The Silence After the Song: A Family's Grief Over Bhishma Rajyaguru

The tragedy that occurred near Lumsden, Saskatchewan, on July 18 is often framed by the identity of the driver involved. As CBC first reported, the RCMP stated that Saskatchewan Roughrider Jayden Dalke was driving the wrong way on a divided highway and had alcohol and cannabis in his SUV when he crashed into the vehicle of Bhishma Rajyaguru. Emergency responders pronounced both men dead at the scene.

But for the family of Bhishma Rajyaguru, the horror of the accident is eclipsed by the sudden, violent erasure of a future. In April 2022, Bhishma, 22, arrived in Canada to pursue his studies. He had not returned home to India since that departure, leaving his father, Ashish Rajyaguru, to remember a goodbye at the airport defined by a forced smile and a hope for a swift reunion.

Reporting from CBC News reveals the intimate, shattered quiet now filling the Rajyaguru home. Ashish describes his morning walks as quieter without his son's chatter. He recalls Bhishma’s ambition—a desire to become so successful that Google would feature a personalized snippet of him. In a poignant reflection, Ashish noted in Gujarati that while Bhishma’s name now appears on Google, he is no longer here.

For Bhishma's 19-year-old sister, Hir Rajyaguru, the grief is marked by the cruelty of timing. Bhishma died just one month before Rakshabandhan, the Indian festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters. For four years, Hir had used video calls to pretend-tie a celebratory thread to her brother's wrist. CBC News reports that Bhishma had promised he would be physically present for this year's festivities. Hir instead tied the bracelet to her brother's wrist while he rested in his casket.

The shock of the loss was so profound that when the RCMP first called to notify the family, Hir initially believed the call was a fraud. Even after seeing photographs of the body, Hir told CBC News that the family clung to the hope that he was merely sleeping and would eventually wake up. It took more than two weeks for Bhishma's body to be returned to India following autopsies and tests.

Beyond his family, Bhishma is remembered by his peers as a percussionist in a Regina-based band and a reliable "3 a.m. friend." His bandmates had been anticipating a performance at Garba in the Park on July 25, an event that was ultimately postponed out of respect for the family and friends of the deceased.

Now, Hir Rajyaguru attempts to carry her brother's spirit forward by humming the tunes he used to play. She recalls Bhishma's desire for people to keep smiling even during their hardest moments, telling her parents that their son would not have wanted to see them cry.