Life gave my little brother lemons and he continued making lemonade. Rakesh and I grew up in a joint family with chacha and chachi family, both of whom also joined him in his final journey beyond, within four days.
As a child Rakesh was shy and kept to himself. Usually, we were a whole lot of cousins in Lucknow who met and played outdoor games often in our huge lawn and indoor board games, his favourite being Buccaneers. Whenever, I went for a movie with my parents Rakesh would insist on a book. He always loved reading.The room we shared had a collage of Shabana Azmi, made by him.
Times were simple and it flew fast with school, homework and different set of friends. When I got married in 1976, Rakesh was entering college life and we were totally involved in our new lives. He visited me in Bangalore and Patiala and we kept in touch via letters. His writing was awful so he often typed his letters to me...I still have them.
1983 onwards we were both in Delhi and spent a lot of time together. When his first marriage broke we were by his side. When he built a home again we were thrilled. His career in Nestle grew and all was well till some differences with the boss unsettled him and he unwillingly had to leave. He never could accept leaving Nestle. It was his first love as it had given him financial independence. He started becoming a mental wreck. He joined Pepsi but his emotions got the better of him. He was secretive and seldom shared his thoughts or dreams, mostly writing them down and keeping a diary. His journey with bipolar began and the heavy drugs kept pulling him down as he started Finedge. He believed in equality, but hated it when I started rebelling against "male glorification" and stopped tying rakhee and putting tikka. However, we always spent the day together, without the ritual.!When his second marriage broke after seventeen years and he had to move out of  Noida, he was shattered but as an exemplary son took on the responsibility of looking after my ailing father and distraught mother in rented accomodation till my father passed away a year later.. My mother moved back to Lucknow and he was left alone. We suggested he move to my parents apartment in Gurgaon but he didnt want to deprive my mother of rent there. When my husband explained that money should not be given importance in close relationships, it took him just a day to get his act together and made a quick decision. He moved to World Spa and often thanked us for "helping him settle there". Very house proud, Rakesh spent a good 11 years having enjoyable parties and being part of a large, happy community. He was always ready for outings and greeted friends and family with gifts. We met often but unfortunately, loneliness and mental disturbances began showing up more frequently. We saw him transformed from a handsome fun person to a quiet, ill man. It pained us to see him like that. But he never lost the power to "live life kingsize". Perhaps, God needed him more and took away the best along with a part of us. But Rakesh has not gone forever  he has just gone before ....like a leader that he was. Miss him immensely.

I was Raucous’s roommate in the first year of college. During this period, we became the best of friends. In fact, I was the only one he would share his ‘tuck’ with- the jams, jellies and cakes from Lucknow. He was very intelligent, full of wit, playful and a simple soul and had this tremendous infectious smile which always brought in cheer. After college, for many years, though we were in different cities, we kept in touch and would always catch up, whenever I visited Delhi. After 2014, when I was posted in Delhi, we met regularly – he was indeed a wonderful human being, very warm, a man of great substance, fun loving and truly endearing. Whenever I hear the Beatles, I remember Raucous because every morning, in college, we used to listen to the Beatles. My favourite which will always remind me of him is Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles (see embedded image) His loss is a big jolt to us; I shall always cherish my friendship with him. May his soul rest in peace.

Shortly after we joined Nestle , we noticed that Rakesh was upto something ... as lunchtime would approach , he’d make a number of short , mysterious calls , complete with occasional scribbled notes in a special pad and then on some days would disappear for the duration . He’d brush off all our attempts to figure this one out . 
So , ofcourse one day we decided to follow him , while he strolled briskly halfway around Connaught circus , dodging up a small discreet  staircase and into a small set of of fairly disreputable rooms .
That was our first intriguing glimpse of the mysterious world of stockbrokers and share markets . Of ‘ Dharampal associates’ and later the one and only ‘Kantibhai’ . Soon there were a bunch of us making regular broker visits and the  beginning of many adventures n misadventures in the ‘sharebazar’ over the years. We’re going to miss you buddy .