Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 11 (PTI) Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday hailed two Muslim brothers who performed the last rites of an 85-year-old Hindu woman they had cared for as their mother for nearly five decades in Wayanad district.
"This is the Keralam I know, love and believe in," Satheesan said in a post on X, sharing the story of Razak and Sulaiman, whose touching gesture was reported by the media a day earlier.
The two brothers performed the funeral rituals of Kalyani Amma, who had no children or other relatives, in accordance with Hindu customs after she passed away at Chithragiri in Muppainad panchayat, family sources said.
Razak and Sulaiman, along with their family, had shared a close bond with Kalyani Amma, who had been their neighbour for nearly 50 years. They looked after her daily needs, arranged medicines and accompanied her to hospitals whenever necessary.
She was also part of their family celebrations, and the affection between them grew over the years.
Kalyani Amma had expressed her wish that the two brothers, whom she considered her own sons, should perform her last rites after her death.
Respecting her wish, they lit her funeral pyre and performed the final rites at a local Hindu crematorium.
In his post, Satheesan said the brothers had "fulfilled the woman's final wish with the love and dignity of her own sons".
"A mother's love does not check religion. A son's duty does not ask about caste. And grief, like love, belongs to all of us equally," he said.
Describing the incident as a heartwarming example of Keralam's spirit, the chief minister said the state was a land where "love knows no religion, compassion knows no caste, and humanity brings us together".
"We are all one. Let this grand spirit of Keralam inspire the whole of India," he added.
