Her face cracked into a smile as she became sure that she was finally heading home.
Kamalamma, in her sixties and a resident of Chennai, was reunited with her daughter Suguna R. and grandson Naresh Kumar on Monday morning after more than a year.
She had been living at ‘Sakshatkaram,’ the beggar rehabilitation centre run by the city Corporation, since she was found by the police at Thampanoor on April 25 last.
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When Kamalamma met Suguna and Naresh who had reached Thiruvananthapuram by train, she did not show much emotion. This was in stark contrast to early morning when she seemed excited at the prospect of going home with them, the rehab centre authorities said.
Dressed in a Kerala sari, with a maroon blouse, she climbed up the steps of the District Legal Services Authority with her kin, and waited for the procedures connected with her return to get over, even dozing off in between.
Kamalamma has no recollection of how she reached the city, but her condition then was such that she was taken to the Mental Health Centre, Peroorkada, for treatment.
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Medication
She is fine now, though under regular medication, and had no problems in recognising her relatives.
Suguna, who works at a popular sweet shop at Adyar in Chennai, was traced by the District Legal Services Authority as part of an initiative to locate the kin of those from other States who are living at the rehabilitation centre and send them back home.
Suguna said her mother would wander off on her own in Chennai too.
She expressed worry over how to look after her mother, especially when she went to work.
Naresh worked in Visakhapatnam, and her daughter was married, she said.
Legal aid
To ensure that Kamalamma was properly looked after, District Legal Services Authority secretary B. Prabhathu Kumar issued a letter to the sub-inspector of the Saidapet police station, in whose limits Suguna lived, to take them to the office of the Saidapet taluk legal services authority for making available necessary legal aid. He also wrote to the chairman of the taluk legal services committee suggesting Kamalamma’s rehabilitation in a government care home considering the family’s circumstances and their financial position. The chairman was also urged to ensure Kamalamma’s care and protection with the cooperation of the family members.
Due process over, it was time for the family to head to the rehabilitation centre for lunch, and from there to catch the afternoon train to Chennai.