Mother's day today: The forgotten ones

Syeda Shalina Shally, left, founder of a shelter home for homeless old women, is hugged by Johura, a resident at the facility. The picture was taken at the Aapan Nibash shelter in the capital's Abdullahpur last week. Photo: Prabir Das

Rani Bala can't recollect much about her life before she was conveyed to a haven home at Abdullahpur in the capital. After her girl and child dismissed her, destitute Rani meandered around the boulevards of Shanir Akhra for a long time.

One day, about a year prior, Syeda Shalina Shally, organizer of the sanctuary, Aapan Nibash, got a call from a cop. "He educated me concerning Rani and I discovered Rani mashi [aunt]," Shally said.

Rani is one of 36 who in the dusk a very long time of their lives have discovered another family in Aapan Nibash and have comparable stories. Shally and eight different volunteers love them and deal with them.

From the wrinkles all over and indented eyes, Rani seems, by all accounts, to be no less than 70 years of age.

She can't recollect who her better half was, yet she "in some cases feels tragic recalling her kids," Shally said.

Rani had lost her little girl when she was just five years of age. Having been raised up in another family, the little girl got hitched to a man from the Muslim people group.

Rani fortunately discovered her little girl and remained with her at her in-laws' place for a couple of months until the point when they raised protests about her remaining there being a Hindu.

She came back to her child, who had turned out to be deadened. His family declined to give Rani a chance to remain there, in light of the fact that she had lived with the Muslims.

"Accordingly, she lost family, home."

While Shally was recounting the story, Rani sat discreetly on a bed; her face down. Shally made an inquiry or two yet neglected to inspire a reaction.

Aayat Banu sat near Rani. From her appearance, she was by all accounts in her 90's. She held out her hand to touch Shally's and kissed her.

Approached what she had for lunch, Aayat stated, "dal and rice," with a griping tone. Shally clarified that Aayat cherishes chips-like bites yet her stomach gets resentful frequently by that.

Aayat has been at Aapan Nibash for six to seven months. She doesn't recall her family, kids or anything of her past life.

She was in a condition of obviousness at Lalmatia when Shally discovered her. In light of what could be accumulated from Aayat's indistinguishable words, Shally trusts that she had filled in as a house-help for a large portion of her childhood and adulthood.

"When she lost her capacity [to work], she was deserted ... She regularly asks, 'will you abandon me?'" said Shally, who had filled in as a human rights lobbyist for almost 30 years.

She last worked with Karmojibi Nari, an association that backers for ladies' rights. In 2009-2010, numerous individuals from the association who had worked with her mutual their worries about developing old.

Around seven of them had turned out to be old by at that point and had lost their capacity to keep working. They expected that their families would dispose of them whenever. That was when Shally instructed them to remain with her, without pondering how she would address their issues.

She leased a summary three-story working as it didn't cost much when contrasted with the accessible space. She handed the place over Moinnar Tek, near her living arrangement and around 10km far from Abdullahpur, into a home for those elderly ladies who have no place else to go.

Various ladies roused by Shally's work joined her as volunteers. One of them cooks for just Tk 2,000 a month.

"I asked for rights activists, individuals from Karmojibi Nari [of the locality] to spare a modest bunch of rice [in a jar] consistently. I gathered the rice toward the finish of consistently," Shally advised this journalist amid a visit to the haven home on Tuesday. "The gathered rice and my compensation were all that I needed to adapt to the use [until 2012]."

With time, six other similar individuals approached to shape an overseeing advisory group to help her drive.

The asylum, in the relatively dreadful working without any gas, power or running water, keeps running with little subsidizes from people.

"More youthful ones like her are coming to help," Shally stated, indicating a medicinal understudy who went there to commend her birthday with the ladies overlooked by the general public and their families.

She had gone futile to numerous persuasive and rich individuals for help. "They said looking after such ladies was good for nothing, worthless.... In any case, where will they go when society has declined to assume liability for them?" she said with tears assembling in her eyes.

"You know when I discovered Salma khala [aunt], she was lying by the side of a deplete [in Narayanganj], with pee and dung everywhere on her body.… I got water from a roadside shop, washed her, wrapped another sari around her and afterward expedited her a transport."

Another occupant, Gollechha had been harmed in a street mischance in the air terminal region. Somebody took her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Nobody went there searching for her for a month and afterward somebody from the healing center reached Shally. Like in different cases, Shally invited Gollechha.

Once in a while relatives and youngsters leave elderly moms and grandmas at the safe house.

Known to be a 120-year-old dowager at Aapan Nibash, Johura is one of them. Her granddaughter left her there in light of the fact that her significant other didn't need her.

The blaze of the camera irritated her amid her evening tea. She endeavored to withdraw however Shally apologized to her and said it would not occur once more.

With a grin, Tuni, 55, appeared with tea. She could without much of a stretch be mixed up for a volunteer yet Tuni is among the couple of dynamic ladies there who share the family unit tasks with volunteers.

Tuni had served a home in Gulshan for a long time. She dealt with the elderly guardians when their youngsters were abroad. At the point when the couple passed away, her administrations were never again required, nor was she.

One of their relatives conveyed her to Aapan Nibash with two arrangements of garments, a couple of bundles of scones, drain powder and tea; that was all she earned for serving over four decades.

Mentally crippled Tuni was all the while grinning when her story was being told.

Asked what number of increasingly the home could suit, Shally said she would not close the entryway on anybody. "They would in any event get insurance from rain, cool, would have the capacity to rests and kick the bucket with respect."

About 20 ladies of the sanctuary have ignored away the years. Shally deplored that she needed to demand staff of open cemeteries to acknowledge the bodies for internment.

At this point, the evening daylight was waving farewell to Aapan Nibash and shadows started crawling through the windows into the well used out place.

Shivering at thunder of thunder, Gollechha got out, "Kindly somebody bring my children and little girls home."

"Nobody knows where her kids are," said Shamsunnahar, a volunteer attempting to quiet her.

The mother always remembered her youngsters however her kids have overlooked their mom.

Today is Mother's Day.