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Little Ashwini lost her life. Sasidha is badly burned – two innocents caught up in the Milagiriya bomb blast

“I saw her through the glass. She’s fully wrapped in bandages, and there is a tube through her nostrils. I wanted to hold her once more, but couldn’t as I was not able to go into the ICU. I saw my little daughter’s tiny frock burnt beyond recognition. I wanted to hold her in my arms for the last time…” weeps B. Jagatheswaran, 40, the husband and father of innocent victims, a mother and the daughter, of Tuesday’s brutal blast in Colombo. At the time of writing, Sasidha, his young wife, just 31, lay in the ICU at the National Hospital with severe burn injuries. His little daughter Ashwini, aged two years and seven months was killed in the blast.

Last Tuesday began like any other working day for Jagatheswaran and his family. As he got ready to go to work at the Sarawana Bawan Restaurant, close to Dickman’s Road, in Bambalapitiya, his wife and her parents, also working close to Dickman’s Road, were also preparing to leave their home in Kirulapone. His son, J. Thiyakaran, who is in grade four in Hindu College, Colombo was the first to leave.

“I felt very happy that morning to see our daughter growing up fast. She was supposed to go to montessori in October, and I couldn’t wait to see her growing up and wearing a school uniform. I was thinking about such things on that morning. While I was about to leave, my daughter was chewing bubble gum, swinging her legs from the settee. I didn’t pet her, as I thought I can see her later in the evening,” said Jagatheswaran, wiping his tears.

Usually, Sasidha would take Ashwini with her to the house where she worked, and pick up their son from his after-school classes on Tuesdays before returning home with him. But destiny had a different plan for Sasidha on this particular Tuesday.

After leaving her workplace, she had walked with a lunch packet towards Hindu College, and met her son Thiyakaran, who said that as there were no after-school classes, he wanted to go home by himself. She patted him and bid her final goodbye.

Having time on her hands, Sasidha had taken Ashwini to the nearest park and watched her play. She had wanted her to try on the new pair of shoes she had bought for her, but the little girl was enjoying playing so much, she had no spare moment to stop, even for a short time to try out her new shoes.

As the child played Sasidha lost track of time, even forgetting the lunch packet she was supposed to give to her father. Rushing, she left the park, little realising they were walking to their doom.

Ashwini died instantly in the blast, but Sasidha was rushed to hospital with severe burn injuries. Doctors are doubtful if she will ever be able to open her eyes again.

“It’s a gruesome punishment when you cannot even hold your loved one’s hand for the final time. It’s even worse, when you can’t see their faces. What else do I want to see in the future? Everything is gone. This should never happen to anyone,” Jagatheeswaran mourned.

Picking up his wedding photo, he looked sadly at the picture of his radiant bride. She was a happy housewife and mother, he wept.

People gathered at Jagatheswaran’s home were angry that high officials, who are targets of terrorist attacks live close to schools putting the lives of schoolchildren at risk. “Why can’t they all, the so-called ‘targeted people’ move into one place? Why do they have to live near schools?” they lamented.