Remembering her...on friendship day!

5th august 2007

Enu
My friend.
A friend as a friend should be.
With her I learnt that friendship has no dimensions.
That it is a deep bond that touches the heart and yet is so easy and hassle free!
And that it does not matter whether you meet every day or after a gap of years.
Friends always remain friends.

We first met about twenty seven years ago in Bhusawal where our husbands were posted at that time. There were few families in our township during those days and we used to meet often at get togethers and parties. Soon we realized that we had similar hobbies and interests and we started planning combined activities.
During the day, we would plan, design and make outfits for our children, bake cakes and decorate them for birthdays, and together preserve seasonal fruits and veggies in the form of jams, jellies, purees, sauces, squashes and pickles. We would help each other in preparing for festivals and share our recipes of sweets and snacks and join forces to cook for the frequent parties that we indulged in.
In the evenings we went for walks together with our spouses and kids and would often meet again for coffee after dinner, and talked about everything under the sun...we discussed our future plans shared our dreams, sought solutions to our problems and of course gossiped to our hearts content.
We were separated in 1983 because our husbands were transferred to different cities .We were not able to maintain much communication during the subsequent years, busy as we were in coping with transfers and the needs of our growing families. Even after coming to Delhi we could not meet often due to the distances and busy schedules.
The call of Modicare brought us close again in 1996 and we met as if the gap of thirteen years had never been there! Our children were quite grown up by then, and even though Enu was teaching in a school, we found time to be together and plan the business which we were sure would make our dreams come true.

The hard work paid off and finally came the day when we with our spouses were invited to take fully paid three day cruise from Singapore with a stopover at Bangkok on the return trip. She was childlike in her excitement at her first flight and her first visit abroad. It was a wonderful holiday that we had together. The business had to take a back seat after that as we became busy in other family commitments but we met regularly and our ties became stronger.
By this time our friendship had matured and I admired her not only for her skills but also for her lovable nature. She was a totally selfless person with no ego, always ready to fulfill her obligations towards family and friends, whether it was for treatment and care of her parents, the wedding of her husband's neice or the education of her nephew......she opened her house for all who needed assisstance.

She and Bhaiya came bearing gifts on festivals and occasions without any expectations for returns. She always welcomed our visits even though she had a busy schedule due to her job, ever ready with a snack or a meal. She was an appreciative person and expressed her delight at a thoughtful gesture or gift.

We had a lot of trust in each other and shared our joy when our children achieved their goals and unflinchingly poured our hearts out when we were anguished.
We would discuss and make plans for our children’s weddings and plan our purchases for the events. Often when we sat together we would make plans for our post retirement lives, when we would form a group with like minded people and live close by and meet everyday and have combined outings and holidays

But God willed otherwise.

Enu was diagnosed with breast cancer .She bravely underwent the surgery and subsequent therapies. A devout follower of Shri Nirmala Mataji, she drew courage and hope from her prayers and got cured and even started working again. Such is the miracle of faith.

But later she developed some complications and her health started deteriorating. I met her for the last time in November 2006. She was in considerable pain and discomfort even then, but put up a brave front for us. All the treatment and care could not save her and she succumbed to the disease in January. The news came as a shock, although I did fear for her life after that last meeting.
Her passing away has left me with an irreparable sense of loss.
I shall miss her always.

Happy friendship day Enu!!
.