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At 61, Lalchand Ahuja had no plans to retire. Every morning, he worked at a neighbourhood shop in distant Ulhasnagar, Thane district. In the afternoon he would set off for Zaveri Bazaar with the day's consignment of imitation jewellery, and return home late in the evening. He has been doing this for 35 years.
But no more, as he was among the victims of Wednesday's Zaveri Bazaar blast.
“Father was a pillar of support for the family. He earned Rs. 4,500 a month. It was good enough to run the house. He did not want to stop working. ‘What will I do at home?' he would say,” Kumar Ahuja, son of Mr. Ahuja, told The Hindu.
The senior Ahuja lost his life on the spot. “There was a wound on the front portion of his head and one side was black, but I could recognise him,” said Mr. Kumar Ahuja.
“I was in Panvel [Navi Mumbai]. When I heard the news of the blasts, I called him on his phone, but there was no answer. Around 7.30 p.m., I received a call from a doctor at St. George's Hospital saying father was seriously hurt and whether I could come immediately. When I reached the hospital with my friend, they made us sit, offered us some water and showed us the body.”
Bringing Mr. Ahuja's body from Mumbai to Thane district entailed some extra procedures, which were performed in the night. It was taken from St. George's to the Kasturba Hospital for a no-objection certificate and then to the JJ Hospital for post-mortem. When it was finally time to take the body home, Mr. Kumar Ahuja did not have Rs. 2,500 with him to pay for the ambulance service. “I had to borrow from a cousin. I did not have the money and I had left my ATM card at home,” he said.
The senior Ahuja is survived by his wife and three young children. His daughter Jyoti Ahuja could hardly say a complete sentence. Grief writ large on her face, she recalled her father as a man whose work defined him.
“He was simple, that's all. He worked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. He did not do anything else. He went to Zaveri Bazaar alone and came back alone,” she said.
With Mr. Ahuja's loss, the family's already poor means have been squeezed further. “Father had many financial worries. I earn a small amount myself, but now I have to do something,” Mr. Kumar Ahuja said. The urgency for him was never so much as it is now.
But no more, as he was among the victims of Wednesday's Zaveri Bazaar blast.
“Father was a pillar of support for the family. He earned Rs. 4,500 a month. It was good enough to run the house. He did not want to stop working. ‘What will I do at home?' he would say,” Kumar Ahuja, son of Mr. Ahuja, told The Hindu.
The senior Ahuja lost his life on the spot. “There was a wound on the front portion of his head and one side was black, but I could recognise him,” said Mr. Kumar Ahuja.
“I was in Panvel [Navi Mumbai]. When I heard the news of the blasts, I called him on his phone, but there was no answer. Around 7.30 p.m., I received a call from a doctor at St. George's Hospital saying father was seriously hurt and whether I could come immediately. When I reached the hospital with my friend, they made us sit, offered us some water and showed us the body.”
Bringing Mr. Ahuja's body from Mumbai to Thane district entailed some extra procedures, which were performed in the night. It was taken from St. George's to the Kasturba Hospital for a no-objection certificate and then to the JJ Hospital for post-mortem. When it was finally time to take the body home, Mr. Kumar Ahuja did not have Rs. 2,500 with him to pay for the ambulance service. “I had to borrow from a cousin. I did not have the money and I had left my ATM card at home,” he said.
The senior Ahuja is survived by his wife and three young children. His daughter Jyoti Ahuja could hardly say a complete sentence. Grief writ large on her face, she recalled her father as a man whose work defined him.
“He was simple, that's all. He worked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. He did not do anything else. He went to Zaveri Bazaar alone and came back alone,” she said.
With Mr. Ahuja's loss, the family's already poor means have been squeezed further. “Father had many financial worries. I earn a small amount myself, but now I have to do something,” Mr. Kumar Ahuja said. The urgency for him was never so much as it is now.