Kerala Man Repays 25-Year-Old Debt to Telangana Friend

Karimnagar: A migrant worker from Kerala went to Telangana’s Jagtial district to repay a debt he owed to a friend for 25 years, proving that honesty can stand the test of time.

Kerala native Muhammad Ismail and Dharmapuri’s Edla Lachanna became close friends while working in Saudi Arabia in 1991. They shared a room with three other workers for about five years. During this period Ismail had borrowed 120 Saudi Riyals (about £1,000 at the time) from Lachanna.

After Lachanna returned to India, the two lost contact as mobile phones were not widely available. Even though İsmail wanted to pay his debt, he could not trace his friend for decades.

After returning to Kerala recently, Ismail continued his search and eventually found Lachanna’s address using Google maps, although there was no phone number or other contact information.

On Thursday, Ismail went to Dharmapuri with his friends and gave ₹25,000 to Lachanna’s family as a token of gratitude and repayment of his debt. He also spoke on the phone with Lachanna, who is currently working in the Gulf. Touched by the gesture, Lachanna praised Ismail’s honesty and said that the reunion reaffirmed the value of true friendship.