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MANGALORE: He left home in Sundarpur of Morang district in Nepal as a wiry teenager, ostensibly for hands on training in a hotel in Delhi with his cousin Dinesh Acharya around a decade ago.
 
The decade after is nothing but a big blank for Sanjeev Dangal, now 27. Rescued 18 months ago by Snehalaya Charitable Trust located at Thuminadu in Kunjathur in Kasargod district, 17km from here, Sanjeev was reunited with his family on Monday.
 
It was a big relief for Dangal’s when a registered post from Snehalaya landed at their house on September 11 informing them about Sanjeev’s well-being and his presence at this care home for the destitute. Almost having given up hopes of seeing Sanjeev again, his brother Suraj, 25, and uncle Ganesh Acharya left Sundarpur on September 11 and reached Snehalaya five days later to find Sanjeev, now a grownup man, and almost hale and hearty.
 
Thanks to the care provided by Joseph Crasta of Snehalaya over the last 18 months, having picked him off the streets at Talapady, Sanjeev presently is in a frame of mind where he yearns for the daal bhatti, roti, sabji, kheer and achar that his mother Devi prepares. Sanjeev’s father Om Prasad Dangal runs a small business back home in Sundarpur, which by Suraj’s admission is a day’s journey from the Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu.
 
Why did he leave Delhi where he joined for the training in hotel craft? "Achcha nahin laga," says a rather shy Sanjeev. In fact, it was Dinesh who last informed the family that Sanjeev and he had reached Delhi and that the duo had joined the hotel for training. Sanjeev who ostensibly left for training on the second day did not return. His family had no idea about his whereabouts or his fate till the day that the registered post landed at their home.
 
Unclear about how he reached Mangalore or what transpired in his life over these 10-odd years, Sanjeev is longing to go back home. Suraj says they will reach Sundarpur on Saturday via Bangalore, Patna before entering Nepal through Jogbani.
 
Overjoyed at seeing his brother, Suraj says, "We will first take him back safely home." On Sanjeev’s future, Suraj, who works as a security guard in Dubai says, "Let Sanjeev take a call on it at a later date."