The term ‘legend’ is often overused these days.

But if there was one who truly deserved the tag, it was Piyush Pandey.

I can’t begin to imagine the sorrow his family, friends, and those who have worked with him must be feeling right now.

When I received the call this morning, it felt deeply personal — not just for me, but for the Indian advertising industry and, given his global achievements, for the country as well.

I had many interactions with him over the last year and a half. The four days we spent in Las Vegas last year (during which he won the LIA Legend Award) are cherished memories. His wife was travelling with him too, and I got to spend some quality time with them. On stage during his acceptance speech, he emphasised the importance of keeping things simple and funny — and that’s my lasting memory of him.

Being a cricket fan, I always looked forward to his cricket references. We were shooting a panel in Vegas, and because we decided to do so at the last minute, the space we got was extremely small — meaning Josy Paul, Sachin Talwalkar, Piyush, and I had to sit very close to each other. It could have looked awkward for the viewer, and so Piyush, in his typically simple and funny way, along with his cricketing reference, mentioned how it looked like we were fielding — with Pandey keeping, and us ‘sitting in the slip cordon’ next to him.

The launch of Manifest coincided with Pandey winning the Lotus Legend Award at Adfest.

It was the perfect excuse for us to ask for his time so that we could have him on the front cover of the first issue. Piyush was busy with his treatment and was also shuttling between Goa and Mumbai. He called me a day before Holi and asked me to come over if I had no plans for the festival. I don’t play Holi, but even if I did, I wasn’t going to turn this down.

The young team also wanted to meet Piyush, and so the three of us marched into his house early in the morning on the festival day. Lorraine told me he had only half an hour in his diary. He gave us much more, including selfies with the young team and a handwritten note that is truly special. He also shot a video wishing the team all the best in his trademark simple and funny way.

In one chat with me, he mentioned the importance of bringing emotion to the table, as that’s the differentiator between AI and humans, and urged the next generation of adland to do so.

Pandey’s funeral is tomorrow at Shivaji Park. I’m not sure whether young adland can bring emotion into advertising, but it’s going to be a tearjerker for sure.

Thank you and rest well, Piyush — on behalf of the Manifest team, advertising, and India.