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Rakesh lives forever in our heart and mind

May 22, 2021
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.

Raucous's Loss is Truly Devastating - Ranjit Pachnanda

May 10, 2021
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.

May 9, 2021
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 . 

A tribute to the scion of Kotra

May 7, 2021
Rakesh and I grew up together in Lucknow. Harish uncle and Malti aunty were household names in our home; Piyusha was always at arms length - respected as the elder sister. Then there was La Martiniere and St Stephen’s; we had homes near each other in GK II; there was golf in NOIDA and in London & finally together again in Gurgaon. And as the passage of time kept bringing us together Kirti, Madhav, Siddharth and my family’s lives continued to intertwine. Our friendship as individuals and families in its own special way perpetuated the vicissitudes of life.

Meher, Kabir, Akbar and I loved Rakesh. He shall always have a special place in our hearts. …..Rakesh embodied the true Lucknow “hum”….. “the Royal hum”. After all, he was the scion of Kotra. Stately and imposing in the kurtas he loved to wear. And you could never rush Rakesh, matters moved at an imperial pace – at his pace! His hearty laugh and smile lit up his face and those around him – and there is no greater memory than the sound of his laughter as he chased Akbar all over the house. Good food was always an important topic - true to his roots it was always pulao, korma and kebabs. And the mangoes showed up each year…..I could go on…

I am fortunate and privileged to remember Rakesh through most phases of our lives. Given our recent house move I can’t locate the treasure trove of videos and photos, especially of London, that will eventually surface….but until then saying goodbye this soon feels wrong. So instead, I'll just say “I love you” and know you are with me always   



The Meaning of Friendship

May 7, 2021
It is hard for me to sort out the jumble of memories that I have of my friend Rakesh “Raucous” Seth.Although we were at St. Stephen’s together and did Economics from 1975-78 we never really knew each other at that time because we were in different sections that had little to do with each other.So I would say our real friendship dates back to the time that he moved to World Spa and reached out to me again.I was happy to have a college batch mate who was a neighbour but it was a complicated relationship because of his severe bipolar disorder.As his nearest port of call I did what I could to help him through the bad times along with his network of devoted friends from the old days. Most of them I got to meet in person at his son Prashant’s wedding in Hua Hin in November 2017 (see photo) and they are a wonderful bunch of people.Rakesh was indeed fortunate to have such friends to support him through his life and he never ever forgot it.One of the projects I worked on with him which brought him much joy was organising the successful reunion of the Stephen’s Class of 1978 in 2011 at Dublin at the Maurya Sheraton. Rakesh worked tirelessly to reach out to people and persuade them to come for the event.His alumni connections were so very critical to him – La Marts, Stephen’s and Bajaj.I was always amazed at the range of friends and colleague he kept in touch with. The outpouring of love and affection on this memorial website is testimony to that.

Rakesh was a generous, kind and loyal friend.I learnt a lot through him in terms of what the meaning of friendship really is. And I knew he would always reciprocate as best he could and that I could count on him whether it was to borrow his faithful driver Bhogender (to whom he owed so much) or to send food across during the pandemic.My family and I spent countless dinners together at his place in Spa (and a few at ours) and he was always so very happy to see us.Often he would be struggling with an episode but we would just sit in silence and keep each other company. We had a shared love of classic rock and I remember him once insisting that all he wanted for his birthday was a battered old CD set of Classic Rock Greatest Hits that I had! Generous to a fault he would always insist on the JB Black being laid out and the delicious kebabs (made by Baij his other stalwart home support) or khao suey on the table.Sometimes he would fall asleep over dinner because of all the drugs in his system and we would leave quietly.

I often wondered what would become of him as he grew older but now Fate has played its hand in taking him away from us.I am absolutely sure he is in a better and happier place now.Our love, condolences and always our friendship and support to Aunty Malti, Prashant, Madhav, Siddharth, Piyusha, Kirti, Sana and the rest of the family.

In sadness and grief.......Ranjan, Saroj, Tarini and Mallika








May 7, 2021
I did not know Rakesh, having met him at college reunions a couple of times, and having exchanged only a casual "hi" or two in the corridors of College.

But I knew of him from many of my friends. To them, Raucus was a constant source of good cheer and companionship, and each of them spoke fondly of his friendship.

A good and kind soul, then. The most admirable of qualities in us mortals.

My condolences to the family.

Rest in peace, Rakeshwar Dayal Seth.

Morning has broken

May 6, 2021
Circa 1976, one mid-summer we organised a star gazing night. A couple of us (Dhaiya, Satmat, I & ?) - lugged a few mattresses, a giant speaker and a battered cassette player (with fresh batteries), and some smokes up on the Muk West rooftop and set up the scene. After dark, the party started - cool music & smokes under the milky way (yes - in those days stars were always there to see). Somehow Ruckus found us and to our amazement - he "joint" into the fun with full gusto and soon was blown over. He took over as the DJ and for the rest of the night, we only heard - "I shot the sheriff". Towards twilight, the sky turned a deep blue inspiring Ruckus shift to "Morning has broken".... just before sunrise, we scrambled back down with our gear  - before the block gyps reported on duty. What a night!

Ruckus never forgot the experience and always talked about it.  Heres are some of his last his last messages on the matter.

Take care Buddy - enjoy the other world! We'll certainly miss you a lot:(



The man on the roof

May 5, 2021
Rakesh , to us , is and was a prince. when we were in London , Venky and I had gone for lunch with Kirti and Rakesh and suddenly I spotted a man on his roof. When I told Rocky , he said oh that’s my landlord, part of the rent agreement is that he maintains the lawn. I was absolutely amazed at his capacity to pull this off.
He always kept in touch and visited us on holi too. 
this summer there will be mangoes but not from you dear Rakesh. RIP dear friend . 

Rakesh to Raucous

May 5, 2021
I met Rakesh along with his best buddie Patchy, when I just joined college. My brother vijay had ragged them when they were freshers so i was the payback guinea pig. They made me sing many songs - mostly Jethro Tull and we all had a good laugh. Then met him again when I joined Nestle and he was product manager for Every day and Nestum and Cerelac.
And then he guided me along a little as he educated me about the wheels within wheels at Nestle. We remained in touch on an off whilehe was with Pepsi and Fine Edge and then used to meet up in Gurgaon
 many years of puns, repartee, jokes and reminisces and laughs. Rakesh became Raucous to me over the years and we would always have a good laugh. Will miss you Everyday now Rocks. keep smiling.

A calm presence

May 5, 2021
I had the pleasure of knowing and interacting with Rakesh during my life at WorldSpa. He was always a happy presence in our get togethers especially the holi ones. My wife Mallika recalls how in one of those holi festivities Rakesh managed to spill some good quality food on her head! Malllika laughs about it and says that it was impossible to get mad at Rakesh! My memory of Rakesh is also that if he was not being calm it is because he was busy laughing or smiling! God bless his soul. Lots of love and very best wishes to his sons Madhav, Siddharth and Prashant. Raghu (and Mallika)

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