Rest Peacefully, Dear Chanda

We are terribly sad to tell you of the recent passing of our lovely friend, Chanda. Largely paralysed since suffering from diphtheria in her early teens, Chanda lived with her Mother and Father who cared for her, lovingly and tirelessly. Since first being introduced to her, during a visit to Pushkar in 2016, Chanda has been a source of inspiration through her strength of spirit in the face of great adversity. Her life was confined to one windowless room with a door opening onto a small yard, but with wifi installation and a laptop provided by our charity, Chanda took enormous pleasure in observing the world beyond her room. She particularly loved programmes about the natural world, as well as movies and dramas, the plots of which she would enjoy recounting to us, and always with great excitement. Chanda learned very quickly; we Skyped often and her use of English – already good – became wonderfully fluent. She quickly learned to create and send Ecards and pictures on her laptop and this became a regular pastime. Chanda loved animals with a passion, especially her cat, Roshni, whose antics and affection fascinated and delighted her. When we discovered her childhood love of painting, we took her some art materials and, although holding a paintbrush proved a challenge due to her disability, she spent many happy hours creating paintings in watercolours and acrylics - always of the animals, flowers and natural landscapes she loved. Chanda was a deeply religious young woman who delighted in celebrating all Hindu festivals; she loved their stories, characters, music and dances, and would often describe these for us in great detail. Chanda had much to bear in her short and very difficult life, but her ability to find joy in simple things and her innate optimism never ceased to shine brightly. We shall miss her deeply. Rest peacefully, our dear Chanda.