THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Omana-kunjamma retired from service on March 31 after a fulfilling career spanning over three decades, there remained just one more obligation before she could peacefully enjoy a retired life - the marriage of her only daughter. She had been planning and making arrangements for the marriage even before her retirement.
But fate had different plans for her as her daughter disappeared mysteriously from a running train just three weeks away from the auspicious day which she has been longing for. The last time she saw her daughter was when she happily set off to her work place around 400 km away from home, to throw a party for her colleagues. The news of her daughter’s disappearance has come as a heavy blow to the mother, driving her to the confinement of the four walls of her room.
Omanakunjamma is the mother of O K Indu, who had gone missing from the Mangalore Express on Sunday during a journey to Kozhikode. The words of consolation offered by friends and family, who came visiting upon hearing the bad news were not enough to sustain the ray of hope in her. Her husband Krishnan Nair had rushed to Kozhikode upon summoning by the Railway Police probing into the case.
Indu, whose marriage was fixed on May 16, was on her way to the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, where she was a research scholar when she disappeared mysteriously. Her absence was reported to the police by her colleague and family friend, Subhash, also hailing from the capital city, who was accompanying her. Relatives, both close and distant, were scattered outside ‘Vysakh’, the house at Mosque Lane, Kumarapuram, where Indu lived when ‘City Express’ visited her house on Wednesday. As time passed, more and more people visited the house. Had the fate been different, the same people would have been busy decorating the house for the marriage.
Silence prevailed among those who gathered at the house. Whoever spoke took special care to subdue their diminishing hope of the return of the soon-to-be bride. ‘’When we read about the tragedy of Soumya on newspapers, we just took it as a passing news. But when something similar happened to our own girl, we realise the pain,’’ Sivaji, Indu’s uncle, said. Train journey was nothing new to Indu, who did most of her higher education outside the district. ‘’Besides, she was a mature 25-year-old. Hence we never felt like taking extra caution even when we read about Soumya’s tragic end,’’ Sivaji said.
Geetha, Indu’s aunt, said that Omanakunjamma had been devastated on hearing the news. ‘’The news was unbearable for Omana, who is already suffering from various age-related diseases,’’ Geetha said.
The investigation by the State and Railway Police Departments is yet to yield any result even after two days of her disappearance, but Indu’s relatives still believe that she would return.