In November 2001, nearing the general election, Basdeo Panday was on a campaign platform in Felicity when a man walked by and shouted, "Mr Panday," to which he replied, "My brother."
The man continued, "You is a dog," and in a heartbeat, Mr Panday quipped, "Why do you think I called you my brother?"
As the audience erupted in laughter, it was the man who was laughing the loudest, easily won over by the charm of a man he had tried to insult.
This was the Basdeo Panday, who many came to love despite their political background, carrying the title 'The Silver Fox' for his clever manoeuvres and witty charisma.
His passing on Monday has impacted the nation across political divides and social strata who remember his years as a fighter and the rallying cry, "If you see me and a lion fighting, feel sorry for the lion."
His was a life dedicated to uplifting the working class, from his early days of struggle for the sugar workers before working his way up the political rungs, with membership in the Democratic Labour Party, the United Labour Front, Tapia House, The National Alliance for Reconstruction, the Organisation for National Reconstruction and the Caucus for Love, Unity and Brotherhood, better known as CLUB '88.
But it is his rise to power with the United National Congress, becoming the first prime minister of East Indian descent, that he's remembered for the most today, riding in with a vision of eroding the power of those he deemed the 'parasitic oligarchy', a mid to upper-class grouping that Mr Panday felt wielded too much economic control at the expense of the working class he had long fought for.
His aim was to diversify the economy through ambitious visions that included making T&T the hub of the Americas and adopting the Singapore model of development.
He abolished the Common Entrance Examination and built schools to ensure that every student would have a secondary placement regardless of how they performed in the exams.
Through it all, he fought an old political lion in the leader of the People's National Movement, Patrick Manning, with a high level of dignity and mutual respect despite their strongly adverse political views.
Yet, Panday's political decline came from the lions he fought within his own party and some created by his own decisions.
His colossal battle with former NAR leader Arthur NR Robinson destroyed the UNC/NAR Alliance that gave Mr Panday the prime minister position in 1995.
He battled with Chaguanas MP Hulsie Bhaggan, who claimed he had united with the so-called parasitic oligarchy, a struggle that was immortalised in David Rudder's 1998 calypso, 'The Ballad of Hulsie X'.
Mr Panday's arena saw other big lions. In 2000, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Ralph Maraj and Trevor Sudama's decisions to vote against Mr Panday's government on some pieces of legislation meant he no longer held the majority and forced him back to the polls, beginning the end of his prime ministerial position.
Winston Dookeran and the Congress of the People, Jack Warner and Kamla Persad-Bissessar were among other political opponents that arose from within.
As he left active politics behind, the endearment and love for Mr Panday grew more and more in the hearts of thousands across the nation.
As the political landscape changed over the years, it became clearer just how much of a role he played as part of a golden era in T&T's politics and continuing to do so in his retirement as Panday the lion fighter, evolved into Panday the lion-hearted.
