His name was Arjun, but we used to call him Energy kun! As lively, smart, active and intelligent as a young person could be, Arjun had it all. Just as he was named, he was one of the brightest of all stars.
We met in June 2013 at Asian Summer School in Information Access. Just three days of school but it felt like we had 30 days of fun together on those days! From the beginning of the day till the last day, we were hanging out together, doing fun things, silly things. I remember the first day when the school started. I don't know how exactly Arjun, Pawitra, Martin and I started to talk, but it was probably after the poster presentation that we went for dinner together at Q't and it continued for the next couple of days.
One night we were going for sushi and the Google map lied to us and we kept walking and walking towards the wrong direction. By the time we made it there we were so hungry that we could probably eat anything on earth! I remember taking tons of photos while Arjun was eating sushis. He was so excited the whole time, full of energy as usual. Also, the summer school dinner was so much fun! We were probably the only group of friends who became so close during the short period of summer school.
Then there was that Karaoke night when we were singing for hours. And those gift shop visits at Q't where Arjun really liked that Anime looking girl and took pictures with her. I remember he put that on his profile photo on Facebook soon after! Also, how can I forget that he used to use me as live Google! For anything he had to ask he would question me, even though he could probably search online.
The last night together was the most fun and silliest one, when we bought ume-shu from Q't and was sitting on the park bench and talking about all the fun stuff we did on those days. We gathered all those fun memories in just few days that we could cherish forever. We were sad to fall apart. Arjun was going back to India, Pawitra to UK and Martin to Czech Republic. But we promised to keep in touch and meet again. Arjun was going to start graduate school in Europe soon after. Only I was left in Japan, but since three of them were in Europe, I said that I will visit them one day. But life is not fair, we didn't know that four of us will never make it again.
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Last year, March 2014, I lost my dad. And I was shattered by the loss that I was not interested by other happenings that much. Also, there was a lot going on in my life, I was moving from Japan to USA for grad school. The last time I talked to Arjun was on June 2nd. Did I know then just few days after that he'll leave us forever? Why wouldn't he keep his promise?
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May be about a month ago, when I received confirmation that I was going to Oxford, I wanted to tell Arjun, thinking that he'll be excited to see me again. But there were strange messages on his Facebook, as if he wasn't there for long time. And that's when I got to know that Arjun is no longer with us. He will never talk to me again. I didn't want to believe that and I don't know how I passed next couple of days trying to accept the cruel reality. And the only way I found to pass my feelings is through this writing.
Arjun was one of the brightest star, whose life span was shorter than many of us, but he shined brightly and lighted up other people's lives without even knowing how precious he is. He was brilliant and intelligent, and sure was inspiring to many of his fellows and friends. I can only imagine how difficult it is for his parents to bear this pain as he was the only child. But we even don't know how pain makes us stronger. Arjun will surely be the pride of his parents, love of their lives forever. And I will always pray so that they can gather enough strength to bear the pain of his loss and live his memories.
Arjun will always live in my memories with his bright smile forever. And I hope this type of accident doesn't happen in too many people's life. All of us have to go someday, but you left us too soon Arjun. But thanks for gifting all the memories and your friendship, I'll cherish them forever.
We met in June 2013 at Asian Summer School in Information Access. Just three days of school but it felt like we had 30 days of fun together on those days! From the beginning of the day till the last day, we were hanging out together, doing fun things, silly things. I remember the first day when the school started. I don't know how exactly Arjun, Pawitra, Martin and I started to talk, but it was probably after the poster presentation that we went for dinner together at Q't and it continued for the next couple of days.
One night we were going for sushi and the Google map lied to us and we kept walking and walking towards the wrong direction. By the time we made it there we were so hungry that we could probably eat anything on earth! I remember taking tons of photos while Arjun was eating sushis. He was so excited the whole time, full of energy as usual. Also, the summer school dinner was so much fun! We were probably the only group of friends who became so close during the short period of summer school.
Then there was that Karaoke night when we were singing for hours. And those gift shop visits at Q't where Arjun really liked that Anime looking girl and took pictures with her. I remember he put that on his profile photo on Facebook soon after! Also, how can I forget that he used to use me as live Google! For anything he had to ask he would question me, even though he could probably search online.
The last night together was the most fun and silliest one, when we bought ume-shu from Q't and was sitting on the park bench and talking about all the fun stuff we did on those days. We gathered all those fun memories in just few days that we could cherish forever. We were sad to fall apart. Arjun was going back to India, Pawitra to UK and Martin to Czech Republic. But we promised to keep in touch and meet again. Arjun was going to start graduate school in Europe soon after. Only I was left in Japan, but since three of them were in Europe, I said that I will visit them one day. But life is not fair, we didn't know that four of us will never make it again.
--------------------------------------
Last year, March 2014, I lost my dad. And I was shattered by the loss that I was not interested by other happenings that much. Also, there was a lot going on in my life, I was moving from Japan to USA for grad school. The last time I talked to Arjun was on June 2nd. Did I know then just few days after that he'll leave us forever? Why wouldn't he keep his promise?
--------------------------------------
May be about a month ago, when I received confirmation that I was going to Oxford, I wanted to tell Arjun, thinking that he'll be excited to see me again. But there were strange messages on his Facebook, as if he wasn't there for long time. And that's when I got to know that Arjun is no longer with us. He will never talk to me again. I didn't want to believe that and I don't know how I passed next couple of days trying to accept the cruel reality. And the only way I found to pass my feelings is through this writing.
Arjun was one of the brightest star, whose life span was shorter than many of us, but he shined brightly and lighted up other people's lives without even knowing how precious he is. He was brilliant and intelligent, and sure was inspiring to many of his fellows and friends. I can only imagine how difficult it is for his parents to bear this pain as he was the only child. But we even don't know how pain makes us stronger. Arjun will surely be the pride of his parents, love of their lives forever. And I will always pray so that they can gather enough strength to bear the pain of his loss and live his memories.
Arjun will always live in my memories with his bright smile forever. And I hope this type of accident doesn't happen in too many people's life. All of us have to go someday, but you left us too soon Arjun. But thanks for gifting all the memories and your friendship, I'll cherish them forever.
