The body of Bindu, who tragically lost her life in the collapse of the orthopaedics building at Kottayam Medical College, was brought to her residence in Thalayolaparambu. The atmosphere was filled with sorrow as the grieving family struggled to come to terms with the loss. Her cremation will be held at 11 am on Friday.

Bindu's son, Navaneeth, had recently completed his engineering studies and was employed at a private firm in Ernakulam. Just a day before the tragedy, he received his first salary.

He had planned to gift the money to his mother, who was at the hospital. But fate intervened cruelly. When Navaneeth arrived at the hospital he was the first to realise she had passed away.

Bindu's husband, Visruthan, shared that she managed everything in the household from taking care of their children and him to tending to her elderly mother. Despite her health challenges, she worked as a daily wage labourer, earning just Rs 300 per day. With Rs 50 spent on auto-rickshaw fare due to her weak legs, she ran the entire household on the remaining ₹250.

Visruthan recounted how he and Bindu worked hard, saving whatever little they could from their modest incomes to educate their children. A carpenter by profession, he also worked at a garment factory in Thalayolaparambu.

Their daughter, Navami, is a final-year nursing student at a private college in Andhra Pradesh. The family had travelled to Kottayam Medical College Hospital for Navami’s spinal surgery on Tuesday. Since then, Bindu and Visruthan have been staying at the hospital with her. Their youngest, Seethalakshmi, had been left in the care of a nearby relative.

A mother’s heart‑wrenching cry

Back home, the grief was just beginning to unfold. Seethalakshmi (75), Bindu’s mother, who was unaware of the tragedy, had been watching television when locals suddenly switched it off to prevent her from hearing the news. The community was hesitant to break the heartbreaking information to her.

However, a relative eventually called and informed her of Bindu’s death. Upon hearing the news, Seethalakshmi let out loud, anguished cries and attempted to run away from the house in shock. Locals and nearby relatives rushed to the scene and held her back as she fainted from the emotional trauma. It took great effort to calm her down as she wept uncontrollably for her daughter.

The family lives in an unfinished house built on a five-cent plot allotted to them. Bindu's sudden demise has left a deep void in their lives and in the hearts of those who knew her.