a tribute to unconquerable souls, especially one.

she was the first person i saw when i walked out of the elevators on the first day of work in india. friendly girl, i thought. turned out she sat right next to me in the "bull pen"  -- the space that housed the new guys until their lovely cubes were allocated :)

we got along well enough.

one day, a few weeks after we met, she said out of the blue, "i am sending my fav poem to one of my fav people." and she sent me this. i was blown away. by the poem, yes, but more by her statement. i barely know her, i thought.

but she obviously knew better, much better. it has been five years now and she means the world to me. one of those things. you barely meet, speak and yet there is nothing on earth that can come between you. like that :)

what is more, she is the epitome of this poem: invictus.
and what a poem it is... a staple that has deeply influenced me ever since i first read it, five years ago.