Kollam, 23 September (H.S.): Fifty-five days after Gautam Krishna went missing when his fishing boat capsized off Neendakara, his mother, Reshma, performed his last rites at their home. His body has never been found.

A wooden figure representing Gautam Krishna was placed on the funeral pyre and cremated after the rituals. Reshma took the step after weeks of waiting for news of her son and holding on to the hope that he might return.

The ceremony marked another loss for a family that has already endured two tragedies at sea. Reshma’s husband and father had also died in accidents involving capsized boats.

Gautam Krishna disappeared while fishing. In the days that followed, Reshma sought a stronger search effort and went to a police station to protest what she described as the authorities’ lack of urgency in finding him.

The case subsequently drew the attention of the Chief Minister and Union Minister Suresh Gopi. Search operations were intensified after their intervention, but they did not locate Gautam Krishna or recover his body.

For Reshma, the absence of a body meant there was no conventional farewell. The wooden figure allowed the family to carry out the rites at home, even as the circumstances of Gautam Krishna’s disappearance remained unchanged.

Her decision came only after 55 days had passed since the boat accident. Until then, she had waited for the search to bring an answer. With no sign of her son despite the renewed effort, she decided to proceed with the funeral, treating him as dead.

The last rites brought the family’s long wait to a painful close, but the search had yielded no remains to confirm what happened after the boat capsized.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman