Sabha remembers Danny Mathew

Dear danny,

Tears blur our vision as we scroll—

Noises of a strange silence do we hear today,

Though in a room of voices we have never known.

Memories may depart— for they simply must, but in the grasses of Rudra will you always respire and the benches of Sabha for aye you will warm; College Hall will, for an eternity, echo with your questions

(And your questioning)—

In camera rolls you have a permanent abode.

When Sabha gathers as one, and with each Halla Bol that is uttered,

In dingy flats in OGC, and in each fairy light-twinkle therein,

In the Circuses you conjured and the scenes you immortalised,

You will be remembered.

Respiring and never truly far—

No breath of yours is the last

Picture: Via Danny Mathew's Instagram page (@the.badshepherd)

With love,

From Abraham Simon,

Dear Danny,
You are the black diamond that I was fortunate enough to discover while in college. I not only learned how to be humble from you, but I also learned the genuine meaning of empathy and sympathy. You were a dreamer who never let others define how you saw the world, and that takes guts in this day and age.
I miss you are three little phrases that don't even come close to expressing how I'm feeling right now.
You had an impact on me and my life, and you'll always be a part of my memories and life.
Cheers to the memories we had while working on sets, creating scripts, and performing nukkad nataks.
Much love Danny Boi
Abraham Simon

From K,

I thank my stars that they alligned with yours even for a brief moment,
Thank you for choosing to save me when I was drowning in my own tears.
I should have hugged you tighter and longer the last time I saw you.
I will miss you forever, this is just the beginning of a lifetime of missing you.
-K

From Vivin,

Danny was one of those individuals who are like shooting stars. Momentarily appear in your life spreading all the joy and glee you can imagine revealing the sheer magnitude of the universe and then disappearing. The past few days have been difficult for all who knew Danny, having all lost some essence of his being in our lives be it as family or friends. I remember him being almost literally ubiquitous in college. Every society. Every event. He had to be there. He was a strand of fabric woven into everyone’s tales. And he was taken away too soon for the world to enjoy him at the apex of his capabilities. It is hard to believe Rumi and not grieve expecting this loss to come back in some other form.
For Danny all the world was a stage, quite literally. Be it sabha, the ShakeSoc, or the choreo society he was a merited artist. He could ad lib and convince you that it was a performance after months of practice. The world really lost out on him. It is unfair, if I may say so, to have lost him so young. All that raw energy and potential, just snatched away.
But anyone who knew him can vouch that he did not fear death, he feared not living. And he lived life to the fullest - everything he could. Him no longer being with us is a knot in our heart that will take a while to untie. It will take a while to accept that Danny is no longer with us, but everything he did and everything he was will remain a testament to his being and will linger along with us for years to come

From Sanjana,

Up until my third year in college I knew Danny as a theatre enthusiast in the Physics department but we dint have the chance to work closely. Being a part of Sabha's council made brought us in the same theatre circle. Who I had assumed to be an uptight stage actor was just the sweetest, funniest, happy-go-lucky guy I had ever met. He was this eccentric enthusiastic person who gave it his all in whatever he did. I could go on forever about his dedication and determination for each project and role he bagged but Rajmahal Circus was one hell of a rollercoaster ride with Danny. I remember the countless days and nights our directorial team spent redoing the same scenes repeatedly till we were satisfied with the product. He never lost his cool with cast members unlike me and was always ready with a solution for any problems that arose. In my memory and I am sure for others too, Danny was always the life of the party. I vividly remember how it was raining during our last Harmony and he started dancing in the rain near the Mess lawns next to the speakers. Soon some more people joined in and within an hour the entire college was partying in the mess lawns and dancing away. It wasn't even surprising how his friendly aura just pulled people in. I cant believe how someone I barely knew in the beginning became such a huge part of my college life towards the end of it. I would like to remember him as the ever smiling, laughing and joyful human he was who taught me to live in the moment and live life to the fullest.

DANNY'S INSTAGRAM

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