Shifali Dhingra

I was in school with Shifali at St.Sebastians in the same class for all or most of the 10 years there. Also in junior college at Swami Vivekanand's after that. She was the smartest kid in school by far. My earliest memory about her is she explaining some classwork our teacher wanted us to do and which I had been thoroughly confused about. We had 4 'divisions' in class by color -- Green,Blue,Red and Yellow. She, Ashok Patel and I were in the Green division. Sunita Gawde and Rupesh Sinha were Red. Don't remember about Seema's division. Shifali's roll call number might have been 5(or 25) one of those. In the 9th grade we were required to submit a project-study on anti-drug awareness. So for whatever reason Seema, Ashok, Rupesh and I found ourselves at Shifali's house. I distinctly remember she showing us a square tin chocolate box full of Boris Becker newspaper cutouts! Rupesh and I were Steffi Graf fans so not impressed.
We had a very good school library. Shifali introduced me to Noddy, Amelia Jane (both Enid Blyton) books. I was hooked on Enid Blyton books for a long time after that; went thru every book in the library and then onto Hardy boys books (and quite a bit of Nancy Drew too). Getting that reading habit early on helped me later in life. I am going to introduce my kid to Enid Blyton's for sure and I thank Shifali for that 'legacy'.
Last time I saw Shifali was 1990. I moved to the US in 2000. Around 2006 or 7, Ashok got in touch with me, he was trying to get us all school buddies 'connected'. He said Shifali was in the US and I searched for her online but with no luck. Searched again a few years later too. Lost touch with Ashok as well. I searched again this afternoon and I am devastated now. Wife asked me to write something for the blog, said it would give me 'closure'. Not sure about that. Have gone thru some crappy times after school, but school/childhood was pristine, a happy place to find solace in. I carry with me Shifali's memories integral with my happy childhood days. I pray for her loved ones she has left behind.

Shifali and I studied together in school. We were best friends for 10 long years. We were inseparable. I remember spending so much time in each other's homes, I spent more time at her place. I remember uncle, aunty & Munna (Nitin) fondly. We were very close and went through our formative years together. We saw a lot of firsts together including our first crush - Boris Becker! The only time I argued with her was when we both wanted to marry Boris:). Aunty used to make all these yummy dishes for me - I distinctly remember her mutter paneer! Those were the days! Unfortunately we lost touch after school. I tried to get in touch with Shifali last year but did not get through to her. I am thankful to Nitin for informing me about her. I will always regret not being able to reconnect with Shifali. I will forever cherish our school memories. That is all I can hold on to. Miss you Shifali...

• Doing Cheers with Bua
• She shared her Peaches with me
• Bua loved reading books to me (The last one was 12 Days of Christmas)
• Bua was my first valentine. She sent me roses
• She used to give me lots of ice whenever I asked her
• I was Bua's helper. I gave her water whenever she needed. She used to call me and say "Cutie Pie, can you please get me some water from the 'Blue' tap"

Love Meher

I knew Shifali from my engineering school days at VESIT. While we were not instant buddies, we became close as the semesters progressed and started to hang out together as part of a larger group. She and Sumita sat together right behind me, and together we devised plenty of fun activities including solving the Times daily cryptic crossword to keep us busy during the boring lectures. Shifali was extremely popular with a warm heart that won everyone over. I can still picture her in her wonderful salwar suits, her trademark hairstyle and a heavily dimpled smile that lit up the room. We spent many an afternoon in the VESIT grounds/ atrium just chatting away. She was extremely particular about her grades and I remember long conversations with her on the phone prior to the semester exams discussing the syllabus and clarifying questions.

I echo Sumita's comments and remember quite vividly our Chennai trip with a lot of adventures - beginning with us missing our train. Four girls in a second class compartment navigating through some of the lesser known stations of Maharastra and Andhra was quite a sight. We had a fun trip and Shifali was a trooper quickly acclimating to an alien state/ language. 

We remained friends through her career in India, but lost touch when she moved to the US to pursue her MBA. While I did briefly reconnect with her upon my move to the US, life happened and we didn't pick up where we left off. I got to know about her initial fight with cancer and her remission in 2008 from Sumita. In the interim, I have thought about her and her family very often and prayed that she would emerge a victor against the battle with the big "C". Since I had not heard anything about her, I assumed that all was well and hence it came as a big shock when I heard about her passing.

I absolutely regret that I didn't keep in touch with her and could not offer her any support while she was going through a life altering situation. I am happy though she is in a much better place without any physical pain and suffering. My deepest sympathies to her family.

Shifali and I were instant friends from the minute we met at Engineering school in Bombay. It was a sweet friendship that blossomed through the carefree years of college. She was warm hearted and intelligent, popular with every one, always up for anything. We spent many hours together attending pointless lectures, eating junk food in the cafeteria, chatting in the college atrium joined in sisterhood.
My favorite memories are the days during our study break when I spent many days at her home eating parathas and poring over books. She was constantly trying to keep her brother Nitin out of her room. One of the best times we had was a vacation that we took together to Chennai with our three other girl friends. It was the first time the 5 of us had traveled anywhere without our families. We navigated that vacation in togetherness in a somewhat unfamiliar place. We had many adventures, many giggles and many late nights. 
Shifali always took her education seriously and was vocal about having a satisfying career. She was always kind and had that dimpled smile on her face more often than not. She was happy to go with the flow. We tried to recruit her into being part of the basketball team but that was where she smilingly but firmly drew the line. 
Sadly, we lost touch after college and went our own ways. I reconnected briefly a few years ago and we had a long memorable conversation. She was in remission then. She talked about her family and how she was so happy they had followed the sun to San Diego. 
I thought of her often since then, and I regret that we didnt keep in touch more. I'm happy that she had a community of support. She touched many hearts.
My deepest sypathies to her family. May her warmth never leave your side. 
She will always live on in my memories. Till we meet again, dear friend.