Bhopal: He spent years raising his four children after losing his wife. But when 70 year old Ghanshyam breathed his last, there was no son, no daughter and no family member beside him.
Ghanshyam died on August 4, 2026, at Apna Ghar, an old age home in Bhopal, where he had been living for nearly four years. His family did not come to see him after his death, and after waiting for two days, the old age home carried out his last rites with police assistance.
The most painful part of the story came later. According to the old age home, Ghanshyam’s family contacted them to ask for his death certificate. Ghanshyam was from Indore and had spent much of his life working to support his family. He sold bicycle tyres and tubes and raised his two sons and two daughters after his wife died when the children were still young. His youngest daughter was reportedly only about two years old at the time.
But his final years were very different. Ghanshyam became partially paralysed and struggled to walk and speak. At one point, he reached the Bhopal ISBT from Indore, where some young social workers found him and brought him to Apna Ghar. The old age home eventually became his home.
For around four years, the staff looked after him, taking him to hospital whenever his health deteriorated. They also tried contacting his family, but according to the home’s manager, Madhuri Mishra, no one came to take responsibility for him.
The story also involves Ghanshyam’s house in Indore. The property was reportedly sold, and the money was distributed among his children. Mishra said there were disagreements within the family over the property and what each child had received.
According to her, when the home tried contacting a number provided by Ghanshyam, the person who answered reportedly said he had abandoned him and no longer had a relationship with him.
After Ghanshyam died, the home again tried reaching his family. But no one arrived to take his body or attend his funeral. Eventually, Apna Ghar staff, with police assistance, performed his last rites.
Now, the old age home says the family has asked for his death certificate. Mishra has questioned why the document is being sought when the same family did not come forward during Ghanshyam’s final days or after his death.
A man who once stood alone to raise four children was ultimately given his final farewell by strangers. And perhaps that is what makes Ghanshyam’s story so difficult to forget.
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