For Paramlal Kori’s five-year-old son, his father has not died. His mother has told him that his father has gone far away for work. Paramlal, a 37-year-old welder from Harpalpur in Madhya Pradesh, was working in the basement of the building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan when it collapsed on September 6. Seven people were killed in the incident, including students and workers.Days after the tragedy, the questions around the collapse have largely centred on the safety of student accommodation, alleged unauthorised construction and who should be held responsible. Police have arrested people linked to the PG and the building, while questions over construction and regulatory oversight continue.But for Paramlal’s family, the aftermath is much more immediate.It is about a child who keeps asking for his father, a wife who has to explain his absence without telling him the truth, and an elderly mother who is now wondering how the family will survive.While speaking to Story Lives, Paramlal’s wife says, “Mera paanch saal ka beta puchhta hai, mummy, papa ke upar building gir gayi?” (“My five-year-old son asks me, ‘Mummy, did the building fall on Papa?”). For the family, giving an answer to the little child is difficult. They tell him, “Nahi beta, papa kaam par gaye hain…. Bohot door gye hain.” (“Papa has gone to work. He has gone very far away”).
Paramlal’s family struggles to meet daily needs after his death. He was the breadwinner of the family. (Photo courtesy: Story Lives)
“We cannot cry in front of him”
Paramlal’s son was also taken to his father’s funeral. But even there, the child did not fully understand what had happened. “When we went for the last rites, he said, ‘Mummy, that was not Papa. Papa was not there. That was some uncle who was lying there like that,’” Paramlal’s wife recalls.The words underline how little the five-year-old understands about death- and how his family is now trying to protect him from a reality they themselves are struggling to accept.Paramlal had been working in Delhi to support his family. According to a report by Amar Ujala, he lived with his wife and son in the Safdarjung area and was the only earning member of the family. His elderly mother and the rest of the family live in a dilapidated kutcha house in Harpalpur, in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.His death has therefore not only left the family grieving. It has also taken away the income on which their everyday life depended.
‘Where will we go? How will we raise him?’
For Paramlal’s mother, the grief quickly turns into a question about survival. “Where will we go? How will we raise him? At least let the child study and become educated,” she says. Her words carry the uncertainty that has followed the family after Paramlal’s death.The family has said that it has not received financial assistance from the government so far and is seeking compensation and support. As per Amar Ujala report, Paramlal’s relatives said no compensation had been received for the family and had appealed for financial assistance from the government.For Paramlal’s family, the tragedy did not end when the rescue operation ended or when his body who once carried the family’s financial responsibilities is no longer there.The Satya Niketan collapse has raised important questions about construction, safety and accountability. But behind those questions are families like Paramlal’s, left to deal with a loss that cannot be measured only in the number of people killed.
