Anju: Always an ‘Is’
A heartfelt tribute to Anju – a friend, a sister, and a fierce, radiant soul whose kindness and warmth left an indelible mark. Some bonds remain unbroken, and Anju will always be an ‘is’ in the heart.
I’ve always been friendly with everyone – a smile here, a quick chat there – but the ones I truly call friends are few and far between. Anju is one of them.
It was sometime in 2006 when I first met her. I still remember that afternoon as if it were yesterday. I had just arrived at their apartment in Hari Nagar, Delhi, a place my friend Sid called home. As I stepped inside, there she was – standing with a warm smile that could put anyone at ease. And there was little Aggy, nestled inside her, waiting patiently to see the first sunlight. She looked radiant, elegant, and somehow, effortlessly beautiful.
What struck me most was how quickly Anju became more than just Sid’s wife. Like magic, she transformed into my sister and my friend. She has this uncanny ability to make you feel like you belonged, like you mattered.
I still remember the day I left Delhi for good. My flight was at the crack of dawn, and Anju, in her usual stubborn yet affectionate way, insisted I stay the night before with them. When I woke up that morning, there she was in the kitchen, bustling about and cooking breakfast. Seven months pregnant, mind you – and there she was, fussing over me as if I were the most important thing in the world. That was Anju through and through.
And then there was my birthday. I remember it well. The phone rang, and it was Sid. “Anju wants you to come over to Hari Nagar,” he said. Well, you don’t argue with a tigress, do you? So off I went. She was a vegetarian then, but you wouldn’t have known it that day. She insisted on treating me to the most mouth-watering non-vegetarian spread you could imagine. It is her way – always giving, always making sure you feel cherished.
But then life happened. I returned to Calcutta, and Anju, in her fierce and feisty way, refused to speak to me for sixteen long years. Sixteen years of silence. I suppose I had it coming. But last year, as if by some miracle, she forgave me. She spoke to me again, and it was as if no time had passed. Some bonds, you see, remain unbroken no matter how far you stray.
The other day, Sid called. “You should come to Delhi and see her,” he said. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bear to see the tigress, my sister, suffer. I want to keep her as she always is in my heart – fierce, radiant, and full of life.
So when a message at the school group informed that “Anju, left for her heavenly abode a while ago.”, I knew it is not true as some people can never be ‘was’, Anju will always be an ‘is’ – in my memories, in my thoughts, in every moment she touched with her kindness. Until we meet again, my dear sister Anju.
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