Daijiworld Media Network 

Jun 12: In his late 20s in the year 1994, Gana Prakasam Rajamariyan left his hometown at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and went to Saudi Arabia to work as a farm-worker. He agreed to work for a monthly salary of Saudi Riyal 100 (Rs 1,716 - current conversion rate).

But once he began his occupation at a remote village of Hail province - his employers frequently changed. "I was transferred or gifted to another employer and a third a few months later. I did not receive any salary from them and was not sure who my sponsorer was," Rajamariyan told a Saudi newspaper.

With uncertain future and threat of facing legal repercussion for being an illegal resident, Rajamariyan decided to cut-off from a regular life and chose to live in the desert. For the next 23-years, Rajamariyan sustained himself by illegally engaging in odd jobs.

Rajamariyan said that he did not visit even the nearest city Hail, during his self-imposed exile. He could not visit his home, but was able to send some earnings to his family in Tamil Nadu which got three of his four daughters married.

Although, an amnesty scheme was announced for illegal-residents to return home by the Saudi Government in 2013, Rajamariyan said he was not able to avail the same as he had met with an accident and was bed-ridden.

Meanwhile, tragedy struck Rajamariyan in 2016 as his wife Ronikyam passed away. He had spoken to her in 2015, before she was admitted to a hospital. After that she was not able to speak, Rajamariyan recollects.

However, now he is all set to return back to India using general amnesty scheme announced under 'A Nation Without Illegal Expats' campaign announced by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif. Rajamariyan is content that he has completed all formalities and keen on meeting his grandchildren on his return home.