In memory of a very dear friend - SUNITEE SONDHI

Sunitee, you were a very special and cheerful lady and we were blessed to have known you and be loved by you.

You smiled whenever we met you, you smiled even after your home was robbed in 1984, you smiled when you lost your precious jewellery to scamsters and above all you smiled when we met you after you had just been diagnosed with cancer. How did you do this? In my over 40 years of friendship with you I cannot recall a single day when you looked angry and upset, when you raised your voice or when you felt that you had not been dealt a good hand by fate. You smiled even when you gently told us that you were not happy with what we were doing or saying. My last memory of you is when I met you in the ICU, even then you smiled and greeted all of us one by one.

You really and truly were a very caring person.

Today, everyone remembers your grace and dignity, your ability to light up a room just by walking into it, your ability to talk to anyone and everyone at every party, your ability to remember names and all the details of people’s lives and above all your ability to care about all of us, even while you were in pain and unable to get out of bed. You asked about all our family members when we sat down near you while you were in bed, you made sure that the coffee was served in the correct manner and that we were all given something to eat, despite being bedridden.

Sunitee you were a very realistic and level-headed lady

Practical and down to earth, you never hid your illness from anyone. You discussed it with all of us and prepared everyone to face the inevitable outcome. Your immense concern for others can judged by the fact that you requested that your prayer meeting be held at such a time that your bridge friends should not have to change their programs, you told the doctor that your organs and eyes were to be donated, you discussed all the arrangements with your family members even while all of us were wondering how we were going to live without you. When I asked you how I would live without you, you just said that I will have to do it and not to worry about it.

You truly were something very special.

In your own gracious way you took us all under your wing. You taught me more than my mother ever could, you showed me what innate courtesy was, how important it was to say thank you after every visit or every party, how important it was to keep your spirits up even in the face of a rapidly nearing end and above all how important it was to remember that no matter what happens in your life, there is always a silver lining somewhere and that is what we have to hold on to. Malice was never a part of your life, and none of us have ever heard you speak ill of anyone else. You accepted and loved everyone for what they were.

Sunitee you were such a special person that today we feel an empty space in our hearts and it does not seem possible that it will ever get filled by anyone else. Who else will meet us with that radiant smile and make us feel that you were really looking forward to meeting us, who else will offer sensible advice to me whenever I ask for it and above all who else will I call at 8 am every morning.

Sunitee, you may have tried to prepare all of us for life without you, but it is not going to be easy, and when we falter and miss you, when we feel depressed and lonely, there will be no one there to tell us that it is ok, these things happen and we have to learn to live with them. Every morning I still think of calling you and telling you that I am feeling sad, before I remember that your absence is the reason for my sadness.

Sunitee you were a very special  and precious person.