Aradhana lives on.

Its strange how some people always seem to know. They make other people look ‘human’ by never doing a lot of ‘normal’ things like:

  1. Loosing control
  2. Sulking
  3. Complaining about life
  4. Worrying about calories

Sounds almost super-human to be able to smile all the time and to continue to make people around you smile. Well some people are not normal…Aradhana wasn’t.

The past-tense used for Aradhana above is only because language has limitations. I haven’t met her for many years, so it really doesn’t matter if she is still around physically…the memories are suddenly refreshed.

For a thin , dark girl to work out of a non-AC office in ’96, in the not so posh lanes of South Ex II , and be the most gifted and creative ‘internet’ person for us was difficult to understand. She would work till late and upload the contents for (at that time) India’s first radio on the net service called Radioasianet.com. I was supposed to sell space on the media which I miserable failed on as no body understood the net at that time. The passion Aradhana would bring to that one desk in an otherwise scantily furnished office was amazing. Our first introduction to the www happened courtesy Aradhana , this when the net costed Rs. 50 /hour to use + phone expenses.

She always dreamt. A lot.

Aradhana went on to get her degree in movie making from the US, paying for her tuition by working part time. This is what she wanted. This is what she dreamt of.

She owned www.itstartswithadream.com ,which she refused to give me a mail id on. She said I didn’t ‘yet’ deserve it. I wasn’t yet following my dream.

She recently passed away. Cancer, as I understand.

Strangely, Aradhana Srivastava, lives on and it does start with a dream.

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