Hemalata Domale is elated, thanks to Facebook. For, her son Ankush, who, in a fit of anger, left home 11 years ago, returned.
It was on a lonely night last month that Ankush located his brother Santosh on Facebook and left him a message. “Call me, i am your brother,” he said. His photo left Santosh perplexed as he found himself staring at a man in turban. However, his mother confirmed that it was indeed her first born.
Ankush is now 24 and has changed his name to Gurubaj Singh. He converted to Sikhism after having been helped by a Sikh truck driver and a generous Baba at the Nanded Gurdwara.
Gurubaj Singh said, “I left after my uncle and mother scolded me for misbehaving. I was probably wrong, but I was young and very angry. A Sikh truck driver took me to Nanded and left me at the Gurdwara where I did seva.”
“I had dropped out of school when I left home, so I couldn’t get any jobs. I served at the Gurdwara, and learnt Gurubani. There, a Baba saw me and offered to take me to Ludhiana. I felt like my life had a purpose and I was happy,” he said.
But one night, after a small fight at the Gurdwara, Gurubaj suddenly felt like he missed home. “I thought I could locate my family, and I did.” He returned home on July 28. “I am happy to be back now,” he said. He plans to assist Santosh in his business.
Hemalata, though guilty that it was her anger that separated her son from home all these years, is exhilarated that her son is back. “How can I not be happy? I always prayed for him to be in safe hands,” she said. She lost her husband 12 years ago, and then Ankush went missing, she thought she could never be happy again. That had changed now, she said.
And like all mothers, she has plans for her son. “I will get him married as soon as possible. He can then take care of his own life.”
