PATHANAPURAM: "Why should a woman like me with blurred vision have gold? I was moved when I saw a woman crying in front of the Pattazhi Devi Temple after losing her gold chain. Those bangles were my offerings to the goddess. No one should come looking for me," said Cherthala native Sreelatha, wife of late Mohanan Vaidyar. While others are showering praise on her for her kind-heartedness, Sreeletha seems to be completely uninterested in such praises.

On Saturday, Mailam Pallikkal Mukal native Subhadra lost her gold chain of two sovereigns while she was praying at the Pattazhi Devi temple. Following this, she broke into tears in front of the temple. Subhadra, a cashew nut worker, had bought the chain using her year-long savings.

Upon seeing Subhadra's situation, Sreelatha came out of the crowd, pulled out two bangles from her hand and handed them over to Subhadra. Before disappearing among the crowd, Sreelatha told her to sell those bangles and buy a chain.

Sreelatha, who came to Mohanan Vaidyar's ancestral home in Neeleswaram, Kottarakkara, visited the temple with her elder brother's wife and other relatives. Fifty-nine-year-old Sreelatha has been partially blind for ten years due to cataracts and diabetes.

With the incident spreading like wildfire, Sreelatha returned home on Monday morning after getting assurance from her relatives that they would not tell anyone. Sreelatha was identified from CCTV footage of the temple on Monday night.

The other day, Subhadra wore the chain before Goddess in presence of the devotees. She also offered a gold pottu to the Goddess. Subhadra now wants to see Sreelatha one more time.