Manju my beautiful friend.

I have never seen a soft spoken fragile kind of a Punjabi before I met Manju. Manju miss as we all call her in School, shifted to Chennai from Calcutta. 

Manju studied in St.Terasa higher secondary school in Kidderpore, Kolkata.

She worked in NavaNalanda school in  Kolkata before joining Vidya Mandir.

She came to VM in a nice bengal cotton with sleeveless blouse. Tara miss went weak on her legs and gave her a weeks time to make blouses with sleeves. 

All of a sudden her blouses had to grow sleeves. Her typical Bengali style  sleeveless days were gone. 

Those days readymade blouses were not in vogue. VM was then a very conservative school. Even now while other schools allow teachers to come in salwar suits, VM insists on saree for teachers. No doubt, saree is  an attire that demands respect and represents dignity. 

She made a few new blouses and had to pair them with not so matching sarees that she already had in her wardrobe. That was not Manju. She was a style statement. Her fashion sense, the confidence and feather like touch with which she adjusted her pleats were a sight to watch for her students and colleagues alike. Out of the world panache - she had. Her sarees were all brightly coloured with bold prints and were neatly ironed. She did not pin her sarees, but her pleats were neatly kept throughout the day. She liked to shop and had a way of bargaining with the vendors. Her Tamil accent would make the shopkeepers give her a good discount with a mischievous smile enjoying her Tamil. 

Manju would narrate a lot of school related stories and personal anecdotes with slight sarcasm, hurting or blaming nobody in the process. 

Punjabis are famous for their lively, welcoming, and determined disposition, which is marked by exceptional kindness, a strong passion for food, music, dance  and a positive outlook of living life to the fullest. Manju was not an exception.

When I lived in Nayi Dhilli my parents had a lot of punjabi friends.... they all looked strong and were loud, not like our Manju, the delicate darling. We used to visit Malaimandir, a famous Murugar temple. We left our footwares and parked  my father's bajaj scooter in a punjabi friends house, there were 3 friends who lived just outside the temple. We came back from the temple ..not just for our footwares...but for a feast. The Virmanis, Chopras and Kapoors  used to give us hot samosa, chai, freshly fried papads and take out from their refrigerators huge glass vessels filled with Gulab jamuns and Rasgullas. Unlimited food. ....and they said Khawo Khawo with their lips and through their hearts. Malaimandir visits as children we never wanted to skip. 

Manju also was like a typical Punjabi when it came to feeding people. Every year she would invite us for a lunch at her place. We were a group of 30 + ladies. Her pooris, dahi bhallas and her Amrathsari Pindi chole were Lajawab!! I would go early to help her as I lived close to her place. Others would also arrive to help her. Some of us would fry pooris, some would arrange the plates and some prepare the salad. It was such a beautiful gathering. After lunch we would watch a Tamil  movie. She would sit with us and watch it not understanding a single word. Never complaining. 

Her khal ka khana was there often during our school lunch time. She would have thrown a party the previous night and bring all the left overs the next day to school. We used to joke about it, but happily eat the restaurant style food.

In Manju's memory this morning I made a very chuppp vath kolambbb. 

Against Vatsan's liking.

Sometimes you need to disagree, be a rebel and not try to be a people pleaser . You need to ask the right questions and do what is right according to you. 

That's the lesson I learn from her life. 

 Indha veyyilla vathakozhamba? Asked Vat. 

 I said - atleast a chupp vathh kolammb for my dear Manju.

Her kindness, warmth, and genuine nature made everyone feel loved and valued. She will be missed dearly. As we mourn her loss, I pray that the great God above gives her eternal peace and comfort in her afterlife. 

Asha Bhonsle joined her in her final journey. They must be singing together - 

Bas ab na mujhko tokna 

Na badhke raah rokna

Agar main ruk gayi abhi

To jaa na paaoongi kabhi

Yehi kahoge tum sada ke dil abhi nahi bhara.