After moving out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2007, Dr Kalam lived at 10 Rajaji Marg in New Delhi, which became my address until his departure in 2015. I would be visiting him regularly and meeting his distinguished visitors. One such blessing was when the Dalai Lama dropped in to meet Dr Kalam. He was in New Delhi to receive the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice from the Harmony Foundation at a ceremony. The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) is the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He was conferred the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

When Dr Kalam introduced me to His Holiness, he asked me to come closer, put my hand on his heart, and keep it there for a few moments. He spoke nothing, and I was speechless anyway. Not only that, but my mind also went blank. The Dalai Lama’s touch was both gentle and firm. I felt as if I were connected to a source of peace, and instantly, the clutter that always surrounded me as thoughts disappeared. It was unplanned and unexpected, but frozen in eternity as something unmovable in this transitory world. Later, when Prabhat Prakashan, New Delhi, invited me to translate the Dalai Lama’s biography written by Mr. Mayank Chhaya in Hindi, I used this picture there.