Ahmedabad: In the span of just 18 days, two young sisters in London — aged only 8 and 4 — lost both their parents. Still clutching the memories of their mother Bharti, who succumbed to cancer on May 26, they are now left grieving the loss of their father, Arjun Patoliya, who perished in the devastating crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad.

Thirty-seven-year-old Arjun travelled to India to honour Bharti’s final wish — that her ashes be immersed in the sacred rivers of her homeland. He carried out the rituals with devotion, releasing her remains into the Narmada at Nilkanthdham in Poicha, and again in their native village of Vadiya in Amreli. But fate, unforgiving and cruel, cut short his return journey to London.

“My sister-in-law Bharti wanted her last rites in India. Arjun fulfilled her wish with so much love and respect. We never imagined we would be arranging for his last rites so soon after,” said Arjun’s cousin Sanjay, his voice heavy with disbelief.

Arjun’s life was shaped by loss from an early age. After losing his father in 1990, he was raised by a resilient mother who sold utensils and household goods to support her son’s education. Arjun studied at Swaminarayan Gurukul in Surat until the 12th grade before moving to the UK at the age of 20 in search of a better life. For 17 years, he built that life in London — running a small furniture business, meeting Bharti, an accountant, and eventually raising their two daughters.

Their home, once full of warmth and routine, is now hollowed out by silence.

Just days ago, the family gathered along the banks of the Narmada to say a final goodbye to Bharti — a ceremony marked by tears, prayers, and aching hearts. No one could have imagined that another tragedy waited so close behind.

Now, the two little girls—orphaned before they could understand the full weight of grief—are being cared for by Arjun’s younger brother Gopal in London. Back in Surat, their grandmother, who once sent her son Arjun away in the hope of a brighter future, gave a blood sample for a DNA match, so her son’s remains could be identified and returned home.

A family broken. A promise fulfilled, and a life lost in its wake. In the quiet between these tragedies, only questions remain — and the echo of two daughters calling out for parents who will never return.

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