'Der aaye durust aaye'- Uttarakhand man reunites with family after 24 years during COVID-19 lockdown

At the moment, the entire world is under lockdown to try and curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

With the lockdown in progress, while it has a positive side of curbing the virus, it has its negative aspects as well.

A lot of us are away from our hometowns and families. Being in the cities that we work in, it can be difficult to stay away from our loved ones during such tough times.

However, one can find a silver lining nowadays as well. There have been instances where families have reunited even while being under lockdown.

Several such instances have brought a smile to everyone’s faces. Another one just got added into the list and it is slightly different from the previous ones.

And it is quite a filmy ride, guaranteed!

A man named Prakash Singh Karki who belongs to the Ramadi village of Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand. Recently, he returned to his family after 24 years of leaving his house, unannounced.

His return was quite a surprise as not only the villagers but his own family members were not able to recognize him!

Karki had left his village after finishing high school in 1995. First, he went to Delhi and started doing menial jobs in the city.

While speaking to The Hindustan Times, he narrated his life journey, “From Delhi, I went to Himachal Pradesh where I learned gardening before going to Gujarat which was my last stop and where I was working as an electrician.”

When he had eventually decided to return to his family, the lockdown was imposed. However, he had made up his mind to reunite with them. He also remembered the home address even after being away for so long.

He further added, “I just got a pass and arrived there, by God’s grace. I found them and reunited with them after 24 years. I will never leave them now.”

For his mother, Bachuli Devi, a long and frantic search for her son had finally come to an end when he returned. “His father and I had searched for him a lot but to no avail and we had lost hope of seeing again. But, I guess, God is great as now that my son is back with me again. He will stay with me only,” she told the newspaper.

As of now, Karki is under mandatory 14-day quarantine in the village quarantine center. He has applied for work under MNREGA now so that he will not have to leave his home again.