I always thought of her as Gudiya, who had grown up to be Cheistha. But still an innocent, talented, naughty, witty and extremely helpful , caring, and cheerful girl, and we kept giving her parental love and guidance. I knew she was doing well, but she was so humble. We only knew of her total proffessional achievements in passing.
As I sit here in London and meet her professors, her friends , colleagues, and well wishers from not only LSE but from all stages of her life starting with primary school , I am dumbstruck.
Is this Cheistha, our daughter? She had achieved so much in this short span, both professionally and academically. More importantly, she has very positively touched everyone she came across. Many people are writing how she helped them, their children, and just anyone, including stray puppies. She took up cudgels for any cause and any victimised person without caring for herself. We knew that gender bias was something she never tolerated.
Her warmth in all circles is now being felt - our daughter had truly transcended from the mundane to sublime. Her words "to create something that lasts longer than you do " are prophetic and profound almost as if coming from a Guru.
Cheistha, we could never have taught you all this. We are normal parents - you became angelic on your own. I remember you telling us to uphold our dignity and stature and not retaliate to inappropriate people in their kind and manner. We saw you practicing it yourself.
She was very strong but affectionate; intelligent but humble, and compassionate to the extent of taking on problems of others as her own; resolute and determined and overall very nationalistic. The outpourings of grief coming in are global. Didn't know you were so global.
But your steadfast desire of coming back to India and doing something for our country was well known. Some of your long-term plans now unfold as we talk to your circle. Money and glamour never interested you as it does many at your age. Small things like a collection of hundreds if keyrigs remembering history of each, playing with dogs mimicking their howls on video, your tremendous touching organisational skills - I remember how you secretly mobilized a large middle aged group for a surprise celebration of our silver anniversay and your Moms birthday, singing a tribute for us and making your brother join in - first time we heard you sing. No one has ever seen you without a genuine, warm, helping smile and positive energy wherever you have been, whether for family, friends, or just anyone.
In 2014, you sat under a tree teaching underterpriveled children - the American school in the neighborhood offered you a job just seeing your dedication.
Your articulation and captivating public talks were seen by me on some occasions. Pondicherry Univ was one where you took the stage spontaneously while attending my talk. Best accolades came to you. Saw this agin in Anubhav Lecture series you started in UChicago centre at Delhi.
Your out of the box ideas are legend. When in college, you started Feed India, printind ads an reverse of photocopy paper to earn for studentvwelfare activities; suggested replacing simple faucet knobs , which were repeatedly gettig vandalised in public places, with knobs endorsed with diety figures, suggesting how rural women accept fortified rice and so on.
Concierges, tea stall vendors, peons, carpentors, and guards are one end of the spectrum who have been touched by you. Senior bureaucrats in India and abroad, well known Academic dons are the other end of the spectrum who hold you in very high esteem personally I would never have had the occasion to make a presentation to the current Prime Minister. You did it with ease and confidence. You had an innate ability to engage a person at his or her level of requirement. Very rare indeed. Dont know where you learnt it.
Sometimes, I wonder if you were only 33. Yes you were. Talking in past tense about you is very hurtful, though.
We have seen you pulling casual pranks like going and sitting in the class of your elder brother, embarrasing him (you were in class 2 then). Your ganging up with Raghav to play boisterous Holi, your sublime rangoli and house dcorations during Diwali, your exquisite henna designs on your mothers hand, your keeping Navratra fasts, your becoming a very good cook - your tomato paratha is still not replicable, your unhessitatingly doing the dishes when required, your taking control of nursing us all back from covid when you yourself were suffering. The treating physician Dr Kaul, was also in awe of how well you organizedvthe reporting. Marvellous.
We remember all this and more and will now live with these memories. Undoubtedly, you were the life and centrepiece of every gathering. And yet you had smiling and personalised time for everything.
Your friends, now as I see, are not casual friends. They would have given their life for you, and I dont think they would let your memory fade away. Don't know how as yet. We'll join hands with them for sure.
A daughter was born in our family after many years - she was the first and got a very special welcome for sure. Cheistha - you were our dear biological child, and we are proud to know that in all your circles, you vehemently ascribed the germination and growth of your sterling qualities to your grandparents who stayed with us, nee you, us and your brother.
However, you are a proud and capable Indian daughter to the entire world. Outpourings of griief laced with awe, respect, and immense love from across the globe bear testimony to this. Had you been with us, our nation would have gained.
Your desire to go back to India will be honored beta. But not in the way we would have wanted it to be. God has been unkind to you, to us and to all your well wishers around the world.
We didn't know of your silent achievements in toto, but we knew our daughter, and she knew us and cared for us. You were always at the bedside of Mummiji and Papaji throughout their illness. Fellow patients recount how you looked after them, cheered them up, and got them into animated discussions, which acted as a balm for them. You sacrificed your studies for that. We remember how you saved us in the fire incident, how you mobilized best of doctors for me in 12 hours during my cadiac issue, literally carried me in the boot of a car when I was fully immobilized for many days, how you evacuated your mom from a road accident when you could hardly see because your specs had been damaged; how your nursed your husband back to health all alone in London. And you have done similar things for all who needed help.
Your naivety also came to the fore some times - you bought potatatoes for your grandfather thinking they were chickoos which he liked; your ringing up your mom from Singapore asking here how many kilos of gold she wanted not knowing gold is sold in grams, or when you drank kerosine in a water bottle in Sonmarg thinking it to be water and had to be rushed to hospital. Many more.
We also remember some worrisome moments - how you contacted covid while nursing your maternal grandmother in hospital and got into an ICU where docs were not sure you would pull through. Or when you got washed away when your boat capsized in Goa. You took a child to safety before yourself and in the bargain got washed away. But fortunately, a bush saved you. Or when, as a toddler, you got lost when you were just 5 when you didn't get off the school bus at the stop because you were as usual chatting and got off at a very desolate place later. Providence helped then, but not this time.
We remember with awe and pride how you transformed a bachelor's den into the most well laid out affectionate home after marriage. Your penchant for detail and cheerfulness is evident hent here in your London home too. We were happy to see both of you happily settled in London when we visited you at the end of Feb this year. Your well laid plans for our stay got severely cutailed because you mom fell sick, but you quickly and smilingly kept us fully occupied and nursed. We were eagerly waiting for your visit starting 5 Apr - God had other plans.
I'm not certain if a day had only 24 hours for you too, seeing what all you did.
We will miss your daily calls, your zesty, cheerful talk, and care. You blinket delivery of flowers and mundane orders of even daily requirements for us, and your in-laws showed how much you cared and how your good nature kept you connected to us and all you knew 24x7.
TIME can blur but can never heal this blow for us. Be happy wherever you are till we meet again.
