NOTE: Most names have been changed for the sake of online privacy.
Hi Andy, this is my second open letter to you. I know, it is ages since I wrote the first one; here it is for your reference: https://ashwinkumar1989.in/2025/06/10/an-open-letter-to-one-of-my-dearest-brothers/ . To quickly refresh your memory; I had covered all my experiences with you till mid 2011, right from getting our heads shaved at Tirupati when you were a baby; till I started my MBA at IFMR. In early 2012, I was once asked to leave a class on Investments, because I was busy filling a Marketing survey – this was the first and only time I’d ever been thrown out of class; I remember you telling me that I should be ashamed because you have always been an out-standing student i.e OUT standing student!! 😛 During my internship in the summer, I stayed at your place and had a wonderful time, more on that in the next few paragraphs.
On a Friday night, we went for a movie; I joined you, Ashley and your Dad directly from the office. I forgot my bag near the entrance of the theatre and realised it only when we were already seated in our seats. I asked if we could search for it during the interval; you and your Dad shot down the suggestion straight away and we went down immediately and thankfully found it. For a while since, you and Ashley have been teasing me over this incident and it still brings a sheepish grin to my face – another thing for which you have teased me right since my early teens!! 😀 One of the reasons I still remember the day well is that the IPL was going on and CSK (the team we were supporting) pulled off an improbable chase against RCB; South African allrounder Albie Morkel (brother of our current bowling coach Morne Morkel) smashing twenty-odd runs in the infamous final over bowled by Virat Kohli.
In spite of that famous win, CSK lacked consistency and thus looked in danger of being eliminated before the playoffs for the first time. However, they somehow managed to sneak in through the backdoor; as the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (already eliminated) did us a favour by knocking RCB out in their last league game – I remember you calling me and informing me of the same. However, we were in early trouble in the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians (20-odd for 3, batting first) and our “big brother” Geoff (who was supporting KKR) messaged us something like “this is what happens to teams that get a backdoor entry to the playoffs.” However, CSK fought back superbly and managed to score 175+ in the end and I replied to Geoff something like “Yes, this is what happens to such teams, see how strongly they fight back.” However, MI started the chase in rip-roaring fashion and pat came Geoff’s reply “still CSK will loose.” We had the last laugh though, as MI lost wickets in clusters and choked, falling well short in the end.
CSK eventually reached the final and guess who we faced? KKR!! We, along with many relatives including Geoff, convened at Oliver Road; our common meeting place for important cricket matches, including the 2011 World Cup semifinal and final. It seemed like we were going to have fun at the expense of Geoff; as CSK racked up a daunting total of 190+, batting first again. However, KKR absolutely aced the chase and it was eventually Geoff who had the final laugh, much to our disappointment!! By the way, I forgot to add; on the last day of my first year at IFMR, some of my classmates and I bunked a class and came to KFC; where I happened to meet you and your Engineering classmate Alex. Sometime during my second year, when we watched Karthi’s movie “Saguni”; I barely managed to make it on time as I was busy finishing an assignment!! Nevertheless, this was still better than an earlier occasion on which my classmates and I watched a science fiction movie starring Colin Farrell and I missed almost the entire 1st half because I was busy finishing another assignment – what made it even funnier that I couldn’t even complete the assignment!!
One of the best things about you, Andy, is that you have always been very observant, from a really young age. Once when I came to your home with my Mom, you immediately noticed that I was clearly under the weather; this was due to the pressure of assignments, exams and placements at the same time. One thing I can never forget in my life; your father helped me get my first job (in May 2013), when I could not get any jobs through the college placements; because I wanted a HR job and my college had a strong reputation for Finance. In fact, I had done really well in one of the interviews and the only reason I was not selected was that I was a fresher. I stayed with you all in the initial few months. My joining treat was a memorable occasion as we went to Cream Centre, a rare multi-cuisine Veg restaurant (at that time) in RA Puram.
Andy, you are much better at understanding people and their thoughts, feelings and emotions; than you give yourself credit for. On one particular occasion, I was telling you an issue that I faced with a female colleague of mine; I thought I was being too sensitive and you saw the issue for what it was – insecurity, not sensitivity. I will never forget this, even though I have forgotten that colleague long ago. By the way, I forgot to mention that I had a fair amount of scooter practice with your Mom’s old Mahindra Flyte, and I am highly thankful for that; since I started driving my own scooter on a regular basis from Dec 2013. The year ended on a thrilling note; with you, Ashley, I and Geoff watching the famous Johannesburg Test against South Africa which turned out to be a nerve-jangling thriller; as India came heartstoppingly close to losing despite setting a target of 450+ in the 2nd innings.
Oops, I keep forgetting things. Towards the end of my MBA, we had the pleasure of watching the first India vs Australia Test Match (of a series where we ultimately whitewashed Aus 4-0) at Chepauk; the first time I had ever watched an Ind vs Aus match at the stadium. A young lady security guard tried to create an issue with my black t-shirt, since some pro-Tamil Eelam protesters were apparently wearing black armbands/headbands. Thankfully, your Dad coolly sorted things out and we had the pleasure of watching one of the finest centuries by the “Little Master” Sachin Tendulkar; but this was overshadowed by an absolute monster double century by our “Thala” MS Dhoni. I remember you and Geoff getting into an argument of Harbhajan vs Ashwin, as well as Ganguly vs Dhoni I think; Geoff has always been biased in favour of Ganguly and on this occasion was in favour of Bhajji as well. Anyway, we had a fabulous time on the whole.
In 2014, I remember we often talked during late night and used to go to bed by 1-2 am most of the time. Most of the time, we discussed personal stuff and shared each other a lot of secrets. I often felt a weight was off my chest, whenever we did this. It felt like we were siblings (we still almost are!!), rather than cousins. Ashley was maturing really fast and the three of us had formed a kind of “gang” then itself. Of course, it wasn’t only personal stuff that we discussed – there was a lot of Harry Potter, cricket and music (especially Harris Jayaraj) too!! You were not a fan of my then favourite (now second favourite after Severus Snape) Harry Potter character Ronald Weasley and we would debate a lot about Ron’s actions – especially his misunderstanding with Harry in Goblet of Fire and his brief desertion of his friends in Deathly Hallows. I once sent you a very long mail analysing the GoF incident (based on a blog post by another ardent fan of Ron) from office; which made you worried about me wasting time at work!!
We would often play cricket with a soft ball at home; the interesting part was that there were no stumps – if you are beaten, you are out! We also had the “one-pitch one-hand catch” rule. You clearly dominated (Ashley was a bit too young to get the hang of it) as you would rarely miss a ball and I found it quite difficult to place bat on ball when facing your fast bowling – of course, since it was inside the house, we didn’t actually bowl, we just chucked!! 😉 No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to bowl as fast as you did and hit the right length at the same time. Whenever we played cricket downstairs, we played with a tennis ball and stumps and you actually ran and bowled; in fact, I remember you on one occasion having a really long run-up; starting from somewhere on the 2nd Main Road on the left!!
I really loved the evening walks that you, Ashley and I took. Both of us were scared of dogs, you more so than me; you called them “these canines”!! There were a quite a few dogs in the side streets; in fact, on the 3rd Main Road; there was a house with a board like “Beware Of Dog. Will Bite” – not surprising though, given that the canine in question was a German Shepherd. The house adjacent to yours was haunted, you and Ashley used to tell me quite a few stories about it and they sounded creepy especially in the evening and night!! We also ate out every now and then and thus I got used to spicier food than I used to eat!! During the 2015 World Cup, we again assembled at Oliver Road and had great fun watching India thrash Pakistan and South Africa on successive Sundays. We topped the group and stormed into the semifinals without losing a single match. Till then, whenever we had watched an India match at Oliver Road; India had always won. Unfortunately, however, that changed in the SF where we got thrashed by the eventual champions Australia. I had office that day and I remember you messaging me after the match “good that you did not take a leave.”
Later in the year, we went to an amazing veg multicuisine restaurant in Besant Nagar – Eden, with Geoff. The highlight was the corn cheese toast. We even saw actor (now stand-up comedian) Karthik Kumar there – he had played a supporting role in the Dhanush movie “Yaaradi Nee Mohini”. Eventually came the time for you to leave for USA; I was very happy for you but at the same time it was an emotional moment for all of us. This was in September 2015; your birthday month as well. However, then you were quite excited and understandably so; given the better quality of life in US, as well as the medical support you would be getting there. Then you returned briefly for the holidays and when you left for US again in Dec, you were actually in tears; because this time there would be no turning back. Plus, it coincided with Ron Grandpa’s fall and admission to hospital in Mumbai; eventually leading to his demise in March 2016.
Right then. Again, I have gotten carried away like last time and the open letter has already reached three pages on MS Word. There is a lot more I want to write about you, but maybe we’ll keep it for some other time. Hope you enjoyed this one too. Take care, dear brother and Happy New Year again!!
Young Radical Escapist with Autism 
Share your views please ! :)