I lost my Appa just in my hands to covid. It was the most horrible moments of my life as Amma and grandma were already in quarantine after corona recovery. They could not even visit Appa either and all I could do was to stand near him and see the trouble he faced for breathing. Some irresponsible relative passed the covid to my parents and my grandma. Till his last moment Appa told me I would not get infected. He was the golden hand to protect me from corona inspite of being exposed in rajaji hospital madurai. Nightmare days. Rest well my dear Appa. Love you 💖
My dad had just gone through rounds of chemotherapy for battling blood cancer which had resurfaced. he had already battled 17 years against it and had already developed a strong will to live against it. it became a way of life for him but I have never seen him taking his illness as a weakness. rather always saw him become more stronger emotionally and mentally. He was the only source of emotional support for my mom and me and my sister. He just got done with his therapies and medications to becoming perfectly alright when covid caught him. He was admitted to the ICU for 10days. all of four of us caught covid and we couldn't even be besides him during his critical days which pains me more. I couldn't be in much disbelief the day i heard his demise, I couldn't even imagine it as I wasn't even around him. I could only visit him later that night and still couldn't believe what i was seeing. it has been more than a year now, it still pains me every day that I was not even given the chance of going through the normal phases of grief by performing those last rituals we perform in our hindu tradition which kind of helps in accepting the loss of a loved one. It was my dad's friends who performed it for us as we were still grappled with covid. So me and my family are still struggling to deal with his loss and the grief it has left us with. In these low points of life, I can only remember how resilient and heroic my dad was throughout his life.
Delhi-born Ashish Yechury was an intelligent and thoughtful young man who, as everyone who knew him would testify, was kind to a fault, bright and happy to be unconventional, unassuming and confident about being able to strike out his own path.
Gifted as a child, those who knew him would remember his massive pencil-sketched army men. He would have the patience and sense of detail to draw thousands of soldiers in armies on drawing paper. Absorbed in the world of books, history was always a passion, as was wildlife and soon, photography.
For a living, Ashish chose the world of journalism and after his schooling at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi, graduation from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi and then his Masters, he did a course in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. He left a mark on all those he met, teachers and fellow-students.
He loved to travel and keenly observed all facets of life and its varied nature. He has left us with a stunning record of his visuals, beautifully captured with his beloved Nikon camera.
A small website created in his memory
https://www.ashishyechury.com
You just left us without saying anything, till now your death is a mystery to us. You left us making a large void in our hearts. I always wake up in the morning and wish that it was a bad dream & think that you are with us. But then I realize that you are no more with us. I always miss you in every family gathering. I miss you dada.
We miss you. We need you. We wish we could have some more time to tell you how much you mean to us and how thankful we are to you for all that you’ve ever done for us. We want to thank you for all the pain you bared for us and we’re truly sorry for putting you through it.
We know you live forever with us with the values you’ve instilled in us and through the thoughts you’ve left us with.
Some media tributes:
- https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2021/may/03/india-covid-deaths-crisis-kumbh-mela
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/27/warm-kind-wise-and-brilliant-guardian-writers-remember-kakoli-bhattacharya
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/26/indian-journalist-and-guardian-news-assistant-kakoli-bhattacharya-dies-from-covid-19
Beloved grandmother of Neil Natasha, Mother of Krina and Benny, Wife of Augustine Veliath.
Who is Grace?
Two days after she died, Eva asked this question on social media.
I, as her husband of 42 years, and the biggest beneficiary of her largesse in the world wrote this piece.
She was Grace.