Indeed, a Diwali with a difference for this factory worker

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 9

A factory worker from Jalandhar spent his entire Diwali evening tending to and finding a home for a two-year-old abandoned child, skipping his plans to head back to his hometown in Behraich in Uttar Pradesh for the festive celebrations.

‘Abused & judged’

Do din se, jise bhi bola, sabhi gaali hi diye. Shabashi ko nahi diya. Sab kahe tum pagal ho, tumhara dimaag kharab hai, ise kahan se utha laye. Ye to bhikhari lagta hai. Par humne kaha atma to bhagwaan hi diya hai. Baccha hai. (Everyone abused me. Said I had gone mad, I was crazy. Why did I pick him up? He looks like a beggar. But I said he is still a God's creation.) Shailesh, a factory worker

Shailesh Kumar (40), a worker at a factory at Ladowali Road, who was due to reach his home on Diwali, instead came back all the way from Bareilly to find a home for the two-year-old, who he had found on a busy road in Jalandhar. Shailesh cleaned his poop, fed him and spent his Diwali night in a Jalandhar thana with the child and two other cops so that the boy could find a home. Shailesh has three kids (two daughters aged 12 and 9 and a son aged 2) back in Behraich, but now he proudly tells everyone that he has four. He has been listed as the guardian of the little boy at the Nari Niketan, Jalandhar.

Heading to board a train to Lucknow to spend Diwali with his family, at the Jalandhar Cantt railway station on the evening of November 3, Shailesh rescued the boy dressed in rags from almost being run over by a vehicle near Lamma Pind. With the boy unable to tell about his home, Shailesh took him to the Cantt railway station where he approached the local police. Shooed away, Shailesh took the kid along on train.

At Bareilly, Shailesh got off and took the child to the local GRP thana, seeking shelter for him. But from there, two cops escorted him all the way back to track the child’s home in Jalandhar. Back in city, they approached the Rama Mandi thana where Shailesh spent the Diwali night in a room with the child and two Bareilly cops. It was on the morning of November 5 that the boy was handed over to the Nari Niketan, Jalandhar, with the help of a Good Samaritan Surinder Saini.

An astounded Shailesh said, Do din se, jise bhi bola, sabhi gaali hi diye. Shabashi ko nahi diya. Sab kahe tum pagal ho, tumhara dimaag kharab hai, ise kahan se utha laye. Ye to bhikhari lagta hai. Par humne kaha atma to bhagwaan hi diya hai. Baccha hai. (Everyone abused me. Said I had gone mad, I was crazy. Why did I pick him up? He looks like a beggar. But I said he is still a God’s creation.)

He shared, “I got weary of telling the story. I have been giving explanation to everyone. Cops looked at the child with great apathy when they saw his soiled pants. I washed him. When I reached Jalandhar back at 6 pm on Diwali night, the police station was lit with diyas. Cops gave me sweets and were surprised at my story. We slept in thana. I lied to my wife and children that I had Iost my bag and hence was stuck. But I couldn’t abandon the child. The police station cops were very supportive. They trusted me and went around looking for the parents but could not find anyone. Eventually the boy landed at Nari Niketan. I will again go to meet him.”

When handing him over, the boy cried uncontrollably and wouldn’t leave Shailesh, which even evoked the sentiments of the cops. Shailesh cancelled his Diwali leave and distributed the crackers and sweets which he bought for his kids to his neighbourhood children.

Activist Surinder Saini, said, “I was informed about the child after Diwali day. Shailesh has done a commendable job. He washed, fed and provided clothes to the boy like people care for their own children.”

Cancelled his Diwali leave

While handing him over, the boy cried uncontrollably and wouldn't leave Shailesh, which evoked the sentiments of the cops. Shailesh cancelled his Diwali leave and distributed the crackers and sweets which he bought for his kids to his neighbourhood children

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.