Grieving woman tells dead son

RAYTEE KHOTAI whispered to her three-year-old son Suresh: “Mammy loves you baby.” She then kissed his cheek as Suresh lay in a white casket filled with his favourite toys.

Khotai was beside herself with grief during yesterday’s funeral service for her son who was killed in an accident on Easter Monday while the family was returning home from a beach lime at Moruga.

There was nary a dry eye among the large crowd of mourners, mainly neighbours of the family who reside at Loney Road, Indian Walk in Moruga.

Khotai sat staring at the small coffin, in which two teddy bears and several toy trucks were placed next to the body of her son. Sitting behind her was her husband Suresh and daughter Gail, 13.

Khotai was the last to view the body and gave her son a kiss before the casket was closed. Pundit Supersad Deoram, said that whether it was one day or 100 years that someone had lived for, the length of time did not matter to God.

“In the eyes of God, that person lived a full life. We must love everyone because we do not know who is next. Today the best babysitter is television. But parents, you must teach your children love, compassion and how to pray. It is the best thing you can give to them,” the pundit added. Khotai was sitting in the front seat of the family vehicle — a Toyota Hilux — on Easter Monday, cradling her son in her arms when tragedy struck. Her husband was driving north along Moruga Main Road when on reaching a corner, he tried to avoid an oncoming vehicle by swerving the van.

The sharp jerk of the van caused the sleeping boy to be thrown from his mother’s arms and out of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Princes Town Health Centre. Death was caused by massive head injuries including a fractured skull, an autopsy report revealed.

Following the funeral service, the body was interred at Painter Cemetery in Indian Walk, Moruga.