Over 100 people gathered at the ISW center in Shrewsbury, MA to celebrate the life of Shobha Shastry, who was a founding member and a pillar of support for the India Society of Worcester on Friday, April 8, 2022. Ragini Seth, one of Shobha’s closest friends, served as the Emcee for the evening. 

Shobha Shastry was a legendary figure in the community starting the first significant wedding decorator business - Alankar. Known for her can do attitude, Shobha was famous for creating beautiful backdrops for wedding. Generous to a fault, she opened up her warehouse to non profit who needed to use her material. “As we were setting the decor today we were reminiscing how she would push us to get things done. In the decor world, one needs a “Jugadu” person and she certainly was that,” said Ragini Seth. 

Shobha’s younger brother described his life with his dear sister. “She was older than me but my dad decided to send me early to school. So she and I were in the same grade. However she really over shadowed me. I was always Shobha’s little brother. Once a boy bullied me and the next thing we know he gets a big slap from Shobha. No one ever bothered me again. She was the most caring person in the world and would go to any length to support them”. He talked about her love for her grand daughter Sahana. “Her husband Sharad was the love of her life. After he died she was not the same at all” said Ravi. 

Her daughter Shyla talked about her mother and her mother’s love for Sahana, her daughter. “I saw my mother’s eye shine brightly when she saw Sahana”

Radhi Navani sang a couple of songs in honor of Shobha. The ISW school teachers presented a Multilingual musical tribute to Shobha in honor of her amazing language skills. Rajan Vishwanathan, a dear friend who was with her at the very end talked about her love for movies and Mumbai where she was raised. DJ Yogi described his association with Shobha through the wedding circuit. “She was like a mother to me. In the last few weeks I was so angry that she would not take care of her health. Her passing away is  really a huge blow to me” said Yogi. 

Swathi Subramaniam, yet another friend talked about how giving Shobha was. 

The event ended with the audience dancing to “Lal Meri”. “Shobha would not have liked us to be sad. She enjoyed life and she would like us to remember her with joy as we celebrate her life”.