Abu Dhabi: A tragic turn of events has struck an Indian expat’s family as he passed away here just 20 days after his mother’s death back home.
Mohammed Irshad MP, 36, collapsed and died instantly at a grocery shop in Abu Dhabi run by him and his father, Abdul Khader, on Wednesday, his cousin Badarudeen Chithari told Gulf News. He is survived by his wife, two young kids, his father and four siblings.
“We are still in disbelief,” said Chithari, Irshad’s mother’s nephew.
He said that Irshad’s family does not believe that any underlying health issues led to his sudden death, but attributes it to the deep mental anguish he experienced following his mother’s passing on November 7.
“He was very attached to his mother. She was in her fifties only, but was under treatment for paralysis, followed by cancer for almost two years,” Chithari said of his aunt, Maimoona.
Missed funeral
Unfortunately, he said, Irshad had missed attending his mother’s funeral by a few hours.
He said Irshad and his father used to take turns to fly home to visit Maimoona.
“His father had already been home when his mother passed away. Irshad also wanted to reach home immediately. Unfortunately, he did not get a ticket for a flight to the nearest airport in time.”
Hailing from Kanhangad in Kerala, Irshad finally had flown to Calicut International Airport and travelled home by road for five hours.
However, Chithari said Irshad had allowed his family to go ahead with his mother’s funeral as it had to be done before sunset on the day of her death as per their religious beliefs.
‘Space near her grave’
“However, he was heartbroken that he could not see her one last time before she was buried. Apparently, while returning after visiting her grave in a mosque near their house, he told some people there that he had found his final resting space next to his mother’s grave. But, nobody ever imagined it would happen so soon like this.”
He said Irshad had returned to Abu Dhabi on November 17. Even after reaching here, he kept talking about his mother and regretted not fulfilling his wish to gift her gold jewellery on his next visit home.
“He also used to say that he still had a lot of things to talk to his mother,” said Chithari.
On the day of his passing, his routine went as usual. Irshad returned to the grocery in Tourist Club Area in Abu Dhabi after his afternoon break.
“He had gone to the mosque for prayer and went back to the grocery. A guy from his adjacent shop was standing near Irshad and checking his phone when he [reportedly] collapsed on the floor.”
Chithari said first aid efforts went in vain. “The paramedics in the ambulance had tried to revive him, but he was declared dead on arrival at hospital.”
His mortal remains were flown home in the wee hours of Friday.
‘Loss of entire town’
Jaffer Sadiq, who lives in an apartment shared by Irshad and his father, said he was still trying to cope with the loss of his neighbour and classmate.
“Our houses are nearby and we studied in the same class in primary school. I am at loss for words. I am just trying to cope with his loss,” he said.
Chithari said everyone who knew Irshad was shocked to hear about his sudden and untimely death and his family had been devastated. “He was an introvert. His world was his family. He was always smiling but would talk to close people only. His daughter is five and son just three-years-old. I feel terrible for his father as he has lost both his wife and son in such a short span of time.”
Speaking to Gulf News over the phone from Kerala, Amjad Manikoth, a neighbour and relative of Irshad back home, said he was among the people who received Irshad’s mortal remains from the airport on Friday morning.
“His death is not just a loss for his family. It is a loss for our entire town. Hundreds of people attended his funeral. Everyone was emotional. He was laid to rest next to his mother’s grave just as he wished,” he added.
