MY FRIEND JAYA
I had known Jaya since our infancy; she was a year younger, my brother’s age. My father and Jaya's father had joined the company together and were friends. It was Jaya's father who mentioned the boarding school Nazareth in Ooty and the next year I was enrolled in the same class as Jaya. We were young children and I took comfort in
her friendship when I was thrust into the strange world of boarding schools and though we shared a family connection and a similar tongue it was our personal equation that bound us together.
Jaya and I were poles apart; she was gentle, I boisterous; she was diligent in her application, I was irreverent; she spoke softly while my laugh rattled the corridors. Our classmate Ruth writes from Bangalore, "About Jaya I should like to recall her gentleness, sweet disposition, strong sense of her own duty which did not, as often happens, becomes an occasion to judge others. It seems such a cruel shame that a person like her should suffer and be taken away so soon, from a world which can ill spare such people."
We were both vegetarians, a small minority in school and we struggled gamely with helpings of fruit, bread, butter and puddings. I was short and plump while Jaya grew lanky and tall moving to the end of the class line. Ana our classmate from Portugal writes," her memory is fresh in my mind. She was so thin you would
hardly imagine Jaya passing away after a heart attack!” And Almitra from
UK says," So sorry to hear this sad news. I remember Jaya as being a soft
spoken, quiet, very slim young girl. What happened? Was she ill? Oh dear, I do feel very weepy. This is no age to die."
When we went to senior school Jaya and I petitioned Mother Good Counsel to
allot a private room to us claiming kinship. We are cousin sisters, we stated so please give us a private room. The sisters were not deceived but believed Jaya would be a sobering influence on me and we had our own room. This was priceless good fortune as I mended my slipshod ways and kept my side tidy. Jaya and I did many things together though she did not take part in sports or in the clandestine midnight reading of novels. But she was so circumspect that I got away with three years of blissful
reading.
Jaya had a good sense of fun and a sense of humour. She had a sweet smile that played on her lips and when she laughed tears welled up in her eyes. She loved watching English movies and our letters to each other during holidays were full of the films we had seen.
In our Form V which was the 10th Std., Sr. Ria the Principal called a few of us into her office. We were to sit for the ISC exam and not the Matriculation which was the School Board Exam. Our Class was spilt with Jaya and me along with Vibha, Minnie, Ruth and Gita studying for the ISC. It was harrowing and Jaya gave me lots of encouragement as I had chosen science subjects without a solid foundation.
Miss Indu Chary taught us Hindi and Ms Padmini took English. Indu lives in
Ooty and Padmini in USA and she had met Jaya a few years ago in Hyderabad
with Sarla another classmate. Padmini writes, "I am in shock! I recall meeting her with Saral and recall that she helped us connect up with her brother-in-law who was an Oncologist. She was so caring and so helpful. I did not know that she had a health problem. May her soul rest in peace!"
Renu was the poet laureate of our class. She wrote a classic on all of us in 1964. Here are a few lines from her poem ‘Famous Form Four’:
J. Is for Jaya who uses her brain
K. Is for Khiljits who had a short reign.
Renu, Preeti, Fareda , Neena, Vibha of our class are all in touch and we have spoken very fondly about Jaya. Kalpana, Lalitha, Prema and Chumi all send their prayers and condolences to the family.
My family and I have been meeting Jaya, Gopal and Ananth though not as often as both of us would have liked. We made plans to meet at Dehra Doon, Pune etc
but something always came up. Though I had wanted to attend Ananth’s wedding in Vijayawada, I couldn’t and it was Preeti who was there and gave me all the happenings. A couple of years ago, Jaya took Neena and me to lunch in Hyderabad. As always she was wearing a crisp pastel cotton sari and we chatted so easily about our families, our aches and pains and our small fears and anxieties.
I was in Jaslok Hospital with my daughter who was recovering from a bad accident, and I was talking about Jaya and her cheerful positive spirit that I saw when I visited her in the Hyderabad hospital room in May. Even as I was speaking my cell lit up and I glanced at it to see Jaya's name flashing. It was Gopal to tell me that my friend was no more.
I think Jaya was bidding me farewell when I started to talk of her out of the blue in that hospital room 800 km from Hyderabad. I came across my old diary and found this entry for Tuesday, May 25, 1965. This is what I had written of that summer day in Ooty.
“9.30 and out with Jaya and her mum. We first went to their house and looked at
mags etc. Then we saw the neighbour’s baby and played with it for some
time. We had orange squash and played about till lunch. After lunch we
rested and then dressed for the pictures. The lunch was lovely and
everything was home like. There were many kinds of pickles and I liked
the lunch. The picture was called ' Court Jester' with Danny Kaye.’
Jaya and I shared a friendship that was so ordinary, quiet and open
filled with warm affection for each other. We also shared an understanding of spirituality, to be in touch with one's core.
Spirituality and Love is how I treasure my friend.
I had known Jaya since our infancy; she was a year younger, my brother’s age. My father and Jaya's father had joined the company together and were friends. It was Jaya's father who mentioned the boarding school Nazareth in Ooty and the next year I was enrolled in the same class as Jaya. We were young children and I took comfort in
her friendship when I was thrust into the strange world of boarding schools and though we shared a family connection and a similar tongue it was our personal equation that bound us together.
Jaya and I were poles apart; she was gentle, I boisterous; she was diligent in her application, I was irreverent; she spoke softly while my laugh rattled the corridors. Our classmate Ruth writes from Bangalore, "About Jaya I should like to recall her gentleness, sweet disposition, strong sense of her own duty which did not, as often happens, becomes an occasion to judge others. It seems such a cruel shame that a person like her should suffer and be taken away so soon, from a world which can ill spare such people."
We were both vegetarians, a small minority in school and we struggled gamely with helpings of fruit, bread, butter and puddings. I was short and plump while Jaya grew lanky and tall moving to the end of the class line. Ana our classmate from Portugal writes," her memory is fresh in my mind. She was so thin you would
hardly imagine Jaya passing away after a heart attack!” And Almitra from
UK says," So sorry to hear this sad news. I remember Jaya as being a soft
spoken, quiet, very slim young girl. What happened? Was she ill? Oh dear, I do feel very weepy. This is no age to die."
When we went to senior school Jaya and I petitioned Mother Good Counsel to
allot a private room to us claiming kinship. We are cousin sisters, we stated so please give us a private room. The sisters were not deceived but believed Jaya would be a sobering influence on me and we had our own room. This was priceless good fortune as I mended my slipshod ways and kept my side tidy. Jaya and I did many things together though she did not take part in sports or in the clandestine midnight reading of novels. But she was so circumspect that I got away with three years of blissful
reading.
Jaya had a good sense of fun and a sense of humour. She had a sweet smile that played on her lips and when she laughed tears welled up in her eyes. She loved watching English movies and our letters to each other during holidays were full of the films we had seen.
In our Form V which was the 10th Std., Sr. Ria the Principal called a few of us into her office. We were to sit for the ISC exam and not the Matriculation which was the School Board Exam. Our Class was spilt with Jaya and me along with Vibha, Minnie, Ruth and Gita studying for the ISC. It was harrowing and Jaya gave me lots of encouragement as I had chosen science subjects without a solid foundation.
Miss Indu Chary taught us Hindi and Ms Padmini took English. Indu lives in
Ooty and Padmini in USA and she had met Jaya a few years ago in Hyderabad
with Sarla another classmate. Padmini writes, "I am in shock! I recall meeting her with Saral and recall that she helped us connect up with her brother-in-law who was an Oncologist. She was so caring and so helpful. I did not know that she had a health problem. May her soul rest in peace!"
Renu was the poet laureate of our class. She wrote a classic on all of us in 1964. Here are a few lines from her poem ‘Famous Form Four’:
J. Is for Jaya who uses her brain
K. Is for Khiljits who had a short reign.
Renu, Preeti, Fareda , Neena, Vibha of our class are all in touch and we have spoken very fondly about Jaya. Kalpana, Lalitha, Prema and Chumi all send their prayers and condolences to the family.
My family and I have been meeting Jaya, Gopal and Ananth though not as often as both of us would have liked. We made plans to meet at Dehra Doon, Pune etc
but something always came up. Though I had wanted to attend Ananth’s wedding in Vijayawada, I couldn’t and it was Preeti who was there and gave me all the happenings. A couple of years ago, Jaya took Neena and me to lunch in Hyderabad. As always she was wearing a crisp pastel cotton sari and we chatted so easily about our families, our aches and pains and our small fears and anxieties.
I was in Jaslok Hospital with my daughter who was recovering from a bad accident, and I was talking about Jaya and her cheerful positive spirit that I saw when I visited her in the Hyderabad hospital room in May. Even as I was speaking my cell lit up and I glanced at it to see Jaya's name flashing. It was Gopal to tell me that my friend was no more.
I think Jaya was bidding me farewell when I started to talk of her out of the blue in that hospital room 800 km from Hyderabad. I came across my old diary and found this entry for Tuesday, May 25, 1965. This is what I had written of that summer day in Ooty.
“9.30 and out with Jaya and her mum. We first went to their house and looked at
mags etc. Then we saw the neighbour’s baby and played with it for some
time. We had orange squash and played about till lunch. After lunch we
rested and then dressed for the pictures. The lunch was lovely and
everything was home like. There were many kinds of pickles and I liked
the lunch. The picture was called ' Court Jester' with Danny Kaye.’
Jaya and I shared a friendship that was so ordinary, quiet and open
filled with warm affection for each other. We also shared an understanding of spirituality, to be in touch with one's core.
Spirituality and Love is how I treasure my friend.
SURAKSHA GIRI
Chennai
October 10, 2013
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