Ida Wilde is an 83-year-old woman living in Scotland. She owns a magnetic personality with an infectious smile. The old woman is young by heart. You may not believe but this grandmother has her own Facebook account that she browses daily. The woman posts pictures, drops comments and also shares other posts. She is the coolest granny one can ever have. Like usual Ida posted a wedding picture of a close relative on her page. The post received many likes and comments. But what was usual about the post was a message that she got by a stranger. Mind you, this stranger was not someone ordinary. This stranger was ranked in WORLD'S RICHEST MEN by Forbes.
Ida Wilde is an 83-year-old Scottish woman. It won't be an exaggeration if I call her the lifeline of her family. Ida, also a great grandmother is loved and respected by everyone. She is the favorite grandmother in her neighborhood. The old woman is known for her warm nature.
She might look an ordinary person but the woman had an unforgettable past that had left a deep impact on her. It won't be wrong to say that an incident from her past had very much shaped her personality. The woman was only 10 years old when she learned a hard truth about life.
How would you feel if one fine day a couple of strangers come to your house and start calling it theirs? Now you would have to share all your stuff from your favorite toy to your bedroom. That is what happened with Ida. The little girl was all surprised when her mother told her that those two strangers were going to live with them. In the beginning, it was obviously difficult for Ida but she soon adapted to it very soon.
It all happened in 1947. Her mother had brought in two unknown kids with her. Ida had never seen them before. That day she met Asgar and Kuslom. They had come to stay with her. Ida, a little girl at that time did feel a bit uncomfortable but soon became friends with them. Their family had grown larger now. Fortunately, the unexpected development did not bother anyone. But why had they come to live with her?
Asgar and Kuslom Patel belonged to a very wealthy family. The siblings had come from Bombay, India. Things had worsen in the country as the state was partitioned into two different countries, namely India and Pakistan. The state was free now but got divided into two nations. No wonder, the decision was followed by chaos and unrest all across.
Separation caused refugee crisis all around with Hindu and Muslims running here and there. This is unfortunate that the population had not been given no time to prepare before the decision came to the light. The Hindus living in Pakistan moved to India and the Muslims who were residing in India relocated to Pakistan.
Asgar's father who was living in Bombay with his family at the time of disorder had to do something to protect his family. The situation was worsening day by day. All of the country was affected by the split and so no city or state was safe. He had to look for a way out. After pondering for some while, the man decided to send his kids out of the country but he was still not sure about the country.
The man discussed his dilemma with one of his friends who told him about a guest house in Glasgow, Scotland. The guest house had taken in many international students. His friend suggested him to put his children in that house. Asgar contacted the proprietor in hope of getting some help. There was no way he was going to let anything destroy his kids' future.
He talked to the guest owner and explained his problematic situation. Whereas the owner sympathized with his situation, she was still unsure about taking in four foreign kids. She made no attempt to hide her dilemma. However, Asgar's father had made up his mind.
Asgar flew down to Scotland with his children. He went up to the guest house and requested the owner to let his children stay. At that time, the owner could not say no as the kids who were four in number were standing at the door of the guest house. Though she had to say no, there was no place for all the four kids in her guest house.
Asgar's father was not going to take back his kids to India nor the owner had enough space in her guesthouse. What could they do? After some pondering and wondering, the owner came up with a solution. She told Asgar's father that two kids can live with her and the other two would go with Greta Moreland, her niece.
Greta took in Asgar and her sister. The woman herself was a mother to a girl, Ida. Ida, Asgar and his siblings were of the same age group. No wonder, they all became thick friends in a few days only. Ida was extremely happy about finding new friends in Asgar and his siblings.
The four foreign siblings did not take long to adapt to the European culture. But before that they had become an inseparable part of the Scottish family. It didn't seem they had come from a foreign land and had different cultures. They mixed up very well with their new family.
During the beginning of their stay in Scotland, Asgar Patel and his siblings used to speak Urdu but as time passed they began to pick up English. Now, they would use Urdu very rarely. Not only that but they also started addressing their Scottish caregivers as “mum and dad.” It was after some time they learned to call them “aunt and uncle.”
Asgar stayed with the family until he turned 12. Although his sister and one of his brothers had gone back to India, Asgar and his older brother chose to stay in Scotland. Asgar liked staying with the family. However, the boy had to get separated from the family when his father enrolled him in a boarding school in London. That marked the end of his 6 years long stay with the family.
Even though after shifting to London he stayed in touch with the family. He would call them every now and then. However, with time, he got busy with his studies and the calls became less frequent. And after completing his senior Cambridge, Asgar said his final goodbye to Ida and her family at Glasgow railway platform.
The boy was going back to India for good. Ida was an emotional moment for his Scottish family, especially for Ida. The girl had developed a very strong bond with Asgar. He was not only her brother but also a best friend. So, that day she did not only lose a brother but a best friend too.
Asgar and his siblings' stay in her house brought lots of changes in her. She learned to share and care. If you ask her, those were perhaps the best days of her life. That was the most dynamic phase as she got to learn about different cultures.
Life is all about changes. Ida's family moved to a different place and she got super busy with her own life. The woman got married in her mid-twenties. Soon after, she became a mother that doubled her responsibilities. She never had time to think about his brother. However, it doesn't mean she didn't miss him.
Months turned into years and years changed into decades. The woman had gone through many transformations. She had become a wife, mother, grandmother and now a great grandmother. The memories were fading but feelings were still the same.
Though Ida had grown old, she was a woman of today's time. She was active on Facebook and other social networking sites. She used to post as well. The woman had posted many pictures of her and her family on her page. Little did she know that all it would take is a wedding picture to turn her life upside down.
The woman had gone to attend a close relative's wedding. She even posted some of the wedding pictures on her Facebook page and received many heartwarming comments. However, with all those comments, she also received a message from a stranger.
Change is the only constant thing in one's life. Some changes could be small and indiscernible whereas some changes are big enough to redefine one's life. Ida had gone through one big change when Asgar and his sibling came to stay with her and had another big change when they went back to their country leaving her behind.
She reminisced, ‘I got a message on my iPad asking, “are you Ida Moreland?” Moreland was her middle name. She had adopted her husband's surname after the marriage. Why a stranger was so interested in knowing her identity. There was only one way to find out. She replied to the text.
She soon learned that the stranger who had texted him was none other than Asgar. There were many surprises waiting for her. Asgar whom she had said goodbye about 60 years ago was back. He was now a multi-millionaire who held 45th position in Forbes' richest man. There was a lot to catch up on for them.
Ida said, “Then out of the blue I got a message on Facebook from Asgar and it was just lovely to hear from him again. I couldn’t believe he had spotted my photograph after all these years - it was a miracle really." They got reunited because of a Facebook post. It is amazing. Asgar had been searching for his Scottish family for long.
“I was scanning Facebook and happened to see the photo and profile of one Ida Wilde. Her face looked familiar. But she used to be Ida Moreland. I thought, okay, let me see if she is the same Ida.” He dropped her a text in hope of getting a reply, “I asked her are you Ida Moreland? Then she got back. It was an astonishing moment!”
Did they feel any awkwardness while talking to each other after such a long time? Ida replied, “It wasn’t strange or awkward and we chatted away like two old pals. He was so happy to finally find his Scottish family again." She continued, “He asked if I remembered us all going to Ayr on holiday and away to Tighnabruaich. It was like we’d never been apart,”
All those memories had come back. The 83-year-old lady still remembers the time when Asgar had come to stay with them. "Kulsom got homesick and wanted to go home, but Asgar would have lived here forever. He quickly became part of the family. We had a little dog called Sparkie and he loved playing with him. We also went on trips to the seaside and he loved seeing new places. It was great having them to stay and they were happy kids."
She also mentioned how Asgar had begin to call her parents mum and dad. She reminisced, "He did call my parents mum and dad to begin with but that was quite embarrassing lots of times, and my mum said to him: ‘Look, Asgar, you’ve got your own mum and she won’t be pleased so you better call us aunt and uncle."
She further added, "When his mum came over to visit he forgot how to speak Urdu and she couldn’t speak English, so they just waved at each other." “She obviously missed her son and Asgar was happy to see his parents too. But a lot of time had passed and he’d settled into a new life, so it must have been quite difficult for his mum to see."
And like this five years went by. "Although he loved his parents very much when it was time for him to return home he didn’t want go. He wanted to stay with us." She admitted, "It wasn’t an easy decision, but we knew he had to leave to be with his own family." Ida and her family were too sad. She explained, "We were heartbroken when he left,’ Ida explained. ‘For five years we had been brought up as brother and sister, and it was sad to lose him."
However, Asgar and Ida tried to stay in contact by exchanging letters and cards. Ida recalled, “We kept in touch for a while but we moved around and so did his family. Soon the cards stopped but I often wondered where he ended up.” Since then whereabouts of Asgar remained a mystery to her. Asgar living on the other side of the world had still not forgotten them. He tried to contact his Scottish family but the family had moved away to some other place.
In fact, the man had lost all his hopes until he saw the photo online. Ida said, “Asgar thought he would never find me until the photo went online. It’s amazing he made the connection and I’m so glad he got in touch.” But as they say, miracles happen when you least expect it.
Asgar said, “She meant a lot to me. But I had lost contact with them later. I always wished to see them.” These two had a very special bond. Asgar considered Ida her sister. The man had lost her sister about sixty years ago but now they were reunited, all thanks to Asgar's perseverance.
Asgar flew over to Ida's place to meet her. “I went to London and from there I went to Glasgow by train. I met an old friend who drove me to Ayrshire in Scotland, which is one hour from Glasgow.” The two had been seeing each other after sixty years. Still, nothing had changed between them.
Ida explained, ‘We chatted away for ages and he told me all about his family. He wants to fly me to Dubai to meet them and he’s coming back to visit again next year. We keep in touch now and it’s just wonderful to have Asgar back in my life after so many years apart.”
Asgar had a deep attachment for Ida. He said, “She was my sister since I was six. We lived together for about six years.” Those were sad moments for Asgar. He further said, “She suddenly went out of my life and suddenly I got her back.”
Ida who was astonished on knowing that Asgar had grown into a rich man now said, "I just couldn’t believe it. He’s done so well for himself and he’s still such a genuine and lovely person." The woman was proud of her foster brother. She said, “I’d said goodbye to a wee boy and now he was returning a hugely successful multimillionaire. It was surreal.”
Asgar Patel, the multi-millionaire had done all in his power to find out his lost family but got nothing. However, one day while casually scanning for the name Ida on Facebook came across his long lost sister. Isn't it amazing! Ida, who had no hopes of reuniting with her brother received a message from him after 60 years. Even the time and the place could not separate them.