Abu Dhabi: Anushua Biswas, a young Bangladeshi expat, has opened up about her mother and brother, who were killed in a car crash in the capital on Monday night, and spoken of her father’s escape, which family and friends call miraculous.
Anushua, 22, paid a heartfelt tribute to her mother Ashima Chowdhury, 48, and her brother Aritra Biswas, 15, after she and her father, Sree Swarup Kanti Biswas, 59, bid final goodbye to them on Friday.
They were cremated at the Cemetery for Non-Muslims, Al Foah in Al Ain. Anushua told Gulf News that around 80 people attended the funeral.
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A speeding car had reportedly hit the family's vehicle from behind at about 9pm near Al Wathba Bridge on Al Ain Road, while they were on their way to a community get-together. The Embassy of Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi later confirmed the victims' identities.
Anushua, a fourth-year psychology student at a university in Dubai, was at home when the crash happened. Speaking to Gulf News after the cremation in Al Ain on Friday, she said she and her father are now trying to hold on to the memories of their dearest souls.
Father’s miraculous escape
Her father, an engineer who runs electrical and plumbing company, was driving the car. It was earlier reported that he had survived with injuries and was hospitalised for a day. Anushua clarified that he was not injured but was kept in hospital as a precaution.
“Doctors wanted to check for head trauma, so he underwent scans and X-rays, all of which were clear. He had only mild back pain and was given paracetamol. He was admitted at night and discharged in less than 24 hours,” she clarified.
"Physically, he is perfectly fine. Mentally, not good." She said her father spends his days recalling small moments, such as Aritra asking him for money to buy chocolates when he returned from work. “He is crying here and there and initially blamed himself though the accident was not his fault. I told him, if you blame yourself, then there is no point," she said.
She said many people close to the family see his escape as something beyond explanation. “Everyone is saying it was miraculous.”
Mother's mission
Anushua said her mother's single aim was to see her established. "She took my dream and made it her mission to fulfil.”
Ashima, who worked at a travel agency, also taught her daughter to be self-sufficient, from handling people to cooking. "She used to go to work, come back home and cook. She was really hard-working and very selfless," Anushua said. Her workplace was a minute from home, so she often came home during her lunch break to cook fresh meals and cooked again at night.
She used to sing and liven up their gatherings. She also loved cooking for guests, particularly remembering their personal favourites, Anushua recalled.
Ashima was also deeply spiritual. She set aside an hour every day for chanting and was carrying her chanting bag at the time of the crash, Anushua said. At pujas, she would give prasad and sweets first to bachelors who had no family in the UAE, then to the children.
"She was good at everything. At work, at home, at social events. She was like God in my eyes. I am pretty sure I will never reach that level," Anushua said.
Brother's world
Aritra, a Grade 8 student at Future Leaders International Private School Branch 2, needed some special support but always attended a mainstream school.
His sister said their mother took care of all his needs and his bond with her was beyond words. "He did not understand the concept of any higher power. For him, whoever he worshipped was my mum. My brother only used to follow my mum. Whenever we took family photos, she would keep him next to her," she said.
"Not everybody is educationally gifted. Aritra was like that. But he was known for his remarkable memory," Anshua recalled.
She said he knew countries, capitals and currencies, recognised family friends' cars by their number plates, and could recite multiplication tables up to 20 by the first or second grade. "He was a child who always surprised us," Anushua said.
He was also very trusting. "If you asked him for Dh10 and he had it in his pocket, he would give it to you. He would not ask why or when you would give it back. He was a pure soul, so innocent."
Staying together
She finds comfort in the thought that the inseparable mother and son never parted.
"People always say we come alone and we go alone, but they were lucky. They came alone, but they went together. In fact, my brother came from my mother and went with her. They proved their love by leaving together. Now we have to prove our bond by staying together,” Anushua said about herself and her father.
"My mother was a spiritual person. Everyone is saying that spiritual people have some kind of power. Exactly like that, she took my brother and saved my dad. She saved him because she wanted him to stay for me and she took my brother as she knew it would have been difficult for us to handle him once she goes. I would like to believe it that way.”
Returning to their void
The father and daughter stayed at a family friend’s house in Baniyas for three days and were returning to their Abu Dhabi home on Friday evening. They were preparing to cope with the irreplaceable void.
"Today was the worst day because we had to see them burn and we are going home without them. But tomorrow will be a better day, and the day after tomorrow will be a better day. I must think positive like that to go on in life," said Anushua.
She added that their priority had been the last rites, and that legal matters related to the accident would be looked into in the coming days after they complete their rituals.