Pritam Ranjan Bora

Junglee

Pritam Ranjan Bora was my roommate in Agate, and I vividly remember meeting him for the first time. It was afternoon and a guy walks along with his dad to the room. We were five guys in the room with four lockers. His dad requested me if I can share my locker with him and I agreed to it. I had hidden 2 suttas in the locker and I wasn’t sure how will he and his father would react so I graciously asked his dad that I can help him put his stuff in the locker. Pritam saw the suttas and gave me a smile. His dad asked me to be there whenever he needs support. We instantly connected over sutta and rock bands!

Pritam had a very heavy ascent while speaking Hindi and sometimes it was difficult to guess if he was speaking Assamese or Hindi. But this accent also made his voice very sweet. He was a well-read man and introduced me to some authors (Ayn Rand et. al). He also gave me “Purple” album by Stone Temple Pilots that is one of my all-time favorite albums.

One incidence that cracks me up all the time was that we decided to fix our room’s ceiling fan. We bunked the class, cut the power supply of the wing, and began to work. Pritam was standing on iron chair, and I was holding the chair. Suddenly, we both got a jolt, and we were flat on the ground! It was Mohanty who also bunked his classes to take a nap and switched on the power supply! We were screaming and Mohanty walks to us and asks innocently - is everything okay?

I lost touch with him after college and after 10 years, and out of the blue, I got a call from him. After that he came to visit me in Pune but was different person. He was fighting his demons and was not in a good mental health condition. He was married and looking for a change of job. He wanted to steer his life for good. His dad called me again and asked if I can help him. This conversation bought reminiscences from the first day. All the RECTians (Amit Goyal and guys from senior batches) in Pune joined forces and helped him got a job at Tech Mahindra, MBT at that time. Shortly after this, I left for USA. I met him a day before and he promised me that he will get his life back on track but then 4 years later, I got a message from his wife that he passed away. Pritam appeared to be tough but deep inside, he was soft and kind. Lord Byron wrote - Whom gods love die young. This statement couldn't be truer in Pritam's context. Pritam in Assamese language means Lover or Beloved. He was indeed a beloved person and was loved by many. He was a friend; a brother; curious like a baby, had a good and kind soul. Could I have done anything different to save him? I guess, only he can answer this question when I meet him again on the other side.
Kumar Siddhartha
EEE Dept
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