Orkut Members Mourn For Minal

From Inside Orkut

After reports came in yesterday that Minal was among the missing, it was confirmed by media outlets, Facebook members and various individuals who emailed me reporting the sad news about Minal.

Minal's scrapbook has received well over 20,000 scraps in the past few days, and here are some of the best comments from well wishers expressing regret and sorrow to Minal, as well as to her family.

____________________

Patrick:

Goodbye MINAL PANCHAL
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

GOD BLESS ALL

Sraven:

Like a bird
Singing in the rain,
Let grateful memories
Survive in time of sorrow.

My deepest condolences to ur family

Kaarthik:

You Be With God...

U and I may not be knowing each other...

But my heart pains when I heard of my Indian Sister lost her life in the US...

My heart pained a lot when I heard that a good talent was killed for no valid reason...

I assume, it might be that God needed a skilled Architect to build a new Heaven...

And you are the one chosen by him... All the best of luck for your new venture!!!

____________________

There were also a few text art images, ranging from roses to candles, all made in honor to Minal.

There have also been several forums established in her memory. In the Minal Panchal: God bless her forum Savio writes:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And may perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen

My prayers are with you gurl, May ur soul rest in peace!!!

Other forums have been created, such as Minal Panchal -a brave girl where users are also expressing their condolences for her family.

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Last but not least, here are some of her last scraps on Orkut (Hat Tip: an anonymous user and Anjali for compiling these on the original Minal Panchal forum.

Shilpi Gupta's scrapbook:

Minal: madam photo change itne jaldi!!! achche lag rahe ho!!! kisne khichi yeh pic..... i wonder

Payal Aggarwal's scrapbook:

Minal: pahoch gaye ghar.... ?

(earlier scrap)

Minal: amazing pic payal, wat place is it???? mere bina akele kahan gaye the???? kiske saath???!!!!

AMBITION's scrapbook:

Minal: hi anjummmmmmmm!!! how r u????? kya kar rahe ho aaj kal? wher r u working?? i m fine, first years coming to an end.... cant believe it! its nice getting bak to studies and now cant wait to get bak to work :) !!!!! it was very nice to hear from u... do keep in touch!

Rajiv's scrapbook:

Minal: thanx rajiv for listening (or telling your guest), very unlikely of u...... :)
i really appreciate ! waise hamare ceiling par thode cracks ho rahe hai.....

Bharati Karmarkar's scrapbook:

Minal: stalking????

(earlier scrap)

Minal: hmmmmmmmmmmmm..... wat?

Akshay Shah's scrapbook:

Minal: how r u akshay? lifes good at my end!!! first sem abt to be finished!!! unbelievable!!! howz work at your end???

(the next ones were from last year, December)

Minal: gr8!!!! congratulations yaar!!! so, how do u feel???? wow, its gona be quite a while for me to be thru wid my masters!!! wil be in NJ to visit my sister during the break.

(earlier)

Minal: hi akshay, how r u?? my sem was good.... got really hectic in the end with all the submissions!!! right now just relaxing and enjoying the break! wat abt u? how was yr sem?

Vishu's scrapbook:

Minal: hi, how r u?? lifes good... bas the same job search, course work :((
congrats for your new car!! and howz work????

Richa Walia's scrapbook:

Minal: hi richa! bahot unrichable hogaye ho!!!!??? (btw shruti gets 50% credit for this pj)!
saaw your pics today!!! they r really good. loooking very pretty! aur batao kya chal raha hai?

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Here is a request to the general Orkut community. If anyone can recall Minal sending them a scrapbook or her posting in a forum, would you mind posting the links to those in the original Minal Panchal forum for her family and friends to view?

And if anyone is a close friend of Minal's family, would you mind forwarding these last posts by Minal to her mother and family, as I am sure they would appreciate this very much.

On behalf of everyone who has heard about this tragedy, my prayers go to the family of Minal, as well as to the families of those who have lost loved ones. God bless. :-(

Virginia Tech Shooting: Minal, Where Are You?

I do not know if anyone has been following the news in America lately, but if you have not heard there was a school massacre at Virginia Tech, which has shocked our entire nation, including me.

Although the media has released a partial list of those who were killed, there is some concern that one of the fallen may have been Minal Panchal (not to be confused with the other Minal Panchal) who apparently is not responding back to her scraps. :-(

(Times of India) An Indian student of the university who was caught in the shooting is missing, according to inputs from the student community in Virginia’s largest university.

There are many Indian students in this university. All other Indian students are safe, say inputs from the student community. [...]

According to reports from the campus, friends were searching for an Indian student, Minal Panchal, who has been reported missing.

Minal Panchal has her Orkut scrapbook full of prayers hoping she is fine and urgent pleas to respond and tell her near and dear ones that she is safe.

According to standard policy, the media and government do not release the names of the victim until the family members have been contacted. With that said, here's praying that she is still alive and well and that someone (hopefully Minal herself) can verify her safety.

Related: Two Virginia Tech forums posting memorials for the fallen.

If anyone knows if Minal is safe, let us all know please. May our prayers be with those families who have lost loved ones today. :-(

Update: Startup Dunia is pointing to an article over on IBN Live listing Minal among the dead. I have not seen her name on any official list online, (or other media outlets confirming her status) so I am for now assuming otherwise.

I've posted some messages on Facebook (popular among college students in the US) asking if anyone knows any info regarding her safety. If I find anything, I'll post about it here.

Update (4/18): I'm receiving more an more messages hinting that she is among the victims killed. She is not on any official list that I see, but people have put together a list on Wikipedia suggesting that she is one of the fallen.

Other Facebook members are also hinting at this as well. Keep her family in your prayers.

Update (4/18): Minal is now officially listed among the fallen according to media sources. I am going to do a tribute post detailing forums paying honor in her memory. I have visited several already, although if anybody knows of any I should mention let me know via scrapbook or in the comment section.