New Delhi: The loss of India's first ever elected prime minister was a big setback for the country. His ailing health conditions started in 1962 and he spent months trying to recover in Kashmir.After he returned from Kashmir in 1964, he had a stroke followed by a heart attack. He was declared dead in the afternoon of May 27th 1964.His last rites were performed in Delhi at Shantivan on the banks of river Yamuna. Thousands gathered at his funeral procession and also at the cremation ground. Let's have a look at the last journey of one the great leaders the country had ever produced.After Nehru's cremation, his ashes were taken to his family house in Allahabad. His urn was decorated with a large variety of flowers and was ferried by a special train.Thousands gathered at the New Delhi railway station to give final farewell to Pandit Nehru.All along the 450 km journey people flocked in large numbers to have a last glimpse of their leader's ashes. It was only at the time of Mahatama Gandhi's last journey, that Indians flocked in such large numbers to pay homage.People gathered all around the special train for hundreds of miles to have a glance at Nehru's urn and to meet his family.On arrival, the decorated urn was taken through the streets of Allahabad guarded by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, his grandsons Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi and the new prime minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri.The streets of Allahabad were filled with Nehru fans. The urn was then taken to Anand Bhavan, the place where Pt. Nehru spent his childhood days. The urn was then carried by Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi exactly to the place where Nehru used to sit when he visited Anand Bhavan.Pt. Nehru's grandson Rajiv Gandhi carries his urn into the special trainPeople paid tribute to their lost leader with flowers, prayers and tears.The ashes were then taken to Sangam, where the holy river Ganga, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati rivers meet and together flow towards their onward journey to the Bay of Bengal. Following Nehru's last will and testament, his ashes were scattered in the Sangam by his family marking the end of what we know as a great era of Indian politics.Pt. Nehru's urnThis is what Nehru wrote in his last will and testament on June 21, 1954: "When I die, I should like my body to be cremated. If I die in a foreign country, my body should be cremated there and my ashes sent to Allahabad. A small handful of these ashes should be thrown in the Ganga and the major portion of them disposed of in the manner indicated below. No part of these ashes should be retained or preserved."Crowd waits at the New Delhi Railway StationNehru also wrote: " My desire to have a handful of my ashes thrown in the Ganga at Allahabad has no religious significance, so far as I am concerned. I have no religious sentiment in the matter. I have been attached to the Ganga and the Jumna rivers in Allahabad ever since my childhood and, as I have grown older, this attachment has also grown."People wave at the special trainHe also wrote: "The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing and ever the same Ganga. She reminds me of the snow-covered peaks and the deep valleys of the Himalayas, which I have loved so much, and of the rich and vast plains below, where my life and work have been cast."Nehru finally wrote:"The major portion of my ashes should, however, be disposed of otherwise. I want these to be carried high up into the air in an aeroplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil of India and become an indistinguishable part of India."The crowded surrounded the train for hundreds of milesPt. Nehru's urn being carried on the streets of AllahabadRajiv Gandhi carries his grandfather's urn into the trainThe urn being guarded by Pt. Nehru's family while it was taken onto the streets of AllahabadPeople wait on the streets of Allahabad to have the last glimpsePt. Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi with her two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay guard the urnThe newly appointed Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shahstri also accompaniedAnand Bhawan, Pt. Nehru's family homeThe urn reaches Anand BhawanThe urn being carried by Rajiv and Sanjay GandhiLal Bahadur Shastri pays his last tributeThe people of Allahabad mourn the death of their leaderPeople pay tribute to Pt. NehruPeople at SangamBoats heading towards SangamThe boat carrying Pt. Nehru's ashes and his familyPt. Nehru's ashes scattered at Sangam
Updated on: May 29, 2013 14:49 IST
