E-Paper
From love of kites to tragic death, pall of gloom in Lucknow’s Dubagga
Friends and colleagues, who reached his home from different cities described Shoaib as warm, soft-spoken and always willing to help
It was a cruel irony of fate that Mohammed Shoaib, who died due to nylon manjha (nylon kite string) on Wednesday, loved flying kites.
He enjoyed the sight of colourful kites in the winter sky, never imagining that an almost invisible kite string would one day cut short his own life, his family and friends said.
A day after his death, his funeral procession passed through Dubagga’s Sheet Vihar Colony on Thursday. As his body reached home after the post-mortem examination, scenes of grief unfolded inside the two-storey house he had bought barely five months ago.
“He loved kites since childhood and he would wait for winter weekends to fly them,” said his brother- in-law Afsar Khan.
His body was placed in a room on the ground floor. His elderly mother Adiba stood stunned, supported by relatives, while the elder daughter Bushra, 4, broke down on seeing her father’s body. The younger child Ikra, 2, watched quietly, puzzled by the crowd and the white shroud wrapped around her father.
His wife Fauzia collapsed repeatedly, losing consciousness as relatives tried to comfort her. Each time she came around, she cried inconsolably, leaving even those consoling her struggling to hold back tears. “Someone please wake him up,” she said.
Friends and colleagues, who reached his home from different cities described him as warm, soft-spoken and always willing to help.
Another brother-in-law Rehan said that Shoaib was like a younger brother to him.
“Today, my sister-in-law, who is like a younger sister to me, has become a widow,” he added.
Sole breadwinner bought a house only months back
The 33-year-old medical representative was the sole breadwinner of the family. His father Syyed Arif died eight years ago. Shoaib is survived by his 75-year-old mother, his wife and two daughters.
Neighbours said Shoaib had recently fulfilled a long dream by buying a house. After renovating it, he planned to rent out a portion to ensure a steady income. Family members said he often spoke about securing his daughters’ future and wanted them to grow up to become an officer and a doctor respectively.
According to the eyewitnesses, when the kite string suddenly tightened around his neck in the Bazaar Khala area on Wednesday afternoon, the sharp nylon was not visible to riders.
“He first tried to take it out, but could not. He bled profusely for 10 minutes before people took him on an e-rickshaw to hospital where he succumbed to his deep wounds during the treatment,” said a neighbour.
