A tribute to Robin Williams

Almost sixteen years ago, my earliest memories of actor Robin Williams date back to my sixth grade, perhaps in school, when I watched the movie "Jumanji". Juvenile as I was, little did I decipher the deeper meaning behind that fantasy movie where Robin could go into a fantasy world full of strange animals and unrealistic places, just by rolling some dice on a magical board, which could take him to a different time altogether. This movie showed his finesse in being able to make one laugh and forget the world and go into an imaginative, adventure-filled world and enjoy life like a child.

Almost a year ago, I watched his movie "Dead Poets' Society " which demonstrated his depth in being able to inspire with the gravity of a philosopher and poet, fighting to instill that spirit in juvenile students who were waiting for that "captain" to direct their sinking ship. And I, a student of poetry and philosophy, apart from other things, could connect with his finesse once again. Watch the scene at the link below:

My favorite scene from Dead Poets Society

And today, as I read about his sad demise, the poet and the child in me are both sad, but they speak to me something else too. Perhaps, for a soul like Robin, the child in him wanted to try something new and adventurous and in that attempt, transported himself to another world, away from the travails and troublesome realities of this world by the roll of dice, though the dice was rolled by destiny this time. To put in the worlds of Shakespeare, the philosopher in him realized that " Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"

In the words of Walt Whitman, He did indeed "sound his barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world".
I can hear it now, can you?


May his soul fly to uncharted galaxies in the other world and continue to shine beacon of humor and inspiration...