Rajkot: With henna in her hand she lit the funeral pyre of her foster father in Veraval on Sunday night, a day before her wedding was scheduled.
Though the wedding has been postponed, Ayushi Tanna (25) defied the century old custom which dictate that the last rites are supposed to be performed by the male child of the deceased. Her foster father Ashok Tanna (62) died of a heart attack.
Ashok was taken to a private hospital in Veraval, where his condition deteriorated, following which it was decided that he would be taken to a hospital in Rajkot. However, he breathed his last on his way to Rajkot on Sunday evening.
Ashok had adopted Ayushi, the daughter of his younger brother Jayesh Tanna, as he had no children. Ayushi was adopted within a month after her birth.
“My papa Ashokbhai had nurtured me like a flower and had brought me up with love and care. He gave me good education and all that I asked for,” said Ayushi, who got a job in a private firm of Ahmedabad after graduation.
“Usually the funeral pyre of the deceased is lit by the elder son. However, as Ashokbhai had no children, I became his son and performed his last rites,” she said.
Ayushi’s marriage, which was scheduled on Monday, has been postponed due to her adoptive father’s demise.
Ashok’s uncle Vikram Tanna is the president of Veraval Lohana Mahajan Samaj. Ashok had a shop selling pesticides in Veraval.