Testimonial from Rajni George (Classmate)

When I think of Neeraj, I remember his sense of humor (those cyber jokes!), his astounding knowledge of all kinds of trivia including the real name of certain Baywatch lifeguards, his endearing self-deprecation, his admirable and consistent efforts towards self-improvement and expanding his mind; reading the naughty bits in Femina of all things in the library with him and Saika, his efforts to entertain us in class with the easy camaraderie he cultivated with our teachers – when he playfully repeated requests to use the restroom during Tamil class I remember Mr. Adhimulam once told him to ‘tie a rope, my boy’ (we can only imagine what Neeraj did with that suggestion!) . The stories we're all telling remind us how he touched so many lives with his caring ways – he really was a softie, as much as he sometimes liked to pretend otherwise. His wisecracks indeed covered his vulnerability and a great sensitivity to the feelings of the people around him.

Those of you who did get to spend time with Neeraj recently testify to his continued exuberance, one tempered by knowledge and the kind of maturity experience gave him. Like many of our classmates, Neeraj seems to have grown into himself over these post high school years – becoming a person I wish I had made more of an effort to keep in touch with and get to know. Its truly wonderful the way everyone has rallied around Neeraj, our memories of him. This last year he had the chance to spend time with so many of you at your weddings and reunions and I think this is so important. I’ve only recently started getting in touch with some of our classmates and I think the fact that so many of us have been doing so is an important lesson to all of us; that it’s worth the effort to keep in touch with people you sometimes think you have outgrown but of course never can or will.

When I told my mother of Neeraj’s passing, she remembered him fondly, having watched him grow up in Kodai and having read his poetry – among his many interests and talents - at our school’s writing workshop. She said, “sometimes I think it would be nice to know how much time you have left, so you can make the most of it.” I agree with her and with all of you when we lament the unfairness of it all, but would like to think that Neeraj is one of the few people who can say that they DID make the most of the time allotted to him – though of course we all fervently wish this time had been longer, because Neeraj Desai was definitely going places.

Perhaps we can learn from the greats when we consider what to make of his passing. Sartre said of Camus' death, also a traffic accident: “Every life that is cut off - even the life of so young a man - is at one and the same time a phonograph record that is broken and a complete life. For all those who loved him, there is an unbearable absurdity in that death. But we shall have to learn to see that mutilated work as a total work.”

Neeraj might laugh if he could hear me comparing him to Camus but I think it’s a relevant comparison. He was someone who, in the manner of many a great thinker, thought long and hard about the world we live in and the nature of this life - and in spite of it all, he was unafraid to live it. Goodbye Neeraj, and godspeed.