Grandsons carry out final rites as hundreds bid adieu to Sahara group chief Subrata Roy | Lucknow Information

The final rites of Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy had been carried out by his grandsons, Himanc Roy and Kushaan Roy, at Baikunth Dham on Thursday.
The funeral procession began from Sahara Shaher at 2pm through which over 5,000 folks, together with Sahara staff, walked to Baikunth Dham to bid a tearful adieu to the departed soul. It was Himanc, who’s the elder son of Roy’s youthful son Seemanto, who lit the funeral pyre.Kushaan, the son of Roy’s elder son Sushanto, joined his cousin to finish the rituals.
Outstanding personalities who paid tribute to Roy included Samajwadi Get together president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leaders Raj Babbar and Pramod Tewari, cricketer Suresh Raina and singer Sonu Nigam.
Earlier within the morning, resting for one final time in his favourite oasis, his residence Swapana Kuti inside Sahara Shaher, Roy awaited for his ultimate journey. The air of the room, which in any other case was the eating corridor of his residence, was full of the perfume of ‘rajanigandha’ and rose petals. A soothing chant of ‘Om’ performed within the backdrop as a reminder of the fragility of life. By 10am, guests began making a beeline outdoors Sahara Shaher, ready for his or her flip to supply floral tributes to Roy.
All those that had gathered to bid a ultimate farewell to ‘Sahara Shri’, as he was known as, had tales to share how he touched their hearts, minds, and life. “Sahara has been my household for over 25 years now… Right now, my ‘abhibhavak’ (guardian) has departed,” mentioned Harish Chandra Singh who had come from Kaushambi. An overwhelmed Nitin Mishra mentioned: “He was an awesome listener – a uncommon trait in folks lately. His affected person listening to to anybody normally ended with an answer to at least one’s downside.”
In the meantime, members of the family sat by Roy’s aspect in turns. His sister Kumkum was inconsolable, whereas his spouse Swapna remained calm and powerful. Kids within the household hovered round their expensive grandfather and requested harmless questions on dying. At 2pm, household and buddies moved the physique into the van for the ultimate procession amid chants of ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ and ‘Sahara Shri Amar Rahein’. “Whereas males within the household adopted their expensive chief, girls stayed again, and their wails broke the residual silence. “We love you… we are going to at all times love you,” mentioned one in all them because the chants slowly diminished. Because the hearse van reached the circle outdoors Sahara Shaher, the procession grew stronger by just a few thousand women and men. All alongside the route, folks eagerly awaited to catch one final glimpse of the departed chief.
“He known as himself our guardian and his claims had been extra than simply fancy phrases,” remarked Pramod Singh who had come from Prayagraj. Uma Shankar Pandey from Ayodhya mentioned: “He was completely accessible and approachable… one might simply stroll into his room and communicate his coronary heart out.”
Dr Sunil Varma, a doctor at Sahara Hospital, mentioned: “Making solution to folks’s hearts and incomes a lot love is a uncommon advantage… However the presence of so many individuals speaks for our patron’s persona.”
Simply earlier than reaching Baikunth Dham, the members of the family ritualistically put the physique on their shoulders. The place was restored and revamped by the Sahara Group about 20 years in the past.
Roy’s grandson Himanc led the procession. Robed in conventional white dhoti and kurta, the 16-year-old remained poised and restrained. Rigorously following the directions of the ‘pandit moshai’, he dutifully executed the duty shouldered upon him within the absence of his father Seemanto and uncle Sushanto. At 4.15 pm, the boy initiated the ultimate leg of rituals for his grandfather who lay on a hefty pyre constituted of an estimated seven quintals of mango and sandal woods. Amid Vedic chants, ‘mukhaagni’ was given thus placing an finish to Roy’s ‘extraordinary’ journey.