Emotional Reunion After 25 Years of Separation
In a deeply moving turn of events, Sushila Murmu, a woman from Jharkhand who had been living at a south Kolkata shelter home for over two decades, was finally reunited with her son on Friday morning. The emotional encounter marked the end of a separation that began when Murmu left her village following her husband's death and subsequent conversion to Christianity.
A Journey of Reconciliation
Madan Besra embarked on a bus journey from Jharkhand to Kolkata on Thursday, arriving at the shelter home early Friday morning. Shelter workers reported that Murmu had experienced a restless night preceding the reunion, visibly torn between her established life at the shelter and the prospect of returning to her biological family.
"It seemed that she was torn inside," revealed a fellow resident of the shelter home. "Over the past 25 years, she has accepted the shelter as her home and the inmates as her family members. She bonded with every resident here and shared many moments with them. Now, everything has changed for her."
The Emotional Encounter
When Besra finally stood before his mother, Murmu broke down in tears, prompting her son to immediately console her. The shelter had become Murmu's sanctuary where she worked and saved money over the years. Following their initial emotional meeting, she asked her son to accompany her to a nearby market to purchase some items, beginning their gradual reintegration.
Ambarish Nag Biswas of West Bengal Radio Club, who facilitated the reunion through amateur radio operators, shared insights into Murmu's difficult decision. "When we spoke to Murmu on Friday morning, she was initially undecided about leaving the shelter home. It was now her home, too. She spoke to her son for a long time. Finally, she decided to go back to her village, Dhaupagar, in Godda district," Biswas explained.
Overcoming Religious Conditions
The path to reconciliation wasn't without obstacles. After amateur radio operators helped track down Besra, he initially presented his mother with a condition requiring her to change her religion—a demand she firmly refused. However, in a significant development on Friday, Besra publicly apologized for his behavior and assured shelter home residents that he would no longer impose such conditions on their relationship.
"I was wrong when I asked her to change her religion," Besra confessed to Nag Biswas. "I was more concerned about how the villagers would react. I was concerned about the well-being of my family. But over the past few days, a number of people from the district administration spoke to me. That gave me the courage to accept her without any condition."
A New Chapter Begins
The reunion represents more than just a family coming together—it symbolizes the triumph of unconditional acceptance over societal pressures. Murmu's journey from her village to Kolkata and back again spans a quarter century of personal transformation, resilience, and ultimately, reconciliation.
As Besra finally took his mother home, the shelter residents bid farewell to a woman who had become an integral part of their community. The emotional departure marked both an ending and a beginning—the closing of one chapter in Kolkata and the opening of another in Dhaupagar, where mother and son will now rebuild their relationship after 25 years of separation.
