MADURAI: When her husband died nine years ago, Thavamani wasn’t shaken. But the sight of her daughter Divya (25), who sustained 90 per cent burn injuries in Sunday’s forest fire in Kurangani Reserve Forest, suffer shattered her.
After watching her daughter battle for life over the past two days at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai, Thavamani asked the doctors to take off her life support system.
Divya and her husband Vivek had gone trekking to Kurangani on Saturday, along with friends. While Vivek succumbed to the burns early on Monday at Theni, Divya was shifted to GRH.Both Divya and Vivek hailed from Kavindapadi in Erode and went to the same school where they began a relationship. They got married last November after initial opposition from parents.
The first call Divya made after the accident was to her sister Gayathri. Her husband took the call. “She was optimistic on Monday telling us all she will be out in two days. But destiny ruled otherwise,” rued Gayathri.
Stepping out of the isolation burns ward at GRH after making the most difficult decision in her life, Thavamani said, “Watching my child inching closer to death was tormenting. I just let her go. I asked the doctors to pull the plug.”
Right from her school days, Divya was bright in academics. She who opted for computer science group in classes XI and XII, and did not take up engineering due to her love for mathematics and teaching. After UG in Maths in PKR Arts College for Women in Gobichettipalayam, she went on to do MSc and MPhil in the same subject.
“She was the school topper in Class XII and college topper in MSc, making her the seventh rank holder in Bharathiar University,” her mother said.
“She chose to work in the same college. She was promoted as professor for MSc students within just six months. She had been teaching for two years now,” Thavamani added. The mourning family cremated the body in the Madurai crematorium.
Divya was scheduled to relocate to Dubai on April 1 where Vivek was employed. She had her visa and flight ready but destiny played a cruel April Fools’ Day joke.