing from near Damoh bus stand in his truck when he caught sight of a woman lying unconscious on the ground.”
Noor decided to help the woman and when he went near her he discovered that she had been attacked by bees, Khan said.
"Abba (father) brought her home and since then Achchan Mausi started living with us," Israr said.
Separated from her family, Bai lived with the villagers over the past four decades and formed a bond with them. But Noor Khan wanted to reunite the elderly woman with her family and he kept trying to find her family. Bai could not tell anything about her home or her address due to her mental illness and could only speak Marathi, a clue that she must hail from the western state of Maharashtra.
So whenever Noor Khan went to Maharashtra while driving his truck, he would try to find Achchan Mausi's family.
"After Abba (Noor Khan) passed away in 2007, we continued the search and uploaded her videos, photos on Facebook, social media, in the hope that someone knowing her would see them, but without success,” Israr said.
In May, Israr finally succeeded. While standing in Bai's room holding his cup of tea, Bai suddenly murmured “Parsapur” during a conversation with his mother.
"It was for the first time that Mausi had made a mention of Parasapur,” Israr said. “I checked immediately on the Internet and came to know that it is the name of a village which is located in Amravati district of Maharashtra.”
Israr reached out to a journalist at Kanishka, an online organization in Parasapur, and told him about Bai, sending a video and photos.
The journalist immediately shared the video and photos with mobile user groups of Paraspur and nearby towns. Soon it was revealed that the elderly woman belonged to Anjamnagar, a village near Paraspur.
Within a few days, Shingne from Nagpur called Israr and said that the woman in the video and pictures was his grandmother.
Prithvi Kumar Shingne was not even born when his grandmother was taken to Nagpur in January 1979 for treatment by his father Bhaiyalal Shingne. Bhaiyalal and Bai were staying in a house in Nagpur when the grandmother disappeared suddenly and could not be traced. The police also failed to find Bai. It’s not clear how Bai reached Damoh from Nagpur, a drive of more than eight hours.
Saying bye to Bai was not easy for Israr, his family and the locals. Children cried, while some women hugged her. One local put a garland around her neck, while another kissed her hands and received blessings from her. The entire village was sad to see her go, but Bai’s family praised the villagers and said they had proved that religious harmony is good and possible.
Shuriah Niazi is a journalist based in India. He reports for a variety of Indian and Western media including Reuters and specializes in social, religious, environmental and health issues, especially as they relate to women. Follow him on Twitter at @shuriahn.