There was jubilation in the house of the Jenas in Andhia village in Bhadrak's Bond block on Saturday when Gadadhar returned after 21 long years. The brothers were overjoyed to have him back.
For the past two decades, the family was frantically searching for him but in vain. Gadadhar had left his native village in August 1989 to pursue engineering in Burla.
Gadadhar had changed a lot in these years. But thankfully, his eldest brother recognised him. The family reunion was indeed touching.
"Since Gadadhar was studious and excelled in academics, we wanted him to pursue higher studies. We hoped he would take care of us financially. But he disappeared from Burla. Today we are very happy to have him back. But we feel dismayed that he has not married," said Bidyadhar, the eldest brother.
It seems pressure of marriage forced Gadadhar to do the vanishing act. While he was pursuing his studies, his parents would keep asking him to settle down. "When pressure of marriage started building up, I thought I would disappear. I wanted to remain a bachelor. Now, I am employed as a service engineer with a private company in Surat, Gujarat. But sometime back, I started missing my family. It became unbearable after sometime. And so I came home," said the missing brother, now in his middle ages. Gadadhar informed that since his parents and an elder brother had passed away, he would like to settle down in the village and take up family responsibility. "I would like to teach my brothers' children and involve myself in charitable work," said Gadadhar.
Childhood friends of Gadadhar were also thrilled. "Gadadhar would be shy but friendly. We missed him on occasions like Raja festival. Now we will not let him disappear again," said Pramod Jena, a childhood friend.
