Odisha to Gujarat, nation bids tearful adieu to victims
Flames leapt from funeral pyres, suppressed sobs and anguished cries mingled with the sound of mantras and the fragrance of flowers and incense lingered. It was the final adieu for the families of those killed in Pahalgam and also for a country in mourning with them.
On Thursday, the last rites of several of the 25 gunned down by terrorists in Baisaran were held — from Odisha to Gujarat and from Rajasthan to Karnataka.
The dead were all men, 25 lives of promise that ended in a hail of bullets. And back in their homes, families grieved for the sons, fathers and husbands they had lost, some stoic and others inconsolate.
A hush fell over many villages and towns as funeral corteges wound their way to crematoriums and shops downed shutters.
In Ishani village in Odisha’s Balasore district, nine-year-old Tanuj Kumar Satpathy lit the pyre of his father Prashant. It was just two days ago that the family – 41-year-old Prashant, his wife Priya Darshini and Tanuj – were in Pahalgam.
Family members of Santosh Jagdale, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, mourn after his mortal remains were brought to his residence in Pune on Thursday. PTI
The Satpathy family’s story found tragic echo in many other parts of the country.
In Jaipur, the flower-bedecked bier of 33-year-old Neeraj Udhwani made its way down a quiet street with mourners walking silently behind and lining the streets.
The chartered accountant had come from Dubai to attend a wedding and on an impulse decided to holiday in Kashmir.
Gujarat saw three funerals — Yatish Parmar and his son Smit from Bhavnagar city and Shailesh Kalathiya, a resident of Surat. Everywhere, local residents and political bigwigs joined the families, an outpouring of grief and anger that united them all.
In Hathipur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, 31-year-old businessman Shubham Dwivedi was given a tearful sendoff with full state honours. He had been married just over two months ago on February 12.
In Karnataka, thousands gathered for the funerals of Manjunath Rao and Bharath Bhushan, both in their 40s.
Manjunath, a businessman from Shivamogga, had gone to Kashmir with his wife and son, who had just completed his Class 12 exams. Bharath went for a holiday, also with his wife and three-year-old son. Both lives cruelly cut short.
While Manjunath was cremated in Shivamogga, Bharath’s last rites were held in Bengaluru.
Family members were inconsolable as the pyres were lit.
It was a day of remembrance, grief and resolve for the country and for the families. The much loved men now framed in forever smiles in garlanded photographs.
India