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A
Mother’s Love, a
Father’s Letter,
and Cars
- Father says goodbye to massacred wife and two sons By Neil Marks “We miss you so so very very much…We all love you very much.” Rajkumar Harilall (Bobby) was filled with joy when he received a letter with these words from his two ‘little’ boys – Harry, 10 and Raj, 4 - recently. Their mother, Anjanie, 32, had helped them send it.
When
he first received
that letter, he was
overcome with joy.
But yesterday, Bobby
could not bear to
hear those words
again. The letter was read for him as he sat at the head-side of his two boys and their mother – they were in coffins, all dead.
RAJKUMAR Harilall weeps as his wife’s brother, Ricky, reads a letter he had recently received from his two sons. His wife and their two boys were gunned down last Saturday evening. At left in the coffin is a wooden toy music box the elder son, Harry, was fond of. (Cullen Bess-Nelson photo) He
was saying his final
goodbye, weeping
bitterly as he
played with the
cheeks of the
younger boy from
whom childhood
antics and laughter
– indeed life –
were snuffed out by
a hail of bullets. Bobby’s
wife and his two
sons were among 11
Lusignan, East Coast
Demerara residents
massacred last
Saturday evening
while he was in
Trinidad seeking a
“better life”
for them. The
things that brought
Mohandai Gourdat (Anjanie)
and her sons
Seegobind (Raj) and
Seegopaul (Harry)
the greatest joy,
became the reason
for the greatest
sorrow when their
bodies lay for
viewing at the
woman’s home. ‘Anjo’s’ younger brother, Ricky, was fond of his sister. He knew she loved music, so it was impossible for him to say goodbye without giving her some CDs to take with her. He placed them in her coffin as he stared in disbelief at her lifeless body.
SYMPATHISERS
press for a glimpse
of Mohandai Gourdat,
32 and her two sons
Seegobind, 4 and
Seegopaul,10 before
they were cremated
yesterday. She
was dressed in a
yellow sari. The
younger of her sons
was at her left, and
the older, at her
right. They were
dressed in Indian
wear too. Ricky
knew his sister
tried to be the best
mother she could be
to her “darling”
sons, and so, he
could not find a
more appropriate
song than Sundar
Popo’s -“A
Mother’s Love”
to play. The sound
of the music sent
the assembly into
loud, mournful
weeping. The
air was then filled
with the music of
Khayyam from the
movie ‘Umrao
Jaan’,
starring Rekha. The
song was “In
aankhon ki masti ke
mastaane hazaaron
hain".
It was one of the
last songs Ricky
danced with his
sister on New
Year’s Day, just
23 days before she
was slain. There
was hardly a dry eye
as the relatives,
friends and
sympathizers
listened to the
music and gazed at
the collage of
photos hanging from
a wall of the family
house. There
were photos of
Anjanie before her
marriage to Bobby
and there was one
with the entire
family with a line
that read “a happy
contend family.”
Then there was
Harry’s birthday
celebration on
January 3, and
Raj’s first day of
school. Yet another
carried the caption:
“Raj’s sweet
smile for pict.” Ricky
remembered that his
nephews were
ambitious at their
early age; they were
“crazy” about
his car. They wanted
to have cars, too.
They loved music,
just like their
mother. The
family placed in
their coffins wooden
toy cars and music
boxes. Ricky would
no longer hear their
tender voices, laugh
at their jolly
antics or find
happiness in their
smiles. But
he would never
forget those
wonderful memories -
“short”, but yet
“sweet”. The three were cremated at the Good Hope crematorium in the afternoon. Friday,
February 01, 2008 |
