In a heartwarming instance, local residents, district administration and social activists in Kochi’s Mattancherry came together to make the dream of a Nepali woman, of returning to her homeland, come true. It was a month ago that local residents found Peema Kumari Devi living within the ruins of an old building that has now become the alleged haunt of drug dealers. They learnt that Peema Devi was a Nepali woman who had moved to Kerala 48 years ago with her husband, who was a security guard at Hindustan Petroleum. Loneliness set in in her life after her husband died 18 years ago. Peema told the media that she had been living in the ruined building for more than 11 years and had faced attacks from anti-social elements using the building for various purposes.
For decades, she remained hidden within plain view, barely surviving, living in the hope of one day seeing her homeland. “If I die in my country Nepal, my soul will get redemption,” she told the media. The district administration, led by Collector Dr Renu Raj and MLA Hibi Eden, shifted her to a shelter home in Thevara. Soon after, Kochi-resident Mukesh Jain, a trader, came forward to take care of her journey to Nepal. A tea leaves trader as well as a stock trader by profession, Mukesh said that he was in Bihar on business when he first heard about the old lady living among ruins in Mattancherry. Upon his return, he got in touch with her.
Speaking to TNM, Mukesh said that Peema had the contact numbers of her relatives in Nepal. “They were very willing to take her home. So we agreed to take her to the Nepal border to meet her family,” he said. At the end of almost a month, on Sunday, December 11, local residents and activists organised a farewell meeting for Peema. On Monday, Mukesh, along with his wife Bhavana, flew with Peema Devi to Lucknow. From there, they travelled by road to the Nepal border, reaching there by Tuesday afternoon.
Mukesh told TNM that Peema was thrilled to be able to go back home. “Their faith is that a person must die in their homeland to be with the gods after death,” he said. Mukesh added that the entire journey had been very fulfilling for himself and his wife. “Being able to help make someone’s dream come true is very satisfying,” he said.
On Tuesday, Peema Devi’s family met them at the Nepal border. The reunion brought an end to the decades-long ordeal of a widow longing to go back home.