Return to India

With folded hands, smiling face and heart filled with gratitude,

As I return home, it is time for me to bid goodbye to my family here in the USA and thank the multitude of people who stood by us through our battle.
Needless to say, Nitesh and I are deeply touched by the numerous gestures by so many strangers who we warmly consider as our friends now. Thank you for welcoming us into your homes, feeding and clothing us; and easing our pain along the way.

I would humbly like to thank the IIT-IIM strong alumni network, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) , ServiceSpace, Guruji Sangat, and Karia family for adopting us and taking care of us. My deepest gratitude to all those people who supported us emotionally, logistically, informationally and financially. Your blessings ensured that Nitesh was happy till the very end. I thank you for making it easy for us. This has transformed us and we want to do the same for others.

Regardless of what fate dealt him, Nitesh found the world to be extremely beautiful because of the kind people he came across. He found it to be an amazing stroke of luck to have so many people willingly welcoming us into their lives and support us unconditionally. Families, friends, alums and erstwhile strangers, they never let us feel that we were alone in this. We were so moved by it, we wanted to do something so we could pay back all the love that we received.

I personally saw Nitesh transform every single day. Death is a very beautiful concept and I learned that it is only when you truly understand death that you actually start living your life. It is not about how long you live but how well you live. And the way my Nitesh lived was remarkable to say the least. The last 8 months here, he truly lived his life. It wasn’t a sad march towards an end, it was an opportunity to live better. Although we came here as two bodies and two souls, I am leaving this place as one body and two souls. He is within me now. He will forever live with me.

A very special thanks to Akanksha without her we couldn’t even think of coming here for treatment. Nitesh and I are lucky to have a friend like her. She moved in with us, spent sleepless nights to coordinate things for us. She single-handedly took all the responsibilities and made it easy for us. Few words can't express my gratitude towards her. Thank you, Akanksha my soulmate for being there with me in toughest of the times.

Our journey gave us a new viewpoint into the world of cancer treatment. After reaching a certain phase, when chemo stops working on the body and the patient is in the incurable stage; that's where I have met many people who survived this deadly disease with CAM (Complementary & Alternative Medicines) therapies. They cured their terminal cancer with natural healing of Body-Mind-Soul with the help of unconventional therapies. CAM is where my heart lies and I would be undertaking extensive research in this filed.
The next 1 month I will be traveling to Mumbai, Delhi, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, and Pune. I would love to meet all of you wherever and whenever possible. Kindly let me know if in any way I can be of some help to you.

In the past couple of months, we have lost many of our loved ones. The untimely demise of Nitesh (27 Yrs), my dear friend Misha's husband Akhil (27 yrs, newly wedded couple for 4 mo), Sweta brother young IITian Sunit (27 yrs) shows us just how finite and fragile life can be. Us humans seem to forget that we are mere mortals and we race ahead in life with blindfolds on; only to have a rude awakening once in a while. We ought to remember that this would not last long. Soon we too would be out of time and kindness is all that we would leave behind.

It might sound harsh but we all live on borrowed time. Every second we spend existing, thinking, living, breathing is a gift that we would one day have to return. It is my sincere request to all, please value your life. You are a blessing and hold immense potential. Do not let the vagaries of life get you down. Nourish your existence with good thoughts and actions. Be blinded by hope if need be, but always strive for what you wish to have. Let us all be kind to one another, and help each other on this short phase of existence that we call life.

Everything that happened to me, was a part of life, And I’m grateful for it all, for every single bit of it.
Once again, you are the blessings that exist in my life. Thank you for being there for us.
With lots of love and the deepest gratitude.

~ToLove ❤️