My friend Usha

By Tanya Paul

I write this with great sadness and this is just an outpouring from my heart.

I am Usha’s friend from school. We were from different sections at school and so it was at college during our under graduate years that we became friends. She was a very friendly person and easy to get on with. What stands out where Usha is concerned is that she had the time for you. She made time for you. At every opportunity she would be the first one to see how we could meet up, be it in London when she was on one of her visits or in Chennai during one of my visits.

I was so thankful that she made the decision this time to come to the Wirral and spend a few days with us in our home. I shall treasure the memories of this last visit. She loved beautiful scenery and I used to look forward to her beautiful write-ups on each place she had visited. She and her good friend Shyamala had packed such a lot into the two weeks they spent together in the UK. And although she must have been quite tired after hectic sight seeing in Scotland, she insisted on making ‘vadais’ for all of us – they were the tastiest vadais I had eaten.

She never thought of her own discomfort but was always thinking of ways in which she could help some one else. She was a lovely person and a beautiful human being. I guess she will always be in our midst. When I think of the whatsapp school group that she was instrumental in setting up, I will always thank her for getting me into the group and she will remain a part of it.