THE BEST GENTLEMAN I EVER MET IN MY LIFE

Mr. ERASMUS SEBASTIANO VIEGAS

2 June 1927 - 11 October 2008

His wit, his wisdom and his voice.

It is with great sadness that I learned about the passing away of Mr. Erasmus Viegas.

My first meeting with this truly great man was in 1973 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he happened to visit the offices where I worked. From then on we were good friends - I met him often at parties, heard his flawless tenor voice, laughed at the gut-shattering humour in his jokes and often took his advice in many matters. A great man himself, he hardly took any credit for his good deeds, but instead showered praises on the young and old alike including myself which I did not probably deserve more than he did for his exemplary life.

What is touching me most is that he passed away clutching my book "Goa - Memories of My Homeland", which I had presented to him two years ago, in his hands. Though far away from his homeland, yet perhaps so near, through the poems and stories about Goa, its culture and folklore, which he must have kept close to his heart.

I would like to express my deep sorrow and convey my sympathies to his loving family.

The verses below have been excerpted from my book which, as a tribute, I dedicate to this truly great and wonderful man.
Summarizing our own mortality while we grieve for our loved ones, at such times we comfort those who have lost theirs, but have to contend with the fact that we might leave others to grieve for us when our days on earth are done.

THE JOURNEY

When the final summons
Beckons at my door
To leave for another shore
I know it’s God’s call I can’t ignore.

It will be my life’s journey’s end,
Sudden and abrupt
Unannounced and undecided
I will have to leave in haste.

This departure I cannot
Adjourn, defer or halt
No luggage to cart
No time to prepare
Or say good-bye
Before I acknowledge
My final roll call.

Today I lament for loved ones
That I have lost long ago
But in turn will have to obey God’s command
When I have served my tenure and
And my time on earth is done.

Let me therefore do good,
Pardon my friend or foe
For it may be too late to do so
When God knocks on my door
And I am unable to look back
I have got to go.

When I am gone
My friends and family
May in turn
Grieve in pain and sorrow
And remorse so deep
So help me God to be good to others today
In what ever I do or say
So that I may be remembered
when the chapel bells toll tomorrow.

From up above I will only silently see
Unable to communicate or respond
Direct , guide or tell
But perhaps I could only wish
And hope there is at least one good thing
That I will be remembered by
If at all.
Mr. Erasmus Viegas, we will miss you.

Tony Fernandes

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THOUGHTS FOR A MONTH'S MIND

Remembering Mr. Erasmus Viegas

(1927-2008)

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Circa 1983 - Sharjah - UAE
It was Yuletide. We had Erasmus & Olivia Viegas over at our place in Sharjah, U.A.E. At that time I was a beginner on the Yamaha Electone Organ. Mr. Viegas asked me whether I could play 'One Day at a Time' - one of his favourites. I said I'd try and I did play. When I had finished, he said: "That's wonderful". It was far from being perfectly played, because I knew I must have made more than a dozen errors. But then, that was his way of encouraging others.
Year 2007 - Ajax - Ontario, Canada (24 years later)
Mr. Viegas telephoned personally to invite Edna and myself well in advance to celebrate his 80th Birthday. As a modest surprise I thought I'd play for him his favourite song 'Love is a many-splendored thing' on the violin. So I started to practice in right earnest well in advance. And I did manage somehow to play it for him on his birthday. My rendition might have had plenty of flaws - the melody was too huge for a novice only 3 years into learning the violin. When I had finished, he said: "That's wonderful". Even though I must not have done justice to his favourite song there was encouragement from him once again.
'Love is a many-splendored thing' was his best song that I loved - a timeless classic among his other hits of all time. No tune was tough for him to sing. He sang them like a breeze, hitting the crescendos that shook the walls of many halls without the necessity of a microphone. Incidentally, the song has an arrangement of 22 chords and 67 sequential chord changes. 'Ave Maria" and 'Jezebel' that he sang equally well, must rank next up there in the charts in the heavens.
For Mr. Erasmus Viegas - Love for singing, and life for giving were really a many-splendored thing.
Tony Fernandes
Mississauga,Ontario,Canada.