He was reported missing two months ago. Family members presumed him dead and performed his final rites in absentia with a heavy heart. Then suddenly he appeared in the village yesterday‚ surprising everyone. Of course, all were happy‚ his family members the most. 

Baburam BK of Bhalchaur VDC-1 of Salyan was in Uttarakhand‚ India when floods and landslides caused by torrential rains in the second week of June hit the Himalayan state. Thousands of people died and more than that were reported missing. BK was one among them. BK’s family members did everything to trace his whereabouts. But after failing to find him‚ they decided to perform his final rites in absentia. 

Now BK is back in the village‚ very much alive. His family yesterday welcomed him and today they organised a marriage ceremony at a local Shiva temple‚ and the bride was BK’s own wife Nokhi‚ who was clad in red attire with a tika on her forehead. “I had given up hopes,” she said adding‚ “We all were surprised‚ and very much happy at the same time‚ when he came back.” The family members had even registered his death at the VDC. “I was unconscious. I did not know that I was airlifted to the hospital‚” BK recounted. “After regaining consciousness‚ I found myself on the hospital bed.”

He said that he owed his life to the army rescue team that had been deployed in the flood-hit region. “I spent almost two months receiving treatment at the hospital‚ which later gave me Rs 2‚500 as travel expenses‚” he said.

Published on: 22 September 2013 | The Himalayan Times