Posted on 04/18/2007 8:56:32 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
BLACKSBURG: Before a berserk killer's bullet found her in a classroom at Virginia Tech, Mumbai girl Minal Panchal looked forward to following her father's footsteps in the world of architecture.
The Harry Potter fan, who loved cricket as well as Indian and Chinese cuisines, was confirmed dead a full 24 hours after the shooting spree by South Korean Cho Seung-Hui that killed 32 people on Monday.
Her profile describes her as a fan of dry, sarcastic humour, sketching and cricket in the social networking site Orkut.
The body of the 26-year-old is likely to be handed over to her family in a couple of days.
Minal's mother, who is a Mumbai-based widow, and her brother-in-law, who is based in New Jersey, are yet to take a decision on whether they will transport the body back to India.
"Well, she is the sweetest girl I have ever known. I know her from nursery. We used to share the same bench," says friend Sachin Shah.
"Minal is one of the few people whom I categorise as 'beauty with brains'. She had a nice, caring nature towards her friends and enjoyed her life to the fullest," adds another blogger, Adi Das Girish.
Panchal had studied at the Our Lady of Remedy high school and later pursued her bachelors from the Rizvi Scool of Architecture, both in Mumbai, before she came to Virginia Tech for further studies.
She had read the entire Harry Potter series and counted When Harry Met Sally , Matrix , The Beach , The Way We Are , Philadelphia Story and Seven Years in Tibet among her favourite movies.
Her scrapbook on Orkut has hundreds of condolence messages from not just her friends, classmates and acquaintances but also those who have never met or known her in the past.
"I don't know u personally... not even seen u... but I would never want this thing happening to anyone... May ur soul rest in peace," said one.
According to one message, Panchal's body was found around 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday.
The blogger attributed this news to Shrikar Bhave, Panchal's batchmate who was on his way to Virginia Tech from Raleigh to support Minal's family.
Neighbours at her fifth-floor apartment in Borivili West's Park View residence said Minal's mother left for the US two weeks ago while her elder sister Kavita is married and lives in the US.
"Minal's mother left to visit Kavita, who lives in New Jersey with her husband. Minal's father Hiralal, an architect, passed away a couple of years back after a cardiac arrest," said a neighbour in Mumbai.
"She was a brilliant student and warm and friendly. She always wanted to excel academically and wanted to make it big in the field of architecture. I just can't believe Minal is no longer there," said Neeta Bhivankar, Minal's childhood friend.
"Who would know that I'd lose her so soon and so cruelly?" said Neeta, echoing the sentiments of Minal's friends and family.
An ardent fan of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead , Minal had decided to follow in her father's footsteps and become an architect.
Instead she followed him to another world.
Such a loss to the world! This woman would have set the world on it's ear............
These sad stories about the victims bring home just how wonderful and unique every human life is.
She did not have to die.
Just one righteous concealed carry shooter could have saved a lot of lives.
I quake in anger at the VT administartion , who failed to realize there can be no such thing as a "Gun Free Zone."
In a gun free zone, only criminals and those seething with hatred have guns. Thats NOT a gun free zone, which is an impossibility.
May her soul rest in peace, and may Americans again learn to help and defend each other with the arms they should bear according to the 2nd amendment of our Bill of Rights.
Her death was caused in part because we have become un-Americanized by liberal claptrap gun control.
And allowing that gun control to happen makes US responsible for her death.
That is a tremendously heavy burden to bear.
That is why I am in tears.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.