Recalling conversations with Anuj
Rachna Handa, WG'07
Issue date: 9/25/06 Section: Perspectives
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Words fail to describe the impact Anuj Mohan had on the people who knew him.
He profoundly impacted my own life such that whatever I say cannot adequately express the underlying essence that was so amazing about him. Anuj was a warm and elegant soul who could play for hours with a young child, and then, in the next moment, turn around to discuss the implications of perpetual growth rate on DCF valuations.
My enduring memory of Anuj is of him standing in front of my apartment building at 3am on a Friday night, completely drenched. He had stubbornly insisted on walking me home after I had a little too much "jungle juice" at a party, and there were rivulets of water running down his face as he stood without an umbrella, saying goodbye in the pouring rain.
Anuj was a gentle, yet strong spirit, someone whose life had dealt him more than his fair share of heartaches and tribulations but never let anything but his innate cheerfulness show.
I remember that rainy walk so vividly because I had walked for 10 blocks while peppering him with a thousand questions to which I was surprised to learn the answers. For Anuj's sake, I don't want to share all his stories, but that night I learned about the emotional roller coaster he had survived the past few years - experiences that would have emotionally handicapped weaker individuals.
But, if I hadn't asked him about his life outside Wharton, he never would have told me, and I would have never been able to discern it from his cheerful demeanor. Once he shared his stories, he was instantly apologetic because he felt that he had somehow burdened my existence with his worries. I, on the other hand, felt like a big jerk because I had never thought to really take the time to get to know what was going on in his life. Anuj was so quiet and so cheerful all the time, I hadn't realized what he was going through. It was pure chance that he offered to walk me home that night; our conversation gave me an opportunity to gain some insight into the amazing individual that Anuj was.
He profoundly impacted my own life such that whatever I say cannot adequately express the underlying essence that was so amazing about him. Anuj was a warm and elegant soul who could play for hours with a young child, and then, in the next moment, turn around to discuss the implications of perpetual growth rate on DCF valuations.
My enduring memory of Anuj is of him standing in front of my apartment building at 3am on a Friday night, completely drenched. He had stubbornly insisted on walking me home after I had a little too much "jungle juice" at a party, and there were rivulets of water running down his face as he stood without an umbrella, saying goodbye in the pouring rain.
Anuj was a gentle, yet strong spirit, someone whose life had dealt him more than his fair share of heartaches and tribulations but never let anything but his innate cheerfulness show.
I remember that rainy walk so vividly because I had walked for 10 blocks while peppering him with a thousand questions to which I was surprised to learn the answers. For Anuj's sake, I don't want to share all his stories, but that night I learned about the emotional roller coaster he had survived the past few years - experiences that would have emotionally handicapped weaker individuals.
But, if I hadn't asked him about his life outside Wharton, he never would have told me, and I would have never been able to discern it from his cheerful demeanor. Once he shared his stories, he was instantly apologetic because he felt that he had somehow burdened my existence with his worries. I, on the other hand, felt like a big jerk because I had never thought to really take the time to get to know what was going on in his life. Anuj was so quiet and so cheerful all the time, I hadn't realized what he was going through. It was pure chance that he offered to walk me home that night; our conversation gave me an opportunity to gain some insight into the amazing individual that Anuj was.
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