Ranjitha Gopakumaran Nair, 42, originally from Pullad near Thiruvalla in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, was among the victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The tragedy claimed the life of the family’s only earning member, leaving behind her two young children and an elderly mother battling cancer.

Ranjitha had flown to her hometown from London on a brief three-day trip to complete formalities related to her extended leave from government service. Her long-held wish was to leave her overseas job and return home permanently to care for her children and ailing mother, settling down in a nearly completed house in Pullad by July.

The youngest child of Gopakumaran Nair and Thulasi, Ranjitha graduated in nursing from Pandalam. Her medical career began at a hospital in Gujarat, followed by stints in Oman and, more recently, the UK. Despite working abroad, she had secured a position at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital five years ago and was on long leave.

As a single mother to Induchoodan (Class X) and Rithika (Class VII), Ranjitha was striving to build financial security for their future. Her dream home stood beside her ancestral house, awaiting their move-in.

She left for Ernakulam on Wednesday afternoon, travelling by train from Tiruvalla, before flying to Chennai and then to Ahmedabad to catch her connecting flight to London.

Due to delays in paperwork during her April visit, she had to make this second trip. It would be her last. Her death has left a void that words cannot fill.