Watch: Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama joke, reflect on friendship in rare snippets

The Dalai Lama said he cherished the friendship he shared with Desmond Tutu. (Screengrab from video tweeted by Yeshi Dawa)

The world got a glimpse of the warm relationship between South African anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama in a video shared on social media of the two of them joking over a meal and speaking about their admiration for each other.

The video emerged after Tutu’s death on Sunday. World leaders and millions of people across the globe mourned the 90-year-old Nobel Prize-winning activist.

As the world looked back on Tutu’s life, many Twitter users shared snippets from a documentary titled Mission: Joy - Finding Happiness in Troubled Times, which explores his friendship with the Dalai Lama.

“Joy is laughing with my friend #DalaiLama.”
- Archbishop #DesmondTutu

Remembering a simple yet a powerful voice of peace! https://t.co/Vzj95yQq9tpic.twitter.com/EpCSWzTg2Z

— Yeshi Dawa (@yd_tweets) December 26, 2021

In another part of the video, an interviewer asks Tutu and the Dalai Lama: “What is it about your friendship that allows you to have this extraordinary joy?” Tutu jokingly says the Dalai Lama is “always troubling him”.

Tutu goes on to day that he admires the Dalai Lama enormously, while the Tibetan spiritual leader tells the interviewer that at the time of his death, he will remember his friend.

The friendship between the two leaders struck a chord with social media users. “This video of him [Tutu] and the Dalai Lama together is just so heartwarming!” said orator and writer Joy Bhattachariya.

Saddened by the loss of Desmond Tutu. He was an incredibly warm and empathetic man, and a towering figure in the fight against apartheid. This video of him and the Dalai Lama together is just so heartwarming!
h/t @vsengupta https://t.co/ztkx9MTUiw

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— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) December 27, 2021

A social media user named Abhay K described the conversations between Tutu and the Dalai Lama as the “best you’ll listen on Twitter today”.

The best conversation you’ll listen to on @Twitter today! #DesmondTutu@DalaiLama on #life#death#friendship#teasing#joy of #lifepic.twitter.com/HcJDhNEGay

— Abhay K. (@theabhayk) December 27, 2021

The Dalai Lama had joined several global personalities in paying tributes to Tutu on Sunday. “With his passing away, we have lost a great man, who lived a truly meaningful life,” the Dalai Lama had said. “He was devoted to the service of others, especially those who are least fortunate.”

The Tibetan spiritual leaded added that he and Tutu cherished the friendship and the spiritual bond that they had.

Former United States President Barack Obama remembered Tutu as “a mentor, friend, and moral compass” for him and many others.

“A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere,” Obama had added.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass for me and so many others. A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. pic.twitter.com/qiiwtw8a5B

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 26, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tutu was a guiding light for people across the world. “His emphasis on human dignity and equality will be forever remembered,” Modi had added