When you know a person for more than a decade and a half, and are pretty close to him, well, there indeed will be a whole lot of memories.

I still remember the first day I met Prabhatbhai. Fireflies Ashram, outside Bangalore. I still remember what he wore, the blue backpack with laptop next to him, as he sat in the that training hall.

All of us were new hires at Agriculture Man Ecology (AME, as it was called). Some of us were going to field areas; others, like Prabhat, were to be based at Bangalore to support us. But how we all got along with one another! Our interest in our work drew us together. And soon, most of us were no longer colleagues only. We went on to be friends. And some of us, pretty close to one another.

He was smart, knew his stuff. With Farmers Field School approach to working with farmers being new to many of us, well, we were glad to have him with us.

He was committed. Farming communities and their well being meant a lot to him.

He was supportive and patient. Always good when we're learning the ropes.

He was open and straight forward. Made it easy to get along with him.

Beyond work, he was a load of fun, always up for a good laugh. The last time I interacted with him was sometime in mid 2005, when he came over as a consultant to support us in Andhra Pradesh. Work days ending with fun, lively, whiskey-soaked evenings when everything under the sun was part of the conversation.....I remember those. Yeah, he absolutely loved good food and his drink.

When the chips were down in my life, he was one of those who was always, always, supportive. That, I can and will never forget.