PONDA: Setting a fresh precedent by going against an age-old patriarchal tradition, Roshni Naik, a resident of Bandora lit the funeral pyre of her husband, who passed away on Friday. Naik, who does not have any children, is among the first few widows in Goa to conduct her husband’s last rites. And surprisingly, her progressive move was supported by her relatives and villagers, who lauded her for her bravery and composure at a trying time.
Rohidas Yashwant Naik,62, a resident of Undir, Bandora, was a theater and bhajan artist, an ex-cricketer, the ex-director of Goa Co-operative Bank and an ex-panch member of Bandiwade village panchayat, and he was also a well-known newspaper distributor in Nageshi. He passed away on Friday, at 4 pm. With her only nephew employed abroad, Roshni decided to cremate her husband’s mortal remains herself, at the PMC-run Muktidham Crematorium at Varkahandem. In Hindu tradition, funeral pyres are usually lit by the sons of the deceased, and in the absence of a son, by male relatives. Despite campaigns for women’s equality and women shattering gender norms in most other aspects of society, religious customs still discourage women from being present at cremations and even entering a crematorium. However, there has been an example set earlier in Bicholim, when the daughter of former Goa Health Minister Suresh Amonkar, Yuti, performed the last rites and lit his pyre when he passed away in 2020.
