Elderly Man’s Last Rites Held Virtually by Daughters
In a touching yet heart-wrenching scene, an elderly man from an old-age home in Sonipat, Haryana, was cremated with none of his three daughters present in person. The daughters joined the ceremony via video call from different parts of the country—Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, and Mumbai.
The man, a former textile trader from Mumbai, had been living in the old-age home for about two years after moving there with his wife, Meena, who had passed away earlier. He died early Tuesday morning at around 3:30 AM after battling a prolonged illness.
A video from the funeral has circulated widely online, showing one daughter inquiring if everything was going well and asking for the recording of the ceremony to be sent to her afterward.
Despite being informed about their father’s declining health and eventual passing, none of the daughters were able to travel to Sonipat for the funeral, according to reports. The home management reached out to them after his death to offer assistance with travel arrangements, but the daughters indicated they could not make the journey.
As a result, local residents assisted the old-age home in conducting the cremation while the daughters participated remotely via video call. Anand Kumar, the administrator of the home, noted that the elderly man often spoke with his daughters on the phone but their conversations dwindled once he fell ill.
“He had a phone to keep in touch with them, but once he got sick, they stopped calling. We informed them about his condition weeks before he passed away, but they still could not come,” Kumar shared.
The father had dedicated much of his life to raising and educating his daughters, proudly celebrating their accomplishments, with two of them eventually becoming teachers. His daughters are now settled in different places, with the eldest, Anita, teaching in Nepal; Nisha residing in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh; and the youngest, Priya, in Mumbai.
Anita made sure to send ₹5,100 online to ensure her father’s last rites were conducted properly. After the cremation, the family requested videos of the proceedings to keep as memories. While they initially planned to keep the ashes, they later conveyed to the old-age home that they could not travel to Sonipat and asked for the ashes to be immersed in the Ganga instead.
In a final act of generosity, the family arranged for the man’s eyes to be donated, allowing others in need to regain their sight.
