Her grandmother was always a guide for Priyanka Chopra. She had a focussed sense of purpose and innocent love. The family, who is mourning Mary Aghouri's death, is further saddened that her last wish could not be fulfilled.
Priyanka's grandmother had wished to be buried in the family grave at Kumarakom, at the church where she was baptised. While living in Mumbai with her daughter, Madhu Ashok Chopra and granddaughter Priyanka Chopra, she had expressed the wish many times. She passed away on Friday.
After her death, the family arranged to get her wish fulfilled and reached Kerala with her body. They had entrusted family members in Kumarakom to make the necessary arrangements with the church. However, fate had another twist for them.
During an emergency committee meeting at the church on Friday, objections were raised that Mary Aghouri could not be cremated in the church because she had married outside her religion and had no contact with the church for so long. Many in the committee argued that if the cremation was allowed to go ahead, it would be against norms of the church. The family was officially told that the cremation could not be allowed by bypassing existing norms.
The family then decided to conduct the funeral in Mumbai. However, Priyanka Chopra and her mother were sad that the funeral could not be conducted as per Mary Aghouri's wishes. At the intervention of some family members, it was decided that the funeral could be conducted at a church in Ponkunnam. The Church reasoned that even though she had married a person from another religion, she was a devout Christian and so she could be buried in another church under the same administration.
Finally, the body was brought to St Thomas Jacobite Church, Ponkunnam where the final rights were completed.
Mary Aghouri, a member of the Kavalappara family at Kumarakom, was the wife of former Bihar MLC, Dr Aghouri. She is also a former Congress MLC of Bihar.
Her funeral was attended by close friends and relatives from Bihar.