Shiva and Praba I could never ever mention one without the other. I met Shiva in the first year near Lakshmi Complex while searching for a phone booth to call my dad urgently. Shiva took me to his uncle’s place and I made the call. He was always my buddy, Narmada’s friend. However, it all changed in 2006, Praba, Shiva Roy, Sabitha, Srini and I , developed a deep bond, as it included our families our bond was further cemented . College introduced him but for the last 14 years we always knew what was happening in each other’s lives daily. Shiva was our favourite target and the butt of all our jokes and fun resulting in us rolling with laughter as he was extremely sportive.
Our conference calls would make heads turn as to why we are laughing so much. He was also a busy body and would rattle off 200 plans a minute and we used to cancel everything and finally he would agree to what we wanted. He loved to micromanage his children and that made us laugh as he used to try the same with us even if we plan a lunch or dinner. He also had this amusing habit of ordering food excessively.
We used to fight like kids and today I wish he was there to keep telling us what to do or not to do. Shiva used to have a strange mannerism of shaking one shoulder and adjusting his collar on that side – a unique trait. Affectionate and sensitive Shiva was always very loyal. He would never tolerate anyone hurting anyone close to his heart. Similarly, he could never stay angry for long. He was forever a multi-tasker much as we used to keep asking him to slow down.
Shiva gave without expecting anything in return. He was there by our side if anyone was sick. He took great pain to ensure we were always comfortable. Jeyanthi his wife used to admire the way we bonded and Shiva always insisted on doing everything for her too. It was like he wanted to give all his love to all of us around him knowing his time was short. Suddenly, in just five minutes he was gone a fatal massive heart attack took him away from us. It is unbelievable that just two days before that happened we were laughing our heads off discussing of how when we get old we will trip him with a walking stick. God brought Shiva and Praba into our lives to show us what selfless friendship is all about. Not a day passes without thinking of them. Wish you were here Shiva to fight, talk of your 200 plans per minute, order all what you want and try to micro manage everything for everyone. We miss you very much and till we meet on those beautiful shores, bye!
