Raja had gone to the southeast Asian nation at the suggestion of his paternal uncle, Rahul Kumar, who lives there. The family had hoped that the job would give Raja, who had studied till Class 12, a chance to improve the family’s financial condition.

Raja had trained in yoga for four years before heading to Vietnam. His father is an electrician. “He was the one looking after the house and sending money. He was earning for the family,” Shubham said.

Raja used to speak to his family every day. His last conversations with them were ordinary ones: Asking his mother how she was, whether she had eaten and what she was doing.

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On the evening of September 25, Rahul said, it was raining heavily in Da Lat when Raja and Vinay were returning home after giving a yoga class. According to him, they were travelling on a company scooter when it slipped on the wet road and rammed into a car ahead of them.

Raja died on the spot, while Vinay was rushed to a hospital where he remained under treatment for two days before breathing his last.

Rahul said he is now trying to arrange for his nephew’s body to be brought back to India. “Whatever needs to be done, we are doing it,” Rahul told .

A difficult and expensive process

The process, however, has been difficult and expensive. Raja’s family was told that bringing his body back could cost around Rs 20 lakh. Rahul and his friends in Vietnam are arranging money and completing the paperwork there, while the family in Ranchi is seeking help from local officials and political representatives.

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“Everyone is running around, trying to get some help,” Shubham said.

Around 26 kilometres away, in Jamshedpur, the family of Vinay, 23, is going through a similar wait. His cousin Abhijit, who has been living in Vietnam for five to six years now, is helping with the arrangements to bring Vinay’s body back.

Abhijit said the exact circumstances surrounding Vinay’s death were still not clear to him. “The road was wet and the vehicle reportedly slipped before hitting another car. Vinay was first taken to a local hospital and later shifted to the main hospital…,” he told the .

Abhijit said the family in Jamshedpur has not yet been told the full truth about Vinay’s condition. “Only the men know the truth while his mother and other female members in the family know that he is under treatment. They are still hoping that their son will come back safely,” he said.

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“It is very difficult to hide it but it is also difficult to tell them that he is no more. All women in the family are praying and organising hawan for his recovery. I myself do not not know how many days it will take to bring the body… I am all alone here,” said Abhijit.

The process could take another five days, Abhijit said, adding the estimated cost of sending Vinay’s body to India is over Rs 10 lakh.

Both families said they are trying to approach officials in Jharkhand and the Indian authorities for help with the repatriation.

Shikha Lakra, head of the State Migrant Workers Control Room, told that Raja’s family had arranged around Rs 14 lakh required for the repatriation of his body. “We have not received an application from the second family (Vinay’s) yet. Raja’s body is expected to be brought back within a couple of days, after which the administration will look into reimbursing the amount,” she said.

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For young men like Raja and Vinay, going to Vietnam has been a way to find lucrative work, thousands of kilometres away from home. Abhijit, who has been teaching yoga for years, said there was demand for yoga instructors because people in Vietnam were increasingly conscious about fitness.

“They also see yoga as something that has come from India,” Abhijit said. That demand has brought several people from India, including from Jharkhand, to Vietnam to work as yoga instructors, he added.