A flickering candle casts a dim light on the photo of 12-year-old Akash Patni, a pensive look on the face of the Indian boy who died in a plane crash that has left his family inconsolable.

He is among dozens of people who died on June 12 when Air India flight 171 smashed into buildings in a neighbourhood of Ahmedabad, in the western state of Gujarat.

Since the disaster six months ago, Akash's parents and four siblings have gathered every day to pray in front of his picture, placed on a shelf in a corner of the small, dark space that serves as their living room.

"My son was sitting near the tea stall when a part of the plane fell on him... there was smoke and fire everywhere and nobody could go near the site," said the father, Suresh Patni, a 48-year-old tea vendor.

"The boy was burnt t

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