*True friends are made of this - Remembering Rani Sivananthan* A dear friend, a beautiful Soul has moved on..leaving her brand of kindness, generosity, loyalty, authenticity, spontaneity, love and grace to remember her by..and leaving me personally with an enduring memory bringing a smile to my face, wafting a sweet fragrance to gladden my heart, every time i reminisce about her. i have to only admire one of her plants, Rani would give it to me. I only had to ask her for the recipe of a delicious dish she made, she would cook it for me. The last thing she made for us was Uppuma, Kesari and Uluththam Kalli, all in one day. With her state of health as it was, she still made it. i never asked her but she would say i needed more sustenance, telling me, she was concerned that i was losing too much weight. And she would apologise when she could not cook me more dishes more often. She would equally complement me when i share pictures of dishes i had cooked. Her last WhatsApp message said, "lovely and delicious," to a picture i shared of a noodle dish i had made. True friends are made of this. She was totally committed to Tamil Eelam, only she was a quiet activist. She was no doubt a source of strength to her brother Mr. M K Eelaventhan who would say, it was because she backed him all the way that he was able to carry on. She backed me too. "Usha, l heard your speech was read by many in Colombo," she wrote, messaging me recently referring to a speech I made titled, 'TGTE Past Present and Future' the text of which was published in the ColomboTelegraph. As a fellow traveller in our journey towards emancipation, if it was so ordained that it was time for her to leave, how ever painful her loss is, i will accept it for it has been so willed her sojourn here on earth has ended. For me this is a time for us to truly cherish and celebrate a beautiful life, so well lived. i'll miss you Rani Sivananthan❤ Love thee infinitely, Usha ❤⚘