Nats and I first met in 1991 when we joined the same company on the very same day. Soon afterward, we discovered that the company had assigned us apartments literally next door to each other, along with a few other new recruits.

Lifelong friendships came out of that arrangement, but I was especially close to Nats.

That was largely because of his sense of humor. His timing, his choice of words, and his deadpan delivery have always been impeccable. He also had an insatiable appetite for books. I honestly do not remember ever seeing him without one in his hand.

I still remember one evening when the Harshad Mehta scandal had just broken. I was trying to explain just how enormous the amount of money involved really was to Srini.

I proudly explained to Srini that if we started throwing away one rupee every second from the day we were born, and did nothing else for our entire lives, we would have to live for about 140 years just to get rid of all that money.

Nats, who was closely listening, was suitably impressed by both my math and the absurdity of the number.

He paused for a second and asked, “Then, why throw away a rupee every second? We’ll pick up a rupee every second!”

I have no recollection of what we were discussing after that. I was laughing too hard.

Today was no different.

A full twenty-five years after I had last met him in Tokyo, he greeted me with exactly the same warmth and mischievous humor.

“Blood Indian of low origin, how are you?”

I burst out laughing right there in the hotel lobby. Instantly, a flood of long-forgotten memories came rushing back.

“So, what’s interesting in life?” I asked, as we settled down for breakfast.

“Nothing much. Still working. Trying to put food on the table,” he replied with a perfectly straight face.

“Only sambar and rice, though.”, came the quick rejoinder from him!

The breakfast that followed was spent catching up on his family in India and Australia, his life in Japan and now Australia, and everything in between. Every few minutes, another perfectly timed remark would leave me laughing all over again.

Too soon, it was time for him to head to the office and for me to pack and make my way to the airport.

Some friendships are built on shared experiences. Ours seems to be built equally on shared laughter.

I am really going to miss my friend. We understand each other in a way that is increasingly rare for me. I only wish we did not have to live on opposite sides of the world.