Have you ever spotted a lanky bespectacled member of the male species with a blue/black face mask, wearing a perfect fitting polo t-shirt, tailor-stitched skinny-fit formal cotton pants, and crocs, walking around with a tiny Quechua bag? That would be the 143rd Bodhisattva, His Excellency, Guru Darshan M J. Where do I even begin? I’ll begin with my first impression of him, not the greatest. I was perplexed by him. He would always wear a mask and sit beside me during meets. He would mumble through the mask, and although I did mostly get what he said to me, it was a chore and I also did not want to be rude to him, so I'd calmly nod, make eye-contact and reply in the affirmative while racking my brains to process his speech. I still think I came across as being indifferent? I don't know. My apologies if I did. Guru is a polymath of the modern era. He is an academic weapon in the Biotechnology department, having done multiple internships in the field. Apart from being part of the English section (read: great at English), he knows Korean and Japanese (like actual certification proficient by the way, he is not playing around y'all). He owns a Samsung phone and the phone's language is set to its native tongue. He saves all his contacts in Korean or Japanese. He is a veteran of Project Reach Out, having spearheaded the non-profit organisation's activities as its almighty Treasurer for two long years. He's also done an NPTEL course named “Microsensors, Implantable Devices and Rodent Surgery”. That last bit raised many eyebrows but he said it's helped him a lot. He goes by a bunch of titles: Zhang Qiling, Bing Chilling, Innocent Man of JSSSTU, Luv Guru, MJG, GD to name a few. Zhang is an avid foodie and explorer. He loves trying out new things, engaging in new experiences, finding out cool places to eat and hang out, in a new city. He knows how to navigate certain places in Bangalore better than native Bangaloreans like me. He also visits random Melas and Fairs that come up out of curiosity and to sample the food there and critique it in detail. I'd visited some Gruha Shobha Mela and tried free samples of various food items with him. Anyone who has taken a scooter ride with him has nearly met Yama. Bro speeds up while taking a turn and says he speeds 'responsibly'. He apparently calculates all scenarios, trajectories and possibilities in his head while speeding, so hey, no worries, of course. He's been my scooter-ride provider since the beginning of our friendship, so I'm no longer afraid of dying. He has the habit of waking up at ungodly hours to meet deadlines or study for exams with the help of a diabolical alarm app that requires you to solve math problems, among other things, to snooze it. Bing Chilling has watched at least a few hundred K-dramas and J-dramas, and has also ventured into Thai, Turkish and Filipino dramas. He is also a culinary connoisseur. He has brewed all sorts of strange teas—jasmine, hibiscus, different types of flowers and herbs and brought samples for us to taste and provide feedback on. He had once brought the most delicious veg pulao and raita for us on the first day of Shabd, having woken up in the wee hours of the morning to prepare it. Often perplexed by a multitude of philosophical, metaphysical, moral and social issues, MJG wonders about love and connection in the modern era, about how dating is superficial and sucks in our age. My chingu, we are going to be fine! Don't worry too much. Gwenchana! Totally unrelated but he seems to have an affinity towards the cities of Chennai and Vellore. *wink wink* Apart from all his unique and often lovable quirks, Guru is one of the most reliable Eddies and an inspiring senior to his juniors. The Board would be surely incomplete without this polymath. I, for one, am glad to have this multi-talented weirdo as one of my closest friends!