Uddhav collects Bal Thackeray's ashes

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday collected the ashes of his father and Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray in two urns, a day after his mortal remains were consigned to flames at Shivaji Park here.

Uddhav visited Shivaji Park, which saw the public cremation of the 86-year-old party founder Sunday in the presence of over two million supporters, and collected the ashes of his father.

A team of priests accompanied him as he collected the ashes amidst chanting of holy mantras.

"One of the urns will be kept for two days at the party headquarters - Sena Bhavan - in Dadar in central Mumbai for all those who missed attending his funeral procession. The other urn will be kept at the Thackerays' residence, Matoshri," a party official said.

After two days, Thackeray's ashes will be immersed in a holy river and last rites be conducted. The spot for the immersion is not known yet.

A day after the funeral, Mumbai crawled back to normalcy with buses and autorickshaws back on roads. However, trade unions and wholesalers chose to observe 'Shradhanjali Diwas' (a day of homage) Monday and kept their establishments closed as a mark of respect for the Shiv Sena patriarch.

Various organisations of traders and dealers affiliated to the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM), including Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) and markets dealing in grains, sugar, dry fruits, metal, iron and steel and chemicals, remained closed.

The retail and wholesale jewellery market - the famed Zaveri Bazar - and all other jewellery units also remained shut Monday.

All educational institutes including schools and colleges also remained closed on Monday owing to the call given by various bus owners' associations of the city and state.