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Ottawa Citizen

40 years on, families of Air India disaster find peace and comfort in small Irish town

Article content Both Turlapatis have been instrumental in organizing the annual service where a moment of silence at 8:13 a.m. on June 23 marks the time the plane exploded. They have worked to create colourful gardens surrounding the memorial wall. Article content Article content A larger than usual crowd is expected Monday, June 23 to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing. Dozens of relatives have travelled from Canada. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree will be here, as will Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin and representatives of the Indian government. Several RCMP officers from B.C. are also here to participate. Article content The Mounties and several relatives gathered informally at the memorial Saturday as rain threatened overhead. Article content Saroj Gaur hugged Turlapati, who she calls 'auntie' because of the support Gaur was offered by the Turlapatis when her father Om Prakash Sharma died in the bombing. Article content Article content Article content Gaur, who now lives in Toronto, said her dad wanted her to travel with him to India for the summer break. But she was 23, had just finished her studies and wanted to look for work. She was job-hunting in Toronto when she got the news about the flight from a family friend. Article content Despite her father's contributions to Canada, she still feels that Canadians don't care. Article content Article content She also finds comfort here, near to her father, whose body wasn't recovered. Article content 'This is my third trip. When we were driving down here, I felt something very touching. I felt like I'm coming to my own place,' she said. 'I was feeling so joyous. I felt like I belong here.' Article content Article content She is also grateful to the Irish for their support over four decades. Article content 'The Irish people made this beautiful monument here. It doesn't matter how many times you come here, how many times you've seen it, you still want to come back. This is the place where they lost their life and you can't forget it.' Article content Sanjay Lazar, who lives in Pune, India, was just 17 when he lost his father Sampath, stepmother Sylvia and toddler sister Sandeeta to the bomb planted by B.C. terrorists. Article content His mom's body was recovered, but neither was his dad's nor his little sister's. Article content It is here that Lazar feels closest to his family. Article content