To Bro' ...

Cant recollect who called whom Bro first but it stuck on. And its been like that since quite some time now. The first time I saw him last June ,I found him to be very intense and focussed. Looking down on the ground whenever he walked, with a hunch ,a bag laden on his back sporting a ponytail, his hairlocks became a butt for all the ragging the seniors could unleash on him. He was too grown for some of the things they threw at him yet he walked through it all. Big steps and a cigarette would add to his mysterious demeanour.

Is he serious ? Is he studious? He must paint well, he had an exhibition in Bangalore na? Or is he a wannabe rocker who formed his own rock band that could not stand the test of time? He attracted people. You wanted to go near him but you dint know how he would react.

I was talking about Gallows Pole one day while coming back after one of those long ragging nights. And he overheard me and he started singing the song. Thus began a conversation that has not ended ever since. Another of those conversations ended 5 mins back on the phone yet you keep replaying what you spoke or what you heard ...in your mind.

Bro is like that. You can't let go of him. He would stand in a corner and you would walk up to him. It was good to be in his company.He cracked jokes out of nowhere, he narrated tales like he lived through them, he made you laugh on you. You wanted to be with him and be seen as " I was with him...". He had an aura unmatched by anyone. He stood tall , physically and figuratively.

He lived his life kingsize. Criticism couldn't scathe him , ridicule would'nt touch him and diktats never existed in his life. Often I have looked upto him and asked myself "When would I ever be like him? " . And I bet my head on this that there have been many who have asked themselves the same question. Stylishly fearless and boisterously upbeat about life,was he.

Bro had a close set of friends and he lived for them.I was one among those. And together we went through a lot in the first 3 months.Then things happened. Things that were and were not within our control.And those things that were within our control also started drifting away from us. It was evident.

We kept watching from the stands. Bro , meanwhile , found a new meaning for himself. He tried with all his might to stem the tide. He couldn't .He tried harder. He still couldn't. Nothing was wrong with what was happening.

Life sometimes simply disowns you. If you chase it , it runs away.

It could have fuckin' happened to me , to Rajeev , to Anurag, to Farhan, to Anish. It dint.
It happened to Bro...And today Bro is at crossroads. I shudder to think what goes over his mind when he travels in that train from Andheri to Borivali , sometimes 3 times a day. Bro still laughs , makes us laugh on us and criticism I hope won't scathe him and ridicule I know does'nt touch him. Today ,Bro is fighting the battle of his life and his friends are cheering him from the stands.

Bro , you have been one man all of us have looked up to for a smile , a hug , a pat on the shoulder, a "Go Suchi Go..." .
You've given us reasons to look at life and say " Yes, I love you Life.." ,you have given us times we will carry to our heavens and say with pride " Yes, I was with RB", you have taught us to take shit and say " Yes, I will fight it out" . You are going through this phase cos God wills it. You are the only one in this world who can take this and walk out of it with your head held high. Irrespective of what you decide today , it is a new beginning for you and it holds promises, that only you can fulfil.And all of us are with you all the way...

For us you are the world , Bro .And we love you!
It began that night ,last June and nothing has changed since then, nothing will!