He wants to meet his lookalike

What will be your next step if you get to know that there is another person in this world who looks exactly like you? Will you take it as a mission to find him out, no matter?

But, what if you are not physically capable for the ‘mission’? Never mind, you have the entire world right in front of you – the internet, huh?

That is what Raees Hidaya has been doing for the past one year. A resident of Velimukku in Malappuram district, Raees is bedridden for the last 13 years. However, that doesn’t prevent him in his ‘wandering’ on the social media platforms in search of his lookalike.

All that Raees has is just a selfie-like photo of his ‘twin’, seemingly taken by his girlfriend. “…Just to meet him once and give a hug. And, to ask him, ‘dude, how did you become like me’? That’s all I want to do,” he quips with a smile.

Raees was paralyzed below the neck in a freak accident when he was 17. And, it’s been 13 years Raees has been talking to the world lying in his bed. Facebbok is not a platform to have some silly talks for Raees, who is a well-known green palliative worker in Kerala. He stands tall with his determination, willpower, and eccentricity among the people with the same fate as his. He works through Facebook -- to hold get-togethers of bedridden people, to help them if they are in need of treatment, to donate blood, wheelchairs or walkers. He proves physical disability cannot prevent a person from performing his duties to the mankind.

Raees has so many friends on Facebook. One of them, Rajesh Babu, who works in Kuwait, once showed Raees a photo of a person who looked exactly like him. Rajesh’s eyes struck on a profile picture while he was going through those who liked the Facebook page of American swimming star Michael Phelps.

Getting a feeling that the person in the photo looked exactly like his friend, Rajesh sent the photo to Raees. He initially thought that Rajesh had morphed his image to club it with a western girl. But a closer look at the photo convinced Raees that he was seeing his lookalike, who “might be leading a peaceful life in some corner of the world.”

Rajesh sent the photo to Raees after some days of the ‘encounter’. Hence, he could not recollect the profile name, nor he could find the person on the same page. All that Rajesh could remember was that the ‘lookalike’ was British.

Raees is in search since then, to meet his ‘impersonator’. He has by now posted several Facebook feeds talking about his wish to meet his lookalike, asking his friends to help him find the person out. His friends have taken up the mission to help their friend, who finds happiness in helping others. Therefore, Raees too is in hope.