New Delhi: India’s World Cup-winning former opener Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of his deceased domestic help. He did so after her mortal remains could not be sent to her home in Odisha due to lockdown.
Gambhir, also a Lok Sabha from the BJP, posted a tribute on his Twitter page for his employee Saraswati Patra. She had been working at his at his residence for the past six years.
“Taking care of my little one can never be domestic help. She was family. Performing her last rites was my duty,” Gambhir tweeted.
“Always believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. Only way to create a better society. That’s my idea of India! Om Shanti,” said the 38-year-old Gambhir. The left-handed opener played 58 Tests for India between 2004 and 2016. He also got 97 in the 2011 World Cup final, a game India won.
Media reports in Odisha said the 49-year-old Patra hailed from a village in Jajpur district. She was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital a few days ago and was battling diabetes and high blood pressure for a long period. She breathed her last while undergoing treatment, April 21.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated Gambhir’s efforts.
“Taking care of Saraswati throughout the course of her illness, he also ensured her dignity in death by performing her last rites himself. It was a noble act since her mortal remains could not be sent to her family back home in Odisha,” Pradhan tweeted.
Agencies