Farewell, Buntu!!

After a long hiatus, i met buntu again during our hi school reunion a few years back. sometimes the ties you form in school never quite go away, even though they seem flimsy and trivial then. no different with him too. a few months later, our paths met again. he seemed keen on coming with me and a few other friends for a trek to Roopkund in the himalayas. It was in his "bucket list", as he called it. Although i was keen for him to join, there was also apprehension that he may not be able to mentally endure the travails that a himalayan trek throws up. I could not have been further from the reality.

He took his time to adjust to the rough and tumble world of the mountains. But once he was there, we saw him in a completely different light. A week of walking up the lovely meadows of garwhal in uttarakhand, chatting up about old school times, even gossiping at times, was a time i shall never forget. The mountains have a weird way of making friends. The ones you make you make for life. And having shared the same campsite, and occasionally tents, buntu and i renewed our school day chuddy-buddyship. For years i had left my school days behind me. With buntu, in roopkund, they came back to life. As for the trek, he did it with consummate ease. Fitness was very important for him and it paid back rich dividends when it mattered in the hills.
Post - Roopkund, surprisingly enough, considering how people in mumbai are islands by themselves, we managed to keep in touch. We went for another trek to Kothligad, in the western Ghats in the rains last year and it was just a continuation from where we left off.

Although we never spoke that often, we had enough between us to remember the other with lot of respect and affection. 3 days back, he congratulated me on my more recent success in the mountains and we were to catch up soon again. However, it was not to be.

Vipul Desai, AKA Buntu, passed away wednesday night as I was with friends barely minutes from his home. Strange are the vagaries of life. No premonition, no warnings, not even a slight indication do we get of what is in store for us! It's been 3 days since and the sense of disbelief hasn't left me yet. To a great friend, school-mate, co-trekker and above all just a super guy, Buntu, you shall be missed terribly and well remembered.

R.I.P., Dost!