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3 Out of 9 Carnage Victims in Atlanta Had Ties With India

Arthur J Pais

On Sundays, Ayodhyarama Sharma, the priest at the Hindu Temple in Atlanta, would usually spend many hours chatting with friends and visitors. This Sunday was different. Sharma drove 30 miles to Carmichael Funeral Home in the suburban Peachtree City where he joined hundreds mourning the loss of the only woman killed in Thursday's rampage that made headlines in many countries.

Vadewattee Muralidhara, 44, a devout Hindu, had moved into Atlanta with Krishna Gopal, a paediatrician, and their two children, Rishi, 18, and Arti, 20, about three months ago from a small Georgia city

She was among the nine people killed at random by Mark O Barton, a day trader who had lost over $100,000 in recent days, and whose marriage had been crumbling. His first wife and her mother had been found hammered to death many years ago and though the police considered Barton a prime suspect, they lacked the evidence to press charges against him.

Barton, who had also killed his wife and two pre-teen children before launching his rampage but he had left a note on his computer warning that he was going to kill those who, as he put it, "greedily sought my destruction."

But when the stock trader started blasting away at people in two brokerage offices, his targets were anyone who caught his attention. Later, as hundreds of police officers began fanning out across the city looking for him, he shot himself in their presence, nearly five hours after his last victim had died.

Two other people who succumbed to bullets also had Indian connections. Dean Delawalla, an Ismaili Muslim from Pakistan, often helped his wife, a physician, to organize medical events for the immigrant community. And another victim, Jamshid Havash, 44, had his college education in India.

As people in Atlanta are trying to make some sense of the tragedy, mayor Bill Campbell has announced an interfaith prayer meeting, possibly on Wednesday. The Hindu Temple will be one of the participants. Some metro Atlanta religious leaders on Sunday used their services to discuss the slayings. The Rev Randy Stamper at Faith Free Full Gospel Church said: "Some people seem to lose all hope, and they don't have any major foundation in life but money. When he (Barton) lost that, he lost it all."

Vadewattee Murlidhara was believed to have been from India or Sri Lanka, according to earlier accounts but her husband, who is from Karnataka, said she was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She had been a trainee at All-Tech brokerage for a few days. Earlier, a company spokesperson had wrongly said that she was a computer trainee.

"She was a very caring woman, a good mother and wife who would do anything for her family," said a cousin, Shantsa Raju. "She was trying to learn something new now that her children are in college." The local newspapers gave her husband's name as Kesturkoppal but family friends said the name Krishna Gopal got corrupted when he studied and worked in Trinidad.

Sharma conducted prayers for an hour. The body will be flown to Trinidad on Tuesday, Subash Razdan, community leader and former president of the National Federation of Indian Associations, said.

"When we heard of what has happened to the family, we offered to send the priest from the temple," he said. "That was the least thing we could do." The family had not yet started getting to know the Indian community, he said. "From what I have heard, we would all have loved to meet with the entire family and know them. Now, we extend our welcome and offer our prayers for the surviving members."

On Saturday afternoon, more than 2,400 mourners gathered for the burial of Dean Delawalla, 52, a former attorney, who turned a businessman few years ago. He was a day trader at one of the two brokerage firms devastated by Barton's attacks.

Delawalla had been looking forward to his daughter's fourth birthday party but he was shot dead a few hours before the celebrations were to begin.

"I had called on that family many times to discuss community activities with my former student, Gulshan Harjee, who was Dean's wife," said Dr Ravi Sarma.

"But this week, like hundreds of people in the Indian community, we tried in our own ways to share her unspeakable sorrow." Dr Harjee is a regular guest on the weekly Namaste Bombay television show, and has been active in the Indian and Pakistani communities helping, among other things, bone marrow donation drives.

Delawalla and Harjee migrated from Pakistan.

"Our community is like a family," said Ray Virani, who grew up with Delawalla in Pakistan. "When one of us is hurt, we all come together."

Echoing those thoughts, Dr Sarma said: "We considered them our own people too. Their generosity and community spirit enriched us all."

The couple have two children: Faisal, 15, and Shayla, 4.

"He had an open heart," Virani said. "He would help anybody who needed it."

Razdan echoed those thoughts. "He supported his wife in all her humanitarian work. Her generosity was like an open ocean. But remember that he nourished her good work."

"If God wanted the best, he got one of the very best," Virani said.

Next story: Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Akram, Moin Foil Dream Of Joint Indo-Pak Team

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