KULLU: It does take a village to raise a child. An 11-month-old baby was left all alone when her parents and grandmother were swept away in flashfloods following a cloudburst in Mandi district on June 30. What followed the tragedy was a heartwarming tale of a community turning into a family.
Orphaned, yet surrounded by love, little Nikita still looks for her mother in the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces but gentle hands and kind eyes try to fill the void.
There was no dearth of hearts reaching out to adopt her but Nikita's relatives decided Sunday, after her parents' last rites - she would live with her paternal aunt, Kirna Devi. Several schools have also called up the family, offering to enrol Nikita, who turns one on Aug 14, for free when the time comes.
Nikita had a miraculous escape on the night of June 30 when a flashflood, triggered by a cloudburst, struck Talwara village of Gohar subdivision in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district. While Nikita survived the gushing torrents, most of her family members were swept away.
Her 31-year-old father, Ramesh Kumar, was trying to stop the water from entering the house when the waters roared in. His body was later found amid debris nearby. The baby's 24-year-old mother, Radha Devi, and 59-year-old grandmother, Poornu Devi, were also washed away. No trace has been found of them.
Talwara village lay devastated. When villagers went about checking on families and assessing damage, an elderly neighbour heard Nikita crying and alerted relatives.
Nikita's aunts, Tara Devi and Kirna Devi, took her in their care. And the entire community reached out to the orphaned child.
When word got around, Nikita's relatives and the Mandi district administration began receiving calls from couples, even from abroad, to adopt her. However, the family got together and decided against adoption.
"Nikita is our blood and we couldn't possibly give her to anyone outside the family. I will raise her like my own," said Kirna Devi of Shakauri village near Thunag in Seraj area of Mandi district.
On Sunday, the family gathered to cremate Nikita's father and perform the last rites of her mother and grandmother though their bodies are yet to be found.
"All close relatives gathered in Talwara to take part in the last rites. It was decided that Nikita would stay with us," said Tara's husband, Ramesh Kumar. "Me and my wife already wanted Nikita to be with us," Kirna's husband Aantraran Singh said.
Krishan Chand Thakur, a revenue officer posted in Gohar, who visited Talwara village, said a bank account had been opened in Nikita's name as people are coming forward with financial aid.
Orphaned, yet surrounded by love, little Nikita still looks for her mother in the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces but gentle hands and kind eyes try to fill the void.
There was no dearth of hearts reaching out to adopt her but Nikita's relatives decided Sunday, after her parents' last rites - she would live with her paternal aunt, Kirna Devi. Several schools have also called up the family, offering to enrol Nikita, who turns one on Aug 14, for free when the time comes.
Nikita had a miraculous escape on the night of June 30 when a flashflood, triggered by a cloudburst, struck Talwara village of Gohar subdivision in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district. While Nikita survived the gushing torrents, most of her family members were swept away.
Her 31-year-old father, Ramesh Kumar, was trying to stop the water from entering the house when the waters roared in. His body was later found amid debris nearby. The baby's 24-year-old mother, Radha Devi, and 59-year-old grandmother, Poornu Devi, were also washed away. No trace has been found of them.
Talwara village lay devastated. When villagers went about checking on families and assessing damage, an elderly neighbour heard Nikita crying and alerted relatives.
Nikita's aunts, Tara Devi and Kirna Devi, took her in their care. And the entire community reached out to the orphaned child.
When word got around, Nikita's relatives and the Mandi district administration began receiving calls from couples, even from abroad, to adopt her. However, the family got together and decided against adoption.
"Nikita is our blood and we couldn't possibly give her to anyone outside the family. I will raise her like my own," said Kirna Devi of Shakauri village near Thunag in Seraj area of Mandi district.
On Sunday, the family gathered to cremate Nikita's father and perform the last rites of her mother and grandmother though their bodies are yet to be found.
"All close relatives gathered in Talwara to take part in the last rites. It was decided that Nikita would stay with us," said Tara's husband, Ramesh Kumar. "Me and my wife already wanted Nikita to be with us," Kirna's husband Aantraran Singh said.
Krishan Chand Thakur, a revenue officer posted in Gohar, who visited Talwara village, said a bank account had been opened in Nikita's name as people are coming forward with financial aid.
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