Man returns home after 44 years, remarries wife

KOLKATA Dec 15th : A 92-year-old man, who was believed to be dead for the last 44 years, has now returned to his home in Kolkata and remarried his wife, the
couple's son said Monday. Panchkari Hazra left his residence in Behala in south Kolkata in 1964 and was missing since then. He didn't inform his wife Annapurna and two sons - Arun and Tarun - why and where he was going. "When my father didn't return home for 12 years or send us any information about his whereabouts, my mother performed his last rites under social pressure and started living the life of a widow," Tarun said. Annapurna even left the Behala house and went to her father's house in Jagatdal town in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. "On Wednesday, a friend at Behala informed me that a very old man had been living in our old home for the last few days and was claiming to be Panchkari. "I rushed to Behala and brought him to Jagatdal on Saturday. I was only three years old when he left home so don't remember his face clearly. But my mother recognised him at once," Tarun said. However, Hazra seemed to be suffering from loss of memory. "All I remember is that I left home and family 44 years back due to some problems at the small factory where I worked. Ever since, I have been wandering. I don't remember how I came back to my old home. But I have recognised Annapurna as my wife," Hazra said. Annapurna too is happy to have her husband back. "He returned so late. But now I will take care of him till death," she said. All relatives and friends of the Hazra family decided to get the couple remarried. Hazra and Annapurna were remarried on Sunday night with all traditions and rituals, followed by a grand feast at their Jagatdal residence.