Son of Kuber crewman mourns alone

He was recruited in August as a constable in the Daman police. “Many others are on leave,so I need to be at work. Besides,it takes a day to reach Diu and another to come back. As I can’t join the family,I will be here alone,praying for my father,” he said.

His father had worked on Kuber for two years and was heading the crew of five. The other four are also believed killed but their bodies were not found. Solanki’s body,without the head and with the hands tied,was found on the trawler near the Gateway of India.

The son,the eldest of three siblings,has not wasted time trying to get their lives into a semblance of order. A carefree youth till November 2008,he has now turned into the breadwinner for his family. In between he worked hard to clear an entrance.

He has had little time to mourn. “I had no choice but to accept the fact and move on. If I hadn’t,my mother and my brothers,undergraduate Hitesh and Class XI student Pritesh,would have been without support,” he said.

The first floor of the police station has become his home. He shares the hall and the kitchen with three other constables. He cooks,does dishes,washes clothes and performs other chores when not on duty guarding the coastal police station.

“In a corner of the room,near images of deities,I have kept my father’s photo. He was an inspiration to me and continues to be so. He always wanted us to make it big in life. Though he was a fisherman all his life,he made it a point that we brothers got an education. I have a job now and I have to ensure that my brothers too complete their studies and get settled,” he says.

“I have learnt a lot in a year. One has to move on,if not for oneself,then for one’s family.”