Gladys stops by her ‘home’

The first call, she remembers, came on March 25, when a journalist rang up at her Brisbane residence. She could not take the call. Later in the day, Shubhankar Ghosh (chairman of Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home where Graham Staines had joined as a missionary in 1965), called up. ‘‘He (Ghosh) called up to convey the news. I told it to my father; we both were thrilled at the news,’’ she says.

Her tryst with the President — for the second time — was a memorable one. ‘‘At the felicitation ceremony, President Abdul Kalam asked me, ‘Do you remember me? We met at a function in Baripada some two years ago.’ I really felt honoured at his words,’’ she says. ‘‘Earlier, I had met him (the President) during a function in Baripada.’’

After eight months in Brisbane, where she looked after her ailing 91-year-old father, the homecoming with daughter Esther has been wonderful, she says. ‘‘I’m happy to be back here. It was as if I was here the last week,’’ she told The Indian Express. ‘‘I’ve spent more than 20 years here. I met my husband here, I began my married life here, I established my home here and my children were born here and now, my workplace is also here.’’

At the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home, life for the 30-odd inmates seemed to have turned the clock back. Superintendent Solomon S. Kumar said: ‘‘She personally talked to all the inmates and spent about two hours.’’

Six years after her husband and two sons Philip and Timothy were charred to death in Manoharpur in Keonjhar district, Gladys says the past returns to haunt her. ‘‘After all, I’m a human being. I’m still in the process of coping,’’ she says. ‘‘My daughter and I break down at times. But I console her saying that although she has lost her brothers and father, God has given her family across the world.

“People know me and say that I’m their inspiration, I give them so much strength. ‘We are with you,’ they say…This is the motivating factor in pursuing my work,’’ she adds.

There, however, are no regrets. She has forgiven her husband’s killers, among them Dara Singh, who were given life imprisonment. ‘‘Without resentment, I forgive those who killed my husband and children…Had I not been able to forgive, I would not have able to stay here,’’ she says.

So, will she return and settle down here? ‘‘You never know what the future holds for you. Plans to come back on a long-term basis are not ruled out, but my father’s health and daughter’s education are my top priorities now,’’ says Gladys. Nineteen-year-old Esther who is studying at Ooty, is set on studying medicine.