Amidst heartrending and tear-jerking scenes, the funerals of the two young friends - Nishith Narayana and Raja Ravichandra - who were
killed in a ghastly road accident in Jubilee Hills in the wee hours of Wednesday were performed at their respective native places on Thursday.
While Nishith Narayana, the only son of Andhra Pradesh minister P Narayana, was a director of the Narayana educational institutions belonging to the family, his friend Raja Ravichandra, son of a tobacco trader, was aspiring to become a film producer. Both were childhood friends and did their schooling together.
Both lost their lives when the speeding high-end Mercedes Benz car being driven by Nishith lost control and rammed into a Metro rail pillar in Jubilee Hills. While Nishith died on the spot, Ravichandra succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to a hospital.
Minister Narayana was in London when the tragedy occurred. As a matter of fact he was stated to have spoken to his son from London hours before the tragedy. Soon after receiving the tragic news, he rushed back and reached his native place Nellore where the body of his son was kept for performing the last rites.
Poignant scenes were witnessed at the funeral, which was held on the banks of river Penna, as the minister who performed the last rites of his young son lit the pyre. A number of ministers of AP including Nara Lokesh, and MPs, MLAs and MLCs besides hundreds of people were present on the occasion.
The funeral of Raja Ravichandra, whose body was kept at his native place Tanguturu in Prakasam district, was held late in the evening after the arrival of his sister from the US. A software engineer, she is stated to have urged the family to wait for her arrival before performing the last rites of her brother. A pall of gloom descended on the village upon knowledge of the tragedy, and people started pouring in to express their condolences to the bereaved family.