Nykole King
Regina Leader-Post
A Regina father killed in the Air India crash last week had planned his flights back to Saskatchewan so he could be home in time to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, says his cousin.
He leaves behind a wife and two young girls, ages seven and two.
“He was a good father and he was doing everything for them,” Dhurvest Patel told the Leader-Post on Tuesday regarding his late cousin Piyushkumar Patel, who had just wrapped up a month-long work trip in India and was on his way to surprise his little girl when tragedy struck.
Dhurvest was among approximately 100 people who attended a memorial service on Monday at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan temple in south Regina. They gathered to pray for the lives lost on June 12 (at least 270) when London-bound flight AI 171 crashed into a residential building shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, India.
Mostly wearing white to symbolize purity and peace, the group joined together in an invocation prayer of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti — a wish of peace for the departed souls and strength for the grieving families.
People came up to a microphone one at a time to reflect on the lives lost in western India. Some women wiped tears from their faces, inhaling before joining everyone in softly clapping along with the calm chanting songs.
Dhurvest — who is Piyushkumar’s only relative in Regina, aside from his wife and children — said he is especially thankful for the support of the local Gujarat community, which has wrapped itself around the family in mourning.
“We are making ourselves strong so his wife and kids get a better life,” Dhurvest said.
They don’t know’
Dhurvest said he learned about the crash a few hours after it happened from his mother in India.
He said his thoughts immediately turned to his cousin’s young family here in Regina, to whom he had to deliver the news.
“It was a hard time for me, but there was a responsibility for me,” Dhurvest said. “His wife and his two small daughters are here and they don’t know.”
Dhurvest said he called Piyushkumar’s wife, Ruchita, at 6 a.m.
Ruchita — along with daughters Kiya and Pranshi — flew back to the western state of Gujarat to identify Piyushkumar’s body at the hospital on Saturday, Dhurvest said. Kiya, who turned seven that day, provided a DNA sample to match to her father’s remains, he added.
It is unclear when the family will be back in Regina.
Hopes of a good life
Ruchita, Piyushkumar and the girls moved to the city from Gujarat state in October 2024. He had been living in Canada on permanent residence status.
While Piyushkumar was still looking for a job in the city, he had optimism for his family’s new life and saw a bright future for his two daughters, Dhurvest said.
“He was sometimes telling me, ‘This is the place, the country, where I can make my whole family’s life good,’” he said, recalling conversations with his cousin.
“The whole family was too excited,” said family friend Niket Patel, recalling their optimism eight months ago when starting their life in Canada.
When Niket would drive through the family’s south Regina neighbourhood, he would often see them out together for a stroll.
“He was a nice husband for his wife and a nice father for his two daughters,” Niket said. “He used to spend good time with his family as well, like evening walks a lot.”
While Dhurvest and Niket are in mourning, they are focused on providing support to a family which depended so greatly on him.
The community has organized a GoFundMe to help assist Ruchita and her daughters with living costs and other support. It had reached over $30,000 as of Tuesday.
— with files from the National Post
