NEW DELHI, Aug 28: The Nairobi residents Kishan Halai and his 25-year old fiancée Rupal Vekaria, who originally hailed from Kutch district in Gujarat, had no business to be in the Galaxy hotel in Mumbai on Sunday night, but the fate ordained otherwise.
Halai and Rupal were to get married after they returned to Nairobi but that was not to be. Because their flight was re-scheduled, they were accommodated at the Galaxy hotel in Santacruz, near the airport, but a fire that broke out in the third floor of the hotel took a toll of three lives, including Kishan and Rupal.
Kishan, Rupal, her mother and sister were accommodated in the ground-plus-four-storey Galaxy Hotel in suburban Santacruz by the airlines concerned after their flight was rescheduled.
The families of Kishan Halai and the Vekarias are from Rampar village in Mandvi taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat. The blaze broke out on the third floor of the hotel on Sunday afternoon, killing Kishan Halai (28), Rupal Vekaria (25), and another person Kantilal Vara (50). Rupal’s mother Manjulaben (49), sister Alpa (19), and one Aslam Sheikh (48) were injured in the incident, officials said. The third victim in the blaze Kantilal Vara was not related to them.
Kishan Halai and his fiancée Rupal Vekaria were settled in Nairobi for several years. The families of Kishan and Rupal remained connected to their roots despite settling abroad many years ago. Their ancestral houses are still there in Rampar village.
Kishan and Rupal were engaged and were planning to get married soon after reaching Nairobi, where they were residing for many years with their parents and siblings. Kishan, Rupal and their families came to India nearly a month back to attend the wedding of Kishan’s younger brother in the village. The newly-married couple along with Kishan’s parents had left for Kenya a week back.
Kishan’s grandparents still live in Rampar village. While Kishan was born and brought up in the village till he became a teenager, Rupal was born in Nairobi. Kishan moved to Nairobi with his parents when he was around 13. After finishing shopping and meeting relatives in Gujarat, Kishan, Rupal, her parents and sister planned to leave India on Saturday.
They all reached Mumbai from Ahmedabad on Saturday to board a flight for Nairobi. As the flight was rescheduled, the airline accommodated them in a nearby hotel in Santacruz where the fire erupted on Sunday abruptly ending their lives.
(Manas Dasgupta)