Denis and his Furnace

A quarter century+ on this earth
For whatever it is worth
A travel together like no other
I wouldn’t exchange it for another

The 13th of July, year of ‘92
Arrive did you, the second of two
A small bundle of joy, yeah
In the hospital of Ramaiah

Initial years at Vidyasagar
Was exciting and filled with wonder
Whether ringing the school bell
And getting a resounding yell

Or Getting buried in the sand pit
And giving all of us a fit
Accidents waiting to happen
Cracked head, split brow… you never know when

You got your glasses pretty early
Hid your big eyes behind, surely
Smelling was the way of life
Cloth of every kind and gave us strife

Moving to Presidency School
The witty repartee at the interview was too cool
With a double promotion to boot
And a magic trick to suit

A solid result in your tenth
was a result of your strength
Choice of your subjects led to some confusion
And St. Joseph’s was the fruition

A couple of years more
Heartburn of a poor score
With renewed vigor and steely resolve
Chose a new career and in you dove

Off to Hyderabad you went away
And results started coming your way
For a career in culinary arts
With a top score for starts

Three years of elbow grease and gore
Best Academic Achievements and awards galore
Boy to man you became
Back to home you came

To Griffith Labs off you went
Gave you the experience of job well spent
Your Avenger bike was another birthday surprise
From your grandparents looking down from the skies

A year and half later in
a Post Grad in Italian cuisine
off to George Brown College, you went
with the choice of your stint

Toronto, Canada and a big strange place
Took like a fish to water apace
Thanks to people who gave you space
To these family and friends, you must say grace

Off to internship you went touring
To Italy was three months of solid learning
the land of food, fashion and cars
Of dishes, and presentation and stars

Massimo Bottura was a meeting of a legend
Your Biriyani story was stuff for grandchildren
You made your presence felt in the competition
And 500 dollars was no small compensation

Twelve months, a curated dinner and graduation
Brought the family together for a vacation
Travelling, eating, meeting, laughing and car loads of fun
Oh, for another day under the sun!

As we await you coming a month late
And prepare for your party, mate
The date may be different, the intensity same
The cooking challenging, the friends insane

Another year has passed since
your job at Bar Mercurio was a cinch
Sous chef is your designation
Creative cooking is your passion

We meet in Singapore this time
For another belated family reunion
On this day we remember your journey
From a underweight to a man with purpose

Another country, another travel
Newer dishes to unravel
Newer places to discover
Newer memories to uncover

A couple of years or more passed
Some more experience you tasked
Ottera and Capacaccio you owned
Like a fortune foretold

The period of lockdown was unexpected
Covid 19 created a scene unintended
Canada subsidized your existence
And restarted your career since

Hoping for a future better son
And earlier the better and soon
May life and love swathe you, anon
May family and friends meet you Sun to Mon

On the hot range and the pizza oven
You spend your hours in an about them
Burning your arms and singeing your hair
Around the furnace of life is your lair

We wait, we skype, we talk of your hair
To envelop in our arms and love to share
This is just a peek for you
Happy birthday my son, happy birthday to you