The Hindu : National : He had gone to the station to see his daughter off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 26, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

He had gone to the station to see his daughter off

Meena Menon

How terrorists’ bullets felled a hard-working migrant from Uttar Pradesh at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

Ramavati, wife of Nathani Yadav.

MUMBAI: Ramavati sits on the floor of a one-room house in a Jogeshwari slum, cursing her fate. Her husband Nathuni Parshuram Yadav, 45, was killed in the terrorist firing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on November 26. He had gone to the station to see off his daughter Gudiya, who was leaving for Benares.

When the firing started Yadav, who was accompanied by his brother, started running, and in the melee lost sight of his daughter. He went back to the parking lot thinking Gudiya would be there. Not finding her there, he ran back to the station — only to be shot in the head.

Yadav, who was a successful contractor, was in hospital for 18 days but did not survive. “If only he had not gone back to look for Gudiya she would have come back on her own,” cries Ramavati. “After the firing, my husband and his brother went and sat in the car. They had borrowed a friend’s car that night. My husband could have saved himself. But he was worried about Gudiya and went to look for her thinking she might have been hurt,” she says.

The family hails from a village near Benares. Yadav came to Mumbai 20 years ago and his well appointed home in an otherwise ramshackle area speaks of his hard work.

Yadav’s son, 15-year-old Vikas, a Class VIII student, says his father and sister left around 8 p.m. “Usually my father never went to the railway station. Even when my sister was here last time, someone else went with her. This time he knew Gudiya won’t come back for a long time as her operation was over now. He must have thought he will not see her for a while,” he says.

Joy turns into grief

Gudiya, 18, had come to Mumbai for the last of a series of surgical procedures to correct a hearing problem.

“I had gone to the hospital to meet him. He could not speak to me or even open his eyes. His injury was so bad, he never regained consciousness after he was shot at,” says Ramavati. “We were so happy that our daughter Gudiya could hear at last and he was sending her back to the village with so much joy,” she mutters.

Ramavati lives in Mukundpur village in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. She has two daughters apart from Vikas.

“I came here after I heard the news. I will wait for a couple of months before going back. What’s the point of staying here now when my husband is no more?” she asks.

Ramavati is unlettered. She does not even know her age but she remembers she got married when her husband was in Class VIII.

Yadav fell when he was shot and his brother fell on him to protect him but it was too late. Gudiya managed to escape in the confusion and she called home to say she was safe.

“We were watching television when we heard of firing at the CST. I called my father but his mobile [phone] was not responding. I later learnt that it had fallen down when he was shot. Then my sister called and said she could not find my father and uncle. We were so worried, we set out immediately to look for them,” says Vikas.

“My father worked very hard. He used to leave every morning at 9 a.m., sometimes he came home for lunch. He would always call us if he was late and ask if we had had our food,” recalls his son.

His wife, too, remembers him as a good man. “He never gave me any problems,” she weeps. Vikas says just before Gudiya was to leave, his father bought her new clothes and a watch. “I too said I wanted something new and my father promised me that when I would leave for my native place I would get a few things. There is no one to buy us anything now,” he rues.

Yadav, who was a graduate, wanted all his children to be educated. His eldest daughter, who is married, is also a graduate and both Gudiya and Vikas are studying.

Ramavati is uncertain about her future. While she will return to her husband’s home, she is worried how long she would be taken care of there. In Mumbai, Yadav’s professional partner was a major source of help with the paper work and the running around.

“His friend Ram Dular was close to him. They even wore identical clothes,” she says.

Ramavati had had a major surgery two months ago. Yadav was with her during that time and came back only after a fortnight. “He was there to look after me,” she says in a daze.

Still to recover from the shocking events of that night, she keeps repeating how her husband should have never gone back to look for Gudiya.

Mumbai terror: Comprehensive coverage

Images: Mumbai Aftermath

Images: End of Mumbai siege

Mumbai terror attacks in pictures

Mumbai terror attacks in pictures - 2

Mumbai terror attacks in pictures - 3

Ratan Tata’s press meet - Podcast

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National