Ara: In an emotionally charged spectacle that turned grief into a public message, a 95-year-old woman from Bhojpur district was given an extraordinary final farewell on Friday as her funeral procession stretched nearly 1.5km, drawing hundreds of mourners, more than 500 vehicles and over 50 drone cameras.Kausalya Devi, wife of late Janardan Pandey, a homeopath, died of cancer, but her last journey from Dilmanpur village under Shahpur block became a symbolic call to society to “celebrate” the invaluable contribution of elders. The procession, accompanied by folk “launda” dance and devotional music, turned the sombre occasion into a moving and grand homage.“The fond and loving relationship that a grandmother has with her grandchildren is known to everyone.
We have not only lost our grandmother today. We have lost as if the roof of our family who gave us her affectionate shelter to us,” said Ramesh Pandey, one of her six grandsons.Ramesh added, “We wanted to give a strong message to the society that people should ‘celebrate’ the priceless contribution of our elders and ancestors by making their last journey a grand affair. People celebrate birthdays and Chhatihars with great pomp and show, similarly they should take out the funeral procession of an elderly member of our family in a grand way.”
The scale of the procession reflected both affection and affluence. Kausalya’s two sons and six grandchildren are well-off with family members engaged in coal trade in Dhanbad, transport business, soft drink industry and media. Her late husband, who passed away seven years ago, was a homeopath and social activist based in Dhanbad.As over 50 loudspeakers mounted on around 30 pickup vans played ‘Nirgun’ devotional songs, the atmosphere turned deeply poignant. One song echoed through the gathering, reminding mourners of life’s impermanence – “These eyes have seen how even beautiful bodies are burned to ashes, made of soil, our bodies eventually dissolve in soil.”Beyond the grandeur and grief, the farewell delivered a resonant message — honour elders not just in memory, but in celebration of their lifelong contribution to family and society.
