Tribute to Baba.....

Krishna Kumar (name changed) was about 65 years old man from a village in Akola district. This is one of the very first cases that i handled. Its been about two years since he passed away but memories refuse to fade.
We tried our best but couldn’t do enough to save his life and this feeling would test me for the rest of my life.
Krishna baba, as we would call him joined our special group (i use to conduct special sessions for this group on the issues ranging from confidence building to cleanliness to options for livelihood)with the hope to get out of the beggars home.
He was detained for one year. Though he said that he never begged and belonged to good respectable family, he never gave his family contact. It was only after three-four months with us that he told about his family but with a condition that we’ll not contact his family.
As he told, he had a son who threw him out on his wife’s insistence as he would stop her whenever she was harassing his wife. His wife was critically ill and he would often get in fight with his son and daughter in law for not taking adequate care. After his wife’s death last year, it became very difficult for him to stay there and after one such incident, he was out.
He came to Mumbai on a friend’s advice and joined him as a portar.He would get some 50-60 rupees a day as he wasn’t able to work for long hours.
One day when he was resting at a road side, he was picked up by the police. Once in beggars home, he was detained as his age made him easy suspect for the crime that is begging,and secondly because he could not give his family’s address.
When he came to beggars home, he was fairly healthy but soon he started getting weak. We showed him at the institution’s hospital and he was given few tablets. One day he was hit with stick by the mukadam (fellow inmates given the care-taker's responsibility) and his hand got swollen. We complained to the authorities but nothing happened. Again, one day he was beaten up by another mukadam.After that, he fell ill. To me,it appeared as if more than physical pain,it was mental and emotional humiliation that was making him weak.The sense of being deprived of any self dignity and freedom was killing him slowly.
Problems do come in numbers.He developed diarrhea along with fever.He couldn't be transferred to public hospital for one reason or the other.It was after a week that he was taken to hospital.However,doctor didn’t admit him and said its only weakness and nothing else. He was brought back to the beggars home.
Fighter that he was, he continued doing his things on his own but reducing energy would not allow him to sit for long hours. Group members offered him to help with his daily things but he refused.
One day he gave in. He expired in the early morning and we just couldn’t believe it. He was bundle of energy and his still body appeared very untrue.
Nobody in the barrack had lunch that day.It was for the first time that i saw people in beggars home missing their meal to mourn the death of fellow inmate.
He was a father figure for the entire group.One would be amazed to see his high energy and optimism.He never ever complained for anything,whatsoever.
His ever-smiling face is still fresh and keeps coming up.He has been very instrumental in providing me the strength to continue with the work in the institution.
He is gone but not dead.He lives in inspiration and its a special feeling for me to write about him as my first post on the experiences of working with destitute citizens.
We miss you Baba!