'They are in a very bad state. They have to be forced into eating.'
London, Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, Doha, Riyadh... Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam had flown to several international destinations since joining Air India as a cabin crew aged 18 in 2023.
On June 12, she was headed to London again.
It would have been her fifth trip to the city and like always, she looked forward to the two days of sightseeing before taking the return flight.
"She had visited Buckingham Palace and many other beautiful places there," says her cousin Twinkle Takhelchanbam.
The young cabin attendant, perhaps the youngest AI staff on board that day, perished along with 241 passengers and other crew members in the AI-171 crash.
Nganthoi had just turned 20 on March 1.
Her whole life lay ahead of her.
So many destinations left to see.
So many things to do.
Her parents and sisters were to make their first trip to visit her in Mumbai where she shared a flat with three other Manipuri flight attendants.
All those plans and dreams have cruelly been cut short.
The young girl's family is struggling to face their grief in vain. Her mother had to be administered two bottles of intravenous liquid. Her father has been drenched in tears.
"They are in a very bad state. They have been crying and have to be forced into eating," says Twinkle.
Nganthoi's younger sister, who studies in Class 9, is in a state of unexplained disbelief.
Eldest sister Gitanjali, a school teacher, has the difficult responsibility of identifying her deceased sister.
Gitanjali accompanied by two cousins has been in Ahmedabad where the painful and laborious process of identification is underway.
"She has given her blood sample, but the match has not been found yet. We are waiting," says Twinkle over the phone from the home in Wangbal, Thoubal district, Manipur.
Air India has made arrangements for the stay of Gitanjali and relatives in Ahmedabad.
Two days ago, Nganthoi's roommates and fellow cabin crew came to visit the family.
"The local MP and ex-minister had also come," says Twinkle.
Two members of AI-171's cabin crew hailed from Manipur.
Nganthoi had last come home in April. Her father, who sells local homemade food items, was hospitalised, and she had decided to surprise him.
"She loved giving surprises. She loved helping people. That was her foremost quality," says Twinkle.
"We used to laugh and talk about childhood memories over tea and snacks. I will miss her so."
Nganthoi had been selected as Air India cabin crew just as she started studying for graduation at a college in Imphal.
"A friend told her about the interview. She wasn't very interested, but went along," says Twinkle.
"She got selected. Her friend did not."
She would bring back memorabilia from the places she would visit.
"She got the local attire from Dubai and little, little things from the places she visited," says Twinkle.
In the agonising wait for her remains, the family home has become a holding ground for grief.
"You can hear her parents cry bitterly in the middle of the night," says Twinkle.
'We will cremate whatever remains of her body we can get,' her father said in agony, bursting into tears speaking to media reporters at his home.
119 of those on board that ill-fated flight have been identified through DNA matches. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and Cabin Crew Saineeta Chakravorty's remains were cremated in Mumbai on Tuesday.
As the families face unimaginable grief and the loss of those they loved most dearly, we only pray that somehow they will find strength in their darkest hours.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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