Mamata’s mother passes away

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s mother Gayatri Devi died at SSKM hospital on Saturday morning due to multi-organ failure. She was 81 and had been admitted to the hospital on November 25 with kidney ailments. She was put on life support last week after her condition deteriorated. She could not recover from that stage.
Instead, her condition rapidly worsened since then.On hearing that her mother’s condition had further worsened on Friday evening, Mamata cut short her visit to Delhi and rushed back to the city, heading straight for SSKM Hospital from the airport.
The chief minister was attending an award function in the Capital when she heard that her mother’s condition was deteriorating. She hurriedly left the place and left for Kolkata soon after.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP stalwart L K Advani sent condolence messages to Mamata. Left Front leaders Biman Bose, Ashok Ghosh, Surjya Kanta Mishra, Kshiti Goswami and others called on Banerjee at her Kalighat residence at noon and consoled her and the bereaved family.
Gayatri Devi was cremated at Keoratala crematorium by her six sons in the presence of state and central government ministers, VIPs and political heavyweights, besides a strong crowd who gathered for a last glimpse of Mamata’s mother.
After the official declaration of Gayatri Devi’s death at 8.35am, Trinamool Congress leaders rushed to the hospital. Subrata Mukherjee, Mukul Roy, Subrata Bakshi, Sovan Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Aroop Biswas, all were present to take the body to Harish Chatterjee Street where the chief minister was waiting at home to see her mother for the last time. The body was carried out of the hospital at 10.45am in a hearse.
The procession reached Harish Chatterjee Street 15 minutes later. Gayatri Devi’s body was brought to her room which she shared with Mamata. For the next five minutes, it was only Mamata who was by her mother’s side.
Then it was time to take Gayatri Devi’s body to Keoratala crematorium. The body reached the crematorium at 11.15a.m. After performing ‘puja’ and other necessary rituals, the body was put into an electric furnace at noon for cremation.
Besides Gayatri Devi’s six sons Ajit Banerjee, Kali Banerjee, Amit Banerjee, Samir Banerjee, Ganesh Banerjee and Babun Banerjee, her grandson Avishek Banerjee was also present at the cremation.
Mamata’s cabinet colleagues, Amit Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan, mayor Sovan Chatterjee, union ministers Sougata Roy, Sultan Ahmed, Trinamool Congress leaders Subrata Bakshi and Krishna Bose were also present at the crematorium. However, Mamata confined herself at home and was not seen at SSKM Hospital or at Keoratala.
Firhad Hakim took the death certificate on the family’s behalf.