VINOD OBHRAI
04.03.1960 - 02.02.2020
HE IS GONE - DAVID HARKINS
You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
ABOUT VINOD
Vinod was the fourth of seven children born in Nairobi, Kenya on the 4th March 1960 to Siri Ram and Shakuntala Devi Obhrai. The family moved to the small town of Nelson, Lancashire in 1968 and despite the many hardships they faced he was determined to better their lives. Seeing his future in the capital, Vinod secured a place to study Pharmacology at Kings' College London in 1978. After graduating and undecided about his future career path, he taught Science at a school in East London for a year. In the mid 80s Vinod qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the National Audit Office and in 1986 went to work for what was then Price Waterhouse (before the Coopers).
On 25th June 1988 Vinod decided to spend the rest of his life with Alka and she moved into the family home in Kingsbury. In 1990, the family moved to Wembley Park by which time Vinod was working for Andersen Consulting (Accenture). Their first child, Nikhil, was born on the 19th February 1992 which was the beginning of the family life Vinod always dreamt about. Vinod was presented with the opportunity to work in Frankfurt, where he lived with Alka and Nikhil for six months. November 1994 saw the arrival of his second son, Kush on the 16th November but sadly also the passing of his father six days later. Four months later, whilst working for Unisys, a second opportunity arose to travel the world with his job. Over the next 15 months the family lived in Singapore and Florida with multiple trips to Chile, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and many more.
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Vinod realised his dream of living in the countryside by moving to a spacious house in Chorleywood at the end of 1999, where the family enjoyed the serenity of the surroundings. Vinod's core value was to always be there for his children by ensuring that the daily activities like sharing every mealtime without fail, family tennis Fridays, scrabble Sundays were just as important as the major milestones. However, his family role extended further than that with Vinod playing an active role in the lives of all of his nieces and nephews from the eldest to the youngest.
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Vinod's sense of adventure never diminished but instead grew with each passing year. This progressed from diving off 15m boards at Nelson Baths to swimming with wild dolphins off the coast of Mauritius and scuba diving in Cozumel and Cuba. His never-ending thirst for knowledge and culture took him to the Louvre, Uffizi, Prado, St Mark's Square and multiple exhibitions of the artists he loved in London's museums. Music played a pivotal part in Vinod's life, having favourites in all genres all the way from Andrea Bocelli to Eagles with Miles Davis, U2, Santana and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Preparing for life beyond work and having been inspired by their travels across Italy, Vinod and Alka had decided they wanted their retirement in Italy. To this end, they had both taken up learning Italian and Vinod was very quickly becoming proficient.
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Unfortunately, due to his illness, Vinod wasn't able to fulfil his dream of living in Italy but his family will ensure they continue his legacy and hold their heads high with pride, knowing that he is watching over everything they do.