Richa Roy
From Nlsiu Batchof2005
richa roy...ok first of all to set the record straight several stories about her are actually malicious rumours spread by cappy:
one, that in her first year there was a policeman to check on her at every station after entering maharashtra.
two, that when you call the phone in her house someone picks up and said ASI Yadav, richa baby ghar pe nahi hain!
thirdly and most importantly: there were no frilly pink frocks and she never said Mere Daddy Police Mein Hain!!
so so so. richa has to be one of the nicest people i met over five years in law school.
- a loyal friend, someone you could talk to safe in the knowledge that word would never get out.
- large fan following!
- lousy emailing skills :P (hint hint)
- lovely roommate
- teller of deliciously bitchy stories
- also bringer of delicious shrewsbury biscuits from bombay
- nice taste in music, off-set by being the worst singer ever (a title she shared with Surabhi)
t.b.con'td.
Orientation day. Amongst that mini galaxy of stars - *Aparna (I would like to express my gratification at the assembly of sch august company... and so on for 7:56 minutes), *Sudipta (I am a typical bengali) etc., Richa Roy hurtled in like a meteorite somewhere near the end of the introductions, her trademark long long black hair swishing around her, walked straight up to the shaken Nandimath, snatched the mike, turned around (more hair tossing) and said Hellooo I'm Richa Roy from Modern School. Stop. Pause. Whispers among the women "Modern school, it figures!", "What nerve" and a memorable response from the DiPSite who was to go on to be her de facto roommate for the year - "Bitch"! ("Bitch" was also incidentally Richa's sum up of me, when I informed her the seat next to me was taken)
It took Richa all of five minutes once we all actually moved into that ha(o)llowed place, the Annexe, to dispell those first impressions. Grimus's entry above will tell you what she came to be, not just for her but for all of us,over the five years! I will draw your attention to other facets!
To continue, her ties with the Annexe (the building!!!) were sealed and constantly reaffirmed by her prostrating herself on the steps (involuntarily she said, subliminal subconscious link I think) everytime she entered, a practice she carried into the Nilgiris, the Academic Block, and path, the football field (!) and even the Himalaya Hostel. Indeed one wondered if those stories about Modern Barakhamba types being 'unbalanced' had more to do with Richa's skittle like antics than their rumoured lack of grey cells. Later modernites ofcourse were to prove that Richa had no link to those stories.
Absence of grey cells is the one thing Richa cannot be accused off - this woman had more english literature and economics swimming around brain than anyone I know (the combo stems from her time at St Xaviers Mumbai). I remember reading a paper she wrote on Share Swap Agreements with the help of an English dictionary and an Equations ready referencer (Btw, when they started checking it the TAs asked to borrow the same as well)Extremely articulate, Richa had sensible, well thought out opinions on every issue under the sun, which is reflected well in her debating victories all over Bangalore until she gave up debating. I should confess now, that I often lied through my teeth, making up facts as I went along to try and win an argument, it rarely succeeded!
Actually 'English' literature is innacurate, she read everything she could get her hands on, while Sagar had the Encarta dictionary of quotes, we used Richa Roy as our source. this does not mean she read things in their original language - I would never dare to suggest Richa knew even one word of Hindi - her "usne mere dil ke taar baja diye" stated in an American Desi accent is still too fresh in my memory for that. *Swarnika will remember Aaye Aaye Khaaye Khaaye as well. I forget the context of the classic former statement, but no doubt she was talking of one of the members of her Harem of Fifth years... who went on to Spawn a generation of Roy Boys...
Richa went through her five years of law school in a fairly unique way - by making it a better place for everyone around. Many including me have needed her to prop us up and she has done it everytime. What stands out for me, and i'm sure others too, was how non-judgemental she was, and how easily she let us externalize our dark sides on her, without letting it ever cloud her own objective judgment of us, our instinctive responses, or as applicable, the people we bitched about. And how she understood complicated / wannabe complicated viewpoints! (clearly, language goes for a toss when you try amendments one day before exams... so i'll come back to this).
Now she combines her English lit, Economics and people skills at a hotshot lawyer with ICICI. Thankfully, she does not sing for her supper!
