RIP Shanmuga Prasanna!

My first image of Shanmuga Prasanna was way back in 2004 when he came to the school comfortably ensconced in his father's bicycle.His father was not ready for the risk of sending him on a bicycle of his own and waiting a very long day worrying for his son.Prasanna always looked like a deer ready for the gallows.We thought him to be yet another student before he drew a Cockroach in the zoology class.When my cockroach was a sad wannabe,his was the real deal.Even a real cockroach would have looked at his work and corrected itself.Thus our almost-fantastic relation started with a cockroach.
Then,we got closer only to realise that he was a studious guy caring about nothing but studies.He had a handwriting which matched his Ravivarma skills.I have always been someone who talks rubbish every moment and feels so proud about it.Shanmuga Prasanna became an important audience to all my random gleanings.He is the only one who admired whatever I talked.I narrated my half-baked movie script (which sounds so atrocious after all these years) and his response was a wholehearted "wow!".There was no degree of fakeness in his words of praise.He appreciated every deed of mine with a smile.
The PT class and those hours after class when guys were playing volleyball (and I was praying that Her auto comes late so that her blue chudi can be seen for some more time) remain special.Me and Prasanna used to stroll around the campus talking about Her,Sujatha,Rahman and every other equally important issue.I narrated all stories of Sujatha which he listened with absolute attention.Years later,he asked "why are you always writing about Rahman?Have you forgotten Sujatha completely?" and I immediately wrote an article on my fifth semester results comparing it to Sujatha's Piece De Resistance "Kanavu Thozhirchalai".
When twelfth results were out,he was declared District Third (and District First in Tamil).We called him up with fever in our voices, "Dai come to school!TV people are waiting".He calmly replied "Should I come?I am watching Pokemon!".His world was very small-Cartoon Network,Anandha Vikatan and Harry Potter.When we all fed him the dream of becoming a doctor,he reluctantly tried to come out of that narrow world and joined Madras Medical College.This is where his story becomes obscure.We stopped talking often with each other.I started loving my "Kriya-Renaissance-SU-Gethu-Mass" world at PSG Tech while he found the going tough at MMC.
When I told Prasanna in 2005 about a neighbour who tried committing suicide because of failed love (oh,what else?),I remember him asking me "Enna Umesh!Idhuku poi yaarachum suicide pannuvangala?".Maybe then,the pressure which Prasanna faced at MMC was more than the pain of losing a loved girl.The reason for his suicide is debated everywhere but I can only guess that he did not find one genuine friend there at MMC.If he had studied with me,Partiban or Sabari,he would not even have thought of ending his life for something as manageable as stress.We deeply regret for having thrown him away to the den of MMC.Prasanna patiently listened to all our stories everytime.But no one of us had the time to listen to His Story even once.
I wrote an article on Twelfth board exams in 2009 which ended thus : "State toppers need not be on cloud nine.Failed outcasts need not bury themselves underground.The real tests begin very late in life.".Prasanna commented "romba nalla iruku umesh. aana enna panna mudiyum? idhe madhiri adutha year adhuku adutha year vandhute dhaan irukum."the real test begins very late in life." romba romba romba nalla iruku."I never expected my Prasanna to fail those tests this early in life.
Rest in Peace My dear Shanmuga Prasanna!