I heard about it while I was packing my bags at the hotel in Belo Horizonte and I just sat down to cry for some time… Don, you left without a goodbye. Pam wrote a note letting me know you had passed on nearly 4 months back on 22nd of Jan.
There are so many memories and I didn’t know I will write an obituary for you anytime soon 🙁 but you have forced me to write by leaving ahead of time, so here goes …
I met you for the first time at the Garden Restaurant in Lodhi Gardens and we became friends over a joke. And then we met every time you travelled to India, spoke about many different things, ideas and philosophies, likes and dislikes, aspirations and dreams and every visit of yours just got us to be closer friends. We spoke on religion, politics, cricket, charity and so many things… We agreed and disagreed, debated perspectives and continued arguments over email. I still remember my mother hesitatingly shaking hands with you at my favourite Thai restaurant and dad having a great conversation … Your visit to Krishnan’s place in Chennai and meeting my mother-in-law, Krishnan visiting your house, the phone call in 2004 when we were on the cruise in Egypt, then your visit to India with your family in 2009 and finally the breakfast at Saravana Bhavan … The last time we met you.
Do you know you were the first follower of my blog after Krishnan ? And you commented on nearly every blog I wrote. Then last year almost a year to the day you passed on, you spoke of the cancer recurring and then we spoke of Dr. Venkat and Louise Hay.. Suddenly after May, I didn’t hear from you. Krishnan and I thought you were probably busy or travelling, so you didn’t respond. We moved to Bangalore because of my new role and just a few weeks back we were talking about you again and I said I should call since you haven’t written in a long time. I didn’t call and you left for a place I cannot call :(:(:(
Friends don’t have goodbyes, it’s always till we meet again and meet we will. Our friendship was deep and our affection genuine, we miss you already but we will go on. It seems God felt your work was done and your time had come, just too soon for us.
So long Don, rest in peace and know that you are much loved and remembered. I just didnt like going over this note and changing everything to past tense….