Gone to the gulf The five Athekkatil brothers pictured with their father Kumaran, far left, and mother Lakshmikutty, far right. Pradeesh, Ramakrishnan, Unnikrishnan, Sethu and Rajesh all followed in their father’s footsteps by leaving southwest India to work in the Persian Gulf. (Ashiq MK for The Washington Post) For migrants and their families, there were drawbacks well before the pandemic. When the Athekkatil brothers talk about their father, Kumaran, it is with a sense of respect for his sacrifices in the gulf: the extreme heat, the long hours, the loneliness.