If not for the horrific serial bomb blasts which killed about 290 people in Sri Lanka including her, Razeena would have received a happy farewell from her dear ones with whom she had been holidaying for about 10 days in the country.
Instead, the family was forced to say a heartbreaking final goodbye to Razeena, who will never again return for another holiday.
The funeral of the 61-year-old who was killed in one of the bomb blasts that shook the country on Easter Sunday, was held at around 10 am on Monday in Sri Lanka itself. Though the state government and the Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) had extended support to bring her body back to her native place in Kasaragod district, her relatives chose to conduct the funeral in Sri Lanka.
“Since her close relatives, including her brother, were residing in Sri Lanka, everyone decided there was no need to bring the mortal remains to Kerala,” Irshad, Razeena’s relative in Kasaragod tells TNM.
Razeena had gone with her husband to Sri Lanka to visit her close family who live there. Her husband had left for Dubai on Sunday before the blast occurred and she was supposed to return to India on Monday.
Though a native of Kasaragod, Razeena grew up in Sri Lanka as her parents were settled there. “Razeena was born and brought up in Sri Lanka. Her grandfather’s family shifted to Sri Lanka from Kasaragod’s Mogral Puthur long back, before even India got independence,” says Irshad.
Razeena married a Mangaluru native and was residing in Mangaluru ever since. She had gone from Mangaluru to Colombo with her husband 10 days earlier.
Though Razeena spent a major part of her life in Sri Lanka, she had kept her roots in Kerala intact. “She always stayed in touch with the family in Kasaragod. Before going to Colombo, just 15 days ago, she came here to our village to meet us. She was supposed to board the flight back to Mangaluru on Monday,” says Irshad.
Apart from her husband, Razeena is survived by a son and a daughter, both of whom reside in California, USA.
“Since their flight will only reach on Tuesday morning, the family decided to conduct the last rites on Monday itself. Since it was a bomb blast, it was also not possible to keep her body out longer,” he says.
A total of eight explosions across various locations in Sri Lanka killed 290 people and also left about 500 injured. Apart from Razeena, four other Indian nationals were also killed in the attack.