Gabriel O'Connor

I met Gabriel Libinski that September while having my chai at Raju's chai shop. He was carrying a miniature guitar. We instantly connected. Like three dots. The third dot being Benaras. The trajectory snapping out of time again. I dissolved into the mix. We spoke for a long time. He was in Benaras to write a fiction film. He was living in Assi Ghat, the cool part of town, where all the musicians and artists live. Chai after chai, we spoke of everything from film to politics, from music to expression. The bhang's effect was beginning to kick in. Bhang (Hindi: भांग) is a preparation from the leaves and flowers (buds) of the female cannabis plant, smoked or consumed as a beverage in the Indian subcontinent. I was seeing the colours and kaleidoscopic effects of the little lane, the cows came closer. They were interested in our conversation. We started meeting everyday, sometimes I would visit him in Assi, sometimes he would come to Chousatti ghat to visit me in my 100 sq. ft. haveli. We would listen to Sufjan Stevens and talk for hours. The chemistry was amazing.

He had some very strange ideas for films. One of them was called "Acts of kindness" and it was meant to show one man walking around in the gulleys feeding cows, dogs, helping the poor and just doing good. The protagonist was someone dressed in a long overcoat which had photos of himself stitched on. Very bizarre, it felt like Chris Morris's Jam in Benaras. I realised I had never met anyone like him.

A great friendship was forming. Serendipity in Shivacity. I played him some of my music, we watched the Doshi film together. He was very honest and sincere in his appreciation of my art. He listened carefully, asked questions. Everyday I would look forward to my meeting with Mr. Libinski. In Assi, he was tuning his ears to the violin. He would focus on every single note trying to make it as clear as possible. His dedication was inspiring. Around this time I met his neighbour in Ganesh Ojha house, a brazillian called Isaac Niemand. Initially, I found him too sarcastic for my taste, but over time I looked at him differently and would never know how good a friend he would become over the coming years. Benaras trapped me. I was in the zone, much like Tarkovsky's Stalker. The writer and the professor being Libinski and Niemand respectively. Were our deepest darkest wishes coming true in front of our very eyes?

(Insert snippets from diary)

November 8th
So Dr. Libinski left today. A wonderful 4 days with him, his thoughts, his ideas and his (the strangest till date) sense of humour. We had wonderful exchanges on life, humanity, creativity, utopian societies, violins, flutes, 21-gear bicycles, dot dot dot. I took his room (and all its positive energy) to begin a more disciplined way of being. One thing he said really made me think. A very very frail poor boy came to us asking for money and he said that most people dont deserve the bodies they have because of the way they abuse it with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. Its time to wake up. A simple thing to say, yes, but a valid one. One for thought. Not only thought, action too. Act. Or die. There's no other way forward.