Page 188 - Demo

body was taken to the cremation ground from the back gate of the Fort. As per family tradition, all Maharajas of Vizianagaram leave the Fort for the last time through the back gate. The pall bearers for the funeral procession were from the Pusapati clan of Denkada village. As a beautiful sunset lit up the sky, the pyre was lit by his eldest son Anand and PVG Raju's mortal remains were consigned to the flames.There were tears in peoples' eyes and lumps in their throats, but there was a calm silence all through, even though the crowd was estimated to be about a lakh and a half or even two lakhs. About half the people were women, and who but women grieve unhesitatingly for the death of a loved one? No hotel was open for a quick snack for people who had walked in on empty stomachs, no bandi for a quick cup of tea, but this huge crowd which walked into the historic town of Vizianagaram behaved solemnly. PVG Raju had not been in public life for so many years, yet people of all age groups came to accompany him on his last journey. They came from all walks of life. The rich, the poor, the poorest of the poor. Farmers, labourers, shopkeepers, students, alumni%u2026. people of all religions and castes. People have a long memory and build deep bonds. This was demonstrated in their conduct that fateful day, befitting their Maharaja whom they had come to mourn.Was it an end of an era for them and their families? Traditions and folklore ran deep in all their homes. The bonds that they had in common, invisible yet all pervasive, carried forward from generation to generation. Their feelings that were inexplicable to outsiders, unfathomable to many who witnessed it and written off as antiquated by the new order.174