Pundit: Don’t blame yourself

SEETA PERSAD

THE grieving parents of five-year-old Pawaan Granger, who died when a wall fell on him at his Fyzabad home last Sunday, were urged not to blame themselves for the calamity that befell the family.

Pundit Vijaykumar Maharaj of Palmyra, who officiated at the funeral at the Grangers’ home, told the grieving mother, Natasha Granger, that she should not think this accident could have been avoided, as everyone’s life is already written and Pawaan was called to be with the Lord.

“He was given the name of a Hindu deity, ‘Pawaan.’ the one who controls the wind. and like the wind he brought joy and happiness to everyone he met.” Addressing a small group of mourners who included classmates and the principal of the Siparia Presbyterian School at the house at Coolman Trace, Pundit Maharaj said Pawaan was an angel who was recalled from the earth.

Pawaan’s father Mikahail Granger, who assisted in his son’s final rites, said the child’s death brought a change to his life. “I had lost confidence in humanity and I live as a recluse, and then Pawaan passed on, and during this time of bereavement was a great outpouring of love,” he said, adding that it was because of the kind of child Pawaan was. People from near and far, he said reached out to him and his family. He thanked everyone on their behalf.

Principal of the Siparia Presbyterian School Lyndon Boodoo said Pawaan was a well-mannered, well-disciplined and intelligent little boy. “In my eyes he was the brightest star. He was a little child with a big heart and a strong will,” he said, adding that he would always remember Pawaan running around in the school yard with a big smile.

“He recalled that Pawaan’s elder sister, Preetie, would stand up for her brother whenever he got into trouble. To the teachers of Siparia Presbyterian School, he said, Pawaan was their son and to the students he was their brother; to Preetie he was an angel who came down on earth to be her for a short while.

Boodoo recited a poem to console Pawaan’s mother. “Mummy, please do not be sad,” it began. “I miss you so much/It is beautiful here/But I worry about you a lot/I sleep with angels watching me/There is only love up here/I am never lonely or afraid/because God is so very near...” At the end of the service, the child’s mother whispered to him that she loved him dearly. Pawaan was cremated at the shore of Peace on Mosquito Creek in La Romaine.