KENDRAPARA: Kendrapara’s Pramila Malik (65) has found her odyssey, reuniting with her family after being lost to them for 39 years. Pramila, of Nandalalpatana village under Pattamundai police limits, was found in Himachal Pradesh recently and had her homecoming on Sunday, meeting her son who was born the year she went missing. Pramila was 26 years old then.
Pramila, daughter of late Krushna Malik of Baluria village, had married Dinabandhu Malik of Nandalalpatna in 1986. They had a son in 1987 and named him Dhrubacharan.
In September 1987, Pramila left her matrimonial home and went to her parental house. After the death of her father, she left her parental home without informing her family members about her whereabouts. Later, Pramila’s husband married her younger sister, Urmila.
Not much is known about Pramila’s whereabouts from then up to 2011. According to institutional records, Pramila stayed at the Mental Health Institute in Shimla from 2011 to 2018. She was later admitted to Nari Niketan, Shimla, on January 30, 2018, and shifted to an old-age home at Bhangrotu on February 16, 2023, where she lived since then. The only known fact of these missing years is she came to Himachal from Delhi.
A team led by the sub-divisional magistrate of Balh in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh visited the old-age home two weeks ago and interacted with Pramila to ascertain her identity. A tattoo in Odia script on her hand that spelt her name was the clue to the breakthrough in getting her back.
After a few days of counseling, officials and social workers of Mission Apno Tak—a compassionate administrative initiative of the Himachal government to reunite destitute, vulnerable and elderly persons in old-age homes or shelters with their families—traced her family in Kendrapada district with the assistance of Odisha Police.
Pramila expressed her willingness to return to Odisha. Following directions from Kendrapara superintendent of police, a team was constituted on September 26 to bring her back home. The team brought to Nandalalpatana village and reunited with her family members.
Pramila embraced her son, Dhrubacharan, and other family members, breaking down. Dhrubacharan said, “The happiest moment of my life was when I embraced my mother. I had always prayed for her safe return, and my prayers have finally been answered.” Pramila expressed happiness over the reunion and said she would stay in the village with her son and other family members.
Amid the happiness all around, Pramila learnt her husband, Dinabandhu, had passed away, as had several other close relatives. She thanked the officials and social workers of Himachal Pradesh, and Odisha Police for bringing her back home.