After almost 6 months, I still don’t feel ready to write this, because I find it so hard to believe Chandra is gone. While we met because of the human rights scholarly community, most of the bases on which our friendship grew were unrelated to scholarship. In fact, Chandra was passionate and knowledgeable on so many fronts that when introducing her to friends I would sometimes forget for a moment how we met!
I was particularly in awe of her ability to hold people (including me) accountable and show them deep love at the same time.
Just as ISA feels odd without a Chandra-initiated outing, it will be a long time before I can be in London without the impulse to text her, knowing she will plot a devastatingly fabulous adventure somewhere I never would have found myself, and that we’ll pick up on every front as though no time had passed.
My acquaintance with Chandra felt like being befriended by a force of nature. She expanded my sense of what was possible on countless fronts, and for that I will be forever thankful.
Bethany Barratt