Britisher cremated according to Hindu rituals

Kishanganj (Bihar), Nov 9: She came all the way from England's West Sussex to fulfil her father's last wish of immersing his ashes in the Mahananda river in Bihar.

Linda Barr, a British citizen, said though she stayed in the far west, yet she had a strong emotional and spiritual bond with Bihar, in the far east.

Her father David Courtney Barr, who served the British government in Bihar from 1932 to 1947 as an ICS officer, wished that his ashes should be immersed in the Mahananda river.

He was the civil SDO at Kishanganj from 1941 to 1942 and even served at Patna, Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Purnia.

''He was deeply attached to India. Even after his retirement he took up job as Chief Public Relations Officer for Metal box,'' Linda said.

He died on February 29, 2004 and was cremated according to Hindu rituals in West Sussex, Linda informed.

''As per his wish, I have immersed his ashes in Mahananda,'' she said.

The last rites were performed on Tuesday amidst chanting of ''Om shanti, om shanti''. Linda said her father was immensely in love with Bihar.

Linda, a clinical nutritionist, who had come here along with her fiance for the first time, said she was impressed by the warmth and affection of the people.

The 50-year-old Linda became nostalgic while she was narrating her childhood days in Bihar.

''Britishers respect India's culture and its people and I would love to come here again and again,'' she said.

UNI