As soon as Mattancherry Police Sub-Inspector V Joshy opens the gate, Krishna Pai rushes towards him complaining, “See…what they have done to the door. They broke it. Now I am forced to use the other entrance. And look at the wounds on my leg…these are yet to heal…”
At first glance, they seem to be a typical father-son duo engaged in their daily dose of conversation. The two however share no family ties other than the bond of humaneness.
75-year old Pai -who is unmarried- was abandoned by his siblings after the death of his mother a few years ago.
Though all his siblings –three brothers and four sisters- are financially well-provided, none want to bear the burden of having him around.
One of his brothers did however deign to let Pai stay in a tiny, shabby room close to the dog-kennel in his mansion.
About 18 months ago, when Pai realized he could not put up with such harassment any longer, he went ahead and filed a complaint with the district sub-collector. “I used to run an electrical shop from these premises, but they wrecked it. Now, they expect me to restrict myself to this small room….and they don’t even give me food,” he said.
“The sub-collector forwarded his complaint to the Janamaithiri Police station at Mattanchery. That is how I came on to the scene,” smiles Joshy, as he shares the story of his ‘Pai’ bond with The News Minute.
At first glance Pai reminded Joshy of his father and his plea for food was heart wrenching.
“Finally, it all boils down to food. A lot of people come to the police asking us for help, but we can’t help them all on a personal level. But there was this old man asking for food, asking us to ensure that he gets food daily, and I wanted to help,” Joshy said.
From then on, Joshy has been Pai’s ‘Annadhata’.
“I called all his siblings and spoke to each one of them, but no one wanted to take on the responsibility of having to look after him. Even though his brother’s family stays in the same house, they were not even willing to provide him food. So I took it upon myself to bring him food daily,” he adds.
For the past one year, Joshy kept spending his own money to ensure that Pai would not starve in the midst of plenty. He also ensured that someone from the police station regularly checked on Pai to ensure his safety.
“Now that we keep a tab on his safety, his relatives don’t harass him any longer. If ever the SI is unable to get across food for Pai, he calls one of us and reminds us,” remarks Ajeesh Kumar, the station’s assistant sub-inspector.
After coming to know of this sustained good deed by the police, Srikaram -an NGO in Mattancherry- too started contributing food to Pai.
Pai smiles: “Even though the NGO now provides me with food, the police never forget to enquire about my well-being. I have the freedom to approach the SI any time with my problems.”
It was in 2008 that the Kerala government launched the Janamaithri Suraksha Project in police stations to make the police shed its reportedly fearsome image and adopt a more people-friendly approach.