In Borivali, a housing society grieves for Mumbai family on board MH 370

Neighbours of the Kolekars, who were on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on the way to meet their elder son in Beijing, did not celebrate Holi this year, but had held on to a sliver of hope that the couple and their younger son would return eventually. Now there’s a pall of gloom over the building as residents say they’re still coming to terms with the news after the announcement by the Malaysian prime minister that there is no hope of any survivors from the flight that is believed to have “ended” in the southern Indian Ocean. [caption id=“attachment_1448423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A relative of passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries after hearing the news that the plane plunged into Indian Ocean. AFP[/caption] The neighbours said they have conveyed to the Kolekars’ elder son Sanved, through a friend, that they would like him to return to Mumbai and live with them for a while, as the residents of this Borivali building begin a slow healing and return to normalcy after two weeks of nerve-wracking stress. Vinod Kolekar (63), wife Chetana (59) and younger son Swanand were on their way to Beijing to meet their elder son, Sanved (29), who is pursuing his post-doctoral research in astrophysics in China. “We have been told that Sanved is in depression as he has lost his entire family. Since we could not reach him, we have told his friend to request him to come and stay here with us. He has us, maybe he will feel a little relaxed and we can get over this tragic incident together,” said Satish Ghogle, secretary of the Sukh Sagar building society. “He got married just in November last year. He and his wife left for Beijing just eight days before the other family members left.” Ghogle added that the society did not celebrate Holi this year as there was no news of the missing jetliner. “The society members collectively decided not to celebrate the festival. We will now organise a condolence meeting in the next few days in the society,” he added. According to the residents of Sukh Sagar building, the Kolekars were well educated, simple and warm. They mixed well with neighbours and society members. “While Vinod was a retired engineer and had taken a lecturer-ship with a college, his wife Chetana was a microbiologist. The younger son, Swanand, actively took part in the silver jubilee celebrations of the society held last year,” said a resident.