Vasanti Vepa Ramaiah RIP

Vasanti Vepa Ramaiah
29 February 1952 – 10 June 2019

It is with much sadness that we say goodbye to a truly special woman, colleague, friend and human being, Vasanti. After battling cancer for more than 10 years, Vasanti passed away peacefully at home in Delhi on 10th June where she was with loved ones, in particular her husband Krishna and son Arnav.

I hired Vasanti as Regional Human Resources Manager in January 2006 shortly after I set up the South & Central Asia regional office for Save the Children UK in Delhi. I knew I hit the jackpot! She was simply the best HR professional, colleague and team member I have ever worked with, and a brilliant human being who understood people well…….what more could I ask for?! It was my fortune that we became dear friends and grew closer over the last 10 years even after we both left Save the Children.

Vasanti, as my right hand in the regional team, was astute, grasped the nuances of human behaviour and personalities, understood team dynamics, cut through a lot of organisational and people crap, challenged my team and I, and supported staff in country teams with an ease that spoke of her immense experience, skills and abilities. It was a joy to work with her!

As a friend, Vasanti was warm, loving, kind, charming and had heaps of compassion, humour and amazing positivity. Her candour was refreshing! We cried together when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was a wonderfully supportive and loving friend when Anders my husband of 20 years died in 2015. She came to the celebration of his life with a scarf tied around her head after losing her hair to the chemo, and she looked as beautiful as always! I told her so. I know she missed the gorgeous thick hair she had before the chemo but she had this inner beauty that was radiant. Thick black hair, short salt and pepper hair or a scarf around her head……she was beautiful!

I was fortunate to see her 3-4 times a year over the last 10 years as I visited India often. I would pick her up at her home when I visited Delhi and we would go out for a meal or tea. Even when the cancer progressed over the last two years and the chemo was wearing her down, Vasanti was resilient and the most positive spirited person! She only missed one of our outings when she had breathing difficulties and I went to her home and made tea for us. We reminisced, had lots to catch up and always laughed a great deal. We often wondered what Save the Children colleagues were up to and where they were. We also took selfies together every time we met, and I treasure these. I share some of these in the collage of photos attached.

When Vasanti’s condition worsened in February this year, I flew to Delhi to spend time with her. Her spirit remained unchanged and she was as positive as ever. We celebrated her birthday at her home and she was surrounded by family and friends. We even talked about the dream she has had for many years of opening her bookstore with a café.

Whilst I am glad I was able to say goodbye to Vasanti in person, she will always remain a part of my life!

Balwant