AN ODE TO BIRTHDAY BOY

Mrigank (Mick) Das

Well I don’t know when I joined the DMS group… I think sometime in the fall of 2013… I knew some people of course…but some rather vaguely. Today I can say safely I know all fairly well, and some I know more than fairly well… despite the fact that earlier in life I might have walked past them with nary a thought… The key takeaway from today however is we have to recognize the singular, persistent and herculean effort by the one and only Subhasis Panda…who has a plethora of sometimes endearing, sometimes sarcastic and sometimes jocular nom de plumes: admin, havildar, bapu, panda, Ed Hardy model, subu and subz…    who brought us all together from various parts of the globe…and even conceived a variant of love called LOU that has proved a hit.  In addition he often has absorbed the crossfire from some maddening skirmishes and had the patience to play peacemaker, judge, jury and arbitrator to people in their late forties with a great degree of restraint despite some verbal punches that might have landed on him as collateral damage by uncontrollably irate combatants :)

The other sacred institution that he has established is converting his own home into the modern equivalent of an old friends’ club du jour, where frequent parties are organized that lets grown men (and women) to mingle as old friends with bonds that even Father Time hasn’t been able to crack, and then heartily partake food and beverages that often violate every rule in the medical websites’ well meaning advice for good health and anti-aging panaceas and still feel more healthy and vivacious in spite of it.  

We all run to Whatsapp to check out photos right after we hear of the House of Panda playing host to a party; the coming together for good times or a haven for the sufferers of temporary (or permanent) ennui, personas seeking escape from mundane and non-mundane angst,  the seekers of Utopian fantasies induced by adult beverages or just the escapists from the professional treadmill looking to release the stress from their bloodstreams and then jibber jabber their way into the wee hours of the night with a smile on their face and the joie de vivre of a kid.  

In all cases, LOU prevails… and everyone leaves happy, and even the spouses are fairly forgiving partly owing to their personally favorable experiences, often opting to ignore the slightly irregular gait and the telltale odor of fermented and aged Scottish hops wafting in the air in the interests of the three letter variant of cupid’s potion.

There of course is his hospitality in offering his home for stays by visiting friends, helping friends in need of various and sundry things, like moving stuff,  or needing a priest for last rites, or just staying a few days with him,  including those stubborn friends that hide his favorite beverages :) , or those that have had some significant adverse circumstances going on, definitely underscores his humanity. There is some great fortune that we must be thankful for, as it takes some selfless soul to take it upon itself to explore, locate, enlist and grow this DMS 83 community and then act as an ongoing peacemaker to keep the various branches of this tree from growing stronger and not falling apart…

There ought to be some extravaganza tonight, with different Glens of Scotland contributing their own variant of liquid ambrosia (albeit in a controlled manner and small, skinny portions) plus a smorgasbord of meat, seafood and veggies(don’t forget those veggies) to ignite a wild, no-holds barred party for the Panda…. cheers!