2002 riots: A mother searches for son, defiant against destiny

Since 2002, she has been on a 'treasure' hunt, but unlike the game, there is no fun in it except unfathomable trauma for her. Yet, Rupa Mody is determined to continue the hunt, for the mother in her firmly believes that it will one day indeed lead her to a treasure -Azhu - her lost son.

As Gujarat revisits a nightmare unleashed 10 years ago on February 28, 2002, a mother documents the long and arduous journey from her home in Gulbarg Society in search of her lost son Azhar Mody.

"My daughter, who was holding on to Azhar's hand as we were trying to run out of Jafri Sahab's burning house, accidentally let go of it while trying to help me. I was injured and had fallen down. She tried to get me up and that was when Azhu was lost," said Rupa.

Rupa and her husband Dara began searching for their son from the very next day itself, though the violence made it impossible for them to venture out very far.

"On March 3, 2002, I went to the Juhapura camp looking for my son. On March 5, we went back to Gulbarg again and pasted posters of our son," said Rupa. In their quest so far, the couple has covered almost all police stations in the city besides several jails, hospitals and asylums across the state.

"Immediately after we started to look for Azhu, we would be contacted everyday about a body being found and brought to the Civil Hospital," said a teary-eyed mother, who herself visited the post mortem room many a time to see if the body found was that of her lost son.

"Some of them were in such conditions that there was no way one can identify them," said Rupa. She said in such situation she would just look at the feet of the body. "Azhu had very large feet and that's what I looked for when trying to identify a body mauled beyond recognition," said. In her search, Rupa has had several close calls. There have been times when she felt perilously close to finding her son only to have her hopes fizzle away.

"Once we went to Baroda after coming to know that someone there had found Azhu. We met a nurse at the Civil Hospital who after seeing Azhu's photograph said she had indeed seen him," said Rupa. She told us that he was caught throwing stones at passersby in Baroda and was handed over to the police who in-turn sent him to a mental hospital.

"But the police did not have any records as all documents related to the riots had gone missing. We looked for him in several jails, mental hospitals and even juvenile detention centres - but in vain. Both the nurse and cops agreed that the boy whom they had sent was indeed my son Azhu, said Rupa.

The Modys had also given an advertisement in paper stating that anyone who knew of Azhar should contact them on a given number, incidentally which belonged to one Nibandhbhai, whom Azhu fondly addressed as Nibandhmama. "The ad was given immediately after the riots and someone called on the number and the first thing the caller uttered was 'Nibandhmama'," said Rupa. Later it turned out that the call was from Siddhpur and someone had played a prank.

"But why would anybody call and ask for 'Nibandhmama', more so, when that is not usually how someone would address an unknown person in Gujarat. The situation was still tense and we couldn't go out to pursue the matter on our own. I still believe that instead of relying on others I should have personally pursued that phone call, for it may have been made by Azhu," Rupa rued.

Ten long years have neither dimmed her hopes nor stemmed the flow of tears every time the distraught mom speaks of her son. But Rupa is ferocious in her determination to find her boy. She is adamant that the umbilical cord that ties Azhu to her will not be severed until she finds her Azhu one day.