Open Letter To A Dear Friend And Colleague

NOTE: All names have been changed for the sake of online privacy.

Hey Theresa, this is an open letter to you. By open letter, I do not mean a letter criticising you or anything, like how people often write about celebrities. This is a letter where I wish to share my thoughts and feelings about you and talk about the experiences we’ve shared together over the years. I warn you that this will be long and I hope you have the patience to read it fully. Here goes:

Theresa, you are one of my sweetest colleagues and I have been fond of you right from the moment I started interacting with you online. A very kind and supportive person, you have helped me numerous times and we share a very cordial relationship. Once when I was under immense stress in July 2022, you had a lot of words of encouragement and praise for my work and thus helped calm me down and focus on my work better. I will never forget that. Also, I could always let off steam whenever I had an issue at work, especially with our boss; since you had issues as well, we developed a great camaraderie. Then when you shifted to Mumbai in April 2023, I was absolutely thrilled and we hit it off right from your first day at our office. I only then came to know you social you were, not to mention absolutely chilled out; though there were occasional moments when you were under the weather!

You would often come late to office and I enjoyed teasing you as a latecomer; you never took offence even once – such a dear you are! I remember the first time the three of us (you, Ursula and I) went down to P5 for lunch. I was very happy to spend time with you both and I also learned about the personal losses you had suffered and how it made you a tougher person. Then came the team dinner cum drinks at TOIT; where I got to see your party side. Our boss was making you drink too much beer and hence I had to take some of the beer; which I didn’t mind at all! Also, I tried to convert you into a non-vegetarian; you obviously resisted it but did it rather sweetly and humorously!!

I really missed you when I went to London in June 2023. Also, the week when I returned; we had a team video call and I was very nervous; since the boss had earlier talked about people losing focus and all – but you came to my aid again and thanks to you I was able to maintain my cool during the VC. I really loved it that you enjoyed not only my poems about you; but also some of the other poems. When you fell ill in Aug 2023; I was very very concerned about you and that was the time you discovered my over caring side. Please do not mind it Theresa, my concern for you is completely unconditional and largely because I am drawn to your gentle nature and really value the relationship with you. Besides, I show concern for everyone I care about – whether it be family, cousins or friends.

When Nancy joined, it made an instant impact on both of us. We became an awesome threesome. She helped you lighten up whenever you were stressed or tense and her witty humour really made our day. I particularly enjoyed the days when just the three of us came to office and had lunch together; often playing a variety of songs while working – then I came to know that you enjoyed listening to Tamil songs almost as much as Hindi songs!! One of my favourite moments was when you finally got wind of the fact that we had bought a cake in advance to celebrate your birthday; the look on your face was priceless!!

We had a fantastic time at Nancy’s house before attending the wedding of our boss’ brother-in-law in Nov 2023. You got along very well with Nancy’s kids; to this day I am sure they love Theresa Didi!! The day we did the pooja for our newly acquired office setup in Feb 2024, I really enjoyed shopping with you for the necessary stuff. Your breakfast treats I will never forget; especially the fact that you would hardly eat anything and thus end up making Nancy and I fatter!! I also really enjoyed walking with you to the station every day after office, something that I greatly miss nowadays!! One day in April 2024 I will remember above all – you almost getting angry with me because I thanked you for one of your treats; that was the first time you called me your friend!!

In May 2024 I ended up irritating you to the core, but to my relief you forgave me the same day after scolding me in a manner that I’ll never forget!! Towards the end of July 2024, you broke to Nancy and I the news about your future marriage plans. Being a divorcee, I felt a bit sad at being single and you genuinely felt bad about that; something I really appreciate as a friend.  We had an amazing lunch at Nancy’s home and she even took us around her entire complex. Nancy often kept getting your name wrong and hence I once teased her by calling her another name; something that you loved!! As expected, the kids had a great time with us and the younger kid was particularly drawn to both you and me. The only flipside about that day was the movie we watched “Bad Newz” a really crappy movie; the funny thing was you were too engrossed with your prospective life partner to even show interest in the movie!!

I will never forget my birthday in Aug 2024; it was really sweet of you to get Vada Pavs on the way to office. Moreover, after my lunch treat, you and Nancy absolutely refused to allow me to help in clearing up because I was the birthday boy and hence apparently deserved “treatment like a king”!! The week after, you had a really tough time breaking the news about your upcoming marriage to the boss; Nancy and I did a decent job of pretending genuine surprise when you finally spilled the beans!! At the end of the month, the entire team met and we had great fun at Marine Drive and Girgaum Chowpatty; especially with one of our teammates accidentally calling you by the name of an actress who bears your first name!!

In October 2024, four of us had an amazing night dancing at a disco pub and then spending the rest of the night at Marine Drive: you, Nancy, me and the new joinee Rochelle!! What I really loved about you people was that you were so keen for me to spend the entire night with you, despite me being a guy; that you even bought me a pair of shoes; since sandals were not allowed at the disco pub!! Damn cool of you people!! Then came your Mumbai farewell at TOIT at the end of the month; we had a lot of fun but I was genuinely close to tears towards the end, because from then on you were permanently going to be in Bangalore and the next time we were to meet you was your wedding in Dec 2024!!

I am sorry I am going to have to cut this letter short because it has already come to two pages in MS Word. Maybe I can describe your wedding in another letter; which should ideally not be more than a page!! I want to add that though you have forgiven me for my mistakes, I have repeated them and this time I am going to ensure that they will not happen for the rest of my life – I swear this on God!! Anyway, I will finish with this quote: “A true friend is the greatest of all blessings.” – François de La Rochefoucauld