Astaranga: “He is alive, and he will surely return to me,” she says with quiet conviction, as her belief remains firm despite the long absence of her husband and the silence surrounding his whereabouts.
For the past 19 years, Basanti Nayak of Kuhudi village in Puri district has been waiting for her missing husband’s return. Now aged 60, she continues to observe the Savitri Brata with unwavering devotion, rekindling her hope year after year that her husband, Prafulla Nayak, will come back to her.
In 2006, Prafulla travelled to Bangalore with a fellow villager to work as a labourer. That was the last time Basanti saw him. A few months later, a message arrived: “Prafulla is missing, and we cannot find him.”
Despite continuous efforts, Basanti was never able to trace his location. She later filed a written complaint with Astaranga police, naming the man who took her husband to Bangalore. But dissatisfied with the police response, she sought recourse through the courts.
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The person who accompanied Prafulla, Basanti says, neglected his responsibility and failed to provide any useful information. Basanti’s belief in law enforcement has eroded over time. Despite several visits to the police station, her search for Prafulla has yielded no results.
Yet she refuses to give up. Every year, she performs Sabitri Brata rituals like any other married Hindu woman, maintaining the vermilion in her forehead and the bangles on her wrist — symbols of her hope and commitment. Each day, Basanti fills a brass pot with water, places it by the door, and waits for dusk, just as she did when Prafulla was expected to return from work.
Even after 19 years of loneliness, that door remains open in her heart. “I still believe my husband is alive. One day, he will walk through that door,” she says; her voice both fragile and firm. The longing has become a part of her existence, and the hope has become a ritual. As yet, there is no end to her wait.
PNN
