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KATHMANDU, June 18: There’s no love like a parent’s love — unconditional and beyond compare.
For every couple, the joy of welcoming their first child is something truly special. On June 18, 2004 exactly 21 years ago, such a special joy came to the lives of Sunil Lamsal and Sarita Sharma Lamsal of Rupandehi with the birth of their daughter, Prakriti Lamsal.
“When our first child was born- a daughter, we were overjoyed, saying goddess Laxmi had arrived,” recalled her mother Sarita, emotionally.
“As she grew up, she became more than a daughter, she became my friend, my best friend.”
That joy lasted for 20 years. But those joyful moments shattered before her 21st birthday. On what would have been her 21st birthday, the family is in mourning. Friends are remembering shared memories. Well-wishers are offering condolences.
Prakriti was the Nepali student whose tragic death shocked both Nepal and India. The news of her death still lingers in the minds of many.
On February 16, 2025, she was found dead in her hostel room at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Since then, her father Sunil has barely held himself together. Her mother Sarita is still unable to cope. On her birthday this Wednesday, Sarita couldn’t stop tears rolling down her cheeks.
Not a ‘Happy Birthday’
According to Sarita, Prakriti was emotional and sensitive. She always remembered her birthday and celebrated it dearly. Her younger brother Prayas would never let anyone in the family forget it.
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“He marks all our birthdays on the calendar, including his sister’s,” said Sunil, “And then they make the plans. We follow whatever they say. That’s how we celebrated birthdays.”
For the Lamsal family, birthdays meant cutting cake at home, going out to places the children picked, or eating their favorite food at restaurants. “But Prakriti never demanded anything unnecessary,” Sunil recalled.
Joyful past celebrations
In the past birthdays, Prakriti happily fed cake to her brother Prayas. Friends also remembered how much she loved celebrating. “We were best friends and birthdays were special,” said Riti Shrestha, who studied with her at Samakhusi English School, “In the past, we used to celebrate birthdays after school.”
This time, Prakriti was not physically present. But her family and friends remembered her through the memories. Her parents visited a local care home to mark her birthday.
“Even though she is not with us, we celebrated her birthday,” said Sunil, “We went to Manav Sewa Ashram and gave fruits, milk, and biscuits to elderly residents and prayed for her peace.”
The Lamsal family now lives in Dhapasi, Basundhara. A garlanded photo of Prakriti sits in their home. Her school friend Riti also visited them. “Some of us decided to meet uncle and aunty on her birthday. Some others couldn’t come, but I made it,” Riti said. Sunil said her presence felt like his daughter had returned for a moment.
Prakriti’s other friends remembered her through posts on Facebook and Instagram, which made her family emotional again.
In parents’ memory
It took 11 years after Prakriti’s birth for Sunil and Sarita to have their second child, Prayas. Until then, she was their only child and the sole recipient of all parental love.
“We wanted to ensure the first child had proper upbringing and education before having another,” said Sunil, “That’s why I spent eight years abroad in the UAE.”
This long gap made the bond between Prakriti and her parents stronger. “She was our only child for a long time, and with her father abroad, I naturally got very attached to her,” said Sarita.
Sarita never felt that Prakriti hid anything from her. “She was innocent and sensitive. If someone said something harsh, she’d feel hurt. She had very few friends, so she told me everything,” Sarita said.
Prakriti was in her third year of B.Tech in Computer Engineering at KIIT. She was excited about her studies completing soon.
According to her father, Prakriti dreamt of getting a good job and moving to Canada. She had shared these dreams with her mother.
“She had so many dreams. She shared her plans just 20–22 days before the incident,” said Sarita, “She said she would come home in Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), do an internship here, then plan for abroad. She wanted to take us all abroad with her. After settling, she wanted to return and gift her father a car.”
Sarita added, “I loved her so much, I never made her do any household work. She didn’t even know how to cook. But this time, she asked me to teach her cooking before she left.”
The last conversation
On the fateful day on February 16, Sunil received the news at around 5 PM. Prakriti had spoken to her mother Sarita just a few hours earlier at 2:57 PM.
“She said she was happy and was heading to attend a festival,” Sarita said, “She didn’t tell us anything about being in pain. Turns out, she hid everything from us.”
The family regrets that Prakriti didn’t share the harassment she was facing from Adwik Srivastava, who has been accused of abetment to suicide.
“If she had told us, we could’ve helped her. She had made complaints at the hostel and college, but we didn’t know,” said Sunil, “If only we’d known, maybe her life could’ve been saved. The college is equally responsible.”
‘I couldn’t gift her justice on her birthday’
Sunil had hoped to give his daughter justice as a birthday gift. But now, he is filled with despair. The accused, Srivastava, has been released on bail for just INR 100,000. This has caused even more pain to the family.
“Today is her birthday, but my daughter isn’t with us. If she had received justice today, at least I could’ve felt that it was her birthday gift from me and the state,” Sunil said, “Maybe our hearts would have found peace.”
