A Tribute to Chitra Parayath, friend and mentor

An open letter to the Editors of Lokvani
Words cannot express how I personally feel to know that Chitra is no longer in our midst. I am, like you all, still coming to terms with her loss. Though I've only known her for a short while, I think of her as a friend, mentor and guide who was always ready to offer advice on my writing, print articles on Lokvani, even if they were sent close to the deadline or even just listen to my stories when we spoke occasionally on the phone. She was always there to encourage me and offered tips on where to get my works published. She always enquired about my family everytime we spoke.

The first time I met Chitra in person was at Nirmala's house at Indu Sunderesan's book reading. She made me feel comfortable almost instantly. Chitra's broad smile, open-mindedness and amiable personality will be missed by all of us. Then, of course there was her sense of humor. She was unafraid to polk fun at herself, a trait she claimed her daughter inherited. She spoke proudly of her son's writing and even claimed that it was better than hers. I cannot imagine how her family can cope with her loss and hope thatGod gives them the strength to do so.

I loved reading her film reviews even on films I knewn nothing about, because she had a way with words that would keep me engrossed and wanting more. Her forthrightness would always cause some hostile reactions from her critics but she knew how to diffuse them with clever repartees. "Bring it On!" was her attitude.

One of my articles on Sulekha said that we must do away with respecting elders just for age. I got a lot of hate mail for it. However, here is Chitra's response:

Great going, Rajiv...and to think that I am slowly turning into the 'elder' (shudder...god forbid) that I rebelled against when I was young(er).Good thing, then that I have two brats who love to put me in my place, gently but firmly.We desis are too 'hung up' on this issue anyway.Keep this up, you have the 'write' stuff, pal!....

Chitra was always eager to know about the VridavanaPreservation Society and always asked very pertient questions about it. Here is another email she sent me on our Tsunami efforts:

Congratulations for all the good work that you folks are doing, here and in India.We at lokvani.com would love to have a write up about your teams' efforts to help the victims in India. Maybe you can also tell us about the service that is being held this evening. Please call if you have any questions....

VPS plans to have a moment of silence in Chitra's honor at the beginning of our Yogathon on the 21st ofMay. On behalf of VPS, I would like to invite all of you to attend the event, atleast the start of the event, so that we can all cherish her memory. All of us at VPS offer our heartfelt condolenses to all of you at Lokvani and her family.

One of the best lessons I've learnt from Chitra is to be true to myself and express my heartfelt opinion, fearlessly. She was unafraid to express her views and ideology. It is an honor that she considered me a colleague, and said so in one of her articles.

The writing world is now missing a versatile author.Her family, friends and well-wishers will miss a great friend. Please convey our condolenses to her family.To put it in her own words, Cheers to you Chitra, we will never forget you.
Sincerely,
Rajiv

On Lokvani
http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=2450

On the Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200504202128.htm?headline=US-based~scribe~covering~tsunami~devastation~in~Andamans~dies