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The woman’s quest was further aided by vivid memories: double-decker bus trips to her grandparents, a concrete wall along their route, and a prominent nearby church
Though her search is ongoing, she plans to use Google Earth and return to Kolkata next year. (Representative/Shutterstock)
In a heartwarming tale of reunion and relentless hope, a 52-year-old American woman, Tempori Thomas, was spotted in the bustling lanes of Kolkata on Sunday. After traveling 13,000 kilometers from Minnesota, USA, she was seen intently observing each building, her journey drawing curious gazes from locals.
Thomas’s determined search for her roots stems from a poignant past. Separated from her family at the tender age of four, she spent a year in a Kolkata orphanage before finding a new home in America. Her quest led her to familiar territory – B.T. Road and areas near the Kolkata-Barrackpore route, places etched in her memory.
Thomas vividly recounts that fateful day, December 14, 1977, when she got lost while collecting fuel for her family’s dinner. She still remembers the kindness of a stranger who guided her to Khardah Police Station, where she sought refuge for a day before being placed in a widows’ ashram and later, an orphanage. Fate intervened when International Mission of Hope, an NGO, connected her with her adoptive parents in Minnesota.
On Sunday, Thomas revisited Khardah Police Station, her memory painting a picture of the back door where she sat, the nearby tap she used, and the emotions she felt. Her father, a bidi factory worker, her mother, a domestic helper, and her siblings – a brother who stammered and an elder sister – remained alive in her memories.
Vivid details like the double-decker bus rides to her grandparents’ house, a concrete wall on their route, and a prominent church nearby further fueled her search. Thomas’s pursuit for her past extended to Chiria More in Barrackpore, a landmark she vividly remembers.
Though her search is ongoing, she plans to use Google Earth and return to Kolkata next year, her spirit undeterred, hoping to finally reunite with her long-lost family.
