London-based daughter’s letter mourns parents with heartbreak and grace

You promised me on June 12 that we’d meet in the evening in London — and that evening never came," wrote a grieving daughter in a heart-wrenching letter after losing both her parents in the Air India AI 171 crash. Hiral Adheda, based in London, had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of her parents, Vinaben and Vallabhbhai Adheda, when the plane tragically went down. 

Unable to come to terms with the loss, Hiral penned an emotional letter to her late parents and shared it with her sister in Vadodara, India. The deceased, Vinaben and Vallabhbhai Adheda, were residents of Vadodara. Vallabhbhai was a retired employee of the Gujarat Electricity Board. Hiral, who has been living in London for several years, often feared the day one of her parents would pass away, and who would take care of the other. Fate cruelly answered by taking both.

A copy of the heartfelt letter written by Hiral Adheda from London after losing her parents in the AI-171 crash

While Vallabhbhai’s body was identified through DNA testing, Vinaben’s remains are yet to be confirmed. The couple’s three daughters have decided to wait until both bodies are identified so they can bring them home together for the final rites.

In her emotional tribute, Hiral wrote:

To Mummy & Papa, 

While most parents are proud of their children, I am extremely proud of my parents. What an incredible life you both lived — truly self-made. 

You always said, “We will do everything by ourselves,” and you did. 

Your biggest worry was always, “What will happen to the other if one of us goes first?” And it seems destiny answered that by taking you both together. 

But you promised me on 12th June that we would meet in the evening, and that evening never came. 

I wish to have you both as my parents in all my future lives. 

Your loving daughter, Hiral Adheda.

A close relative added, “Last year, Hiral visited India and shared her fears about one parent being left alone. But fate took both of them together. The family is in deep trauma. We will wait and perform the last rites together once Vinaben’s body is identified.”