THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid tears and grief, the mortal remains of five people, including three kids, who died in a Nepal resort were laid to rest at their ancestral home in Chenkottukonam. The bodies of Praveen Nair, his wife Saranya, children Sree Bhadra, Ardra and Abhinav were brought to Thiruvananthapuram in an Air India flight on Thursday night. They were later shifted to the Medical College Hospital mortuary. From there, on Friday morning, the bodies were taken to Ayyankovil accompanied by a motorcade.
A huge crowd had already assembled at Chenkottukonam when the vehicle reached. The relatives and neighbours broke down as the coffins of their loved ones were taken out.
Emotions reached a crescendo when Praveen's parents came to the coffins to bid goodbye.
The bodies were kept in the courtyard for the public to pay homage. The police and the relatives alike had a tough time handling the crowd as they kept thronging the place and made long serpentine ques.
Political leaders including Forest Minister K Raju, Dewaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and several MLAs paid their homage.
Anand, Saranya's sister's 3-year-old son, performed the last rites at the funeral function that began at 9.30 am.
The children were interred in a single grave in the middle, while the parents were cremated on the flanks.
Gloomy January
All the three children were born in the month of January. The family was expecting to celebrate Aarcha's birthday on January 31st here after their trip.
The relatives said Praveen would have visited the temple festival that is slated to begin on the same date.