DUBAI In a bizarre turn of events, an Indian man who ‘disappeared’ after he left his hometown in Kerala 40 years ago was discovered by his family on a hospital bed in Dubai this month.
The unlikely reunion occurred after friends of the 60-plus Abdulla Punathil Usman began a frantic search for his family through the media when he was admitted to Dubai Hospital with a heavily infected foot two months ago.
Abdul Gafoor, a Dubai-based driver, told XPRESS on Tuesday that Usman was working as a cook in an Arab national’s house in Hor Al Anz since the early 1970s. “He hails from Chakkavad in Thrissur district in Kerala. My brother Khalid and I happen to be from a village close-by and met him in Dubai over 20 years ago.”
He said when word about Usman went out, he began to receive a barrage of calls. “I must have got 50-60 calls from people both in the UAE and India. They were all looking for a missing family member. I took some of them to meet Usman, only to draw a blank. However, I got lucky with one caller from Abu Dhabi – M.P. Haneefa.”
Compelling urge
Haneefa, also a driver, said when he read about Usman, he was intrigued by his name and native place as he too came from Chakkavad. “It rang a bell. I remembered that when I was in school, one of my mother’s brothers had left for the Gulf, never to return. There was no news of him ever since. I felt a compelling urge to meet this man.”
The trip to Dubai Hospital will remain with him forever. “Usman was nothing like what little I could recall of my uncle Baputty as we called him – fair, handsome and full of style. His face had changed and he had aged. But when I began to ask him about our family members, there was no mistaking his identity. He reeled off the names of my late grandparents. He also said he had a brother and sister - who is my mother. So here I was with my long-lost uncle who had gone ‘missing’ 40 years ago..”
Usman could even recollect instances from their early days but he gave no explanation for his long silence. “It’s nothing, the years have just gone by,” he said.
The Indian Consulate told XPRESS an officer visited Usmanat Dubai Hospital and conveyed to him that it would provide assistance to facilitate his return to Kerala. “Also during the officer’s interaction with Usman’s sponsor in Dubai, the sponsor affirmed that Usman never wanted to go to India for the past 40 years and was pleased to know that he would like to go back now,” it said.
Haneefa said: “Baputty was close to the family. He was good, never smoked or drank. It’s a mystery how he just lost touch,” .
Gafoor said Usman, who is still single, is an honest man. “He earns very little but has been content with the same job for so many years. He never accepts any financial help from others.”
He said Usman is ready for discharge once his hospital bill is cleared. “It’s a huge amount – Dh18,040 as of Monday – and we are hoping it will be settled soon.”
With Usman’s visa due to expire on November 15, his newfound family is looking to take him to home. “We plan to fly him down next week,” said Haneefa.
“I will visit my native place and meet my family,” added Usman.
Asked if he would come back to Dubai, he said: “Who knows? Whatever will be will be.”
YOUSPEAK: Have you ever had to search for a lost relative?
