Nimble rat
Nimrat: Could have easily been Miss India. 5' 8", slim, fair, very pretty face, and lovely silky long black hair. No, this is not a matrimonial ad. I'm actually describing a friend of mine. The year was 1996. I had passed my 12th Std and joined GCG 11, Chandigarh. Soon we were a gang of 10 girls who called ourselves Goondi-gang 10...or G-10. 3 of us were from Chandimandir, the Army Cantt. Me, Novi and Nim. I always think of Nim as this very pretty, decent girl who never yelled. She was also very generous...be it giving us lifts in her car or her Chemistry notes! We called her Nimble Rat (from Nimrat). We had nicknames for everyone...
Her family: Her dad was in the Army at that time, but soon after he took premature retirement and started a Dental College near chandigarh. The last time that I visited Chandigarh was in 2001, and I remember that Nimrat was helping her dad by working at the Dental College. Her mom was this really sweet lady. I remember it was Dec 2001 when I stayed with them for a couple of days, and her mom ensured that I got the fattest quilt in the house because Chandigarh was cold. Her older sister, Anureet, was already married by then to an Army Officer. She was equally pretty. Her younger brother, Gurtaj, was a sweet, well-behaved guy. I remember when I had to go back from Chandigarh to Delhi, I had to go to the station to buy the Shatabdi ticket, but Gurtaj offered to get it for me. And Nim was like..."Anyway that's what brothers are for! Let him go and get it"... And he did. While me and Nim and the others hung out and had fun.
If any family could be called close to perfect, it was theirs. Nim also got married a couple of years later to the guy she loved. Both Nim and Anureet have little babies now.
Why am I remembering her today? In the morning, Novi called up. I felt a bit of tension in her voice as she asked me for Nim's number. The number I had was the old one. Apparently, Nim moved to Allahabad as her hubby got posted there and hadn't updated the gang with the new number yet. When I asked her why she wanted it, she said it was because she had heard that there's been an accident in Chandigarh...and the guy who died sounds like Nim's brother, Gurtaj. I was shocked!
A little bit of surfing on the net confirmed the worst...
News
It's really, really sad...and my heart goes out to the entire family and especially Nimrat, my sweet friend. All of us (G-10) are just so sad. I wish I could call her. I hope I can soon. Though I don't know what I can say to someone who lost her brother...but still...
Her family: Her dad was in the Army at that time, but soon after he took premature retirement and started a Dental College near chandigarh. The last time that I visited Chandigarh was in 2001, and I remember that Nimrat was helping her dad by working at the Dental College. Her mom was this really sweet lady. I remember it was Dec 2001 when I stayed with them for a couple of days, and her mom ensured that I got the fattest quilt in the house because Chandigarh was cold. Her older sister, Anureet, was already married by then to an Army Officer. She was equally pretty. Her younger brother, Gurtaj, was a sweet, well-behaved guy. I remember when I had to go back from Chandigarh to Delhi, I had to go to the station to buy the Shatabdi ticket, but Gurtaj offered to get it for me. And Nim was like..."Anyway that's what brothers are for! Let him go and get it"... And he did. While me and Nim and the others hung out and had fun.
If any family could be called close to perfect, it was theirs. Nim also got married a couple of years later to the guy she loved. Both Nim and Anureet have little babies now.
Why am I remembering her today? In the morning, Novi called up. I felt a bit of tension in her voice as she asked me for Nim's number. The number I had was the old one. Apparently, Nim moved to Allahabad as her hubby got posted there and hadn't updated the gang with the new number yet. When I asked her why she wanted it, she said it was because she had heard that there's been an accident in Chandigarh...and the guy who died sounds like Nim's brother, Gurtaj. I was shocked!
A little bit of surfing on the net confirmed the worst...
News
It's really, really sad...and my heart goes out to the entire family and especially Nimrat, my sweet friend. All of us (G-10) are just so sad. I wish I could call her. I hope I can soon. Though I don't know what I can say to someone who lost her brother...but still...