A simple act of kindness and love is enough to lit up anyone’s life. And what these two Muslim brothers did for their father’s Hindu friend will surely bring a smile on your face.
Breaking the barriers of religion in Gujarat, Abu Qureshi and his two brothers Naseer and Zuber did something extraordinary for their father’s Hindu friend. Not only they completed all the post-death rituals as per Brahmin customs, but they wore dhotis, did mundan (tonsured) and wore a sacred thread (janoi) as well.
Bhanushankar Pandya, who was their father’s friend for the last 50 years, was cremated by these Muslim brothers. Arman (Nasir’s son) also lit the pyre as per the Hindu tradition. Apart from chanting the hymns, he also performed asthi visarjan, the immersion of ashes as it is believed to free the soul and help it attain moksha.
Pandya, who passed away at the age of 66 was a close friend of Qureshi brothers’ father and stayed with the family for 5 decades. It was Qureshi who offered Pandya to live with his family because Pandya had no one whom he can call family or his own.
“I always considered Bhanushankar dada as my grandfather. I performed all the rituals as he loved me like a grandson,” said Arman while talking to TOI.
It is so true that love is beyond religion. Thus the family is also observing 12-day mourning period and as the Hindu custom suggests, feeding the cows sheera, which is a sweet made from Semolina and ghee and was made by women of the Qureshi family. Further, they also donated few belongings of Bhanushankar to Brahmins with the help of a local priest.
It goes beyond saying that stories of communal harmony like this are the need of the hour in India.