LUCKNOW: They had vowed to spend the rest of their lives together. Nilesh Kumar, 27, and Anamika Samant, 30, had got engaged a few days ago and were due to get married soon. However, their dream went up in flames.The two were among 15 people who lost their lives in the Aliganj commercial building fire on Monday afternoon.Their shared story, which had just begun to unfold, was cruelly cut short even before they could say, ’till death do us part’.Nilesh, from the city, and Anamika, from Kolkata, would work in the same firm, Head Hoppers, which was located on the second floor of the building that was the worst hit in the fire. They met three years ago. What began as a friendship gradually blossomed into a relationship, eventually earning the approval of both families.Marriage discussions were underway, and relatives had already started preparing for the next chapter of their lives.Anamika’s kin said she started working as an instructor of 3D modelling and texturing artist and met Nilesh who also worked as 3D character artist in the same gaming studio.Anamika’s cousin Soumalya Bera (24) also worked in the same studio as 3D artist head. Bera graduated from a Gujarat institute in 2022 and joined this firm in June the same year. It was double tragedy for Anamika’s family as her cousin also perished in the fire.Just days before the tragedy, Anamika’s parents had travelled from Kolkata to Lucknow to meet Nilesh’s family. Relatives recalled a warm gathering where both families came together and discussed wedding plans. A small engagement ceremony was also held as the relationship moved closer towards formalisation.“We had already booked train tickets for a visit to West Bengal next week to take the marriage talks forward,” says Nilesh’s brother Abhishek. “Our house nowadays was abuzz with wedding discussions, travel plans and dreams of a shared future. However, those hopes were replaced by frantic phone calls, desperate searches for information and a heartbreaking wait outside the post-mortem house,” he adds.Nilesh’s kin Shubham Pushkar described him as a hardworking, ambitious and deeply committed to supporting his family. The second among three siblings, he was looking forward to a promotion and salary hike this year. According to relatives, Nilesh wanted to improve his financial position before getting married and was contributing to the construction of a new family house where he hoped to begin married life.His father Shatrughan Lal recalled that Nilesh had left home on Monday morning after seeking blessings from his parents, a routine gesture that unknowingly became their final farewell.By evening, the family was confronted with the devastating reality that he would never return. What had been a week of celebration and anticipation suddenly turned into one of unbearable grief.
