WELCOME TO Off the Beaten Track A space we dedicate to celebrating the life and the many loves of Siddharth a.k.a Syd or Phugga or Mithoo. A force of nature who lived his life to the fullest every day, a gypsy spirit who had “Everywhere” stamped across the “Places I’d like to visit” section in his diaries, a biker, a food lover, a movie buff, the life of every party; the 3-am friend to everyone that knew him, and above all a devoted son and a loving brother. This endeavour is our way of keeping the spirit of his bright, adventurous legacy alive.Siddharth bulit relationships and made friends easily. You wanted him and he was there.”We earnestly invite friends and family to write and share their experiences with Syd”Please Email Us Your Anecdotes On sydsaroj@gmail.com and kedar_singh00@yahoo.co.in
To Download Siddharth Scrapbook Please Click Here
Anecdote — “Memories of Mithoo Chachu” Aashay Aryan (nephew) , May 2021
I still remember visiting phuphaji’s house with my dad (Mitthoo chachu’s brother) and my mom as a small child when dad used to work in Mumbai and we (i.e. me and my mother) used to live in Patna (we still do). The memories of how Kedar chachu used to order pizza for me from dominos and how I used to say in my innocense that Kedar chachu was my chachu (as he used to get me pizza and coke every time I visited him) would bring a broad smile on my face even now with just a thought of it. I also remember how my parents would teasingly throw dilemmas at me by asking me who’s your favourite chachu ‘is it Kedar or Mitthoo?’ and how I would angrily reply ‘Kedar chachu’. All this puts me in mind of one such memory when Mitthoo chachu was back from dubai for some time and Kedar chachu was there as well and as usual just like everytime Kedar chachu ordered me some pizza and coke and then Mitthoo chachu trying to pull my leg asked me who my chachu was and as usual my firm reply was ‘Kedar chahu’ (I guess he just liked the way I used to get pissed off at him for asking me this same question from time and again everytime he saw me). So now I really couldn’t hold myself from confessing that if you are somewhere hearing my words or reading this chachu then, I really really love you so so much chachu, just as much as I love Kedar chachu and YOU ARE MY FAVOURITE CHACHU JUST AS MUCH AS KEDAR CHACHU. You’ll always be my SUPERMAN. See you on the other side chachu, see you on the other side – with love from your pyara bhatija Aashay,
They say that time is the best healer, I think they are wrong…
Miss you a great deal Mithoo and often think of how you would have loved to spoil both my boys… very similar to how I pampered you & Kedar.
Not easy not having you around….
I remember another time when Syd was traveling (I think for work), to Hyderabad. In customary Syd style, he asked if he could bring back something for the gang in Pune, and we being shameless like the best friends are supposed to be, instead of asking for something convenient, asked him to bring us back food. There’s a reason we were all friends, and food was at the center of it. I remember that we met at Mustansir’s house in Kondhwa and Syd told us to just bring a tub of vanilla ice-cream. Syd came straight there, didn’t go home to freshen up, or get a change, or to even get 2 minutes of rest after traveling; he came straight there, and opened up all the goodies. And the one thing I remember most is the box of Qubani ka Meetha. “It’s famous in Hyderabad, it’s a sweet dish”, he said. “But why did you ask us to bring ice-cream then??!!!”. Syd goes into his wisdom mode, and says, “Because it’s soooo sweet, you have to cut the sweetness with ice-cream.” I still laugh about that line today. It was so zen, and he delivered it so perfectly.
Which brings me to my next kind-of story, which is actually a request in disguise. There have a been at least 2 occasions when I walked into the mayurpankh house all nonchalant, only to find Saroj aunty sitting in the living room and all the lazy guys in the house asleep. I would always freeze in surprise for a second, because seeing parents in that house was always unexpected 😀 Anyway, I’d relax after realizing aunty was in town from Bombay, and of course immediately be happy because aunty always brought delicious stuff with her, and Syd was the best at sharing. My favorite was probably her Gajar ka halwa, it was always delicious, and Vandana will confirm this I’ve told her this story multiple times. I can’t remember if that was Syd’s favorite, but I like to think that aunty used to bring it because the rest of us loved it so much too 🙂
So of course when I was checking out the recipes on the website, the first thing I looked for was that recipe, but I didn’t see it. That recipe probably ties to a lot of memories for aunty, and you as well, a lot of them are probably painful. But please let her know how much joy she brought us all every time she came to Pune. We didn’t really need an excuse to love Syd more, but that halwa definitely gave us yet another reason.
I remember Syd a lot, miss him even more. He’s tied to so many memories for all of us, it’s impossible not to think of him. Not just for the big things like fun stories, events or anecdotes, but for so many little, everyday things. After our dull 2017, I’ve been trying to follow Syd’s advice for this year, and Vandana and I have taken to traveling a bit. It helps us recharge, and take a step back from the daily grind of work.
Anecdote 3 – Ameya Jambavalikar
Syd was a pretty strong advocate of making time to relax and recharge; which usually manifested in taking a short trip out of town. He always found a willing travel buddy, and on this occasion it was Aseem, Nina, and me. The other few are from one random weekend when we went to Mahabaleshwar with another common friend, Raunaq Patwardhan. Looking at the photos I remembered that Syd and I had matching helmets, we had even bought them together from the same shop on MG Road, and we complained about them to each other because the visor made it slightly difficult to see at night.
Looking through those photos, I actually remembered how Syd almost got us into a bit of trouble! In typical Syd fashion he went wandering off the paved area, and Raunaq and I followed. and before we knew it, we were on some random hillside with no idea what direction we had come from. Luckily we eventually found our way back, but while Raunaq and I may initially have been worried that we were lost, for Syd it was just part of the plan. We just kept walking, and of course, we made our way back. They say “Not all those who wander are lost”. I can’t think of a person that this applies to more than Syd. My friend has always had a severe case of wanderlust, and I guess I’ll ask him about it whenever I meet him next. Pretty sure he’s going to have a great story.
I put all the photos in a shared album
I don’t have any cake today, but I did pick up some mangoes this weekend. I remember coming back from college on a particular day to the Mayurpankh house. I walked in and saw Syd had just bought some. This was peak summer, so those fruit were probably at peak yumminess. I think he spent the next hour or 2 at the table eating mangoes, it was amazing. I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone who loved mangoes more than I did, but sure enough he more than surpassed me that day. He had this smile on his face afterwards that I can only describe as the look of a man that is absolutely satisfied. I’m sitting in my office right now, and I think this memory has put that same smile on my face. My co-workers might think there’s something wrong with me 🙂
I don’t if he liked mangoes when he was a kid too, or if it was just a usual Syd whim for that day, but it’s one of my favorite memories. So I’m going to cut up some mangoes to celebrate his birthday today! I swear I thought I had a video of that day, so first thing I do when I get home is see if I can find it and send it to you. Hopefully it’ll bring the same smile to you and Aunty, and everyone else we can share it with.
In a ceremony which was both sad and sweet we commemorated Siddharth's birthday in
Dobhi, a hamlet by the river Beas, on the Kulu-Manali road, Himachal. The place is host
to the YHAI (Youth Hostel Association of India) nature study and trekking camp for under
15 kids. Like the past two years we had undertaken to support in part the participation of
underprivileged/handicapped kids. Saroj and I travelled to Dobhi to participate in this
event. In Delhi, Kavitaji had thoughfully packed a very large chocolate cake with a
generous layer of chocolate and fruit sauce for us to take. We arrived on May 13 morning
after a thirteen hour long bus journey from Delhi. The bracing mountain air and the warm
hospiitality of our hosts invigorated us.
Thunderstorms were predicted for May14. But, like last year, the weather gods were
compassionate and the day was clear except for a minor shower. The YHAI President
Shri Shafi Panditji, the CEO Shri Rupesh Pandey. Adventure Promotion Committee
Chairman Manoj Joshiji, and a host of YHAI functionaries alsong with the medical doctor
Jigishaji arrived from a neighbouring camp. The children sat on the ground. We sat on
chairs facing them with banners announcing Siddharth's birthday (“forever 25”) and the
snow top mountains forming the backdrop, and the river Beas to our left.
Manoj Joshiji spoke with great emotion about Siddharth and the importance of this day. I
spoke a few words about Siddharth. He was a 2 nd degree black belt and went up to the
nationals in swimming, both, while in school. His love for the outdoors and how he had a
special attachment to Manali – Leh region which he had traversed a couple of times. He
was free with his money and very supportive of friends and relatives who wanted to trek
and see the world. It is this spirit that we hope to keep alive. He left us desolate and
despairing barely 5 dyas before his 28 th birthday.
When asked by acquaintances how old he was he had a stock response – “25!”. Shafi
Panditjii, YHAI President, spoke about how Siddharth will be remembered. He was
overcome with emotion as he spoke and his eyes welled up. Saroj wept and there were
many moist eyes in the audience. She handed over a cheque in support of the
participation of the kids to Shafi Panditji.
The Field Director of the camp then called upon the two youngest participants to come
forward. Saroj helped them cut the large chocolate cake to an enthusiastic “happy birthday
Siddharth”. The travel kits and the wrist bands we had brought from Mumbai were
distributed to kids, the YHAI functionaries and the supporting staff (cooks, local guides
etc). A young lad Saksham Agarwal recited a prayer song. Gowri Amma, the camp director
then made a short speech thanking all.
The ceremony was followed by snacks including the cake, and the YHAI generously
provided a large variety of pakoras, and tea/coffee. Later, the dinner too was special. In
the night Saroj “lit” the campfire and the children sang and danced.
Next morning Saroj and I walked to a Tibetan Settlement on the Beas river. I stared for a
long time the freely flowing gurgling river. I recalled Tennyson's poem “Men may come and
men may go ;but I go on forever!” May Siddharth's good deeds inspire us forever.
We thank the YHAI, the volunteers and service staff at Dobhi, Two friends of Siddharth,
Ujjwal and K K Kavita who reminsced with us in Delhi. Kavitaji who so thoughtully
provided the cakes. The host family of two women Hardai and Shakuntala with whome we
stayed in Dobhi like last yer. All relatives, friends of Siddharth, well wishers, and the young
kids at Dobhi who made it possible.
I would like to end with a couplet of Majrooh Sultanpuri which YHAI CEO Rupesh Pandey
recited:
“Main ekela hi chala tha, Jaanib-e-Manzil magar
Log saath aate gaye aur Karvan banta gaya”
“I had started all alone, towards a distant destination and on a road less travelled by;
Young and old kept joining me and lo! We had a Caravan.”
May this inititative of YHAI, kindly started on our request, grow into a movement. May it
provide the young who would otherwise not have the opportunity, to experience the great
outdoors, the majestic mountains!
Siddharth's Papa.
Epilogue: Towards the end of the ceremony Manoj Joshiji led the participants in a rousing
“happy” scout song
If you are happy and you know it clap your hands – clap, clap!
If you are happy and you know it clap your hands – clap, clap!
If you are happy and you know it and you really want to show it clap your hands – clap, clap!
And so it goes on …
On May 9 2018, spontaneously written
Although the loss is irreparable,I pray to God to give u n family all the strength to face it.
I have tried to pen down a few lines for Siddharth, though i m not very good at it but just
felt like writing this:
You r not gone,
Just changed your form
Ur the cool breeze that brings respite
Ur the fragrance that surrounds us all day
Ur the smile that comes our way
Ur the love that fills our heart
Ur the light that shows us the path
Hence i believe that ur not gone, just changed ur form.
Best regards
Shreeya
My family and my home knows Sid by name only, not lucky enough to meet him in person.
My Living room has a TV that Sid bought for me at Dubai, my kitchen shelves still have a
fragrance of Saffron that Sid sent from Dubai, my Amirah still holds the half spent bottle of
Irish Whisky that Sid sent for me.
He promised multiple times to come over (“ agali bar pakka “) but tomorrow never comes.
Me and my wife Jyoti always talk about Sid and the time we spent together (will be writing
few of them on paper as Anecdotes). She is always busy taking care of home and kids.
Both of my Sons are growing rapidly. Harshawardhan turned 11 and studying in 6th and
Rudraparatap turned 8 and studying in 3rd.
With growing age I am being alert and trying to keep my activities on to stay fit.
Rajesh Patil
Since the first day that I've known Sid, we made a lot of common friends, both
during our time in college, and after. And he was the glue that held us all
together, something I appreciated so much even back then and more so
since I've been in the US. Even if I hadn't spoken to some of our friends for a
while, I always know that Syd would be in touch and keep me posted on
everyone's happenings. I missed a lot of milestone's in my friends' lives
having moved so far away, but everyone could always count on Syd to make
sure he attended every engagement, wedding, or other event that he could.
And when he was there he would give me a call so I could talk to all these
people that I had grown up with. This stood out to me so much.
I think that's what made Syd so special to everyone. Even though we were
already in college when we met, we were still kids. Most of us were away
from home for the first time, and we all ended up growing up together, which
made it more than a regular friendship for all of us, and Syd was right in the
center of this group.
These days it's a bit different. I keep in touch with friends over social media,
sometimes sending a text message or with infrequent phone calls. Some of
us are closer than others, but one thing I'm certain of is that everyone misses
Syd just the same, and that we all keep him in our memory all the time.
Ameya Jambavalikar
1. Age is just a number
Syd was infamous for never revealing his age. Ask him his age and pat came
the reply, "Eighteen". I have always been taught to act my age and then a few
years. So much so I'm 32 but feel like I'm 50. Syd, however, believed that life
was for the living and not the acting.
2. There is always a rainy day
A dear uncle of mine had passed away, a few years back, and I didn't have
any money left on me to travel for his funeral. Syd loaned me the money but
unlike most people, who would have preferred to remain quiet in such a
situation, he took me aside and took on the job of drilling sense into me about
finances and rainy days. The sense instilled remains intact.
3. When you want it, go for it… and don't dawdle
When he wanted a car, he kept searching till he found the right one. When he
wanted a pineapple cake he stormed into every bakery in pune till he found
the one that tasted 'just right'. And when he realised that a lot of his friends
would be leaving Pune, he said "I will get out before all of you" and did
exactly that with a job in Dubai. Additionally, he was a man of his word. If he
said he would do it, consider it done.
4. Always make time for friends and fun
Syd was a workaholic but he always made time for friends. On a hard day I
look forward to switching off from the world. His hard days were all the more
reason to bring people together and celebrate.
5. But know when to detach
He never promised to solve anyone's problem. He would lend a patient ear
and waited till you were ready to handle it yourself.
Thanks for the lessons brother and hope you are doing great wherever you
are :)) We miss you over here.
Best Regards – Kevin
When Siddharth ascended to the heavens he was greeted by angels. They blew kisses on him and welcomed him with garlands. But Siddharth was a reluctant denizen of paradise and was indifferent to the affection the angels showered on him. Finally, they asked him what would make him happy. He beckoned the Joy angel and asked her to go visit his parents in the mortal world. He indicated that they were distraught and unhappy.
The Joy angel glided down to the mortal world. Along with her were a swirl of cherubs. They followed her chattering and playing. The Joy angel visited Iraq. She visited Syria. She rode the boats ferrying desparate immigirants to Europe. She visited the famine stricken areas of Ethiopia and the flood ravaged regions around Rangoon. Unhappy the people were, but they were not Siddharth’s parents. Finally after three years of searching she located them in the megapolis of Mumbai. And then, one rainy night in July, at 10:14 pm, she appeared before them and softly said “hello”. She left leaving a cherub behind.
On May 14, Srijan and I were together along with Chikki (you may remember her as Ishita or Dinesh chacha’s daughter) to attend her graduation ceremony where she was being awarded her master’s degree in computer science. Siddharth had been very close to me and Srijan and our remembering him on that day was a given. But we were also joined by Chikki as she remembered playing our birthday games and type 4 outdoor games with Siddharth as well. She also reminded us that “Siddharth bhaiya used to call her Chikauki” :-). We ended up getting a cake on Siddharth’s 31st birthday. I am attaching the pictures for you and aunty. We also talked endlessly about Siddharth and our get togethers and all the laughs he used to bring to us. Srijan told his many stories about the everyday cricket games they (Kedar, Siddharth, Srijan, and Apu) used to play and strategize to avoid hitting on any of the house windows. Our conversations about Siddharth went on and on that night until we were ready to go to sleep.
I hope you and aunty and Kedar and Nidhi are also doing well. Please convey my best to them. I look forward to hearing from you about your trip and also looking forward to seeing some pictures.
With best regards,
Srishti
May 14th 2017
Dear Uncle, Aunty, Kedar and Nidhi
It’s raining like mad in Bangalore 🙂
I can hear it thunder outside and the streaks of lightening are so vibrant.
It reminds me of chai and pakoda time in Pune. If we were home on the weekend and the rain broke out, you can be sure that Syd, Ujjwal and I would be out hunting for hot pakoras to bring home and eat in the warmth of the apartment. Ironically we would be drenched and shivering but the effort made the experience worth our while.
I love the rains in India for one reason. The lights will definitely go out, and the house goes calmly silent immediately. All you can hear is the chaos outside. But you are safe and dry and warm inside eating pakoras with your best friend. That’s the person I want to be in life. Even when there is chaos outside, there is calm in the house called my soul where all my best memories reside.
Happy birthday to your amazing son and brother who made many of those memories :))
Have a great day and smile because he always is
Regards
With best regards,
Kevin Ignatius
May 14th 2017
We commemorated Siddharth’s birthday with a bittersweet cerremony in Dobhi, a village by the river Beas, in Kullu district, Himachal. The place is host to the YHAI (Youth Hostel Association of India) nature study and trekking camp for under 15 kids. We had undertaken to support in part the participation of 15 handicapped (impaired vision) kids. Saroj and I travelled to Dobhi to participate in this event. Kavitaji had thoughfully packed two large chocolate cherry-speckled cakes in Delhi for us to take.
It drizzled all afternoon. As if on cue, it cleared up just as YHAI’s National Chariman Venkartji, the Adventure Promotion Committee Chairman Manoj Joshiji, and a host of YHAI functionaries arrived. The children sat on the ground. We sat on chairs facing them with the banner announcing Siddharth’s birthday behind us, mountains on both sides, and the river Beas to our left.
Manoj Joshiji spoke with great emotion about Siddharth and the importance of this day. He broke down while talking. I spoke a few words about Siddharth. He was a 2nd degree black belt and went up to the nationals in swimming, both, while in school. His love for the outdoors and how he had a special attachment to Manali – Leh region which he had traversed. Venkatji, National Chairman, spoke about how Siddharth will be remembered. His eyes welled up as he spoke. Saroj wept and there were many moist eyes in the audience. She handed over a cheque in support of the participation of the kids to Venkatji.
Amarshi Bhai, Field Director of the camp then called upon the youngest blind participant to come forward. Saroj helped him cut the cake to a rousing “happy birthday Siddharth”. A number of young participants helped Saroj. The caps we had brought from Mumbai were distributed. Naveen Tewari then make a short speech thanking all.
The ceremony was followed by snacks including the cake, and the YHAI generously provided a variety of pakoras, gulab jamuns, Kit Kat and tea/coffee.
Later Amarshi Bhai took Saroj and me for a walk to a Tibetan Settlement on the Beas river. It was dusk and gurgling river and the silhouette of the tall mountains had a consoling, calming effect. In the night Saroj “lit” the campfire and the children sang and danced. During the entire birthday celeberation even as people shed tears, I had kept my composure. Then two kids, Kunal and (coincidentally) Siddharth sang an old Hindi film song – “Yeh sham mastani’ Madhosh kiye jaa; Mughe Dor koyi kheeche, Teri oor liye jaa; Door rathti hai tu, Mere paas aati nahin……” [This beauteous evening, this heady and intoxicating hour! ; A bond, invisible, seems to draw me towards you; Oh, you are so far, far away; you smile even as the pain gnaws at your heart ..]. As they sang, I felt a lump in my throat. And my eyes welled up.
We thank the YHAI, the volunteers and service staff at Dobhi, Swati who received and took care of Saroj when she landed in Delhi, Kavitaji who so thoughtully provided the cakes. All relatives, friends of Siddharth, well wishers, and the young kids at Dobhi who made it possible.
Siddharth’s Papa.
I realize that these days are the toughest for all who were close to Siddharth. We lost him on this day 3 years ago and his birthday is May 14. However, I just wanted to share something that happened today that might give us all some comfort.
I am from Ludhiana and Syd had visited Ludhiana on one of his trips up North and there was this place that serves chicken that he fell in love with. It is very unique and famous to Ludhiana. Every time I used to go home for a holiday, Syd used to beg and pester me to get Chawla’s cream chicken packed for him. I used to laugh it off telling him it would go bad on the train journey back and I am not dragging a chicken dish across hundreds of kilometers. He used to ask me if I had eaten there on my visits but I was never such a fan.
Today, I was looking for a place to order lunch and I saw the restaurant listed on my app. I did not know they had a branch in Delhi that delivered! In fact I did not know that they were established outside Ludhiana as such. Of all days today, it happened and it felt deliberate somehow. I ordered one of Syd’d favorite meals today and all I can think about is him talking about how amazing it was. I am not a religious person but sometimes I think some things – even as small as this, happen at that right moment when you really need it to happen. It is as if I was supposed to remember this story about him and I felt that in turn I was supposed to share it with you.
It has been three years and we all miss him so much but he is remembered in the moments of celebration and sadness when we visit you or we watch a movie he loved and even in a meal that he would have loved to eat.
I hope my sharing this does not cause you pain. I do not believe in coincidences but I do believe that this moment and memory happened so that I could tell you how wonderful your Siddharth was.
My love to all aboave all to aunty and uncle (Syd’s parents) and I wanted aunty to know that she is in my thoughts.
Lots of love,
Swati
May 9th 2017
As we walked back to the hostel after a long day, a winding and uphill road greeted us. If this was not enough to drain the little energy left in the body, the mounds of garbage and slums flanking the road managed to achieve it. I used to hold my breath as we passed certain sections to avoid retching in public. It slowly evolved into a game of how long I could hold my breath.
As we reached our destination – a cream colored building which looked like a workhouse from outside – small groups of students could be seen loitering around the gate. A group of kids walking to the tiny shop that stocked the smallest bars of soap I had seen or to the famous eating joint where Maggi was available in abundance. It could hardly be called an eating joint since it comprised of maybe 20 flimsy plastic chairs, a few tables and an inefficient albeit happy staff. Hours were spent sitting outside, watching the ‘cool’ kids smoke, making fun of professors, stuffing ourselves with the scant options on the menu and looking at our watches apprehensively as the clock ticked closer to the hostel’s night deadline.
This was my life and that of many others at the hostel where I spent my first year of college in Pune.
The hostel for women was a tiny building – one-third of the boy’s hostel – seemingly built almost as an afterthought as more women began enrolling in an engineering college. Living together for the first time away from home can be a liberating experience. Sure, there is home-sickness but the feeling of being part of a gang that is trying to survive together to find a place in the world helps. And we really had to survive.
Born and brought up in North India, I experienced a jarring cultural shift. Everyone spoke in Marathi, which sometimes sounded familiar but wasn’t really. The food was so spicy that for weeks, I just ate rice with curd and tried to separate the pieces of potatoes that looked cooked and were devoid of the skin. I was far away from home and everything that was familiar to me but even so I felt that I was meant to be part of this world at that moment.
I remember being part of the group that lit firecrackers outside the warden’s room and trying to stifle giggles as room-checks were enforced. The time I tried to catch a rat in our bedroom while my two roommates shrieked and jumped on their beds or chasing my friend across the hostel corridors and stopping to laugh as she rolled down a flight of stairs only to get up and run again. But our fun was nothing compared to the jinks the ‘boys’ got up to.
With a hostel that stretched to nine floors and a camaraderie that was absent amongst girls, the rumors of what the boys did became legends for us. The second after an electricity blackout, they used to sticks their heads out of their rooms and scream obscenities that were mostly unknown to me. Taking advantage of the blackout, under the cover of darkness they used to throw bricks and beer bottles from the 9th floor to the small gathering space below. It was an unspoken rule that everyone had to vacate the gathering space as soon as a blackout occurred. It sounds highly dangerous when I think about it now but at the time, I marveled at their courage and wits.
It was a usual occurrence to walk by the boy’s hostel and find the ground covered with glass. The windows across nine floors of a stairwell opened out perpendicular to the wall and a guy with no conscience and a brilliant mind had thrown them open and tossed a brick from the top floor – shattering each and every window – which now lay amongst the glass ruble.
With food infested with insects and once cockroaches, dead lizards in the water coolers and surrounded by garbage and slums all around, one would assume that it was unbearable to live there. And it was at the time. Surviving on maggi and jam sandwiches for months is not easy and after an year, I moved out with a couple of friends. But some of my fondest memories are from my hostel days. It showed me the resilience of the human spirit that finds joy even in uncomfortable situations, it helped me adjust to cultural gaps with ease and most importantly it gave me friends that I built my life around.
I am certain Syd had a lot more funny stories about sneaking in beer or the time their rooms got flooded with water or how they sneaked out of the hostel one night – They were after all from a much cooler branch of the hostel property. But I am even more certain that like me, he loved and cherished every memory he made there. He made friends that stuck by him through thick and thin. He laughed as he ate maggi with his friends outside the hostel. They raced down the hill on foot or on bikes and sloshed through the storm water and garbage on the way up. He must have cut a birthday cake or two and had the cream slathered on his face and clinked bottles to celebrate the end of exams.
The time may have passed quickly but the memories still remain etched in the mind. And somewhere in the annals of that hostel Syd’s presence still exists as it does in our hearts and minds.
Best,
Swati Gupta April 2017
Syd – Prachita –Swati
While working, sometimes, i listen to songs. Right now, the playlist picked up a track which brought back memories I’m very fond of…Therefore, this impromptu email..
While working at Yardi Pune, S!d and me used to exchange youtube video links of bike, car reviews/ anything related to a cars & bikes. Since youtube (all entertainment websites) are blocked in office, we used to tell each other the search phrases in google/ youtube & then which video to watch once the lists of results came up. Sometimes, these videos had soundtracks in the background. So next day after watching the video, we would then discuss the soundtrack and my request to S!d would be to find me a copy of the soundtrack by any means…
Every time, miraculously, S!d would have the soundtrack shared with me the next day leaving me very pleasantly surprised!
Google search phrase -California Superbike School 2012 – Power To The Rider
In the video, background track =Prituri Se Planinata by Stellamara NiTGriT
When we first saw this video, the next few days, all we discussed was that we should enroll for this course next year… After that, when ever this topic came up, we would say, we’ll enroll for this course next year for sure…
Dearest Sid, past seven days has been the toughest week of my life. The grief of losing you in such unexpected manner to remembering the good times we have had on your birthday. The pain and agony of not having enough answers to finally getting to be with you to say goodbye. From having heard so much about your family to get to meet them and be with them in these last hours, it’s definitely tested me. As I write this, I see You were a loving son and a good brother. The sheer number of friends You had amazes me. The lives you touched through your antics and joyful being in such a short time will never be whole without you. In you, I have lost a riding buddy, a reliable friend and a loving brother who was just a phone call away. For now, I pray you are in a much better place but someday we would meet again so do know we are not done yet..Phugga
Anecdote 2 – Ravinder Sanghra
From the many beautiful memories that we have of Syd, one was our Goa trip.. It was Murtuza, Kevin, Syd, Vishal and I. It was a great drive and a memorable holiday.. Although, Kevin and Murtuza were traveling on work, they forgot all of their documents at the hotel !!
Syd clicked almost all pictures, fought to sit in co-drivers seat, and got kings beer for all. Some pictures of the road trip attached.
ANECDOTE RAVINDER SANGHRA
The first time I met Siddharth was at my Roka Roko party. This was as the name says to stop my roka with Vishal..
Pictures attAched of our first meeting. I was told to find fugga and I couldnt amongst all around. In my head, the picture of fugga was a huge fat person, but he wasn’t like that! 🙂
During our courtship days, I would patiently wait for the evenings when Vishal would call.. And very shortly after, he’d say “fugga is here for dinner,i got to go”!! So thats how i came to know of him. In fact the first time i met Vishal, he kept speaking about fugga, murtuza and kevin.. I was sure they are pretty thick friends..
When i came to Pune, Siddharth was the closest to us in terms of our proximity and fondness with him. He would even come for our monthly grocery shopping to Dmart or big bazar. Once we went to the nearest store n he bought stuff worth more than us, a family’s! He picked up almost everything including a basketball and its basket, which though made fun of initially ended up in being the Fun game at fuggas place. We always called that house as fuggas house for some unknown reasons.
He gave me a new name Rytu 🙂
Srishti went to school with Syd – right from kindergarden to the XII.
Siddharth Singh, or Syd as we all used to call him, is a name that has been a part of my life since I was in Kindergarten, or maybe even before that. I cannot remember a time in my life not knowing Siddharth. He was and will always be the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. Growing up together, we shared some of the best moments of our lives. Herein, I will try to put together a few moments of our friendship that are I behold as some very special memories. Let me begin with how we got to know each other.
It starts with our parents being a part of the same IIT campus in Kanpur that has been an eminent part of our childhood. Like every other IITK faculty kid, Siddharth and I were also made part of a very lovely Kindergarten school called Kishlaya. This is where the foundation of our childhood gang was created. We had to earn our positions in this gang and the only requirement was to be more notorious than any other kid in the school who were then not allowed to be a part of our group. All of us were tied together as a part of this group by some of our qualities that no one else had in common. The quality that Syd had that also made him a unique identity of our group was to play mischief and still come out clean without getting into any kind of trouble. Anytime, any of us who needed to get out of our messes contacted Syd for help and his brilliant ideas always helped us. Our notoriousness ranged from snatching a swing from another kid, to saving a spot (believe it or not some spots were worthy of a competition) for our friends, or to eating from other kids’ lunch boxes when sharing was denied! When I think back on these memories, I still giggle.
After Kishlaya, we (the whole gang) became a part of yet another phenomenal elementary school called Campus School. Again Siddharth and I were no exceptions among the other faculty kids who went through a similar transition. This is when I along with my parents, my brother, and grand parents moved to a different house, still on IITK campus, and Siddharth became my neighbor. I was so excited to move to this house as now not only I could hang out with my best buddy at school, but we could be together after school for as long as our parents didn’t have to shout out loud for dinner calls. The icing on the cake was that Saroj aunty, Syd’s mom, and my mom were/are best friends. That meant that they would spend a lot of time together, which gave us (Kedar (Syd’s elder brother), Siddharth, Me, and my brother Srijan) a lot of extension on our own playtime. We would not even go to the faculty parties, if one of us were not going. Before we could tell our parents that we would go to their parties, there would be a long series of phone calls to make a decision based on who else from this gang of friends were going.
Another mission was convincing our parents to send us to the very forbidden outside campus world. It was a big deal if one of would have our birthday party outside campus. There were so many times when I had to convince Siddharth, and vice versa, to go to an event outside campus, as we knew that is the only way our parents (more specifically moms) would allow either of us to step outside IITK. Again, Siddharth would come up with such ideas of manipulating our moms so we could get permission to go to our outside campus friends’ parties, and I enjoyed every bit of being a part of his decision making. However notorious and trouble making person Syd was, he was by far the most reliable friend I ever had in my life. He was always a dependable person and a friend who was always there in times of need. When most of us moved out of our comfortable campus lives (of 14-15 years) to our respective college lives in different cities, we made a pact to always be in touch and always be there for each other. Siddharth was that friend with whom it always felt like “we had never left”, no matter how long we were talking after. Talking to him always made me feel connected with our childhood and all those years when we grew up on the great campus of IITK as faculty kids.
There are many more such memories with my best friend Siddharth, which are very difficult to put down in a few words and maybe even a book won’t be enough space to write them down. Some of those memories include our high school (the very famous KV IITK) after school tuition times with Prabhakar bhaiya (math tution), Dibendu bhaiya (most funny chemistry tution), and Vijay Singh uncle (Siddharth’s dad, and one of the best Physics teacher, who made us fall in love with Physics), our dark room games after birthday celebrations, our after school assembly punishments highlighting the names Siddharth, Srishti, Atreyi, Somesh, Anindya, Roma, Khare, …, and many more. I am sure if our parents read my story, they would be able to relate to many of these memories. He was and will always be the best friend I ever had. There are no words that could describe how wonderful Syd always was and how much he will be missed. There will always be a void without his presence but I promise to fill it with all the amazing memories we have had. Wishing Syd peace and happiness always. I know he is reading what I am writing here and saying, “Srish! Kitna likhegi, bas kar yaar, chill!!!”
Below are a few pictures that describe how I remember Syd and how he will always be in my thoughts!
From a friend who misses her best bud,
Srishti Srivastava
There are aspects of the unusual, you might say off the beaten track, about Siddharth’s family. His great grandfather from the paternal side (Jamuna Singh) passed the Masters and Law exam from Calcutta University at one go in 1927. He gave up his lucrative practice to join the freedom struggle and served several stints in British jail. He never sought office in independent India. His paternal grandmother (Chandraprabha Devi) was born in a chawl in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1927. She was fluent in Marathi and when the family went through a lean patch in the 1970s she took up teaching Hindi – Marathi in a convent school in Mahim. Her father (Hira Singh) had come there seven years before her birth (1920) after spending some years as a monk near Sharda Devi temple in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. The family is from Saran, Bihar and still maintains strong ties with their ancestral villages there. Hira Singh spent most of the wealth he earned to support families in his village and around and to build a school in late 1940 s, not in his name, but in the name of the brother of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of India who hailed from the same village (Mahdendra High School, Jiradei). Both Hira Singh and Jamuna Singh are still remembered by elder village folks in Saran, Bihar with affection and respect. Siddharth’s father (Vijay) was born in Mumbai (1950) and as was his brother Kedar (1983). Siddhath followed. He will be 25 forever!
Siddharth’s mother (Saroj) grew up on the banks of the Ganga, 75 km west of Patna. She was an athele and so was her brother (Bachaneshwar) – athelete and sports coach
who was cruelly snatched away by death. at the age of 32. Her father (Mundrika), who in his younger days did 500 pushups daily ( and upto a 1000 on a good day, no exxageration), became a dedicated farmer who brought up his family of four daughters and a son solely by working hard on his fields. Saroj is a perceptive cook, and although a vegetarian all her life, can whip a delicious non-vegetarian meal.
Syd has one brother, Kedar’s. He grew up in IIT Kanpur campus with Kedar and two boys Niraj and Vikas who were technically his first cousins, but as in Indian households, they are considered, and consider themselves as Syd’s brothers. Both were some 15 years older to him. So they were four, then parents Saroj and Vijay and paternal grandmom with Syd being the darling of the family.
The photos below are of the two great grandfathers : Hira Singh (Left) andd Jamuna Singh (Right) freedom fighters and humanists.
[Kevin (centre), a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2004) and were
Apartment mates.]
We shall ride again…
It all started with one phone call
We never thought that we were going to lose it all
They say that when life plays cards, it plays them tough
But rarely does it ever bluff
One wrong turn, that was all it took
It changed our lives, our peace it shook
We searched for days, high and low
Only to realise, it was your time to go
A true Friend, Brother, and Son
The Adventurer, The Rider, The Crazy One
Joy and Laughter was your calling card
Nothing was ever boring, nothing was ever hard
Some people walk and some people soar
And some stand still, knocking on destiny’s door
But you were forever the different one
A shooting star, brighter than the sun
There is not a day that goes by
That I do not think of our time gone by
And wish that this is but a dream
A joke in life’s grand scheme
I cannot say goodbye yet, my friend,
Just farewell for now, while we
each ride to our ends.
We swore to ride the world together,
Promises made, broken never.
Firstly, I have to thank you for including this endeavor. I am touched and honored
honestly. Over the past year I have been in touch with Nidhi & Kedar and am happy
to know that you all are doing a bit better. As his parents, and his family, surely the void will never be filled. However instead of mourning his passing, we should
celebrate his life. I believe Sid would have preferred it that way, too. The webpage is therefore so apt.
I met Siddharth in MAF sometime in March 2013. He seemed quiet and our first
discussion was purely work. Overtime I had several interactions with him and slowly
but surely we became really good friends. We didn’t need to have social meets or
anything, but somehow we still got to know each other very well and I treasure and
cherish those times. He had a way of disarming people with his personality – Funny
but super smart, non-judgmental and respectful to everybody. He had a lot of
patience too. Unfortunately he had to deal with a few rather sordid people, but he
never let them get to him and this knack of not taking things to seriously rubbed off
on me too. Sid influenced me in a very positive manner and his memories will stay
with me forever. My husband met him only a couple of times but he too enjoyed Sid’s
company immensely and really liked Sid for what he was. We miss him everyday and thoughts of him invariably brings smiles to our faces.
Below are a couple of links with two videos of Sid. Sid was dancing. He was prepping
for a video montage for Ummu’s wedding, as a gift. I wasn’t there when this inspired
lunacy (in the best sense of the phrase possible) was in progress. I found it on his
laptop when I was transferring personal files to send to you all. I hope it will – albeit with a tinge of sadness – make you all smile.
1) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72GqXqodNbzNjhfdHo0aWo5Q2s/view?usp=sharing
2) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72GqXqodNbzc25FVWhQSHlQbzA/view?usp=sharing
Please do let me know if you face any issues with the link.
With warm regards and only the best of wishes, always.
I was having a very bad day. Syd being Syd walked over to my desk and kept singing these annoying songs in a nasal voice just to get me to react and crack up. Well it worked like a charm. I remember him starting to read one of my University assignments and stop half way to sing some silly Honey Singh song, cockily telling me that if he had to read my assignments, I had to listen to his ‘happening’ songs. Chatting with Syd just made a day go better, made my smile wider and my heart happier. He epitomized “taking it easy” but in the most responsible way possible. I am fortunate to have known him, because it made me a better person and brought me a lot of happiness, as Syd always managed to bring to people he met. A total sweetheart; that was Syd.
I have too many anecdotes to put down. Here are two more.
We used to drive down to Bombay together most of the times and a trip that would take 3 hrs normally would take us 6-7 hrs. We would stop to eat multiple times. Sometimes not take the expressway and drive through Lonavala for fun. And aunty (Syd’s mother) used to get worried because he would call her at 1pm telling her we have left and wouldnt get home till 8pm. Once at home in Bombay it was impossible to get him out. i would have to lie and bribe him about food etc to make him leave the house. Also he hated when you spoke about his age and always said he was only 18.
His intererest in his bikes bordered on the obsessive . The bikes had names. His Discover was called “Silent Killer.” Most saturday’s he would spend at the mechanic getting something tightened or loosened until he was satisfied. His frequency of trips to Bombay reduced because of this. He would only get time to go to the mechanic on Sundays.
[Varun, a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2004)]
February 2009 – Amritsar to Shimla
Syd and I decided to travel to North India in February 2009. For me it was one of my best travels and will remain my most favourite and cherished time spent with him. From the time we booked our tickets it was all fun thereafter. Actually booking the tickets was also an event in itself, since we were getting a cash back on tickets booked online, the smart engineers that we are we decided to book tickets individually. Syd decided to book my ticket first and met managed to get a fare of approximately Rs.3,200 for a round trip to Delhi. When we tried booking his ticket a few minutes after mine the prices had spiked to Rs.5,600 for a round trip. He of course called the airline and started arguing, his argument being how can 2 tickets booked within 3 minutes from each other from the same account have such a substantial difference. I was sitting there laughing hysterically while he argued away. He was transferred to some senior professional and he started explaining him the IT systems behind this price spike. Finally the online travel agency relented and issued both our tickets at the same price.
We had an extensive itinerary planned. We were going to fly into Delhi spend the weekend there with all our college friends and then go to Amritsar to the Golden Temple since we both had never visited and then to Shimla where one of our college friends (Aniruddh Panta) sister was getting married. So we were a part of the festivities and explored Himachal as well.
We had a great time in Delhi where we caught up with Kabi (Gaurav Kabi), Baba (Swetank Bhandari), Gauty (Gautam Verma), Pato (Shreshth Patodia) , DJ (Divij Arora) and Sidhu (Aseem Sidhu). In Amritsar we started off really early in the morning. We visited Jallianwala Bagh, The Golden Temple and Wagah Border all in a span of 6 hrs. We were exhausted and had to figure out a way to get to Shimla from Amritsar.
We hadn’t planned how we would get to Shimla from Amritsar. We assumed there would be rail connectivity and we would manage. Of course there was rail connectivity but just one train and by the time we went to the station to enquire we had already missed it. It was now 10pm and we didn’t have a hotel booking and we didn’t know how were going to Shimla. Our taxi driver suggested why not we take the bus. He seemed like he was helping but frankly he wasn’t sure what he was talking about either. One will understand why in a little while. Our taxi driver takes us to the bus station and all these bus operators come charging when they see us get off from the taxi with bags. Syd found this one fat Sardarji quite cute the way he ran towards us excitedly. So we decided to go to his store to buy tickets. He seemed quite excited as well. The conversation that followed was hilarious.
“Paaji, we want to go to Shimla, tickets hain?” Syd asked him.
Very excitedly he confirms and says how can he not have tickets for us. Since it was a long bus journey to Shimla I told Syd we must only book a Volvo bus since it would be more comfortable. Syd conveyed the same to the Sardarji and again we go an affirmative reply. He gave us chairs and asked us to sit comfortable while he confirmed our seat numbers with the agent. Fifteen minutes passed and he came over very stressed. The sardarji informed us the in reality there was no Volvo from Amritsar to Shimla. But he asked us not to worry he would figure something out. He came back to us again 10 minutes later saying he had identified an AC sleeper bus and would confirm our tickets on that one. His selling point for that bus was that it had “Air Suspension.” Syd asked him 3-4 questions about the suspension before finally confirming to him to book the tickets.
So we were booked to go to Shimla. We went to a local dhaba to eat and kill some time. 30 mins before the bus was to depart the sardarji called us again and he said he has bad news. The bus that we were booked on was never meant to go to Shimla, but to go to Delhi. What the agent told him this was the only option to go Shimla – we would have to get off halfway and catch another bus to reach Shimla. The entire mid segment was omitted and Sardarji thought the bus would go straight.
Since we were meeting Aniruddh Panta and Gautam Verma in Shimla the following morning we decided to just take the bus and figure out the rest. We go onto the bus only to realise our seat was on the upper bunk and both our seats put together was not more than 3.5 feet wide. Both of us were far from skinny and had to squeeze somehow which we did. Once we left from Amritsar people lay down in the passage of the bus as well. So effectively one couldn’t leave their seat. We had both eating like pigs at the dhaba and Syd went to sleep almost instantaneously. I on the other hand had been unable to sleep. After driving for about 45 mins we hit a very rough patch of road near Ludhiana. The “Air Suspension” obviously failed us and both of us went flying up in the air by 5-7 inches every time we hit a bump. But this didn’t wake Syd up at all. I was stressed out for the man sleeping on the floor below our seat. He couldn’t have weighed more than 45 kgs and if Syd fell on him we were in big trouble. So to avoid that tragedy I had to lie down for the remaining 5 hrs journey with one arm and one leg around Syd (as if we were cuddling) so had to hold him from falling off. He of course slept through everything and woke up very confused to find me like that when he woke up.
As per the Sardarji’s instructions we were to get off at Ambala and continue towards Shimla. Again one didn’t know how. At 4.30am we reached Ambala. The bus driver told us he was doing to drop us near Ambala Station. He did drop us near Ambala station but on the highway near that. We literally were made to get off on the expressway. There was not a dog in sight and we were both petrified. It was pitch dark, freezing and we were in the middle of an expressway with no other road in sight. We managed to identify a kacha road and decided to follow that. Getting off the highway was our first intention. We were walking for a few hundred metres when a man who literally had one foot in the grave came along on a cycle rickshaw. We asked him where Ambala station was and he informed us it was about 1 km away down the kacha road. In the pitch darkness and freezing cold, scared out our wits this elderly mad offered to give both of us a ride on his rickshaw. We just stood there and laughed for 5 mins. We explained to him that if he tried to pull us both on the rickshaw it could be fairly dangerous, given our “load.” He agreed and we decided to let him pull our bags and we walked behind him till the station. The next leg of our journey was from Ambala to Kalka by road for which we found a local taxi very easily. Kalka was a 45 minute drive during which our driver explained to us how best to get to Shimla. He suggested renting and Innova from Kalka that would cost about Rs.1800 to Shimla and get us there in about 2.5 hours. He also told us the train was a waste of time and not to be foolish and consider it. We did the exact opposite of what he told us.
We reached Kalka station which was at the foot hills of the mountains. It was 1 degree and we both weren’t equipped. We sat down on the road outside the station and removed 3-4 t-shirt/shirts from our bags to wear on top of what we were already wearing. We bought monkey caps at the station to help keep us warm. When we went to buy tickets for the toy train to Shimla there was no one at the counter. So syd walks straight into the office and starts waking people up since the train was to leave in 20 mins. The TC on duty was a young man from Kanpur and at 5.30 am syd was extremely excited to discover that. They had already become friends and therefore the TC was trying to convince us as to how bad the train was. He told us it’s a “bogus” train as it takes 6 hrs to cover 96 kms and is a waste of time. Since they were already friends the TC was looking out for us and would not let us book it. In fact he told us his friend will take us in an Innova for Rs.1,500. Syd relented and said if he goes to Shimla it will only be in the toy train. The TC took us to the train to show it to us and deter us but Syd was so excited to go on the toy train. Finally after arguing and begging the TC to sell us a ticket we managed to get confirm our journey to Shimla.
The train was actually tiny and had only 10 people per bogie. But we were both excited and we left for Shimla on the train. A few hours into the journey we were both half asleep and we hear the door of the train. Someone was trying to open it. We both froze for a second and began to think this was some sort of train robbery about to happen. We were scared. The door opened and it was the attendant coming to serve us breakfast. The train moved so slowly that he would get off the previous bogie and jump into the next to serve breakfast. Thereafter whenever we wanted to stretch our legs we would just step off the train and walk along side it during its uphill journey. It was quite exciting.
After 6 long hours we did make it to Shimla and every single person we met at the wedding told us we were the two dumbest people to take that train. No one had any idea of what an eventful journey we had. It will remain one of the best travels of my lifetime for sure. We had an amazing 3 days in Shimla after which we went back to Delhi and spent the day at Qutub Minar since both of us hadn’t seen that either.
He was the go-to-guy. Whether in India or in Dubai, during the day or middle of the night; the guy was always accessible. n I could ping him for just about anything- gossiping, seeking career advice, brooding, seeking help regarding the birthday gifts I could buy for Anish , asking for help in general, complaining about someone… Anything. N he would always have the perfect thing to say, something that would just resolve everything that very instant. Some of the phrases he used, that still lift me up are: ‘Breathe in, Breathe out’, ‘Believe in your guesswork’, ‘Teacherni, Teacher is built into you’, ‘ye to mangtaech hai’, ‘I love sleeping in the train. It’s like a cradle’, ‘If you’re having a bad day, make it a good haircut day’ n the funny sound Kavitha mentioned.. 😛 feel free to add more guys. 🙂
Friendship is a beautiful thing. All the more interesting, rather funny at times, is the way people become friends. One may become friends with fellow passengers in the train, while sitting in examination hall for giving entrance exam or while in various bizarre situations. We quickly form associations that comfort us anywhere we are.
Friendship, perhaps, is also one of the most accepting n non judgemental of relationships. More accepting than probably the relationship of a married couple. In marriage, people either take time to accept each others idiosyncrasies or one has to change for the other or the two simply have to learn to coexist.
After anish n I got married, we too , took time to accept each others quirks and we had to make conscious effort for the same. One such quirk was my obsession with folding each n every piece of clothing tidily before it is put in the cupboard. After eight odd months of marriage that his group of friends became comfortable with me n I with them, Anish finally shared his frustration on how I needed to have all the clothes folded, how I would create a ruckus if he didn’t comply n how I would methodically fold even his under wears. All our friends laughed at this OCD of sorts of mine.
Except Siddharth Singh who knew exactly how it is done and why it’s important to pay heed to an otherwise thought of as a futile detail.Funnily enough, he went to the the extent of hand gesturing how an underwear is to be folded, to fend me. And also, because he did the same. Folded even his under wears.
N that’s how Phugga n I bonded; over our mutual understanding of importance of folding under wears the way they should be and the sentiment behind the same. Till
date, this obsession of mine irks Anish but because of this, I found a friend to keep.
[Komal, a close friend, had known Syd since 2009. She was part of the Coffee Jar, Meena Point group in Pune. Both, Komal and husband Anish (bike group) were close to Syd.]
In the haste of living life the way we should live it, we end up not living it altogether. We end up merely existing. We survive but we don’t remain.
Siddharth singh, our very own Phugga, leaving us the way he did, rendered us jostled inside our bones. With the sad news of his demise flashed a series of unforgettable fond memories before my eyes, even those that I was unaware were etched so deeply in my mind. Never knew loss in this way before. The realization that I would never be able to hear his laughter or witness his antics dawns upon me with every passing day and each day is as difficult as the day before. And then there are days of acceptence. You make peace with reality.
Walking down the memory lane made me realize what a wonderful person Syd was. What I observed, humbled me. The sheer number of people whose lives he touched amazes me. Little did I realize that a cute cheerful friend was so much more than just a happy go lucky fellow. In the short span of his life, he left indelible marks n lifelong impressions in so many lives. Such love. Such compassion and sensitivity towards others. Such joy.
He brought life to our life. He means so much to so many people and that is incredible. How does one do that?
Apart from making other’s lives beautiful, Syd lived his life to the optimum too. And this learning is what I will take from him. He was always there for his friends and family. He achieved success at work. He traveled places. Partied. Experimented in life. Earned love and respect. Contributed to social causes.
Made people around him happy. Dreamed and strived to fulfill those dreams. When I say all this, I don’t intend to glorify the mistakes he might have made. Mistakes are inevitable. But his flaws didn’t deter him from living a happy life and from bringing happiness to others. And today, that is all that matters.
Syd lived every day as if it were his last until it was.
He didn’t just exist but he remains.
Alive in all those he loved.
Lost love is still love. It just takes a different form. You can’t hear them taking a dig at you or see them laugh at your stupidity. But when these senses weaken, other heighten. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it and hold it. You dance with it. You celebrate life with it. Life has to end. Love doesn’t.
And so I know Syd remains. In the memories he has left us with. He remains in us.
Komal
[Kavita, a close friend, had known Syd from the Pune (Coffee Jar, Meena Point) days.]
He used to make this funny sound from the base of his throat. It sounded like .. well, I am not sure how to describe it, but I think it was his way of saying : ‘Blah’, ‘Gah’, “I dont know what to say!’, I am bored!’, “Enough with the talking!’.
[Anish, a close friend, had known Syd sinc 2009. They were part of bike groups]
We rode, we ate. We played pranks together. Sometimes we would just while away doing nothing. Poker nights. Made plans to ride. Barbaadi nights. more food. Endless trips to Jar. Random conversations. Make plans to travel. Talk about gadgets (GoPRO, being the favourite of all). Travel. Eat more. Laugh. Gossip. Debate. Argue. Laugh, more. YMCA. BaapDeoGhat. Stargaze. Off-Road. Ride. Talk about bikes. Colaba. Biryani.
[Anirudh, a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2004)]
Syd was always ready to hear you out and to help if need be. In the final year of enginerring when I had practically nothing to do I used to stay out and Syd was always ready to keep me company. His house was just a few hundred meters away from my place: so be it for a drink or to watch a footbal match or to just hear me rant about inane things in life, Syd was there. When I moved to Bombay and was disillusioned with work he was patient in understanding my troubles and was one of the first person who convinced me to follow my dreams. Always ready to lend a shoulder. The best amongst all of us. He also brought humour to all our lives. I remember asking him to pick up hair wax on the way from Dubai. I just could not find a particular brand here. He visited a few shops till he found it, all the while complaining (with a few coulourful words thrown in) that I am asking a balding guy to pick up hair wax. I think I deserved that!
[Gaurav, a close friend, had known Syd since the Yardi days in Pune]
I have realized slowly that there are two ways you make friends. This happens subconciously.
One are those whom you bond with over common interests. These are friends you make gradually. Friends you make over countless hours spent talking about the same topics, listening to the same music, watching similar movies. Friends bounded by habits. Second are those who naturally and quickly become a friend. Mostly because of who they are. Siddharth was such a friend.
Both of us worked at Yardi Systems. I was based out of California. However, for the few weeks that I worked out of Pune, the one thing that I cherish the most is getting to know Siddharth. Even though we were not working together literally, we bonded. And now that I think why, it was because of Siddharth. Because of his nature to be calm, approachable and always jovial. Pleasant is the word. He made you want to be around him. That was the strength of his personality. It takes me a while to be comfortable around people. But not Siddharth. Just after having met Siddharth a few times, I ended up moving from a very good friend’s place in Pune to crashing at Siddharths apartment for a few nights. Along with TG and Mukesh, we had hung around a lot, drank a lot and had a many crazy conversations. That we had many common interests and habits (the first
way to make friends) came only much later over multiple conversations around bikes, music, career and of course travel.
There are very few moments in your life that you remember exactly what you were doing in that moment. That was the day when I got the email from TG about Siddharth. I had spoken to Siddharth only a few days back. I had just quit my job. I was going to spend a week in Santa Barbara with Mukesh, a common friend. The night before TG’s email, I spoke with Mukesh to add a conference call with Siddharth and TG on the agenda. Unfortunately the call was not meant to be. I still wish we could at least have that one more phone call. I, as I am sure every one who has known Siddharth, truly miss having him around.
Lot of kick-ass, memorable experiences with Syd – brother, college buddies, roommate, travelled a lot together, music.. lot, lot more.
This photo best describes the time we had on one of the camping trips to the liwa desert during winter season in U.A.E.I still remember Syd’s excitement while shopping for camping stuff, he wanted to buy more tents and take them back home.
He loved the long drive into the desert and we had an awesome camping night, cooked, ate drank, played games. The photo was a funny session the following morning, Syd wanted to jump higher & higher for every click. Syd always made everyone laugh, total rockstar!!
(Zeenat, a close friend, had known Syd March 2013. Both were at Majid Al Futtaim, Dubai.)
Hello Sir! Hope all is well.
I understand Aunty has been doing better and am very glad to hear of the same. I hope aunty and you continue to have the strength to live life to its fullest as I am sure Siddharth wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
I miss and think of Siddharth every day honestly. There was no one like him, and I doubt there will ever be. I was just telling my husband on 31st December 2014 morning, that had Siddharth been around, he would have driven me crazy by playing the most annoying songs of hindi movies and singing along – he used to do that all the time. Every time he would be sitting with us, he would start playing with his phone and sing a song while shaking his head. And the best part was, he used to call these songs “happening!”.
I smile and laugh at that memory and every other memory of him.
He touched all our lives without even trying. A truly amazing person, and he shall live on in our memories…in sha Allah.
Regards as always,
Zeenat Kapasi
(Vikas had known Syd since long, from the IIT Kanpur days when Syd was a child.)
Mithoo was technically my first cousin, my mother’s brother’s youngest child. But in my mind, he was and will always remain my brother. He was around 14 years younger than me, the darling of the entire family.
I have several fond memories of Mithoo but this one is special …
The setting is at IIT Kanpur nearly 20 years ago where Mithooalong with his elder brother Kedar and parents resided at that time. I enjoyed my stints at IIT Kanpur and used to visit fairly frequently.
This story is from one of those visits …
It is every child’s dream to steal from an orchard and Mithoo was no different.
The Big Hairy Audacious Goal was to burgle the regularly patrolled IIT Kanpur Garden Nursery which was famous in the region for its variety of fruits and flowers. It goes without saying that Mithoo was extremely excited about this adventure. He was heavily involved in doing a recce of the place, deciding on what to ‘take’ from the nursery, choosing the right time for this endeavour, clarifying roles & responsibilities for every family member and zeroing in on the approach as well as the getaway plan. Upon reflection, we would have put the entire crew of Oceans 11, 12 & 13 to shame J
I can never quite forget that night. Mithoo took it upon himself to be our Chief of Security i.e. warn us of any impending danger from the patrolling guards and was heavily armed with an old torch with new batteries. He gave us a few scares during the course of our heist when he accidentally flashed a few times and when asked later replied with his ever cute smile “Bhaiya, was just checking whether the torch was working or not”! All you could do in such a situation was to give him a bear hug. We successfully conducted our raid and escaped with an entire bunch of bananas (around 200 individual bananas), cannot tell you how crazily difficult it was to transport our spoils back home. We celebrated big-time upon returning home with cold-drinks etc. for having pulled this off.
I am extremely grateful to God that I got this opportunity to play a role in Mithoo’s rites of passage. Life has not been the same since the news of his passing but whenever I look at his framed photo I cannot help but think of all the wonderful times we had and the endless possibilities of what might have been.
I miss you Mithoo … a lot …
-Vikas Sinha (20.04.2015)
(Ubbu has been a close friend of Syd since the Pune days and it continued to Dubai.)
UBBU on SIDDHARTH – LAST FEW HOURS.
Hope you and Aunty are keeping well.
I have been finding it difficult to come to terms with things as they are now. I don’t know why Syd left me without saying bye that day, I wish I had kept his keys… I miss him dearly.
I’m sorry I didn’t send you something sooner. I had written something awhile ago but have been prolonging the completion as I felt conflicted. I couldn’t put down things in words and I felt like I had to let go some part when I complete it.I associated the act of completing the email and sending it as a physical act of letting go and hence I kept delaying it. A friend of ours has made me realize that I don’t have to let go and irrespective of anything, Syd will always be here with all of us. I’m still coming to terms with that.
I’m truly sorry that I delayed it for my selfish reasons.
On that Thursday night,
You remembered everyone.
You spoke about almost everyone we know…
You spoke about Soniya being a very good friend.
How you were actually considering arranged marriage !!
You said you had the best time of your life at my wedding because you got to spend it with ‘everyone’!
You told me how much you missed the Pune people …I still remember your words…”I love those guys…”
You remembered Chotu bhai’s face when Ray was born and how scared you were and how super excited you were to meet Rayansh now..
How excited you were to go to Pune that weekend
You wanted to surprise Kedar bhayya and bhabhi …spoke about how awesome it was that they were getting to go to Brazil.
You spoke about how you had to juggle time between meeting friends in mumbai, pune and spend time with family especially mummy.
How you had made mum book a dentist appointment.
You said so much that day, that I didn’t get to say much…. So here it is
Thank You for all the beautiful memories you have left , that I will cherish forever.
Thank You for always being there and supporting me through everything, whether it was learning to ride a bike or how to make chapatti.
Thank You for throwing me an amazing welcome party.
Thank you for listening to my cribbing and gossip. It became a cherished part of my day
But above all, thank you for spending the last few hours with me…
I miss you…those three words…are said too much…But, they’re not enough
This is not a good bye my friend, this is just few things I missed out on telling you sooner.
Loads of Love,
Ubbu
(Tathagatha, a close friend, had known Syd since his Pune Yardi days circa 2008.)
S!d was a perfectionist at work. He never ever did any shoddy work irrespective of very tight timelines or circumstances. My personal preference would be that this website be nothing short of perfect, what ever little we put together in it…
Dear Uncle,
There is not a day when I don’t think of Siddharth and feel the pain of his loss. I hope our memories of him help you and aunty to heal though the pain will never go away.. I’ll tell you a few stories about him..
When we were living in pune, I did not own a television and syd did. So I used to go to his place every other day and plonk myself on the sofa and take over the remote. Syd would come home in the eve and he always wanted to watch either cricket or football or some show on bikes and we used to argue over who could watch TV. I had no right to the television as such but he used to humor me and allow me to make my arguments (though he eventually always won). Sometime in 2012, Chotu Bhai moved to Mumbai and gave his big screen television to Syd and Kevin and Syd gave us his smaller one to take home.. 🙂 He was always so generous. Gave away whatever he was not using or did not need.
Regarding shahrukh khan.. Syd used to love watching these weird movies which were flops at the box office and he used to force us to watch them. He absolutely loved that unrealistic action and would laugh so hard because they were unbelievable and I used to protest a lot and we used to get into these arguments where he would say that all these movies were better than what shahrukh khan made. (I am a huge shahrukh khan fan) Everyone present used to just sit back and watch us bicker.:)
Also when I moved to Delhi, Syd had come down to attend a marriage and he reached one day before my birthday.. For two weeks before that, I had been bragging about this coffee machine I had bought but I was not buying good coffee and just using nescafe. So when Syd met me on my birthday, he gave me a can of Turkish coffee and three massive bags of chocolates. I don’t really celebrate birthdays and I don’t expect gifts ever but he remembered just like that to buy all that for me. And I was so touched by his gesture and he (being Syd) behaved as though it was no big deal. I never got around to opening the can of coffee and I don’t think I ever will now. I will keep it like that forever.
He was so big hearted. He had this unique way of doing things, which were so thoughtful but he used to behave as though they were ordinary. That is what made him so special for me. He used to say these small things at that moment when you needed the encouragement or make you laugh when u were sad. He just had this way.
We all really miss him and I hope that we are helping you by telling these stories.
Lots of love
Swati
(Swati, a close friend, had known Syd since college days circa 2005.)
Hi Uncle,
How are you and aunty doing? I hope everything is fine. Kevin informed me sometime back that you were planning to start a page in Syd’s memory and I wanted to contribute. I wrote this short piece for him.
If there is anything that I can do to help you and aunty, please do tell me. I wish I could come to Mumbai and meet all of you again but that will have to wait till next year. Please give aunty my love.
With love,
Swati Gupta
(Rizzie was Syd’s office mate in Majid Al Futtaim, Dubai since 2013.)
Dear Mr. Singh,
Wish you the riches of the Blessings of Christ and a 2015 filled with His grace.
Siddharth, he may not be with us physically but his memories remains and always be remembered.
Personally, I would be ever grateful for him. He was generous shared his knowledge to me as new user to the yardi system application. Each time I asked him, he never hesitated to assist me & understand the application. He was quiet working with his earphone yet he accomplished a lot.
He washardworking but really smart and intelligent. I know how it feels when you loose someone. It takes time for the healing for the vacant space taken from you. I am praying for you & your family to find strength especially during your quiet moments.
May God bless you.
Sincerely,Rizzie
(Prachita, a close friend, had known Syd since Pune days some time around 2006.)
Hello Uncle and Aunty,
I first want to apologize for not quite being intouch. My parents complain quite often that I get lost in my world and forget about everyone else around me. It’s not entirely true, I do get lost but I try to tell them that I love them and I always think of them and that I just never get around to expressing it enough. I feel the same about you as well and I as write this letter, I’ll remind myself to try more.
Life in DC has been good so far, I really enjoy my course. Coming out of engineering course, where everything is a solution to pursuing graduate studies in Development Studies where everything is a discussion has quite the life-changing experience. I love reading all my course material, being surrounded by students from different parts of the world and in so many ways being at the epicenter of international affairs. Apart from doing my course, I also intern part-time at the World Bank which has been a really great opportunity. At every step of the way since I have been here and every single opportunity I’ve had, I think of Sid. I’m not sure I can explain this entirely but he has become the force that guides my life. He helps me challenge myself, believe I can do it and a lot of times not feel alone. To be honest, I don’t think I would have quite pushed myself to do half the things I have if I didn’t have Sid with me.
I miss my travel plans with Sid the most. Even if most of them were plans set for the future and not necessarily definitive, just the idea of planning them and having Sid chart out excel sheets and travel budgets made it all the more possible. He would let me have my travel rants and most times, engage and even encourage the group into it as well. I remember the first time I sat behind Sid as pillion on his bike and we (Pune group) were on one of our many bike outings. On the way back, I couldn’t help but doze off. Poor Sid! not only had to ride the Enfield slowly (which beat the whole purpose of going on bike rides) because he was so scared I would fall off but also had to make conversations with me to keep me up. And, not once did he complain or sound irritable. I don’t think I have quite met anyone else who is that incredibly sweet and selfless.
I miss Sid everyday and he will always be with me. Thank you for making us part of your lives and I’m sorry that I haven’t quite been intouch.
Big hug and lots of love
Prachita
(Niraj had known Syd since long from the IIT Kanpur days when Syd was a child.)
We called him Mitthoo. I used to tease him and often called him “Tote ki dum”. Nobody knows that. But he never got angry. But would only say Bhaiya mat bolo in a childlike voice.
He was our most beloved child. Once he was coming from Pune by his favorite Enfield Bullet. Before leaving from Pune he called and asked me to stay at home. It was Sunday. I told him not to come by Bike. I said to him “Please bike se mat aao, Mummy bahut gussa ho jayegi”. But he said ” Kuch nahin hota hai, main Mummy ko samjjha loonga.” He had to collect something fron me.
What was that I don’t remember exactly right now. He came around 12 O’clock at afternoon. I purchased juices, soft drinks and flavored milk. Also ordered Pizza. Because till then I knew that he loves Pizzas and soft drinks. But to my surprise, he didnot touched anything except flavored milk. He asked me to cook something. I was alone in the house so I asked him if he would like to eat rice, dal and vegetables. When I was preparing to cook, he was searching for s’thing in the kitchen.
He was opening all the jars and asking me what is this. I lovved his way of searching and asking very innocently in childish manner. Then he got “Dalia” and forced me to cook that only. I said ,”Are bhai ye tum kya khaoge, kuch aur kha lo like pizza or anything else”.
But no he was not in a mood to listen to me and I cooked Dalia. Aur usne bade pyar se khaya. Main surprised tha ki sab kuch chod kar dalia khana prefer kiya. Earlier I knew that he likes junk food a lot. But I was wrong. After this incident, whenever any of my friends come to my house i always ask if he would like to eat Dalia. Dalia is my favorite breakfast now. From the bottom of my heart, I feel he is with us. It took me three to four days to write these few lines. “Bechaini badh gayi hai”. Can’t write more for now. But will share more time to time.
(Jahnvi, a close friend, had known Syd since 2009. She was part of the Coffee Jar, Meena Point group in Pune. Both, Jahnvi and husband Sambit were (bike group) were close to Syd.)
In celebration of being alive
On writing about Syd, I have shamelessly copied the title of my favourite chapter in an English Text book at school. It was a speech by Dr. Christiaan Bernard (who performed the first successful heart transplant) titled
In Celebration of Being alive. I read (celebrate-every-moment.blogspot.in) it several times and even today, I can reproduce its message verbatim: “The business of living is joy in the real sense of the word, not just something for pleasure, amusement, (or) recreation. The business of living is the celebration of being alive.”
Dr. Bernard comes across two children, one of the children was severely disfigured because of burns caused during his parents’ fight and the other one had cancer with an amputated arm and shoulder. In spite of their sufferings these two carefree children have fun in the hospital. An incident gives a profound lesson and Dr.Bernard concludes: “These children showed me that it’s not what you’ve lost that’s important. What is important is what you have left.”
We miss Syd. But, what he left for me is the learning that I celebrate life with what I have today. That’s exactly how Syd was. Syd or Fugga (as we fondly called him) was synonymous with fun. I have always seen him involved in the moment celebrating life to the fullest. My earliest memories of Syd are stories of his antics which Mustansir (a friend of ours) narrated to us – the stories made us laugh and I looked forward to meet him.
Syd was the life of a party. He could play air-guitar well and would dance without inhibitions. In spite of having the physique of a teddy-bear, Syd could move his body in sync with the music. He knew several steps of Bollywood dance songs and would groove to the music beautifully. Despite being the rockstar of parties, Syd loved his own space in his apartment. He was clear that he wanted an entire room to himself. He was kind to the maid-servant who would come to clean up his house. Remembering Syd, Ashabai (the maid-servant) once told me how Syd would often offer to pay for her auto-rickshaw for her trip back home if she got delayed at work. A generous fellow, Syd, rather than sell his stuff, left his refrigerator (among several things) to Ashabai before he left for Dubai.
Syd was a hard-core foodie and biker. He relished good food and travel. During his time on this planet, he did one of the best things – explored several places on his bike and car. I can still hear in my head Syd saying “dude” in his deep fun voice as he would before starting to make his point. It is a pleasant memory. If I could, I would have wanted him to live longer. Fortunately, however long he was here, he celebrated life and in his cool way he said to life: “Dude!”
Janhvi Nanavati
(Gaurav, a close friend, had known Syd since the Yardi days in Pune.)
Hello Vijay –
I do not think you know me or have heard of me from Siddharth.
I unfortunately got to know Sid very briefly.
Its coming a year late – but I am sorry for your loss and my thoughts are with you and your family.
I wrote the anecdote below a few months back when I got TG’s email but never got around to sending it to you.
I hope you will find at least some meaning in it.
BTW – Sid had mentioned a few times that you live in BARC, Boisar/Tarapur. I grew up in Boisar just around
the corner from BARC colony and my family still has the business operating out of Boisar. If you are still there,
I would love to come meet you the next time I am in India.
Thanks,
Gaurav
The Plateau – Aseem Sidhu. March 30 2015.
Back when we had just joined an Engineering college, we used to be on the lookout for a short peaceful outing to soothe our harried souls.
A hill behind the college hostel leading to The Plateau as it was known back then came to the rescue.
It used to be Syd’s motivation that would budge us to get out on our bikes and go.
We saw many sunrises and late night stars there. Beautiful memories.
(Aseem Siddhu, a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2003). He runs Coffee Jar outlets in Pune.)
Hi Uncle,
I hope you are all keeping well. As we had discussed the last time we met, I wanted to share with you the memory of an incident that I shared with Siddharth.
It was a bright and sunny July afternoon and me and Siddharth were in the most beautiful place any of us had ever seen in our entire lives.
The More plains. A 40 km stretch on the Manali Leh highway, on a motorcycle ride that we had been waiting and preparing for, for years.
We had with us two other friends Anish and Amit, all of us riding our motorcycles.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Amit had a crash right before my eyes.
We packed him up on a jeep and Anish went along to get him to a hospital.
This left me, Siddharth and three motorcycles stranded in the middle of nowhere and turning what was the most beautiful place to the most treacherous one in an instant.
I remember running over multiple options in my head all the while being stressed and quite anxious if any of the plans from A to Z will work out.
Siddharth in his characteristic calmness assured me, we’ll do something, it will all work out.
Seeing that calmness, I drew some gumption from within and we set to the task of transporting all five entities to their destination.
How we did that is another story. We did manage to turn the place right back to an enchanting landscape in our minds.
The stillness of both of us sitting on the ground and watching the sky will stay with me forever.
Regards,
Aseem Sidhu
Sid was the coolest guy I had come across. We instantly became friends. Best thing about him was the quality of winning one over.
Man he was so good at that or what. He would have a random conversation with you on a sad day and your day then on would go on so happy.
I had once gone with him on a bike trip – Me, Sonali and Sid.
On our way back i insisted on riding the his motor bike as i was to bored to ride back on an activa!
Sid got really excited and since activa did not have any manual gears, he actually folded his legs up and rode the bike all the way down from lavasa in this position!
And mind you it was pouring… Can you beat that…he found happiness in the craziest of things.
Also in office i always saw him making notes on some random piece if papers.
He had no notebook or office notepad, but just random pages.
He would just note something on it an keep it with him till the task was done and then he would dump it.
I have never seen him lie to hurt others…he always did that to pull someone’s leg or for just plain nirmal anand.
I love the memories i have of him and will keep then safe deep down.
Thanks a lot for this opportunity uncle! Sid you rock!!
(Avneet, a close friend, had known Syd having met him in Yardi, Pune and again in Majid Al Futtaim, Dubai. Shared love of bike, travel and music.)
Hello Uncle,
Siddharth was one of the smartest kids and it was always so much fun to have a conversation with him.
He always had his opinion and never liked to tell his opinion unless asked. Even though he was a couple of years
younger, I always looked upto him for advice.
There was this one instance when i was so stuck in MAF office and had loads of work to complete.
Siddharth and I had planned to go out and have dinner with other friends after work but i had decided that i would go for dinner only after i complete my work.
We were the only ones in office at around 9pm.
He asked me to relax and said that we would together complete all the work and would go for dinner in an hour.
There was at least 3 hour work pending. He was efficient, and within an hour most of my work was complete.
He was super fast and super helpful. Just his attitude, his nature bowled people over. I will always cherish the memories i have
with him.
Uncle i will surely take your message forward to other Yardi friends. Thanks for this opportunity!
Warmest Regards,
Avneet
(Arjun, a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2003) where they were room mates. )
Uncle, I have been meaning to write this for the longest time, but every time I begin to pen my thoughts, I don’t know how and where to start.
The incidents have been way too many, some tell-able, most censored.
The Journey…………..
It had already been a day and everyone had settled in there rooms. I was late and reached the VIT hostel late in the night.
In the middle of nowhere stood the building, the most terrible locality, unknown people as roommates and to top it all no pillows and stinking mattresses. It couldn’t have been worse and god couldn’t have been more punishing.
Tired and irritated, I had lost heart and just sat on the bed, disgruntled. In retrospect, it was God’s plan.
I clearly remember two people walk into the room, Shreshth (my roommate) and a tall, huge man with a smile of a baby. They came, he saw, and just knew from the look on my face, without even being told, he stole a pillow, slimily robbed my other roommate off his mattress, all in 2 minutes and with his ever hungry self said “CHAL KHAANE”.
That’s my 1st introduction to Fugga sometimes known as SIDDHARTH SINGH- a true friend.
By next morning we had bullied erstwhile roommates, gotten ourselves a new room, fresh stolen pillows and mattresses. That’s how the friendship began.
He was sincere, sensitive, focused, and sharp, wanting to be an engineer. Just chose the wrong room. We put his sincerity, focus in perspective and taught him to play cards. The lectures soon started turning into teen patti tables, early morning study into late night drinking sessions (SORRY)!!!
He always talked about you, your achievements, physics and how you inspired him. He would always miss aunty during and post dinners in the canteen and her gulabjamun.
He was always an obedient and a very respectful son. So every time he got to know, you or aunty were visiting, we would clean and sanitize the room for days. He would often say, if my parents got to know any of this, they’ll disown me.
But my brother would be happy. He would often talk about Kedar, his liking for rock music, his parties and how chill he was. He never said it, but I knew he always wanted to be more like him.
Time just flew, and by the time we realized, the first year results were out and most of us managed to pass.
To every unusual event that happened in our first year from being hated by profs for being North Indians, to getting less marks in lab tests because we didn’t know Marathi, the best was to follow.
By the end of 1st year we had all moved out of the hostel into our flats and villas. He was officially staying in the hostel, but probably went their once a week to get fresh pair of clothing.
The second year began with a bang. We were probably the only people in the history of ragging to be ragged in the 2nd year.
So we were called to a senior’s house and politely asked to take off our shirts. We had pre-decided to say “NO” to any stripping, ofcourse mooted by Fugga for various reasons known. As luck would have it, one of our friends got carried away and so all of us had to aswell. That’s the most embarrassed and shy I had ever seen him. (LOL)
It was all great fun as we got to drink later and he got his share of mithais.
The second year slowly started to get too hectic, with the pressure of performing in Counter Strike tournaments and mastering the art of gambling, we had to reduce going to college everyday. (As they say, you have to prioritize).
The second year also zoomed past, and we somehow managed to scrape through, flunking just one or two subjects.
The third year, started on a different tangent only. I had opted for a course, which required me to undergo industrial training for 6 months instead of college. In short 6 months of vacations. Not opting for the same ofcourse, but ofcourse following the same routine was Fugga. By then we had almost started living together, and the every week trip to the hostel became monthly.
Too many responsibilities, like Counter Strike, DOTA, Poker, Bar-be-que sessions, Drinking and the desire to cover all big and small places worth visiting in and around Pune had gotten to us. It was getting difficult to focus and achieve our targets. So after much contemplation and intense brain-storming sessions, we sadly had to decide to let go off our college. (In his lingo, KuchpaanekeliyekuchkhonapadtahaiBhai)
The profs had given up on us way back in the first year, so that wasn’t a problem. Our marks would never increase courtesy our linguistic barriers, took care of our labs, not bringing our attendance to notice and be the core issue.
He was the bartender (as always), self-appointed guardian of alcohol. His disastrous record of being the bartender, spoke volumes. His endeavor to see everyone happy and drunk always backfired. He used to be the first one crawling out from behind the bar table everytime, in the first 20minutes of every party.
In one such Bar-be-queparties, he and his dangerous concoctions of alcohol, resulted in a disaster. We saw people burning themselves while bar-be-queing, jumping from the first floor, sleeping on the roof and him breaking his front tooth. It was too hilarious when he got up 10 am in the morning on the roof, struggling to recollect the night before and find his missing tooth.
I can guarantee one thing, it was only for him, that we all, atleast 30 of us, used to have his nasty concoctions, only him. Those were his only experiments in the field of chemistry. (HAHA)
He was always yaaronkayaar, never ever remember him saying a “NO” to anyone, for anything. It didn’t matter what time of night it was, all we had to do was just ASK. He never said “NO” so no one could ever say “NO” to him.
The third year also flew by and we had were slowly beginning to realize that our vacations in life were about to end.
The fourth year began, and we started attending college again. Most of his classmates just knew him by name, some never saw him, some forgot what he looked like, and a few had just heard stories. There were myths and legends about him, and an air of terror. Looks could be deceptive.
In one such incidents, I think he was returning back late in the night after a game of DOTA. In some confusion, and an act of road rage, a few goons followed him to friends house, and started hitting him. The men were huge themselves and drunk, they pinned him on the stairs leading to the house and kicked him. The episode was ugly, and we tried getting help from our influential friends’ father. But by the help could come, they had beaten him black and blue, and left.
Why I choose to write about this is, after a few months, just the two of us were sitting together and drinking. I asked him jokingly, saaleitnahaathijaisahai, why did you act so like a girl and not hit them aswell. He told me in one line, saale it takes guts to digest a beating like that, if I would have started hitting them, they would have ganged up, hit me, and then hurt everyone else in the house for no reason.
It put me in place, saariuttargayi……..
Behind his baby smile, was a strong man, far stronger than all of us put together. Looks were deceptive.
He always thought about others, never shied away from helping friends. He bought bikes from friends, he knew were broken beyond repair, but only because they had to leave the city or unable to afford it, he bought them. He was kind, generous, loving, caring, sensitive, yaroonkayaar, smart, grand custodian of alcohol and tall. Every quality you want in an ideal son and a true friend.
He will always be missed and his memories cherished.
Love you BRO.
( Ankit, a close friend, had known Syd since college days (2003). )
Dear Vijay Uncle,
Sorry for the delay in sharing these with you.
I have been friends with Siddharth for a long time (more than a decade) and there are many stories that I have to share.
The 2 anecdotes that I am sharing with you in the e-mail are smaller instances, these probably don’t make the best stories and I would not have been surprised if Syd would not remember if I were to narrate these to him. However, I decided to share these instances with you, as I wanted to let you know how some of the smaller things that he would do, sometimes almost instinctively, had a very big impact on others.
My Bike Guru
This one is from back in 2003-04. first year of college in VIT, Pune
Syd and I had borrowed a friend’s Kinetic Scooter to get lunch from the nearby restaurant. I was riding pillion with Syd, when I just casually mentioned how I would like to learn to ride a 2 wheeler, not even expecting a response.
Syd stopped the scooter, got off, and told me to come in front. I remember telling him that we’ll do it the next time, but he insisted. He gave me a quick 2 minute tutorial about the brakes and accelerator and we were off. That was just the start.
After a few times, we upgraded to a bike. He would sit behind me patiently shouting directions about when to change gears and when to accelerate or slow down . We fell a few times, and I also manage to pull off stunts like lifting the front wheel off the ground, but that did not stop our riding lessons.
I don’t know how he was able to trust me when I clearly wasn’t so sure of myself, or why he was ready to take that fall with me, but I guess it was times like this that made me realize how I had found myself a friend for life.
My Brother-in-law 🙂
This is more recent, 18th November 2013, my wedding day.
Syd had missed my engagement in Delhi back in Feb 2013, as it was very close to the time he was moving to Dubai. Even though I understood, I had given him a very hard time for doing that, and he promised he would surely come down for my wedding in November.
Syd also knows my wife, Sanjukta, for as long as I have known her, as we were all in college together, and therefore was a double invitee to the wedding. In spite of being busy with work in November, he made the trip to Delhi for the entire 4 days of the wedding celebrations.
On the day of the wedding,Sanjukta had to be escorted to the stage under a sheet of flowers, each corner being help by one of her brothers.
Sanjukta has 3 brothers, so Syd filled-in carrying one end of the sheet, and walked with her all the way from the entrance to the stage. I have attached a picture of of Syd wearing a red pagri, walking next to Sanjukta.
This gesture left all of us very touched.