When 32-year-old Shashi Bhushan Verma arrived in Delhi four months ago, he was ready to begin a new chapter. He had lived most of his life doing theatre in his hometown Patna. Street theatre was his passion.

Recently, he had enrolled at the National School of Drama (NSD) to fulfil a childhood dream. But that dream was cut short by dengue.

On October 29, Verma was admitted to the Noida Medicare Centre and diagnosed with jaundice. On the night of November 3, it was detected that he was suffering from dengue.

From then on, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he was declared dead in the early hours of November 4. His was the second life in the Capital that the disease claimed.

His death weighs down on the faculty and students at the National School of Drama, most of whom, within the brief time span, had developed an attachment to Verma and his exceptional work.

At the NSD, director Anuradha Kapur said: “We are still coming to terms with the tragedy. He was such a talented student.”

The NSD was shut for a few days and classes will resume on Monday.

Some of Verma’s closest friends at the NSD stayed with him till the very end. Four students and a faculty member accompanied the body on the flight to Patna. In Delhi, the body was kept at the Kalidas Rangalaya, where Verma had spent many a day immersed in his craft.

Muzamil Hayat Bhawani, his classmate and earliest friend at the NSD, said: “It was overwhelming. The final rites were delayed until 3 am, people kept streaming in to see Shashi for the last time.”

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