Rituals for Wayanad landslide victims to be held on Sunday, many families left with sole survivors to perform the rites

Time of India

5 days ago

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Kozhikode: Many of the disaster-hit families at Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad will perform death anniversary rites and offer prayers for their beloved departed on Sunday although the tragedy's first anniversary falls only on July 30.
According to both Malayalam and Arabic calendars, the death anniversary day falls on Sunday, which corresponds to Karthika and Muharram 24, the very day when the catastrophe struck.
Underscoring the scale of the tragedy, many families are left with sole survivors who have to perform the rites for the rest of the departed family members.
For instance, Punchirimattom native Abhijith, who lost his entire family in the landslide, will find the moments all the more poignant.
He will be performing bali tharpan for five members of his family — father Subramanian (50), mother Babitha (45), sister Greeshma (25), elder brother Girijith (22) and grandmother Thayikuttty (84), all of whom were swept away by the landslide.
"The tragedy left me completely alone. It's now my responsibility to perform bali for them. We will perform the rites at Thirunelly temple early Sunday morning and go to the Puthumala burial site in the evening where I will light a lamp at the grave," said Abhijith, who is living in the house along with his aunt and uncle.
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Abhijith was away in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was studying hotel management, when the disaster struck.
Like Abhijith, many others are left as the sole survivors in their families while hundreds more continue to mourn loved ones lost in the disaster.
Kalathingal Noufal from Mundakkai, who lost 11 members of the family including his wife Sajna, their two children, his parents and his brother's family, said he would spend the day with children at an orphanage at Gudalur in Tamil Nadu.
"I plan to spend time with the orphans there, share a meal with them and offer prayers later," he said. Sajna and children Mohammed Nihal and Isha are buried at the Puthumala burial ground.
The landslide that tore through the twin villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai on July 30, 2024, claimed 298 lives, including 32 people initially reported missing and later declared dead, and left hundreds of families homeless.