How often do we pay from our pocket to help someone in need? How often do we help
cremate an unclaimed body dumped outside the morgue of Capital Hospital? How often do we donate our blood to save a critical life? Rashmi Rekha Das elicits answers to such humanitarian questions as she meets and interacts with Sadhu Charan Mahalik.
There are a few amongst us who would dedicate their lives to the well-being of people requiring support and help. Sadhu, fondly called Sadhu Bhai, is one who has given away his kidney to a fellow in critical care. He has also pledged to donate his eyes after his death.
That’s not all.
Sadhu has donated blood for at least 195 times, so far. He has helped dispose of 195 bodies without taking a penny from relatives of the deceased.
We all work, because we want to lead a comfortable life with available luxuries. This person, however, is a different mettle as he toils hard so that he can be of help to the society. His 30-year ‘‘missionary life’’ is a rich example of how one should aid the poor if one sincerely desires to do so.
Asked about his sole philanthropy behind cremating deserted cadavers of unknown people, Sadhu reflects: A dead man deserves a decent farewell irrespective of the caste or religion the person had lived with during the lifetime. When the soul sheds the mortal remains, we should bid adieu to it reverently…
Hailing from Nayagarh, 56-year-old Sadhu has been residing in Khurda where he rose to the occasion 208 times to donate blood.
Sadhu, who supervises a hotel at night, spends his day in social and philanthropic activities. With each passing day, his experience has made him realise the basic purpose of his life.
Leading a simple life with great motivation to work for what the poor of the country go through should be his life’s lessons, Sadhu thinks.
Son of freedom-fighter Shyam Sundar Mahalik, Sadhu has never learnt to turn down one in distress. Whether it is at midnight or wee hours of chilling winter, he is prepared to jump to the aid of people.
He grows philosophical when asked about his mission in life. “Life is a play. We are characters in it. We’ve to acquit the role assigned to us in every scene. It’s up to you how efficiently you portray the role.”
“I had a difficult childhood. I could have adopted shortcuts to gain a fast buck. Instead, I chose the life of honesty and simplicity. My father had named me ‘Sadhu’ to mean a ‘holy’. So, I kept in mind my character must reflect my nomenclature,’’ says Sadhu beaming with confidence.
When asked about the provocation to donate his kidney, Sadhu avers ‘‘Kidney donation involves a relatively safe surgery. Parting with a kidney causes no harm to your long- term health. Studies have shown that kidney donors live longer than those who enjoy generally good health”.
Sadhu drew his inspiration to give away his kidney after an old woman in his neighbourhood donated one to her son.
“A person can live with one kidney. You can donate the spare kidney to persons whose kidneys are damaged. I realised this after seeing my neighbor and advertised in a newspaper that I was willing to donate my kidney. On information, Battakrushna Bhatt had come to seek my kidney. I said, yes. Accordingly, doctors fixed a date for transplantation. When I was readying to donate my kidney I was told that Bhatt had died. I felt sorry as I could not save his life. I finally donated my kidney to Bijay Samant, another person of the locality, June 5, 2007.”
Sadhu is not only a generous person, but also an adventurer. In 1972, he killed a 20-ft python which had almost swallowed a goat and rescued it from the reptile.
When asked to share a few memorable events of his life, Sadhu says “In 1990, Alekh Barik, a fellow villager died at SCB Medical College and Hospital. His family members were on their way home from Cuttack with the body when they met with an accident. All of them were injured in the mishap. On being informed, I reached the spot and rushed the injured relatives to the hospital. Then I took the body on a motorcycle to the crematorium. The family members thanked me profusely for the act.”
Sadhu recalls an interesting incident: “Once a Dalit villager died and none of his villagers came to cremate his body. I had gone to Cuttack then. When I reached home at 10pm I was told the body was still rotting there for 10 hours. I did not hesitate and went ahead with the body to the cremation ground.”
Sadhu had organised several blood donation camps in schools and colleges. He had collected 125 units of blood from Bijay Nagar in 2005 and 175 units from Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal.
A class-VII passout, Sadhu started social service way back in 1985. His chief source of encouragement, apparently, is his wife who has stood by him in all adversities. “We have to contribute our might to the society in some way or the other for what all we gain from it,’’ adds Sadhu.