My Biggest Inspiration: My Sister Sujit

I draw a lot of inspiration for my recent life from my sister, who is no longer with us as of January 2021. Sujit was the real beauty queen in the family, a self proclaimed chef, avid car and motorcycle enthusiast and loved going to car meets + hot rod weekends all over the eastern seaboard. She always had fun hair colors from rose gold to fire engine red. She was vivacious, daring, did exactly what she pleased with no regrets and loved everyone viciously. If she wanted to do something, she just did it. It was very a simple concept for her. Me on the other hand, I tend to marinate on ideas for a few years before pulling the trigger because I think about all of the reasons my idea is too far fetched, scary, whimsical, may step on toes I’m too afraid to step on, and most of all, I worry about what others think way too much. It took me years to start permanent makeup, even longer to get into filmmaking. I owe it all to her (urging me in my dreams and via many other signs) to finally make some of these dreams a reality. If you thought I was a hustler before… I’ve got a whole new fire under me now.

You’re probably wondering what happened to her… that’s a good question. Sujit was so beautiful and looked completely normal on the outside, but unfortunately her days were numbered since she was a newborn- doctors told her she would never live past 15-20 years old however in true Sujit fashion, She lived until she was 33. Carpe Diem was her motto- “Seize the day”! She suffered from a genetic blood disorder called thalassemia major, and required monthly red blood cell transfusions from 3 weeks old until the day she died. She was so brave; lived a lot of her life in and out of Children’s Hospital in DC until she was 21, and later at Georgetown Medical center. She was often tired, out of breath and in bed… but she never missed a meal with friends, fun night dancing in DC, or surprise birthday party. She lived her life spreading love and joy, sometimes driving hours to drop off a gift that she picked up that reminded her of friends that didn’t live close by. I learned so many things about her after she passed, because everyone had such amazing stories to share about her. She really lived her life celebrating every day as if it was her last.

In the last three years, I’ve grown exponentially… each freeing thought and experience that I’ve lived in Sujit’s name has propelled me to the next with less and less fear. I never knew how much better life could be, living it her way. I really wish I had adopted her way of life sooner because I have spent too much time worrying instead. When you meet me, you’ll see that I have quite a few tattoos. My entire left arm is dedicated to symbols and motifs of all of Sujit’s favorite things from peacocks to Ed Hardy’s classic skulls and red roses, to our zodiac signs- she was a Gemini and I’m an Aquarius. My tattoo artist, @Johantattoos of Fredericksburg Tattoo Works, even incorporated rocks and flowing water in there since we spread her ashes at Great Falls park on what would have been her 34th birthday in May of 2021. Feel free to ask me to take a peek, the art work is so beautiful!

You’ll also see many friends and clients gifting me with peacock gifts - and that’s because Sujit loved them and I’ve posted about her a lot on my social media since she passed. You all are so thoughtful and make me feel so loved! I see peacocks everywhere now, most surprisingly at one of my last international trips to a castle in Scotland. The castle had no other animals on site… just two beautiful peacocks. They lingered near my doorway every day, and they reminded me that maybe Sujit was with me enjoying that trip as well.

I can barely see now, as tears have welled up in my eyes, but rebranding my website wouldn’t have been complete without a section dedicated just to her. I love and miss her every moment of every day, and cannot wait to see her again someday. We were only 15 months apart and spent all of our childhoods together until I got married and moved away at 23, I would give anything to share a room again or drive to Jersey just for a highly rated slice of pizza. She was seriously the best human being.