Initially, his friends thought that much of the reason he missed home so much was because his wife and children lived there to tend to the family land and his ageing mother. But a few years ago, when his children moved out of the village and found jobs, his wife Sumitra also came to live with him in Delhi. However, her coming to Delhi and adapting to a new life didn't stop him from hankering after the home he'd left 25 years ago.
Last year, Kumar did have to go home, but for a tragic reason. His mother had died. When he returned he was troubled, "She'd had a heart attack, and couldn't be reached to a hospital in time," he said. "I keep thinking that if she'd received speedy treatment like we get here in Delhi, she may have survived," There was no one to look after the family land now that she's gone, he said. "I guess I'll have to tend to it once I return." But barely a year later, he got news that some criminal types had eyes on his land. Kumar went back post-haste, and regretfully sold the land for a pittance before they could grab it and he lost it altogether. "I'll just buy a small piece of land in the village after I retire," he said when he returned. But all who knew him knew before he did, that it was a fading possibility.
More From This Section
Meanwhile, his wife landed a job in a nearby shopping mall and began earning about Rs 15,000 per month. "She'd never get a job like this in the village," Kumar said proudly, adding that she had bought a new television and fridge with her earnings. Just when things were going swimmingly, their son, who was working as a guard in Darjeeling, called in panic. Local goons had threatened to kidnap and kill him, unless he agreed to pay them weekly protection money. They'd heard his parents were doing well in Delhi, he said. A frantic Kumar brought all his three children to Delhi immediately. He got his two sons jobs in his security firm, and with a flourishing combined household income, the reluctant migrant bought a larger house.
"Home is home, but it's also important to be in a place where one gets the opportunity to better one's life," Kumar says now. "Much as I love Mirik, I don't think my family and I could live in a place with limited health care, few job opportunities and no security of life. But while Delhi may be where I live till the end of my days, Mirik will always be my home."