Bengaluru, Nov 12 (IANS) “My daughter was supposed to celebrate her ‘haldi’ ceremony today. Instead, I am preparing to cremate her. Her wedding reception was scheduled for Sunday, and our entire house was filled with wedding preparations. Everything is over now.” These heartbreaking words of Nanjundappa, who lost his only daughter Sindhushree (29) in a road accident, captured the unimaginable grief of a family that was eagerly preparing for her wedding.
At the mortuary on Thursday, the inconsolable father repeatedly lamented that his daughter should have been celebrating the first day of her wedding ceremonies instead of lying dead before him.
Sindhushree, a software professional, and her cousin sister Vidya (19), a final-year diploma student, were killed after a lorry collided with their two-wheeler in Bengaluru’s Deepanjalinagar locality on Wednesday evening.
Thursday was supposed to mark the beginning of Sindhushree’s wedding celebrations, with the ‘Arashina Shastra (haldi)’ and ‘Bale Shastra’ ceremonies scheduled to take place. Her wedding reception had been fixed for Sunday, and the family had made elaborate preparations for the occasion.
Speaking amid tears at the mortuary, Nanjundappa said his daughter had stepped out at the last moment to distribute one final wedding invitation.
“My daughter was a software professional, while I earn my living by driving an autorickshaw. She had gone out saying that she had one last wedding invitation to deliver. While she was returning, this tragedy took place. Today was supposed to be her ‘haldi’ ceremony, but we are now preparing for her cremation. Her reception was fixed for Sunday. I had bought everything for the wedding, and the entire house is filled with marriage-related items. Everything is finished now,” he said, breaking down.
He said Vidya, who also died in the accident, was his sister’s daughter. While his sister had two children, he had only one daughter, making the loss even more devastating for the family.
The family, which had been looking forward to celebrating Sindhushree’s wedding, was plunged into mourning overnight. Photographs and videos of her wedding preparations have gone viral on social media, with people expressing shock and grief over the tragedy.
Relatives also questioned the movement of goods vehicles in the locality and demanded accountability for the accident. They alleged that if heavy goods vehicles had not been allowed on the road, the tragedy could have been avoided.
“Who is responsible for this? The parents had only one child. What will they do now? If the police had not allowed goods vehicles to move in this area, this accident might not have happened. Who will take responsibility for the two lives lost?” family members questioned.
According to the police, Sindhushree had borrowed a two-wheeler from a neighbour and gone out to distribute a wedding invitation to a relative. Preliminary investigations indicate that the lorry hit the two-wheeler while the women were travelling, causing them to fall on the road and come under the wheels of the heavy vehicle.
The police have launched a search for the lorry driver, who fled after the accident.
What was meant to be a day of turmeric rituals, wedding celebrations and family gatherings has instead turned into a day of mourning, leaving behind a devastated father and a family struggling to come to terms with the loss of two young women.
–IANS
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