Lost And Found

Once Rajin, his five-year-old son and his pregnant wife were stranded on the roof of their house in the middle of a disastrous cyclone in Odisha. The water had already inundated the entire village and everywhere only rooftops were visible. Like helpless insects, they took shelter in an open half-built room on the roof. Its asbestos roof was already blown away by the gusty winds. Nature was at her destructive peak. They were shivering in cold inside a trampoline tent that flew one side and at the other end, he sat over it to save his family. At times when the wind slowed down, he was coming out of it to see if any rescue team had reached. They were petrified by the fury of nature and counting their last minutes of life. He was more worried about his pregnant wife and the five-month baby she was carrying in her womb.

The next day, the wind stopped but the water level kept increasing. He climbed on an adjacent tree and shouted for help. The rescue team came on a boat. It was already over-packed with old women and children. The driver of the boat shouted not to board anyone from the family. There were chances of overturning as the capacity of the floating boat was already full. A young policeman convinced the boater to take at least the child. They left the roof with his son. The man and his wife were still marooned on the roof.

Bad luck struck again when the water level touched the roof. The world outside was already invisible; only the pinnacle of tall trees stood. There was water everywhere. As time passed, the naked rooftop room was inundated too. To rescue their life, both climbed on a big banyan tree that touched the roof and sat there for two days till the water receded. His wife occasionally fainted with high temperatures. He was doubtful if the baby could be saved or not. Immediately, he rushed to a nearby hospital.

Loud cries, heart thumping, and unstoppable tears dominated the scene in the hospital. It was overcrowded with the patients all over. Then, he found a doctor walking fast towards him. The white-robed physician took her inside a room on a stretcher and advised him not to become worried. He waited for some time in front of the room. Now, he must find his son. The doctor came out to give him the good news that the mother and the baby were fine. He went inside to see his wife. She was sleeping.

He started searching for his son madly in the hospital. From a nurse, he came to know that the boat carrying his son had already capsized in the floods. His heart came to his mouth after hearing the ominous news. He started running to the place where all the victims were kept. Dead bodies were lying all over with covered faces. Behind the bodies, his son was standing and crying with an old man. He immediately ran to his son and lifted him on his arms and started kissing his face all over. The old man was crying loudly putting his head on the dead body. He wiped out the tears of his son with his fingers and rested his hands on the shoulder of the old man. Still, he was inconsolably crying.

The same nurse came again and broke another shocking news. The young police who had saved the lives of many people including his son were drowned in the floods. Before his death, he had saved all the ten lives on the boat. Hearing her, the old man rose and shouted, “I want my son. What benefit have I got? I never wanted him to join the police but he never listened to me. He had joined one year only. He was just 21.”His tears were unstoppable. He embraced the little boy and said, “Now, you give your son to me. My son has rescued your son, now you give me your son.” His thoughts turned hollow without any humanly emotions. His hands started shaking. Immediately he lifted his son and started running. He turned back repeatedly if the old man was following him. Alone he ran on the open verandah of the hospital and rushed into his wife’s room and closed it inside. The reunion of the whole family was heavenly. A day later, his wife was discharged from the hospital.

After four months, Rajin welcomed the new born baby boy by performing a grand Puja in the village temple. The whole temple was decorated with garlands and loud devotional songs were reverberating in every nook and corner of the village. The chief priest gave his name as Kunal and predicted that he would become a police officer one day. The word police reminded him of the face of the young police man who took his son amidst that turbulent flood. The policeman screamed “Give me your son, Give me your son, Nothing will happen. I will carry him in my arms as there is no place in the boat.” To escape from the screams, he entered into the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple where Lord Ram’s statue was shinning. He closed his eyes and folded his hands. He prayed to God to help him. A voice he heard from deep inside his mind, “Give me your son. My son has rescued your son.”He opened his eyes; the chief priest was chanting slokas. Again he closed his eyes to hear another voice, “My son is not mine. I must give him to that old man.” He felt relieved as the final voice kept repeating in his ears.

In the evening, he narrated everything to his wife at home. Initially, she was disagreeing but when he shared his temple vision, then she agreed as she was a religious lady. Both decided to give their eldest son to that old man. He scanned through the registers of the hospital to know the address of the old man.

On a Sunday morning, both traveled to the town to meet the old man to inform him about their decision. They reached his house that was beautifully decorated with lights and flower garlands. He entered into the house. A big celebration was going on. He thought that probably they had trespassed into the wrong house. The security man confirmed that it was the same old man’s house. He knocked on the door. The same old man was there with a smiling face. Immediately he recognized him. He called them inside and offered tea. There was a big noise coming from a room. He was clueless as to how within four months of the death of his son a father could smile and celebrate. He made his offer to the old man but the reply he got from him again reaffirmed his belief that a man’s heart could be larger than nature’s fury.

“After the death of my son, I wanted to adopt a son but nobody was ready to give their son. So, I have decided to convert my house into an orphanage. Now, I have 32 children. So, I don’t need YOUR SON now.”

All the children came running towards the old man. He lifted one little girl and they all started dancing by bursting the balloons. He walked out of the house with his wife and son. While closing the gate, he saw a big dazzling shine board reading Virat Hriday hung on the top.