KOCHI: Faizal Faizi could not hold back tears as he led the final ‘janazah’ prayer of his former student Jasna Makkar and her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Roohi Mehrin on Sunday. None in Pezhakkappilly could.
It was Jasna and Roohi’s last visit to their ancestral home in Pezhakkappilly, a village in Ernakulam’s Muvattupuzha. Instead of holding each other’s hands, as they had done in their earlier visits, the mother and daughter, who were among the five Keralites killed in a bus accident in Kenya on June 9, reached in ambulances to a village enveloped in profound sorrow and grief.
Relatives and loved ones recalled fond memories of Jasna and Roohi, who had visited Kerala, with Jasna’s husband, Muhammad Hanif, just three months ago for a relative’s wedding in Pezhakkappilly.
They had spent time with family and neighbours, sharing laughter and creating cherished moments. As those memories resurfaced on Sunday, the entire village gathered to catch one final glimpse of Jasna and little Roohi and pay their respects.
Finally, the mother and daughter were laid to rest at the Pezhakkappilly Juma Masjid cemetery.
Jasna, the third daughter of Makkar and Laila from Kuttikkattuchal in Pezhakkappilly, had been living in Qatar with Hanif, a Thrissur native, and their daughter.
The family had set out on a vacation to Kenya during the Eid al-Adha holidays. However, tragedy hit when the bus carrying the 28-member group lost control and plunged into a gorge in northeastern Kenya, approximately 150 km from Nairobi.
None of Jasna’s immediate family members were in Kerala at the time. Her parents, brother Jasal and sister Jasmi were living in Dubai.
Despite hearing the tragic news, her parents were unable to immediately travel to Kerala, as Jasal’s wife was in the final stages of pregnancy.
When they learnt that the mortal remains would be repatriated, Jasna’s parents returned to their family home with a heavy heart and the sad realisation that their daughter and granddaughter had gone to a place from which they would never return.