THERE were tears and laughter last night as hundreds gathered at a Southampton temple to remember a city couple killed in a bus crash in India.

People from all faiths and backgrounds came together at the city’s Vedic Hindu Temple for the special service where prayers were also said for the couple’s little girl who was orphaned in the crash.

Anannya has undergone three operations since being rescued from the wreckage of the crash which claimed the lives of her dad and mum Roopesh and Kavita.

The nine-year-old is said to be responding well to treatment and is currently undergoing bone reconstructive surgery but she expected to be in hospital for several more months as doctors repair her damaged organs.

The youngster has not been told about her parents’ death as medics fear the news may affect her treatment.

Yesterday more than 250 of the family’s friends, colleagues and classmates prayed for the Anannya and spoke of their fond memories of her family at the special multi-faith service led by the temple’s priest Ritesh Bhatt.

One of the close family friends who helped organise the commemorations was Amol Khamkar who first met Roopesh at university in their native India.

He said: “We had a massive response. It brought people from all walks of life together to pay their respects.

“There were lots of tears and laughter too because Roopesh and Kavita both loved humour and people shared their stories and experiences of them.”

Among those at the service were Suzy Hayward, head teacher Bitterne Manor School, to where Anannya was due to return last week, along with representatives from Southampton City Council, where Roopesh, 38, worked as a senior social worker, and Southampton’s community radio station Unity 101 where Kavita, 37, presented a regular show.

As previously reported, the family had travelled to India for a holiday when the bus in which they were travelling overturned after colliding in the early hours of August 23.

Tributes have continued to flood in for the couple who were well known in the community.