Are Hjorungnes - RIP

I met Are Hjorungnes for just about an evening when I was in Honolulu, Hawaii last month. I had never met him before. And sadly I will never meet him now. A common friend had set up a dinner with 2 of his friends from the university.

We found some common ground to talk about. I introduced myself and said that I was on a sabbatical. Are was too.I said I was a runner and Are was too. So we discussed each other's timings. I discovered he was in a different class altogether. He had been a fast runner in college.

I mentioned I was writing my 1st book. He had written two technical works, published by Cambridge University Press!

It was like kids playing with flash cards! Almost everything I could discuss found an echo in Are. I was so kicked.

He had a mischievous, disarming and almost permanent smile and said stuff as if he were surprised by it too. And another friend talked about Are's adventures on the beach. Are was so energetic that his life must have been eventful all the time.

While we waited for dinner, Are constantly joked around and then insisted that we all have his business card. Encouraged by him, the other friend also gave out his card. I wasn't carrying any since I was on vacation. But this was one of the various funny moments from our evening. It reminded me of the time when I first got business cards in my first job. I had to force it on people. We had even discussed that if he ever came to India, we should meet.

We walked around for over an hour in the Waikiki area and the company of Are and his other friend was so great that one didn't realize how much time had passed. Not for a moment did we remember that my host in Hawaii had been away for over an hour. To know that someone so interesting and who led such a rich and eventful life, is no more, is quite saddening and disappointing.

God bless his soul. May his family & friends have strength to absorb this loss.

Here is a blog which was setup by some of his friends, while they went around searching for him and a relevant news item.