Priya means....

A few months ago a Malayalee friend sent me a message on Orkut (the Indian equivalent of facebook); something about one of our friends and an "incident." I didn't think much of it at the time and I didn't want to get in the middle of any gossip, so I brushed over it.

Tuesday morning, Achen, Kochamma and I were sitting at breakfast, and Achen mentioned that a girl from the college where I volunteered was in a motorcycle accident last fall. He wasn't sure if I had known her, but she had come to his house a few times with my good friend, Bina. I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly who Achen was talking about, so I asked if he remembered her name. After some time, Betty Kochamma said, "Priya." She was on her way back home after receiving her marks from the college and attending a friend's marriage. She was on the back of a motorbike -- the boy driving survived, but she suffered a head injury and passed away.

It is a terrible feeling to find out that someone you know has died suddenly. It's tragic when that person is only 21 years old. Priya and I spent many mornings playing badminton and tennis together in my year here. A great teacher, she patiently helped me translate an entire comic into English from Malayalam. She was very shy speaking English with me, but she was one of those people who expresses love by being with you, by being present. She wrote me a long note when I left, and stuck it in my bag. She told me not to read it until later:

"We haven't talked much because of our language, but always remember that I really loved you and I'm gonna miss you. And I'm regretting the days that I didn't take opportunities to be with you. . . .Always I had the feeling to talk to you, but I couldn't. But you were one way or another with me. . . with Love and Prayers, Priya."


Malayalam words:

Priya = beloved, dear one
kuttukkari/kuttukkaran = friend
apakadam = accident
peddena = suddenly
maranam = death
dukham = sadness
orkkuka = to remember