In a heartwarming act of communal harmony, a Muslim family in Karnataka’s Udupi district conducted the funeral of a 75-year-old Hindu woman, Janaki Poojary, as per Hindu rituals.
Rafeeq Abdul Khadar (45) and his family ensured that Janaki’s last rites were performed according to Hindu customs and also bore all the expenses on January 22, a day after her passing due to illness.
“I asked my close friend Ramesh Poojary regarding the customs to be carried out, and we made the arrangements accordingly. We have lived together for over 40 years, we feel it is our duty to carry out her last rites,” Rafeeq told TNM.
According to Rafeeq, Janaki’s husband, Nagaraj, and his father had been friends for a long time. After her husband died around 40 years ago, Rafeeq’s family began to look after her. “We could not just abandon her,” Rafeeq says.
And when they moved to Udupi in 1980, Janaki moved along with them.
Her son, Shekar Vittal, currently resides in Mumbai and works as a security guard. When Janaki fell sick recently, he had visited her for a couple of days, but had to cut short his visit due to work constraints.
Rafeeq works for a steel manufacturing company and lives in Sunshine Layout, Kaup, along with his wife, children, aunt, brother, and sister-in-law. Janaki was very close to his mother, Rafeeq recalls.
Janaki and Rafeeq’s family celebrated both Hindu and Muslim festivals together. “We celebrated all festivals together. During Deepavali, we would all make sweets together. And Janaki always joined in the Eid celebrations,” he recalls.
Following her passing, it was Rafeeq’s family who ensured that her son, Shekar, arrived in time to light his mother’s funeral pyre according to Hindu tradition.
“He will come again when it is time for the 13th day rituals. We will bear the expenses for this too,” Rafeeq says.