The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : An embattled father who has not lost his hope

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 06, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

An embattled father who has not lost his hope

Rasheed Kappan

PERSEVERANCE PERSONIFIED: Subedhar S. Kumaresan, with the photographs of his children, Jobel (9) and Abish (12), and sister-in-law, Lumi (29), in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Subedhar S. Kumaresan had witnessed horrible deaths as an armyman in the strife-torn Kashmir Valley. But that was hardly a preparation for what he suffered on December 26, 2004.

In a cruel twist of fate, he lost his wife, and his two children went missing as the tsunami unleashed its fury in Tamil Nadu's Velankanni coast. He eventually found his wife's body, but the children had disappeared. He is still searching for them. In Bangalore for the last 15 days, Subedhar Kumaresan has refused to give up. With the photographs of his daughter, nine-year-old Jobel (9), son, Abish (12), and sister-in-law, Lumi (29), he has been to orphanages and churches, child help centres and homes. The armyman has been doing this for the last two years.

The ill-fated day was still fresh in Subedhar Kumaresan's memory.

"I had taken the family for a ceremonial bath in the sea, after my nephew's tonsure ritual in Velankanni. It was around 9.10 a.m. I heard people shouting `run, water.' Before I could figure it out, I was sucked in by it. It took me half an hour to extricate myself," he narrated the ordeal to The Hindu.

But it was too late. The family was nowhere. The children and his wife had disappeared.

Tragic moments

In those tragic, mind-numbing moments, Subedhar Kumaresan watched in horror as his life came crashing down. He was suddenly alone. His wife and children, for whom he braved great risks in Kashmir, had been taken away from him.

The next day, he found his wife's body. Thoroughly shaken, the armyman spent the rest of the day and month searching for his children. Six months later, he took a transfer to the NCC battalion in Tirunelveli and resumed his search.

"In the last four months, I have searched the entire coastline of Tamil Nadu. I even covered Kerala. Now I am in Karnataka, and looking for any clue about my children here in Bangalore," the pain in the man's words was apparent. But there was hope as well.

After circulating pamphlets in English and Kannada, the Subedhar is awaiting a call. He still has three months before his next posting in Punjab. The photographs of Abish and Jobel and his words, pleading for news about them, have touched many hearts here.

The contact address is: "Subedhar Kumaresan, 270, Bungalow Street, Vadakankulam, Tirunelveli 627116; Ph: 04637231252, 0-9443283002"

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