This memorial website was created in memory of my beautiful sister, Namrata Singh.
Tributes
Leave a tributeJai Shri Krishna
Sometimes, after people meet each other, they become friends, then – if they share enough ideas, stories, thoughts, food, debates, and laughs, and if circumstances allow it – they become good friends. Sometimes this transition can be pinned on a single moment – a joke, a smile, a night spent talking well past any reasonable bedtime. Other times, it’s a slow and steady accumulation of common ground. You realise all of a sudden that this person who was at first a colleague, or an associate of sorts, who became a friend, is now part of your inner circle.
For Doreen and me, it was the latter path. The transition happened sometime in 2008, the year in which we decided to move from the Philippines to Australia. When we made that decision, it was clearly the right one. By December, 2008 had shaped as our best year together since I arrived in the Philippines in 2003, and one of the best of our lives. Suddenly, neither Doreen nor I were quite so sure we were doing the right thing. A small group of friends were responsible for our doubt, Moni central among them.
Our memories of that year are a steady stream of days and nights filled with laughter, food, conversation and hilarity. We had forgotten how much we had loved that time until this week, when we dug up our photos from a decade ago. On a bittersweet night, nearly 16,000 kilometres from Rochester, we pored over images of Moni with us and the rest of that 2008 inner circle – her face smiling at us (always smiling), we smiling back through tears.
We saw Moni again in 2010, when we visited Los Baños from Australia. Next, on a work trip in 2013, with 36 hours in New York City on my way home, Moni made the trip down from Ithaca. Somehow we ended up at a friend of a friend’s party. Not knowing anybody else there, we sat on a balcony, overlooking some random New York street on a warm New York night, talking long into the next morning as the party ebbed and flowed around us. That was the last time Moni and I saw each other face to face. It is a wonderful memory.
This is what we think of when we think of Moni: eating together (she cooked far more meals for us than we for her); chai (she taught us how to make it properly); absurd (but hilarious to us) jokes; laughter; generosity (of food, of time, and most of all of spirit); and that famous smile (few people have one so large and warm and genuine).
We’ll miss you Moni. We’ll think of you often with smiles that, if we’re lucky, will be almost as big as yours.
Love,
Adam and Doreen
I am so sorry for her family and friends to loose her. We all will miss Moni so much.
My heart breaks for your loss. Moni and I got to know each other at "Bikram Hot Yogi" several years ago. We referred to each other as the "book ends" of the practice as we enjoyed the slighter cooler spots in the studio -- always laughing when we arrived and set our mats on those precious spots.
It was also very rewarding to hear about Moni's progress with her studies at Cornell.
The posted photos are beautiful tribute. They have made me smile after hearing this sad news.
With the kindest regards and sincerest sympathy,
Judy
With lots of love for her, her family and all that loved her.
Sigrid
Namrata brightened the world with her smile. She lived and died a fighter - living on her own terms, making her own rules, never abandoning her passion for living her best life. She doted on her friends. She showered love on her family. Her heart revolved around her niece. She connected with people instantly and left a lasting impression on their lives. She was generous with her love and attention. She will be forever loved and missed by every person whose life she touched.
Moni was a brilliant scientist and gifted researcher - passionate about cutting-edge agricultural research that would help farmers around the world. Her face always lit up when she talked about science, genetics, DNA, rice or the latest research revelations in her field. She wanted to devote her life to academia and research.
Even though the last years of her life were clouded by an uphill battle with cancer, she never let her spirits be dragged down by disappointment and pain. She faced her health challenges the same way she faced all of life’s struggles - with a fierce will and unflinching courage.
I will carry her in my thoughts, actions and life as long as I live. She will live in my daughter’s smile and laughter. She left an indelible impact on our hearts and lives. Her absence leaves a void that can never be filled but I know she will watching over me forever. I love you, sis.
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A GIST
Katie Wuori: I met Moni in the Philippines at IRRI when I was a teacher at the Brent Satelite School. We quickly became friends and one of the few people to change the path of my life in a positive way. Moni was the reason I literally went around the world, know how to cook with spices and teach my students to become part of the solution, not the problem.
The following is an activity I do with my fifth and sixth-grade social studies class when we look at current events. It helps the long-winded students shorten their words and pick the most important (which I found was happening with me trying to share my feelings about Moni with you) and it gives a focus for those who don’t know what to write. It’s called a 20-word GIST (although mine is a few words past twenty).
Who: Namrata Singh
What: During her celebration of Life
Where: All around the world
When: February, 1st 2019
Why: People around the globe are honoring her life.
How: Through personal grief, public gatherings, family and friends' homes, social media and more.
My GIST about Moni:
Purple, loving, smiling, giving, real, spices, adventures, bending social norms, laughing, easy-going, dedicated, big tables of food surrounded with lots of friends, strong, stubborn, hard-worker, card-player, true friend, peace
Love you long time my friend.