Last rites of Aishwarya Thatikonda, Telangana engineer killed in US mall shooting, performed in Hyderabad

The 26-year-old project manager was among the nine people killed on 6 May in the mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets Mall in Texas, the US.

ByAjay Tomar

Published May 11, 2023 | 7:50 PMUpdatedMay 11, 2023 | 7:50 PM

Last rites of Aishwarya Thatikonda, Telangana engineer killed in US mall shooting, performed in Hyderabad.

It was around 11:30 am on Thursday, 11 May. More than a hundred people gathered outside the house of Rangareddy court judge T Narsi Reddy at the HUDA Colony in Saroornagar, Hyderabad.

They were there to have a final glimpse of their beloved Aishwarya Thatikonda (26) — victim of a mass shooting in the US — who soon began her final journey from home.

Aishwarya’s dear ones accompanied the body to the cremation grounds in the Nagole area in the city.

On 10 May around 8.20 pm her body had arrived from the US on an Emirates flight. And on Thursday, her grieving elder brother, father, and other relatives carried her mortal remains to a waiting hearse to travel to the cremation ground.

Also read: Telangana engineer killed in US mall shooting

Heart-wrenching scenes

Relatives gathered outside house of Aishwarya Thatikonda before her final rites

Relatives gathered outside the house of Aishwarya Thatikonda before her final rites. (South First)

The family’s relatives and close ones started arriving at Aishwarya’s home as soon as her mortal remains were flown down from Texas by an Emirates flight.

A makeshift tent was made for the gathering mourners. After performing the rituals as per the Hindu traditions, Aishwarya’s family and relatives reached the crematorium around 11:45 am.

Her parents — mother, and father, and brother and grandmother — were inconsolable despite the best efforts of their relatives.

“This is shocking. Which parent in the world would like to perform the final rites of their children,” a relative of Aishwarya told South First.

Amidst religious chants, her father Narsi Reddy circumambulated the body with a water-filled earthen pot, which he broke near the pyre before lighting it.

It was pin-drop silence at the cremation ground but for the wails of her mother and grandmother calling out the young woman’s name. Several women tried to console them, but in vain.

Funeral of Aishwarya Thatikonda

Funeral of Aishwarya Thatikonda. (South First)

The family would soon fix the date for her pedda karma — a Hindu ceremony for the dead — believed to release the soul for reincarnation.

A total of nine people, including the gunman Mauricio Garcia (33), were killed and seven others injured on 6 May when Garcia opened fire outside the crowded Allen Premium Outlets mall in Texas, US.

Also read: Big party was planned for Aishwarya’s 27th birthday, says boss 

‘CEO material’

Aishwarya’s boss and president of the Texas-based Perfect General Contractors LLC, where she worked as a project engineer, Srinivas Chaluvadi on 9 May told American broadcasting channel CBS News that he be lieved she had it in her to become the company’s CEO.

Chaluvadi said Aishwarya was “laser-focused” on her work and had plans to buy a house in Dallas.

“Her work ethics were very rare for her age. In some way, she was no less than a daughter to me. People will remember her not by the way she died, but by the way she lived. She wanted to be here and work forever,” Chaluvadi said, adding that all those dreams have been shattered.

Aishwarya Thatikonda with her friends

Aishwarya Thatikonda with her friends. (Supplied)

The company was planning a big celebration for her 27th birthday on 18 May. She was at the mall on that fateful day to buy an outfit for her birthday bash.

Since her demise, people have been sending bouquets to Aishwarya’s cabin at the office. He added that the firm now plans to set up a permanent memorial for Aishwarya in her cabin.

“She was a simple and friendly person who grasped everything easily,” Dallas-based treasurer of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) Ashok Babu Kolla told South First earlier.

TANA’s efforts along with Indian Embassy helped in bringing Aishwarya’s mortal remains home.

 

Also read: 3-year-old loses fingers after hand crushed in Hyderabad mall