It was straight from the reel world when the son assumed dead makes come back after 14 years. In spring 2016, a Batamaloo family relived the reel moment in real world. Their son who suddenly vanished during 2002 Eid was back home, much to their own shock.
14 years ago, when Adil Rashid was “mentally disturbed” over his deteriorating home condition, he was reported missing. The following frenetic search freaked the family, until someone declared him dead. But fate and divinity had their own plans for the Khans of Batamaloo.
After twists and turns, when the jittery Adil landed in Maharashtra, he was thought to be a no-usual guy around. Somebody then admitted him in a mental care unit, where he was taken as the man sans memory. All his memories had mysteriously gone. He was just a dead corpse lodged in his ward.
Years later, a doctor took pains to trace his roots. One day when Adil’s faint memory returned, all he could utter was “Batamaloo, near shrine”. It was enough of a clue for the doctor. He rang up the Batamaloo police station, enquiring about the ‘missing’ report of Adil from the area in 2002.
After dusting files, the police officer admitted that the missing man, who was now “mental” in Pune’s mental health care was indeed Batamaloo’s native.
What followed was nothing short of miracle for the family, consisting of Adil’s three unmarried sisters and aged parents. The ‘dead’ son was returning home, after spending Bhagwad Gita pattern exile—that saw lord Ram living a life of exile in Jungles for 14 years.
With that, festive looks overtook Adil’s Batamaloo, refusing to come out of lingering sorrow since the ‘devastating’ Eid. Then, it was fourth Eid, when Adil after having his lunch, put on Pant-Kameez and left for prayers around. He was only 16 then, and didn’t return, until the medico found his traces in asylum.
His ‘Khan clan’ in New Colony Batamaloo had a miracle moment to salvage at last. His father, Abdul Rashid, a painter by profession had to pass through a lot in all these years. The family had moved from pillar to post, but couldn’t venture out of valley due to paucity of resources. He even shifted his residence to Hamdania colony Bemina.
Throughout the mother maintained that her missing son wasn’t in Pakistan as rumour would have it, but that didn’t spare the family from facing music. After Adil disappeared, police and STF would come and seek his whereabouts. But as fate would have it, the same police now revisited the family to break the news of his whereabouts!
– Riyaz ul Khaliq
