GEORGE TOWN: This year’s Festival of Lights is a reflective one for Dr Shamesh Baskaran after he lost his father just a week before the Deepavali celebration.

       And on Tuesday, he lost another family member – his grandmother Lakshimy Kutty, 92, in Sungai Buloh.

       The 33-year-old doctor, who is part of the Covid-19 team at Hospital Penang, said he was stunned when he received news that his father K. Baskaran, 79, had passed away on Oct 28.

       “Usually, when I am on duty at the Covid-19 ward, I am the one who has to inform the families that their loved ones have passed away. But this time, it was I who received such news.

       “When my father was pronounced dead, my mother and I were at the hospital. I was so lost. We had no one else with us and I did not know what to do, where to start or who to call.

       “However, I am thankful to have very supportive neighbours who helped us during the ordeal and colleagues from Hospital Penang’s Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department who assisted me,” he said, adding that his father died of a heart attack at about 6pm at their house in Gelugor.

       Dr Shamesh said there was no Deepavali celebration for the family this year.

       “However, we held a special prayer for my dad on Deepavali eve,” he added.

       As the youngest of five siblings, Dr Shamesh said his father had put it in writing that he wanted him to arrange his funeral should he pass away.

       “Frankly, I was not ready to do all these things. But thank god, everything went smoothly.

       “I had to take extra precaution to minimise any risk of infection, such as confining the funeral to our family members only.

       “I am aware that many Covid-19 clusters were linked to funerals and the last thing I wanted was to trigger another one.

       “Actually, I had a dream a year ago that my father had passed away. I had woken up then thinking what if the dream really came true during the pandemic,” he said.