Long wait over for Gajanand’s wife

JAIPUR: This year the festival of Teej has been special for 80-year-old Makhani Devi who wore her green leheriya saree and was happily seen cooking ‘pooris’ and other dishes for her family at her Nahargarh Road house. She has not been able to stop smiling ever since she saw her husband on TV entering the

Wagah

border on Monday afternoon after 36 years. In the evening the family was informed that Gajendra will arrive here by 5 pm on Tuesday and would be welcomed by people in the city.


She is too close to the character played by Nirupa Roy in the films like ‘

Amar Akbar Anthony

’ and ‘Deewar’ who had raised her children well despite difficulties. Her husband,

Gajanand

Sharma, went missing in 1982 and only on May 7 this year the family came to know that Sharma was lodged at Koth Lakhpath jail in Lahore.

Since morning media person have been visiting Sharma’s house. The neighbours when asked the address say, “Achcha woh jo Pakistan se aa rahey hain, unka ghar (Ok, you want to know about the house of the one who is coming from Pakistan),” quipped Ramjilal Saini, a neighbour.

“I saw him on television and it was disheartening to know my husband is not been able to walk properly. Irrespective of what he faced in Pakistan and what I faced here while raising my children it is of course a gratifying moment for my family comprising of two sons, two daughters-in-law and six grandchildren,” said Makhani Devi while talking to TOI. The family is now desperately waiting for Gajanand. “Ab to bas jaldi ghar aa jayen dadaji (Now grandfather should come home),” said 17-year-old Muskan Sharma, the granddaughter of Makhani Devi.

Ramcharan Bohra, Jaipur MP who was instrumental in the return of Gajanand, said, “Most likely he would arrive in Jaipur on Tuesday by 5 pm via road . He would be welcomed at many places in the city.”

Makhani who was always mum whenever mediapersons visited her was jubilant. “His name is Gajanand as he was born on Ganesh Chaturthi. In our days we were not in the habit of remembering birthdays with dates as we knew the days when the person was born. This year I will request my family members to celebrate his birthday on Ganesh

Chaturthi

,” she added.

Asked, if she was getting restless on when her husband will reach home, Mukesh, Gajanand’s son, said, “As he entered in India we all had tears in our eyes. It is unimaginable for us what our father must have faced in jail. We might have waited for him for 36 years but now it is difficult to wait any longer. I remember as a 12-year-old I used to enquire about my father, my mother used to say ‘Aa Jayenge’. And today I realized how true was my mother.”

Sharma had gone missing in 1982 and on May 7 this year it was confirmed that he was lodged in Lahore’s Koth Lakhpat jail. On August 9, MoS external affairs V K Singh informed his family that Sharma is likely to be released from prison on August 13.

Sharma family is now waiting for the arrival at home. “We will take care of him and will help him to regain his health,” said Muskan Sharma, the granddaugther of Gajanand.