9th July 2021 left us all with a gaping hole in our heart and lives. Akshay Deodhar. My husband's friend and bandmate from Hellwind. When I first met him in 2014, I perceived him to be just another random bachelor friend of my husband's. We met occasionally. His smile and endless chatter bewildered me. It seemed humanly impossible for one person to be so happy and so chatty.
Things took a turn in 2018, when I was seven months pregnant and home alone. We had shifted to Powai and Akshay lived five minutes away. I developed a complication and dialed Akshay's number without giving it too much thought. Listening to the sound of my voice, he reached home in a jiffy. He rushed me to the emergency ward of the hospital and stayed with me the entire day, until my husband reached Bombay.
Akshay soon became a household fixture after this incident. We became very close. We had "kitty party" like lunch sessions, where we bitched about people and cracked lame jokes. He was the first friend to hold my newborn baby. He was subject to all my post partum whining. (Poor thing!)
He was a breath of fresh air and much needed respite in the middle of soiled diapers and endless feeds. Although, he didn't get half of what we were going through as a couple with a newborn baby, he was always around for a patient hearing and some words of wisdom.
Before he left for his M.B.A course in Scotland, he met us, gave us the warmest hug and said "Do you think, I'd leave without saying goodbye?". Who knew that would be the last time, we would ever meet him.
His death has left us in complete and utter shock. We think of him every time, a friend gets married or we have get-togethers. I even dreamt of him last night, where he told me with that giggly look "Come find me Gayu, I'm right here. Come talk to me."
We miss you Akshay, today and everyday. We know you'll be waiting for us up there and perhaps even watching over us, when shit hits the ceiling. You were my confidante, Riaan's godfather and our extended family in Bombay.
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