Where is this World going to?

Story of a mother who forgets her daughter due to consumption of drug (18/10/2008)

It was a night when Murugan received that call. During those days he used to rescue people in day time and drove auto rickshaw for living at night. The information was established from a woman. She informed about a mother who seemed to look like harming her own infant near Kalloor, at that very night under the possession of liquor she drank. He went to that place without wasting time. The place was crowded; there were a lot of people, staring and enjoying this inhuman act but none tried to stop her from hurting the child. Then two women approached him, one of them was a journalist named Manju, they were the ones who called Murugan.

She also accompanied with Murugan for saving the child. When they tried to approach the mother, she threw soil and stones at them and called them swear words. When he enquired about the mother, he understood that the mother’s name was Sharadha and she was mentally instable. As they failed to save the child, he contacted police for their help. When they came, the rescue mission was on. He grabbed the child from Sharadha, but she was still throwing stones at them. Finally he got hold of the infant in one hand and Sharadha on the other. Sharadha, who was not mentally stable due to her liquor consumption, was admitted to Ernakulam General Hospital and the infant was taken to Balabhavan that night.

The next day when Murugan went to visit Sharadha with food for her, he found out that she was missing. After a few days some people who claimed to be the parents of the infant and took that child from Balabhavan. Murugan was shocked by the implication that our Legal system is very weak to safeguard the basic safety of a citizen.

Even if there are lots of rules to safeguard the children of India, their weakness to guarantee the safety to these children like Sharadha’s child is a huge loophole to take advantage by the Beggar Mafia of today.

Infant on Rent for Begging

Story of a family that survived on the money they got by giving their daughter on rent to the beggar alms Mafia (30 March 2001)

Once Achu Oommen, daughter of former Chief Minister of Kerala was driving through the busy lane of MG road, Kochi.  Suddenly she noticed a mother and an infant; she was carrying the infant and moving to window to window of each car, begging for money. She suddenly stopped her car and watched them closely. After observing them for long, she noticed that the mother after receiving coins converted them into money from a shop nearby. The infant was sleeping on the shoulder of the mother at that peak noon time, under the sun. Without wasting time, she contacted Murukan and conveyed the situation to him. In that busy traffic, Murukan was unable to reach at the place quickly.

Before he could reach there, the mother and child moved on from the place, Achu struggled a lot to stop them from moving away from that consign. Since the information was passed on to the police, they arrived with their vehicle but the mother hesitated to join them. Achu noticed certain injuries in the infant’s body, when asked about this the mother explained something in a language they couldn’t understand. Her response wasn’t clear to anybody there.

The mother continued to say something in Telgu. Murukan and others felt it very difficult to comprehend her words. Since the complaint was registered to the police commissioner, police investigated directly at the place where the mother and infant stayed. Police took them back to their rented house at the slum near to Gandhi Nagar.

The next day Achu came to visit the mother and infant and brought them with her to her house. On the way to her home, she bought clothes for the baby. When they reached home, she cleaned the infant by giving her a bathe and her wear the new clothes bought for her. Later, spending time with them, she let them go happily to their home. Soon after this Achu’s mother, Mariyamma also went to visit the baby with lots of toys for her. They inspired the mother and child to have a new life.

The baby was given for rent for begging, and the family survived with the money that they got on giving their baby on rent. Her husband, being a drunk gave their daughter to beggar alms mafia on rent and gained income through this. Later with the involvement Of Achu, the mother felt guilty of her act and she was taken back to her own place by her relatives. Murukan felt very proud being a helping hand with Achu Oommen for eradicating begging alms mafia that steals children for begging.

A Heartfelt Regret

Story of a mother, house prison by her own son (10/09/2009)

‘Family; Forever For Always and No Matter what!’

That day had to disclose very  detrimental information to Murukan, ‘a mother and her sister staying as prisoners in their house by her own son.’

Murukan found them alone in their house completely helpless; not even able to go to bathroom by their own. When enquired, the neighbors said that it was her son who kept them prison. Complaint registered by the people in that community to the police caused her son to live hidden from the rest of the society.

Ponnamma was the wife of late Pathmanabhan, who used to work at Port Trust. Her late husband’s pension was her only reliable reason for survival. Some nights were difficult for these mothers as he would come drunk and harm them physically, which is an inhuman act which a son can do to his mother.

It’s been years that, Rajamma, Ponnamma’s sister, after being separated from her husband started to live with her. It was police and the people who helped these mothers to taste freedom by bringing them out of house prison. Later for getting further help, they were admitted to Government Hospital, Ernakulam. Later it was informed by the community members that these mothers owned land worth lakhs, but they were leading the life of someone worth nothing. Later being penitent about his act towards his mother, her son came to hospital to take them back.

Ponnamma said that, his uncontrolled drinking problem caused him to harm his wife physically, which ended when she left his home. Once his wife left him, he began to harm his mother and her sister and kept them in house prison.

Murukan’s continuous persuasion to avoid drinking liquor did succeed at last. This also motivated him to bring back his wife and mother to a new life.

‘The happiness that the family gained back never failed to increase my happiness because family stays forever’, Murukan said smiling. 

Endowment of Starvation

Story of a mother selling her child for a meal (25 October 2006)

Sun couldn’t get hotter that day. Travelling at this peak time through the streets of Kochi can be a real challenge to dare.

It was an afternoon. Murukan was serving as a child line worker those days. The clock stroked 2 and a call came to child line toll free number. The information received by him could make the humanity question its existence; A mother bargaining on her own child at Ambedkar stadium. On hearing this Murukan along with other child line workers started their journey towards the mother.

As they stepped out on the street, they saw a woman holding an infant in her hands, bargaining with a person nearby. As Murugan got closer, their conversations were getting clearer,

“500 for this child”, cried the mother.

As they got closer, the man who stood near the mother saw them and started to run, as of escaping. Without wasting time, Murugan contacted the nearby Police Station and passed on the information.

After few minutes, women police, SI Parvathy and her team came to the rescue place. It was a struggle, trying to save the infant from his mother as she hesitated to handover the child to them willingly. They tried their best but she fought physically with them, trying to escape. In the middle of this entire crisis that few months old baby boy started to cry.

This entire resistance of the woman didn’t take much time to capture the attention from the public. They gathered around in groups observing everything. Finally, the police officers succeeded in saving the infant from that woman. While guiding them to the rescue vehicle, Murugan heard some of the people whispering among themselves in crowd, “See another child is crying over there.”

Suddenly that woman cried and said aloud, “that’s my child.”

Murugan found the child nearby, he was crying watching everything. He guided that child to the rescue vehicle along with his mother and the infant. They were taken to Pallithuruth Agathymanthiram. Later it was informed by the officials at Agathymanthiram that the woman, Vijayamma, had some mental instability that caused her to behave as such.

‘It was difficult seeing a mother selling her own child for a meal that day’, Murugan sighed. Cases like this are many only some of them are exposed to the society.

Hope Rewards Happiness

‘Hope is the only thing stronger than FEAR.’ This is what Lakshmi’s story has to say to the world.

Eyes sunken down deep, skin sticking to bones; featuring a body that starved for days, this was Lakshmi. No response to anything when asked. Her history was a mystery to the people there. A few years back when she was found, she communicated in a language that sounded as a combination of Malayalam and Tamil. During those days she lived near Thuravoor Junction’s nearby small forest like space in a plastic tent which she made all by herself.

Even when her body looked weak, she was a woman of strong mind that helped her survive. Every day she would go door to door of each house cleaning and plucking out the weeds nearby that house. Sometimes she would get something from the house for the work she did, sometimes she doesn’t; If not she moves to the next door doing the same. Some days she starves for she doesn’t get anything for her work. This was nothing compared to the things that night had given her. Night time was the difficult time of the day to Lakshmi. There were people who used to approach her tent at night, trying to attack or abuse her. Still she wasn’t noticed by any of the Charity and street trustees. Thus she continued living in that plastic tent in fear of these men. She wasn’t alone there; snakes, rats and other rodents accompanied her in that tent.

Even at those difficult times, she had a hope that someday; someone will come to rescue her from that living hell. Even if she couldn’t sleep or eat, she wished to be safe from the night attackers who tried to abuse her without considering her as a human being.

All her wishes came true when Murugan found her and bought her to ‘Theruvoram’ on 7 July 2013. Now, she is not alone anymore, she doesn’t have to be scared anymore. She was in a safe shelter; Theruvoram.