Muslims step in to help with two Hindu women's final rites
Since childhood, Kalyani Amma has been simply "Amma" to Razak, now a 51-year-old. "She is not 'like my mother'; she is my mother," he says. It's a feeling shared by his younger brother Sulaiman. On November 7, when the 86-year-old died in Vaduvanchal, Wayanad, she had no children or living relatives. Razak and Sulaiman performed her last rites according to Hindu rites.Some 115 km away in Pallikkara, Malappuram, the Khadeeja mosque opened its doors for the last rites of another Hindu woman on November 10. Premalatha, 52, lived in a rented house too small for her body to be bathed and prepared for the final rites. The mosque offered its grounds instead.Both the incidents became headlines but it wasn't anything unusual for the people who were involved in it. For them, living together peacefully and offering support to neighbors is simply a normal way of life, rather than an extraordinary deed deserving public attention.‘She is my mother’Kalyani Amma worked multiple jobs to make a living; she had a cattle and used to do cleaning work at a private bank. But for the last 25 years, she has not worked, and Razak has been taking care of her.“When she had cattle, I used to help her sell the milk in my childhood. When she became old, I took care of her,” Razak said.Razak said his family consistently celebrated festivals like Onam and Vishu alongside Kalyani Amma. “Even after my children got married and moved to distant places, returning home to celebrate every festival with Amma was an absolute necessity for them,” he said.Razak’s wife, Rukia, who was with Kalyani Amma at the time of death, said, “She gave me the wedding dress for my marriage. Since then, she has also been my Amma,” she added.Kalyani Amma was admitted to a private hospital on November 6 and died the next day. A few days before her death, Kalyani Amma asked Razak and Sulaiman to perform her last rites, as she also considered them her children. “That’s what Amma said to us in her last days. So we did it. She only has us,” Razak said.After the incident came to light, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan wrote on X, "This is the Keralam I know, love, and believe in.”“Here, a mother’s love does not check religion. A son’s duty does not ask about caste. And grief, like love, belongs to all of us equally. To me, this is what makes Keralam special. A land where love knows no religion, compassion knows no caste, and humanity brings us together. A truly heartwarming sight. We are all one. Let this grand spirit of Keralam inspire the whole of India,” his X post said.Premalatha, who was 52-years-old, died of cancer at the Thrissur Medical College during treatment. Premalatha had been living in a rented house for the past 18 years, located right next to the Pallikkara Khadeeja Mosque. Since her house did not have the facilities needed for bathing and preparing the body before cremation, it was brought to the Masjid on November 10.Suhara Mampad, a leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Premalatha’s neighbour, said, since the COVID-19 period, facilities for bathing dead bodies were available outside the mosque. Whenever someone in the surrounding area passes away, their body is usually brought there for bathing and other funeral preparations. “There is nothing unusual about this. The only thing that is happening for the first time is that the body of a woman belonging to another religious community is being bathed there,” she added.After Premalatha’s body was bathed, the body was kept at her home for people to pay their last respects. The funeral was then held at the crematorium in Ponnani.
SINCE childhood, Kalyani Amma has been simply "Amma" to Razak, now a 51-year-old.
"She is not 'like my mother'; she is my mother," he says.
It's a feeling shared by his younger brother Sulaiman.
On November 7, when the 86-year-old died in Vaduvanchal, Wayanad, she had no children or living relatives. Razak and Sulaiman performed her last rites according to Hindu rites.
Some 115 km away in Pallikkara, Malappuram, the Khadeeja mosque opened its doors for the last rites of another Hindu woman on November 10.
Premalatha, 52, lived in a rented house too small for her body to be bathed and prepared for the final rites. The mosque offered its grounds instead.
Both the incidents became headlines but it wasn't anything unusual for the people who were involved in it. For them, living together peacefully and offering support to neighbors is simply a normal way of life, rather than an extraordinary deed deserving public attention.
‘She is my mother’
Kalyani Amma worked multiple jobs to make a living; she had a cattle and used to do cleaning work at a private bank. But for the last 25 years, she has not worked, and Razak has been taking care of her.
“When she had cattle, I used to help her sell the milk in my childhood. When she became old, I took care of her,” Razak said.
Razak said his family consistently celebrated festivals like Onam and Vishu alongside Kalyani Amma.
“Even after my children got married and moved to distant places, returning home to celebrate every festival with Amma was an absolute necessity for them,” he said.
Razak’s wife, Rukia, who was with Kalyani Amma at the time of death, said, “She gave me the wedding dress for my marriage. Since then, she has also been my Amma,” she added.
Kalyani Amma was admitted to a private hospital on November 6 and died the next day.
A few days before her death, Kalyani Amma asked Razak and Sulaiman to perform her last rites, as she also considered them her children. “That’s what Amma said to us in her last days. So we did it. She only has us,” Razak said.
After the incident came to light, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan wrote on X, "This is the Keralam I know, love, and believe in.”
“Here, a mother’s love does not check religion. A son’s duty does not ask about caste. And grief, like love, belongs to all of us equally. To me, this is what makes Keralam special. A land where love knows no religion, compassion knows no caste, and humanity brings us together. A truly heartwarming sight. We are all one. Let this grand spirit of Keralam inspire the whole of India,” his X post said.
Premalatha, who was 52-years-old, died of cancer at the Thrissur Medical College during treatment. Premalatha had been living in a rented house for the past 18 years, located right next to the Pallikkara Khadeeja Mosque. Since her house did not have the facilities needed for bathing and preparing the body before cremation, it was brought to the Masjid on November 10.
Suhara Mampad, a leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Premalatha’s neighbour, said, since the COVID-19 period, facilities for bathing dead bodies were available outside the mosque.
Whenever someone in the surrounding area passes away, their body is usually brought there for bathing and other funeral preparations.
“There is nothing unusual about this. The only thing that is happening for the first time is that the body of a woman belonging to another religious community is being bathed there,” she added.
After Premalatha’s body was bathed, the body was kept at her home for people to pay their last respects. The funeral was then held at the crematorium in Ponnani.
