I have always envied the world of fashion as it opened to me windows to a lofty yet mysterious, almost sinister world which appeared on the outside to be stunning, yet unattainable; almost unreachable, yet terribly tempting!
I realized what it was in reality when I lost a dear friend Rupa to this world. A world where she was sucked into whirlpool of vice, trapped in a labyrinth from which there was no return.
Rupa was my dear friend right through our college days. I often wondered whether I idolized her. People often compared us as both of us had dramatic features. She was however as quiet and intense as I was carefree and bold. Rupa lost her parents in the bombings of Bali where they ironically had gone for an idyllic holiday. She had never really got over the loss. She got into a shell from which only I could get her out of. I love life, I love freedom ! I wanted those I loved to enjoy life and freedom with me with the purity and wholesomeness that only I knew of.
Right after college Rupa was selected by “Lavista Fashion House” with its head office in Paris. Almost overnight, she was on the cover of Vogue and flying from New York to Milan. She had arrived and how !
I was one proud friend till I realized on my trip to Paris to meet her that she had fallen prey to the world of drugs, drug-dealers and lecherous men. Rupa died from an overdose of LSD on 18th November 2002. I had lost a dear friend and could do nothing about it.
- Nimo Menon
