Their social media accounts were buzzing with updates on their Kerala trip till hours before they drowned in the Periyar, friends of Aditya Patel, Anubhav Chandra and Kenneth Jose said on Saturday.
Friends of the three St. Stephen’s College students said they are struggling to come to grips with the tragedy, with photos documenting the trip on social media serving as cruel reminders.
“They were posting pictures on Instagram of a church and the waterfall they visited. I was making fun of them and telling them to enjoy the trip, instead of posting all these pictures,” recalled Sameer Sagar, a friend of Aditya and Anubhav.
ADVERTISEMENT
Upcoming birthday
In fact, they had decided to cut short their winter vacation to be able to plan a special treat for Aditya, who would have turned 21 on December 24.
“We were a group, or a squad. Anubhav was considered an extrovert who never said no to any opportunity and Aditya was the poet who was brilliant at academics,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
As soon as the news broke, the Facebook walls of the three students were filled with condolences from their college mates. While people remembered Kennet as the first-year chemistry student who was “full of energy”, Aditya and Anubhav were remembered for the strong bond they shared.
Updates
Divyanshu Jha, a second-year student, added that Aditya and Anubhav had been sending him pictures and telling him about the activities during the trip till 12 noon on Friday.
The two had been asking him to join them in Kerala, but he was unable to go.
Aditya’s friends were planning his birthday next week, as he and Anubhav were expected to return to Delhi on December 23.
“Aditya used to plan for everyone’s birthday, but we were never able to do anything for him as his birthday would always be during the vacations. This year, we were hoping to be able to make the day memorable for him,” said Sameer.
(The writer is an intern with The Hindu )