Mumbai: Good Samaritan reunites lost grandpa with family in Nashik

Dewnani with his nephews Vivek and Jeetendra Dalwani

A Septuagenarian living with Alzheimer's landed in a Santacruz West housing society, without knowing that he had strayed so far from his Nashik home. The senior citizen was spotted by a good Samaritan, who made him comfortable and coaxed him into sharing his details. The show of kindness and a bit of luck ensured the old man, whose family owns a chain of shops, was united with two of his nephews in Mumbai.

Shankar Dewnani in the compound of Ramanika building in Santacruz West

The heartwarming story unfolded at Ramanika building, on Linking Road Extension, on Wednesday. At 2.44 pm, Niket Baindur, who runs a transport business, discovered a tired elderly man sitting in his building compound. Upon questioning, he got some vague answers and it was evident that the old man, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt, which had some purple stains, was lost and could not recollect his name or address. It was then that Baindur, 33, decided to call up this reporter, seeking help.

A gentle search of his pockets did not yield any identification documents or an address except for a railway ticket from Nashik and a bus ticket. He was carrying some mangoes in a bag along with a few packets of sugar candy and Rajgira chikki that he had stuffed inside his shirt. The customary gifts were an indication that he was in the city to meet family. His photo was circulated on a local WhatsApp group and was shared with an officer from Santacruz but yielded no clues.

Relaxed after drinking some water and a cup of black tea, the elderly man asked this reporter if he was Sindhi, which was not the case. After prodding him repeatedly in broken Sindhi about his name and address, the man finally said he was Shankar Dharamdas Dewnani and owned a toy shop called Guru Krupa, very close to the railway station in Nashik. As luck would have it, the shop name and phone number popped up right on top in a Google search. A call to the number was answered by one Jagdish Dewnani, who excitedly said that his entire family was worried sick since his uncle went missing on Wednesday.

‘He has Alzheimer's'
"My uncle, who is in his late seventies has Alzheimer's and often forgets that his wife, who died last November, is no more. He only recollects that she has gone to visit her brother in JVPD and as per tradition, it is his duty to go personally to fetch her back. He went missing on Wednesday morning and was last seen feeding stray dogs outside our temple," said Jagdish.

Meanwhile, in spite of speaking to his family members on the mobile, who assured him that they would be coming soon to take him home, Dharamdas would repeatedly stand up and forcefully say that he was leaving for Nashik and had to be gently persuaded to sit down, with the help of another building resident, Rajeev Varde. At around 4 pm, Dharamdas's two city-based nephews Vivek, 48, a fashion designer, and Jeetendra Dalwani, 46, reached the building and a tearful reunion followed.

"The Sindhi business community has a routine of boarding the early morning Panchvati Express to Mumbai, for their purchases. This has been a routine for my uncle, too, which he remembers. He also remembers that he should visit the ISKON temple in Juhu, followed by his favourite kala khatta gola on the beach [which explained the stains on his shirt], before coming to our house with gifts. What has happened is nothing short of a miracle and the family is grateful that he was found safe and sound, after being lost in the city for over 20 hours," said Vivek. His nephews from Nashik took him back on Thursday.