Malkangiri: With no brothers by her side, a young girl defied all odds to shoulder the bier of her father to the cremation ground and light the pyre. The unusual happening took place in the tribal dominated Malkangiri district of Odisha.
Defying the age-old tradition of execution last rites only by sons, Sanjukta Nayak, the eldest of the siblings, took the mortal remains of her father Satya Narayan Nayak (55), to the cremation ground and performed the last rites in Pradhaniguda village under Sadar police limits in the district.
According to sources, Nayak’s family comprised of his wife and four daughters. He had no sons. He worked as an Auto-driver to make both ends meet for the family.
Tragedy struck the family, after Nayak, the only bread-winner of the family died in an accident yesterday. With no son in the family, relatives were worried as to who would light the pyre.
Later, Sanjukta came forward to carry out the rituals and performed the last rites of her father. She lit the funeral pyre following all the necessary tradition. The incident has now become a talk of the town.
Now, with the death of Satya, the family is finding it hard for livelihood. Locals sympathised with the family and demanded necessary government compensation for them.
Ms Kalinga