Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Tattoo Helps Odisha Woman Reunite With Family After 35 Years
Pramila Malik is a 70-year-old woman from Odisha.
She had been away from her family for about 35 years.
A tattoo written in Odia on her hand gave officials a clue about where she came from.
They searched for her relatives and found them in Kendrapara district.
Pramila had been living in care facilities in Himachal Pradesh.
Officials from Himachal Pradesh and Odisha worked together to bring her home.
She reunited with her family in her village on October 4.
Her husband had died about six months earlier, so she could not see him again.
A tattoo in Odia script helped identify 70-year-old Pramila Malik as being from Odisha.
She was traced to an old-age home in Bhangrotu, in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district.
Institutional records show she stayed at a mental health institute in Shimla from 2011 to 2018 before moving to other care facilities.
A team involving Himachal Pradesh officials and Odisha Police traced her family in Kendrapara district.
Pramila returned to her native village on October 4, nearly 35 years after losing contact with her family.
- Who
- Pramila Malik, her family, and officials from Himachal Pradesh and Odisha.
- What
- Pramila was identified and reunited with her family after nearly 35 years apart.
- When
- She returned to her village on October 4; the report was dated October 5.
- Where
- Pramila was brought from an old-age home in Bhangrotu, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, to her native village in Kendrapara district, Odisha.
- Why
- An Odia-script tattoo helped authorities identify her as being from Odisha and search for her family.
- Age
- 70
- Time separated
- Nearly 35 years
- Return date
- October 4
- Tattoo clue
- Odia script on her hand
- Care in Shimla
- She stayed at the Mental Health Institute from 2011 to 2018.
- Old-age home
- Bhangrotu, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh
- Family location
- Pattamundai area, Kendrapara district, Odisha
- Family loss
- Her husband Dinabandhu died about six months before her return, according to her son.