Shabana Azmi Remembers Her Friend Rita Bhaduri who passed away on Tuesday morning.

 “There is something so matter of fact , almost cold about this question, ‘Your thoughts on Rita  Bhaduri.’ I am yet to fully comprehend that my classmate from FTII passed away this morning .I’m on my way to her house and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing .Perfunctory questions .. your reactions please?… How strange that I mentioned her in a piece I wrote on the FTII days just 3 days ago .We were in touch on a whats app group of FTII classmates .I got a message yesterday that her condition was critical ..She fell down at a shooting a month ago and injured her spine. Unfortunately she contracted an infection and had to undergo another surgery.She was in excruciating pain because she was on dialysis and could not be administered strong pain killers. And today she is gone .With her go my memories of an easy comradeship, much laughter and affection that comes from living together.Although  we didn’t share a room at the FTII  hostel ,I  was in the habit of clambering into her bed on waking up .For as long as I can remember I used to snuggle into my parents’ bed first thing in the morning .When I left home for FTII it was Rita’s bed I would tumble into , my eyes only half-opened.There was something cute and impish about her .We used to call her Tanuja(veteran  actress) because of her effervescence . She was a good student , my closest  competitor in class but that didn’t colour our friendship .And then life happened .We went our separate ways .Maskara Gop bhi mar gaya.. hum bhi mar jayenge .