A vote of thanks usually follows some kind of great event, and heartfelt acknowledgements are generally given after some kind of achievement. Right at this present moment, neither has some great event just occurred, and nor have I achieved any thing of note. So I think this is the perfect time to thank some people, who have, directly or indirectly, supported me, influenced me, loved me and been with me through thick and thin, over all these years. The reason why I think this is the perfect time is because I want to acknowledge them for no special reason. I don’t want the reason to overshadow my thanks. So here goes…

My parents- For being my support-system, disciplinarians, guides, teachers and recently, for being my friends.

My sister- For always reminding me that some body looks up to me, and hence I have a responsibility towards them as well.

My grandparents- All of whom are the rocks on which our family rests. I am proud of my educated, liberal and intellectual heritage.

My childhood caretaker Vanita bai- For making sure I was well-cared for in the absence of my mom. May you rest in peace.

My cousins- Mayuresh, for filling my childhood with lots of laughter and joy.
Archana, for being my books-buddy.
Amit, for teaching me to play cricket and all the long summers spent playing in Baroda.
Nachiket, Neha, Jai, Shreeya, Rucha, Isha, Viraj and Pushkar, for being living reminders of the concept of extended family.

My maasi and masa- For making Baroda my ‘home away from home’ during the vacations. And masa, thanks especially for the amazing smses.

Manali- In whom I found not only a friend, but also the strength to make it through the tough times and the will to fight hard. No happiness is complete until I share it with you and no grief is lessened until you tell me it will be alright.

Viviktesh- For being my friend for almost 17 years now. The bad times have changed our equation but the essence of our friendship will always remain intact. Also, thanks for introducing me to interesting science.

Pratik- For being the reason I smile and the reason I seethe with anger, alternately. Our equation is such that it will equal to zero one day and 100 the next day, but for me, it will always be a Nobel Prize winning one.

Hazel- For making me realize that dogs are wonderful creatures and giving me a place in your doggy heart. You may be Manali’s bitch but you are my pet.

Shruti- For being a great friend, an amazing conversationalist and for always being there to talk whenever I want a laugh or to just share my thoughts. I really miss you ever since you’ve moved.

Rashmi- For singing your ‘silent songs’ in my poor ears from 8th to 12th standard. Those years were super-fun and I will always keep calling you ‘bhabhi’.

Aakrutee and Ruchi- For completing my drawings and helping me pass in the subject in school. Also, for being such good friends.

Chandrahas- For all those wonderful conversations and words of advice. I hope you will realize soon that you are a wonderful person and you deserve more than you expect.

Jui, Tejal, Girish, Pranoti, Shree, Ameya and Nikhil- All of you together made the school days really memorable and one of the best times of my life. I hope we all stay together for years to come and every New Year is brought in with as much fun as has become the norm.

Shruthi- For tolerating me every single day for almost 2 years now. For being the biggest reason I get through the tough days in college and the person I love to share all the great days with, the most.

Akshata- For always taking my taunts sportingly, for being a really fun, reliable person, always coming to eat out and sharing the rickshaw fare.

Divya- For that maniacal laugh that is just so infectious and for clearing our OC doubts.

Nimi- For choreographing our dances and more importantly, for making all of us cartoons dance with perfect co-ordination.

Shelly- For being my fellow bhukkad.

Hiba- For sharing my love of books.

Ashwini- For always being upbeat and introducing me to Max.

Sindhu- For always being an active part of our group.

Priyanka- For being another bhukkad and for all the fun ‘bum bum bole’ steps.

Kamu- For giving me a little tension when I take things too lightly.

Priti- For teaching me to eat raste ka bhel and being the ‘jerry’ in the ‘tom and jerry show’ and entertaining us all the time.

Dipti- For the phone conversations and for bearing with my fits of anger.

Khushboo- For being a calm and cool listener, and a great support.

Siddharth and Aniket- For all the fun we have between lectures.
Manisha, Aniket and Chetan- For being my lab partners and partners-in-crime.

My school and college teachers, especially;
Asmita teacher, Sathe teacher, Pranoti teacher, Sahay teacher, Wakankar madam, Padhye madam and Sarnaik aji- For guiding me through school.

Anita Ayre madam, Kunal sir, Dube sir, Nilesh sir and Pradnya madam- For being excellent teachers and also helping us organize the college events so well.

Deboshree- For being a wonderful GS and a very supportive senior. You have set us a great example.

Rashmi- For always being ‘khushmisaj’ and a very helpful senior.

Advait- For making me realize that a ‘hangover’ can remain for a very long time and an ‘ice-cream’ does not necessarily have to melt. The practice match is proving to be pretty good though the overs seem a little less.

And finally, a big thank you to God for giving me this wonderful life and giving me the ability to love and express it.