<p>Two of the three young men from the City, who were killed in a road accident in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Monday, had called up their respective families on Sunday night, just hours before the crash. <br /><br /></p>.<p>One of them phoned his mother, asking for her bangle size as he was buying her traditional ornaments in Madurai. <br /><br />Lokesh, 23, one of the victims, had begun working at a cell centre after completing a BCA degree recently. He was the only son of his parents. His desolate father, Prakash, said his son’s devotion to Ayyappa “took him away from us”. <br /><br />Prakash further said he had not broken the news to his wife who “cannot stand the tragedy”. Lokesh called up his father around 11 pm on Sunday, saying the group was leaving Madurai. “It was a casual chat,” Prakash recalled. “I did not know it would be his last call.” <br /><br />Devotees of Ayyappa, the youth had been visiting Sabarimala, the pilgrimage centre in Kerala, for the last three years and would wear the one-month customary Ayyappa mala during the period. <br /><br />Ramu said his son Vinay, another victim, had gone on a first visit to Sabarimala under the “influence of his friends”. One day, he turned up home, wearing the Ayyappa mala, much to the family’s surprise. “We didn’t object to that. It was something new for us,” Ramu recounted. “The entire family saw him off at the Vayalikaval Ayyappa temple on Thursday evening. That was the last time we saw him.” <br /><br />On Sunday night, Vinay phoned his mother, asking for her bangle size. He was very enthusiastic to buy her bangles in Madurai. According to Ramu, the group had planned to go to Salem, visit Male Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar district on their way back and reach Bangalore on Wednesday. Vinay had landed a job with Air India just two months ago. <br /><br />While the accident brought tragedy for some people, others such as Shanmugam, the father of Puneeth Kumar and Jayanth Kumar, thanked God that his sons were lucky enough to escape unhurt. <br /></p>
<p>Two of the three young men from the City, who were killed in a road accident in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Monday, had called up their respective families on Sunday night, just hours before the crash. <br /><br /></p>.<p>One of them phoned his mother, asking for her bangle size as he was buying her traditional ornaments in Madurai. <br /><br />Lokesh, 23, one of the victims, had begun working at a cell centre after completing a BCA degree recently. He was the only son of his parents. His desolate father, Prakash, said his son’s devotion to Ayyappa “took him away from us”. <br /><br />Prakash further said he had not broken the news to his wife who “cannot stand the tragedy”. Lokesh called up his father around 11 pm on Sunday, saying the group was leaving Madurai. “It was a casual chat,” Prakash recalled. “I did not know it would be his last call.” <br /><br />Devotees of Ayyappa, the youth had been visiting Sabarimala, the pilgrimage centre in Kerala, for the last three years and would wear the one-month customary Ayyappa mala during the period. <br /><br />Ramu said his son Vinay, another victim, had gone on a first visit to Sabarimala under the “influence of his friends”. One day, he turned up home, wearing the Ayyappa mala, much to the family’s surprise. “We didn’t object to that. It was something new for us,” Ramu recounted. “The entire family saw him off at the Vayalikaval Ayyappa temple on Thursday evening. That was the last time we saw him.” <br /><br />On Sunday night, Vinay phoned his mother, asking for her bangle size. He was very enthusiastic to buy her bangles in Madurai. According to Ramu, the group had planned to go to Salem, visit Male Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar district on their way back and reach Bangalore on Wednesday. Vinay had landed a job with Air India just two months ago. <br /><br />While the accident brought tragedy for some people, others such as Shanmugam, the father of Puneeth Kumar and Jayanth Kumar, thanked God that his sons were lucky enough to escape unhurt. <br /></p>
