காவல் கரங்கள் Kaaval Karangal
An initiative of Greater Chennai Police to assist abandoned uncared persons
132, Commissioner Office Building, EVK Sampath Road, Vepery 600007
https://www.facebook.com/Kavalkarangal/
https://twitter.com/kavalkarangal?lang=en
Maheshwari “does” the kitchen and garden at home. After she finishes work here (at about 3:30 pm), she goes to the beach, where she runs a hoop-game and trifles shop, and heads home at about 10:30 pm after closing shop. Yesterday she saw this old man, lying on the parapet on the road by the skating rink, compassionately offered help, gave him some tea, and donated her muffler (which no self-respecting Chennai-ite goes without in Nov-Dec), helped him lie down and covered him with the bedding that he had. He may have been abandoned by his family…
Feeling bad, she told me about it today, wondered what we could do about helping him, assuming he had survived the night. So I looked around to see what was possible.
Google Mami did not fail! Information about “Kaaval Karangal” [(helping) Hands of the Police] popped up, I found a telephone number, and called it. A very helpful policewoman picked up immediately, suggested that I should take a photograph of the old man and send it to them with the exact location and any other details. They would come and take him to the shelter that they run in collaboration with an NGO. She also asked me to enquire about any family or other support that the man might have.
I thought that we should ask him what he wanted to do, and went with Maheshwari. He was in the same place as the previous day, she talked to him (he only responds using gestures), he did not want anything but tea, did NOT want to go to the shelter. Multiple emphatic negating gestures. Sigh. We regretfully decided that we could not do much more. Maheshwari helped the old man lie down (sigh, discovered that her muffler had disappeared), and we walked back, I to my home, and she to her shop and to arrange tea for him, emphatically refusing any money from me to arrange for this. She also refused on behalf of her neighbour the tea vendor, saying that he helps multiple people like this and that he would be offended if offered money for this.
Feeling chastened, strangely optimistic and sad, I called Kaaval Karangal and talked to the same policewoman. She was not surprised, said it happens a lot, she said the shelter is run well, inspected often, but people are not always willing to come. When I asked what more we could do, she said there wasn’t much, except that, if it looked like he was really doing badly, we should call 108 (government ambulance service), who would then transport him to their shelter.