While many families will be buying fire­crackers and mak­ing sweets, a family of five in Nadi have chosen not to celebrate Diwali.

Instead, they will remem­ber the life of their late six-year-old granddaughter who died in a house fire in June.

Neelam Natasha Devi died after she was trapped in her burning home at Martintar, Nadi on the night of June 28. The family has since built a makeshift home on the same property where the four-bedroom house once stood.

The late Neelam Nata­sha Devi was raised by her grandparents and father af­ter her parents separated.

The late Neelam Natasha Devi.

Her grandfather, Jagend­ra Nath, said he would be making sweets as usual for his business; however, this would be his first Diwali without his granddaughter

“This is the family busi­ness that we have where we make sweets and people place their orders, but we are doing the business at home because our bean cart at the bus stand was dam­aged so we are repairing it,” he said.

“This is actually the sec­ond year we won’t be cel­ebrating Diwali because we also lost my elder brother who used to stay with us last year, and also religiously, we cannot celebrate Diwali for a year when someone died.

“I will focus on memories of her. I really miss her and if she were here, we would’ve celebrated Diwali in a big way. We all must sympathise and remember our loved ones.”

Grandmother Maitra Devi said she would miss the presence of her grand­daughter who used to chat with her grandparents while they made sweets.

“Every day I remember her and I really miss her. Neelam was very talkative and she would dance around us because she always want­ed to make sweets with us,” she said.

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