Aysha Zaha had a lot of reasons to be happy this Eid. Obviously, we are not going to list them all, but we'll tell you two. Firstly, her father, Moosakunhi Parakkatta, a seafarer in a commercial ship that was detained by the Indonesian Navy, for the past five months was back home on Sunday. Second, he had come home with packets full of Toblerone and Snickers, her favourite chocolates.
Some of you may remember Aysha. She is the same nine-year-old, who sent a video message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a placard that said 'I want my Pappa back'. The video had gone viral. Moosakunhi, along with 13 other Indian seafarers who had been detained were sent home on August 11. "If the information that we received is to be believed, others will also come home in the next couple of months," says Moosakunhi. "I was told that Aysha's video played a huge part in speeding up the legalities that led to our rescue," he adds.
The video was entirely Aysha's idea. She even made the placard and her older brother shot it. She in fact, now has made a new video, thanking everyone who helped in bringing back her pappa. "I'm so happy now. I love you all," she says.
Aysha was home on Tuesday, when we caught up with her and her father, a day after Eid al-adha. "She is still in the festive spirit. Also, she is thrilled to see me after 10 long months," says Moosakunhi. "I am really happy to see pappa. We played for a long time. He also got me a lot of chocolates," she says, adding that she will share the chocolates with us (even the Toblerone).
