Sanatan Mallick with his mother at their Ainipada village home. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, Aug. 5: A 34-year-old man, who was presumed to be dead, has returned to his house here after 18 years of his disappearance.

Sanatan Mallick of Ainipada village in Pattamundai returned home yesterday, much to the jubilation of his family members and villagers.

Sanatan was reported missing when he was 16-years old. The Dalit boy had migrated to Paradip port town in 1994 to earn a living, where he worked in a roadside eatery. But after a year, he left Paradip and had remained untraceable.

“We had thought Sanatan is no more. But, his memory was haunting us all these years. I was overjoyed to find him alive,” recounted Sanatan’s mother Chaila Mallick, 65.

“Poverty had forced me to move to Paradip. But I was earning a meagre amount there. I used to wash utensils in a roadside eatery. I could save little to send to my poor parents. So, I made up my mind to move to Calcutta in search of a better life,” said Sanatan.

But, life in Calcutta was no better. He did not get any job there. After struggling for a few months, he began to sell food and other items at a railway station. He had registered himself as a hawker in Howrah.

In Calcutta, Sanatan fell in love with a girl who lived in a slum near the railway station. They married and now he has a four-year-old son. However, he did not dare to return to his native village following marriage fearing parental opposition and social ostracisation.

“I wanted to visit my parents and siblings at my native village. Their memories constantly haunted me. But my marriage with a girl without my family’s consent prevented me from visiting the village,” he said.

“Finally, I decided to return home. I am happy as my mother has also accepted my wife and son. I will bring my family here and settle in the village for the rest of my life. I have got exasperated with the hectic life in Calcutta,” he said.

“God is gracious. The almighty has given me back my child. From now, he will live here with his wife and child. I am eagerly waiting for the arrival of my daughter-in-law and grandson,” said Chaila.