Sons stranded due to lockdown, UP woman lights deceased husband's pyre

With her sons stranded in Mumbai due to the lockdown, a woman from Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar defied traditional norms by lighting her deceased husband's funeral pyre herself.

Sant Kabir Nagar (Uttar Pradesh): In a step away from tradition, a woman lit the funeral pyre of her deceased husband in Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar district, as her sons are stranded in Mumbai due to the nationwide lockdown.

According to reports, Ram Udit Verma (60), a resident of the district's Lahurey Gaon, recently passed away after battling prolonged illness.

The deceased's wife, Lahuri, had to take a step away from tradition to perform the final rites and light the funeral pyre of her husband in the absence of her children.

The couple has two sons and four daughters, all of whom are working in Mumbai. However, owing to the nationwide lockdown, none of them could make the journey back home for their father's funeral.

Traditionally, the last rites of a deceased person are performed by a male member of the family, but over the past few years, many women have defied the norms.

Further, with the lockdown, numerous people across India have been unable to attend the funeral of their loved ones, with the only option of viewing the final rites via video call.

Read:WATCH: Parents attend son's funeral over video call in Andhra Pradesh