Life always intrigues me. We'd never know who we will meet and who turns out to be our good friends?. Ours is one such story. I met Raj in the fall of 2007 in RST (Random Signal theory) class. Our first interaction was filled with a blast of questions from me (as usual!). I'm sure that would have put him off right away. It was only in "Numerical Optimization" course in the following semester that we got to know more about each other. Lack of decent background in that course made us interact, discuss and bitch about the course et. al.
Raj is famously known for his miso-frigity (I coined this ;-)). He hates cold so much that he used to wear his famous jacket to class even in spring (even in April-May)! His strange fascination for heat reached its heights in fall resulting in a heater accompanying Raj to MIMO class! (That used to provide a constant background hum to the class ;-)). I hardly can imagine how he'll survive in the harsh Detroit weather!
He was my constant companion in racquetball (Although I never improved my game, unlike he). He is very sportive and always ready to host a pot luck or help arrange one. He is known for his chole and pav bhaji. Thanks for inviting me on numerous occasions. He is also avid hiker and enjoys scenery (including bird watching ;-)). His extra-curricular activities is not limited just to outdoor activities, but also includes some indoor activities like facebooking, chatting, etc. However, these hasn't limited his capability in academics. Bhat's wealth of knowledge in controls saved my butt in MIMO course.
Raj is probably one of the very few diplomatic, non-controversial person I have come across. I hardly seen him commenting anything bad about others. Witty in his dialogues, he keeps any place lively with his humor. He is also a strict veggie and I remember many occasions, where we roamed from one fast food place to another in search of a veggie burger/sandwich :-).
I feel immensely happy about his start of career and at the same time feel sad to part ways. Feels lonely not to have someone to call/ping when you are bored. Life is a journey. We meet new people and part away with old ones. It's one such phase here and not the last. Nevertheless, these memories will be etched forever in our minds.
Wishing Raj a happy and fruitful journey into his next phase of life and hope to keep in touch forever! Bon voyage, buddy!
