SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS

In 2015, Daruwalla returned his 1984 Sahitya Akademi award to protest the killing of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi, a known critic of right-wing groups, outside his home.

Not much happens after the gunshot. The hunter repents upon seeing the forest erupt in mourning, finds his horse unusually reluctant to leave, and, in desperation, snaps his gun in two, trying to ignore the cries of the bird whose mate he just shot dead.

Death of a Bird is one of the many poems by Keki Daruwalla that left a lasting impression on writers of his generation, among them Malayalam poet K Satchidanandan, who said it typified his metaphorical prowess as a writer. Daruwalla died Friday in Delhi at 87.