Her smile was infectuous...she stood out in the crowd due to this. And, the fact that she was often seen around with a particular someone, now her husband. Ofcourse, people talk. :-) And office gossips...well...:-)

She was also considered to be good at her work. That's how I had begun to notice her. I had made a mid-carreer move and was wanting to learn as much about the new line of profession I had chosen and as quickly as possible. It was not so easy - making a move from social work to IT- ELearning.

Days passed. I was in a project with her. The project was an "oniste" project - only that the "onsite" happened to be Mumbai, not some part of America or Europe. The project was a high pressure one - very high client expectations, pressures of the "onsite" - offshore dual-mode develpment model. But, she balanced her life perfectly. Her love for life mesmerized me. What I saw was a young woman doing everything to her best and most importantly spreading cheer both at workplace and without. Her spirit for life was amazing.

Years passed. She married and joined her husband in Singapore. She kept in contact through her "weekly diaries" - vivid descriptions of the lands she visited, the people there, their culture, the geography, the history, the weather - beautiful "guides" with a personalised touch. The enthusiasm amongst her group of friends from Mumbai swung like a pendulum.
But she never wavered. Her diaries continued.
She travelled from Singapore to neighboring countries, then to Australia and then back to Singapore. Her diaries continued. Undeterred about who replied and who did not. I used to invariably excuse myself feigning work pressures. She never held to those resorts. She remembered birthdays (of freinds, their spouses, their kids), anniversaries - everything that mattered. And she continues to do that and more.

This post is in honour of Sarayu who I continue to observe with awe and regard.
Her weekly diaries continue. She now lives in Boston, where she was transferred to when her husband got admission to a premier Management School of America.

God bless you, dear! :-)