I feel honoured penning this piece about my dear departed wife, Varshita. She would have fought shy of publicity when alive, but ‘con su permiso’ , which I hope I 
have now, I have to do this. She made her way to her Creator in heaven on the 10th of January 2020. She packed a lot into the 4400-odd days we spent together as man and wife…and a lot more into the last months of her life, when whatever she did, she had the happiness of everyone she knew – relatives and friends and even mere acquaintances – in mind. She could not help putting others’ interests above hers, even in moments of dire distress and incalculable pain.
She put the real India out there for foreigners to see through her goodness and sublime humaneness. She compelled one and all to question the misconceptions they harboured in their mind about India and Indians. In retrospect, she perhaps was created just to spend some time on earth, like Messiahs do, spreading good, caring and showing concern, before God would decide that she had done much more than what had been assigned to her.
She never demanded anything from the Almighty when we visited temples, gurudwaras and churches. She may not have diligently read the Bhagavad Gita or the Bible, but she was inadvertently following the teachings therein, much better than those who simply quote from them!
I told her, a few minutes before she passed away that she would always live in my heart. That whatever I do in the future would be in her honour and memory – and thereby only good and virtuous deeds, to make the world a better place. That she would be safe in God’s hands, away from all the pain and suffering. That she must bless me from heaven as an angel. Varshita, the exemplary Indian, for whom every human being she met provided an opportunity for her to help, may not be a famous person in the conventional sense. However, she had friends hailing from over 35 countries, and the people who had come over to pay their last respects on the 16th of January 2020 in Trondheim would, by far, be the most cosmopolitan lot – she had touched the lives of all of them in one way or the other. She was a modern-day Mother Teresa, and her story has to be told, written and shared for posterity. Readers may wish to read the tribute article published a few days after her sad demise at https://www.theintegrativepost.com/death-be-not-proud/
It is thereby very apt that I, with the support of Mr Sunil Satpute, have instituted the Varshita Venkatesh Children’s Fund, to spread kindness and compassion which Varshita personified during her lifetime, among the children of Gharkul for many years to come. The Fund will be utilised by the management of Gharkul for predetermined purposes within the school for the benefit of the children. This is one of several intended endeavours, to immortalise my dear wife and keep her legacy of service and compassion alive. Education of children was uppermost on her agenda and a cause very close to her heart. If you would wish to contribute specifically to this fund, you may specify that when you make your donation (details can be accessed through the relevant links from the homepage).
– G Venkatesh
Royalties from the sale of Venkatesh’s novella That Cup of Hot Coffee, are directed to the Varshita Venkatesh Children’s Fund. You can support the Fund by buying a copy of the book at www.amazon.in/THAT-CUP-HOT-COFFEE-VENKATESH