On a sleepy weekday afternoon of my Psychology class in the summer of 1998 (or was it 1999?), I decided to write an ode my friend who was leaving Bangalore to work in Dubai. It was heartbreaking & nothing less than a poem could fully express what our friendship meant to me. It was he who taught me the importance of "thinking through", and it was his single minded devotion to understanding the truth of our world that motivated me to do the same. But it was his always restrained, gentle and quietly mischievous manner that influenced me the most.

After many years, I am re-visiting the poem and it's reassuring to know that despite all the blows and cynicism of adult life, I have managed to keep my passion and humour alive.

Inebriated on life

Should we, lil bird,
Under the bright blue sky
Roam into the corners of eternity
Sigh at the intensity of the splendous lines
Twirl within the spaces of our minds
Waltz on the undulating waves of time
Stare at the autumn vibrant butterfly
Toe onto the vertigo of infinity
Seek if for a moment to be blown
To die, to annihilate ourselves
Phoenix-like rise, smile,
Hold hands and walk on dusk-dappled beaches,
Weeping within ourselves
Singing aloud the life-song.