Family reunion turns tragic

Suryaprakash’s sister-in-law, Vijayalakshmi, also died in the tragedy.

“We live on the same street and had a family get-together on Gowri-Ganesh festival. That occasion was the last I spent time with Suryaprakash. Shailesh with his wife and son had come from Singapore and the Kerala trip was a sort of family reunion,” said Ranga Prakash, as he and his family awaited the arrival of bodies from Kerala.

Suryaprakash, along with his wife Yamuna, son Santhosh, daughter Sneha,
son-in-law Singh, brother Shailesh, his wife Vijayalakshmi (who was also killed in the mishap) and Shailesh’s son, Adarsh, were on a weeklong trip to Kerala. Sneha and her husband had come from Mumbai while Shailesh and his family had flown in from Singapore to accompany Suryaprakash for the trip.

“Eight members of the family were on board the boat when it capsized. Both Suryaprakash and Vijayalakshmi were on the lower deck of the boat when it capsized,” Prakash said.

A visibly disturbed Ranga Prakash asked, “Kerala boasts of tourism and calls itself God’s Own Country, but where are the safety measures for tourists? Watching the footages on TV, one can see the dead bodies with hands stretched upwards trying to cling or hold onto something to keep afloat even as the boat capsized.”

Ananthram, Suryaprakash’s maternal uncle said, “He had a helping nature and loads of patience. He was one of the three brothers with Shailesh being the youngest. We did watch the TV news about the boat mishap, but it was around 1 am on Thursday we were informed that Suryaprakash and Vijayalakshmi had died, when relatives from the US called to inform about the accident.”

Suryaprakash was employed at Indian Oxygen Limited before he retired to begin his own consultancy firm. Working from home, he was known for his friendly and helpful nature by his neighbours. Yamuna, Suryaprakash’s wife, worked as teacher with Delhi Public School, Kanakapura, while his son Santhosh was a software engineer.