On January 14, 2020, we woke up to a piece of sad news as Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor’s sister, Ritu Nanda passed away after battling with cancer. Hailing from the famous Kapoor family, Ritu got married to Rajan Nanda and they were blessed with two children, Nikhil Nanda and Natasha Nanda. The 71-year-old took her last breath after fighting cancer for 6 years. Ritu was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, post which she had headed off to the US for the treatment. Her last rites will be performed at the Lodhi Road cremation ground in Delhi. (Also Read: Raj Babbar Pens Down An Emotional Note For His Wife, Smita Patil On Her 33rd Death Anniversary)
Ritu Nanda’s niece and Rishi Kapoor’s daughter, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni took to her Instagram to mourn the death of her bua with an emotional note. Riddhima wrote, "To the kindest most gentle person I‘ve ever met - They don’t make them like you anymore - RIP bua #missyoualways." Ritu’s brother and veteran actor, Randhir Kapoor confirmed the news with the Indian Express and was quoted as saying, "Ritu Nanda passed away early morning today. She was suffering from cancer. We are in Delhi. The funeral is today."
Ritu Nanda’s sister-in-law, Neetu Kapoor too, shared the news of her demise on Instagram through a heartfelt post. Neetu’s post could be read as “My dearest may your soul Rest In Peace." Ritu’s samdhi and Shweta Bachchan Nanda’s father, Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of his daughter’s mother-in-law. Big B wrote on his blog, “My ‘samdhan’ Ritu Nanda, Shweta’s Mother in Law passed away suddenly at 1.15 Am .. cannot communicate .. travelling.”
A few months back, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Nikhil Nanda’s kids, Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda had spent quality time with their paternal grandmother, Ritu Nanda and aunt, Nitasha Nanda. Navya could be seen sitting beside her grandma on the armchair, and it was everyone’s beautiful smile that had all our heart! (Also Read: Anushka Sharma Gives Peck To Emotional Virat Kohli After Hearing Incident About His Father's Demise)
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When Rishi Kapoor was fighting with cancer in the US, he had acknowledged the immense support he had received from his family including wife, Neetu Kapoor, children, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Ranbir Kapoor and sister, Ritu Nanda. Revealing how the tough phase had brought the family together, Rishi ji had stated in an interview with the Mumbai Mirror, “Yes, all my siblings, my children and Neetu in particular, who has been like a solid rock, have been around me, supporting me through all this. Right now, my daughter and grand-daughter are with me. Ranbir keeps coming every five-six weeks. I am overjoyed by all the love and concern, the solidarity of my family. Here I have to make a special mention of my niece Natasha and my elder sister Ritu Nanda who is also here for the same reason. They were our anchors who kept Neetu and me going. When your anxiety is so high you need this kind of support and such motivational people around.”
Daughter of Raj Kapoor, Ritu Nanda was chairwoman and chief executive officer of Ritu Nanda Insurance Services (RNIS). She was honoured with the Brand and the Best Insurance Advisor of the Decade awards from the Life Insurance Corporation of India and had entered the Guinness Book of Records for selling 17,000 pension policies in a single day. Believer of spiritualty and follower of Shirdi Sai Baba, Ritu Nanda, in an interview with The Indian Express had retorted when asked why she had to go through the suffering and illness, “That is my karma. I had to. As long as He is there to hold my hand while I go through it all, I know I will be ok. For five years I had all those pre-stroke events, without even realizing. It was my God looking after me.”
When asked, “Why did your father have to go so early?” Ritu Nanda was quoted as saying, “His time was up. We all come and go when it’s meant to. I have two children and I lost one. I didn’t even see the face of that baby, who was not viable. I really suffered, till one day a lady came and said, being born, living, dying are not in our hands, it’s all Gods will, we are just a medium. Think about it, if the child had been six months old and had died, you would have suffered more, if the child had been a year old, you would have suffered even more, if he had been two you have suffered much more, ten years and died even more! So think yourself as fortunate. We are born to die. We all live by our karmas. I brought this soul on this planet, which was my role. And it will come back. Thinking that way is how I came to terms with what happened in my life, especially as I went through series of quite difficult times.” (Also Read: Chetan Hansraj On Kushal Punjabi's Suicide, Reveals That He Was Disturbed From Separation With Wife)
It is indeed an irreparable loss for the Nanda and Kapoor family. We wish them loads of strength to sail through this turbulent time.
