“Papa, switch on the television now and let me speak to Mummy,” were among the last words that Devi Singh Gosai would ever hear from his 24-year-old son.
Gautam Gosai, who worked as a part-time chef at Hotel Taj in Mumbai, fell to the bullets of terrorists in the wee hours of November 27.
He was cremated on Saturday in his hometown Faridabad.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed at his residence with family members breaking down many times till his funeral procession started.
Amid tight security arrangements, Gautam's funeral procession began from his Sector 48 residence in Faridabad around 9.30 a.m. The funeral was attended by local police as well.
Devi Singh Gosai, along with a few close friends, rushed to Mumbai on November 27 after he lost contact with his son in the early hours of the day. Gautam had called on his mobile at 1.30 a.m. on November 27, informing him that terrorists had struck the iconic Taj Hotel where he was working as a part-time chef.
“We are in terrible shock. He was the jewel of our family and his death has shattered our lives,” said a distraught Devi Singh Gosai.
Gautam was a student at a hotel management institute in Mumbai interning at the Taj. As terrorists stormed their way inside the hotel late on November 26, Gautam, like many of his colleagues, was on duty.
Brother-in-law Surinder described Gautam as “a lovely boy, who cared for his family members”.
Manager at the Taj, Vishal Kaul, who knew Gautam Gosai well, also praised him.
Kaul, along with others, was escorted out after a horrifying 11-hours long ordeal. The Taj management had made arrangement for taking out Gautam as well, his relatives said.
Sadly, this was never to be.