Pahalgam victims cremated with flowers, tears and resolve

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 and also for a country in mourning with them.

On Thursday, the last rites of several of the 26 gunned down by terrorists in Baisaran in the upper reaches of Pahalgam were held — from Odisha to Gujarat and Rajasthan to Karnataka. A snapshot, as it were, of the that Kashmir has been for people across the country and indication of the belief that all was well in the volatile Valley.

The dead in Tuesday’s terror strike were all men, 26 lives 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 inconsolable.

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, an employee of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology, his wife Priyadarshini and Tanuj — were in Pahalgam. A distraught Priyadarshini did not allow anyone to touch the body of her husband, hugging it until she crumpled in a faint.

Hundreds of people gathered in Ishani to pay their respects to Prashant, lining up on both sides of the road as the funeral procession proceeded to the crematorium a kilometre away. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi were among those who accompanied Tanuj from his home to the crematorium.

Final farewell

Amid chants of 'Jai Hind' and 'Prashant Satpathy amar rahe (long live)', young Tanuj lit the pyre, a sight that seared the consciousness of everyone who was watching, whether in Ishani or on their mobile and television screens.

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. As his elder brother Kishore lit the funeral pyre at Moksh Dham in Jhalana, his wife Ayushi fought back tears. He was shot dead right in front of her eyes.

The funeral was attended by large crowds. Political lines blurred as Rajasthan governor Haribhau Bagade, chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as well as state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra among others visited Udhwani’s Model Town residence.

A woman in the crowd spoke out loudly. “This is your government's failure. What is the point of deploying security here now?” In response, Shekhawat was seen standing with folded hands, acknowledging the grief and anger of the people.

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.

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, who reached Bhavnagar on Wednesday night, paid floral tributes to Yatish and Smit Parmar at their residence in the Kaliyabid area before the bodies were taken for cremation on Thursday morning. In Surat, Union minister C.R. Paatil along with Gujarat minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi were among the dignitaries who paid floral tributes to Kalathiya.

And 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 12 February. Shubham was on a weeklong trip to Kashmir with his wife Ashanya, parents, in-laws, sister, brother-in-law, and her sister's in-laws when terrorists shot him from point-blank range. Ashanya was witness to the horror.

A green corridor was established to transport the body from Lucknow airport to Hathipur. Thousands of mourners, including leaders of the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress, attended the funeral. Accompanied by Speaker Satish Mahana, chief minister Yogi Adityanath also visited Dwivedi's ancestral home and assured the bereaved family of all possible support.

“Today, I paid tribute to Shubham Dwivedi, who died in a cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, at his ancestral home in Kanpur and consoled the bereaved family,” Adityanath said in a post on X.

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 on 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. Ministers, political leaders, government officials including police officers and activists joined the family members in their moment of sorrow. 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.