Daijiworld Media Network – Wayanad

Wayanad, Nov 10: In a touching example of communal harmony transcending religious boundaries, two Muslim brothers performed the last rites of an 85-year-old Hindu woman whom they had loved and cared for as their mother for nearly five decades in Kerala's Wayanad district.

Razak and Sulaiman stepped forward to perform the funeral rituals according to Hindu traditions after Kalyani Amma, who had no children or close relatives, passed away at Chithragiri in Muppainad panchayat, family sources said on Tuesday.

The two brothers and their family had shared a close relationship with Kalyani Amma, their neighbour for nearly 50 years. They regularly looked after her daily needs, arranged medicines and accompanied her to hospitals whenever she required medical attention.

Kalyani Amma was also an integral part of their family celebrations, and the bond between them grew stronger over the years. She considered the two brothers her own sons and had expressed her wish that they should perform her last rites after her death.

Honouring her final wish, Razak and Sulaiman lit her funeral pyre and performed all the last rites in accordance with Hindu customs at a local Hindu crematorium.