By Smita Ram, Rang De Team

I still remember the day when Sunil excitedly called me after having seen one of Rang De’s posters at Sethji’s. He wanted to know how he could become part of Rang De. Soon after our call, he joined the Bangalore Chapter and was an enthusiastic supporter. He recently also participated in the Rang De March on 26th January.

I never got to meet this young man, even though I interacted with him on email and phone.  I was completely shocked by the news of his demise yesterday. Sunil passed away in the fire accident at Carlton Towers Bangalore.  I went through mixed emotions when I heard about Sunil. I felt his death could have been avoided if we were better equipped to handle such situations. There were many people passing by who were willing to help – may be if they knew how to help – the nine people who succumbed would not have faced such an end. Our education never teaches us how to tackle such situations, or how to save a life.  Even though a philosophical approach would say ‘death is not in our hands’, I would say, we need to be better equipped to give it a good fight.

Sunil’s last update  on Facebook was “Don’t you think Bangalore can get a lot better if We become a little more responsible citizens in the first place ?”  That must throw some light on what kind of a person he was. A grim reminder for all of us that we  do not know how much time we have left and hence a need to work with a sense of urgency and responsibility.

May his soul rest in peace.