Veez Global Illustrated English Weekly e-Magazine. Published from Chicago, USA.

English Weekly

Vol:

1

No: 31

July 28, 2022

Renowned Konkani playwright, actor, composer Walter Monteiro no more

Renowned Konkani playwright, actor, composer Walter Monteiro no more

Walter Monteiro, a product of renowned St Aloysius College, Mangaluru, founder member of MCCP, toastmaster/compere par excellence, composer of songs and hymns, writer, director and actor of award winning Konkani play 'Xeghunanchi Sunn' and many such creations and the driving force behind the success of “Ozanam Home For The Aged” at Udupi passed away here on Monday July 11.

Ozanam Home For The Aged, under the aegis of Society of St Vincent De

Paul, is pioneering the concept of addressing old age blues is the result of a vision of a perfectionist at work Walter Monteiro who fully committed in taking any task to its logical conclusion.

Walter Mark Monteiro, popularly known as Walter Monteiro, was one of the early pillars of MCCP who actively supported and contributed for the parish and MCCP activities besides being its founder member.

He shouldered the responsibilities of MCCP in the capacity of President during the year 1994-1995. His vast

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knowledge, acumen, keen interest on creative ideas and committed approach towards social and 5 Veez Illustrated Weekly

cultural activities made him different from others in the line.

The final journey of the deceased will be held on Wednesday July 13.

Funeral cortège will leave residence 'Nayantara', LIC road, Ajjarkad at 4:30 PM for Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi, followed by Mass.

Here is the life story of this great personality right from his childhood in the 1940s at Valencia, Mangaluru, followed by academic career, extracurricular activities, Pparish activities & community services at home turf, life at 'Bombay – the maximum city' in the 1960s, home away from home in the Sultanate of Oman from 1969 to 1999 and back to the homeland to settle down at Udupi to lead semi-retired life by actively involving in socially relevant activities of the society.

Early life, school and college days in Mangaluru: Born to Joseph and Jane Monteiro on October 22, 1942 in Valencia, he had the distinction of receiving the First Holy Communion from 'Servant of God' Msgr Raymond F C Mascarenhas – the founder of Bethany Sisters Congregation, in 1948 at Bendore. He did his elementary school at St Joseph

Elementary School, Kankanady, and higher elementary at St Joseph Higher Elementary School at Jeppu.

He had the privilege of pursuing his higher secondary up to graduation in BCom at the renowned St Aloysius College, Mangaluru.

During his academic career he was actively involved in various extracurricular activities such as debating society, elocution, commerce association, economic geography exhibition and also represented at inter-college competitions. Being secretary of commerce association, he successfully conducted and organised the ecomonic geography exihibition. He was also involved in Fine Arts Society, and his active participation in composing, singing songs and acting made him confident in refining these skills.

Besides attaining academic excellence, he was actively involved in parish activities as altar boy during childhood and in Marian Sodality and related youth movement in later days.

The above institutions instilled strong values in him during his formative years and those values strongly reflected in his later life and professional career.

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Bombay – The launching pad Armed with a BCom degree and related talents in debating and fine arts, he like any aspiring young professional of his time, landed in Bombay – the dream city of yesteryears, in the 1960s and almost succeeded in opting for a course in film direction, editing & screenplay writing at the films division but could not pursue due to unforeseen situations. That made him to look for job opportunities and pursued his banking career at the foreign department of Canara Bank, Bombay, for almost 5 years.

Gulf dream – Destination Muscat “LONG AGO I SAW MY MAMMA CRYING, ‘CAUSE I WAS GOING FAR AWAY FROM HOME. STILL I AM FAR AWAY AND SHE CRIES NO MORE, ‘CAUSE OMAN IS HOME AWAY FROM HOME !” – this was how he narrated his almost 30 years stay in the Sultanate of Oman.

Muscat gave him wide and varied exposure in the areas of banking, ministries and ministry related projects ranging from agriculture, marine/fisheries, petroleum and minerals, where he shouldered senior responsibilities in finance.

Here he found his first love and

married to Prescilla, daughter of Francis and Cecilia Dante of Udupi on January 2, 1972. Mr Francis Dante was a well known figure from the Syndicate Bank, Manipal, wo was a popular author, writer and editor of Kannada/Konkani and English articles and a publisher of many books.

Prescilla left her banking job to join her husband in Muscat and worked for major corporate houses during her stay in Muscat.

Walter Monteiro was very fond and proud of his achievements and always showed a great desire to walk on his footsteps and proved to be one through his creations over the years till his death. .

St Peter and Paul church, and parish activities His involvement in the capacity of Eucharistic minister, parish council member, church choir and intercommunity carol singing, food festivals, etc., had immense influence on then parish priest Fr Augustine Antao. Other memorable events include inauguration of new church building and related activities where his active role generated impressive results. He

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was actively involved during the maiden historic visit of Dr Aloysius D’Souza, Bishop of Mangaluru, which is evident by the 'Felicitation Address' he composed for the function held at the Holy Spirit Church, on the November 8, 1997.

On the occasion of bidding farewell to Fr Augustine Antao, on February 11, 1999 he wrote touching good bye note to Fr Augustine, on behalf of Mangalurean community, under the caption 'EXPRESSIONS REALIZED – REALITY EXPRESSED' and that was a golden tribute ever to be remembered by the community.

The MCCP bond Walter Mark Monteiro, popularly known as Walter Monteiro, was one of the early pillars of MCCP who actively supported and contributed for the parish and MCCP activities besides being its founder member.

He shouldered the responsibilities of MCCP in the capacity of president during the year 1994-1995. His vast knowledge, acumen, keen interest on creative ideas and committed approach towards social and cultural activities made him different from others in the line. His

relentless quest for community welfare has left an everlasting impression in the hearts and minds of MCCP family.

Goodbye to Oman At the end of his 30 years stay in the Sultanate of Oman, the couple wrote following touching lines in their goodbye note to the MCCP family on 14.11.1999:

“And so, finally we have decided to pack, On our way, from beautiful Oman to home back.

While we long once again to you personally greet, We shall carry with us, your memories so sweet.

It seems only yesterday, that we met first, ‘Cause your true friendship has been every fresh at best.

May this freshness in years to come last, Since future stays through kindness of past.

You breathed for us love and concern at length, Your help always gave our hands strength.

And so as we journey, towards the thousandth mile,

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In esteemed gratitude to you, our hearts will ever smile.

As we march towards the third millennium, Let us together open a new chapter, new volume.

To fill in the world around us, every vacuum, Striving for Lord’s plans to nurture and bloom.

It has been a privilege of knowing you, Since YOUR ARE A VERY SPECIAL YOU. Thank you and God Bless You.” With that kind of attachment to MCCP, the couple cherished the golden moments they once spent with MCCP family.

Retired life in Udupi and post retirement contributions to society Settling down in Udupi gave him opportunities to focus his attention towards the society and that motivated him to join the Society of St Vincent De Paul in the year 2000.

Since then no looking back, he had moved forward step by step and became the president of Udupi area council which entails him the responsibility as president of St Vincent De Paul Ozanam Trust and its novel project – Ozanam Home f

or The Aged.

To mark the Ozanam home silver jubilee event they raised funds and completed building 'Miracles' for additional inmates followed by 'Mariya Kripa' convent/residence for sisters of Bethany congregation to take daily care of inmates and a new house for chaplain. However, the current challenges include finishing works at Ozanam complex, medical fund for critical diseases, and laying of inter-locking pavement/pathway facility at Ozanam Home for which funds to be generated. Perhaps MCCP’s 20th anniversary celebrations may be an opportune occasion to review and focus on the possibility of some funds for the above noble cause, opined Walter Monteiro.

Awards and recognitions for creative work During his Bombay days, he sang for All India Radio in the group with his 2nd cousin the famed (late) Jerome D’Souza, and was also associated with Eddie Padwal, Ruby Pasannha, and other well known artistes of his time.

His plays in Konkani DHODEN KORAR (1962), XEGHUNANCHI SUNN (1966), AMGHER THUMGHER

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(1999 – dedicated to MCCP) and other short plays like JEZU MELLO, JERICONTHLO ROSTHO, GURKARASO MENDHU KHELO, END POINT, ROG ANI MOGH, etc., earned him lot of respect from the community.

XEGHUNANCHI SUNN (Sunekh Swaghath – earlier version) competed at Konkani Natak Sabha and won first place for best play, best director, best actor and best actress. This was the very first play where ladies and gents acted together in a play staged at Don Bosco. For this play Jerome D’Souza, composed 'MAI MONNTHA THUN XEGHUNANCHI SUNN' which is still very much alive during wedding ceremonies. Thanks to Jerome D’Souza, for this golden composition. This play was staged at St Mary’s Mazagaon– Bombay, and also in Ruwi on November 14 1996 during Henry Martis’ tenure as president for which Walter Monteiro, had expressed his wholehearted gratitude to Henry Martis and among others Oswald Soares, Benedict Pereira, Apolinaris D’Souza, Ozzy (Oswald) D’Souza,

Stany D’Souza for making this play successful and memorable.

Moreover, this play was staged in an open ground at Udupi on February 13, 2011 in connection with Udupi.

The Conference Golden Jubilee projects and the ground was full.

He published the dramas XEGHUNANCHI SUNN and AMGHER THUMGHER in the book (print media) form in January, 2003.

His other collection was BASAYLO DESH SODOYLO SOVNSAR.

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Anecdotes, testimonials and comments • Colin & Joy D'Souza, Mangalore/Cincinnati, OH, USA Wed, Jul 13 2022 Dearest Prescy, We are so saddened by the passing of my beloved cousin Walty. He had a heart of gold, and truly did God's work here on earth.

He was a shining example of how to live a Christian life. He was amazingly talented, and yet so humble. May our fond memories of him remain in our hearts and minds forever. We pray for the repose of his soul and for God to grant you strength and sustain you in this difficult time. Love and God Bless, Colin, Joy and family • Vincent and Prescilla Machado, Shirva / Canada Wed, Jul 13 2022 Dear Pressy bai, Vijay / Prema , Henry / Violet and all the family members of Wally bab and Pressy bai, Heartfelt sympathies on the sad demise of dear Walty bab . It was a pleasure knowing him during our

time in Muscat . He will be remembered for his leadership activities and selfless service to the Mangalorean Community of Muscat and various other community services in Mangalore/ Udupi. We pray that God gives you’ll comfort and solace during these trying times .May his soul Rest In Peace.

• Richard D'Souza, Kallianpur Tue, Jul 12 2022 Very sad to hear the news of demise of Bro. Walter. His contribution to the needy one and for Society of St. Vincent de Paul was immense and great. My heartfelt condolences to all the family members of Bro. Walter. Great Gentleman and enthusiastic person. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

• Stanley Fernandes, MilagresMuscat Tue, Jul 12 2022 Dear Pressybai, very sad to receive the news of the demise of your beloved Waltyab. Please accept our

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heartfelt sympathies & Condolences. We pray that the departed Soul to rest in Heavenly Eternal peace and give you and the family members, the courage, strength, peace, and solace to bear this irreparable loss. We fondly remember the tremendous contribution to St. Peter & Paul Church Ruwi and the Mangalorean Konkani community. RIP dear Waltyab Stanley TH Fernandes & fly Muscat-Oman • Brian Nazareth, Koppa/Mangalore Tue, Jul 12 2022 Saddened to hear the passing away of Waltyab as he was known to all.

My interaction with him was during our stint in Muscat where both were involved with the the MCCP and The Church and Community matters. His smiling face , calm demeanor and his helpful nature will be remembered by all. Deepest condolences to dear Pressy and all the members of the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace.

• Dr Gerald Pinto, Kallianpur Tue, Jul 12 2022 A person commited to the service of the poor, Konkani artist and dramatists of Segunachi Sune fame,

above all a kind hearted human being. May his soul rest in Peace .

• Fredrick Sequeira, Kallianpur Tue, Jul 12 2022 A great n illustrious , and service minded towards the needy mission came to an end.A very Zealot n enthusiastic Venetian contributed immensely to Society of St.Vincent De Paul as well as to the Ozanam Home for the Aged and until three weeks back used to visit this Home on weekly basis , interacting with Residents and ovetseeing Administrative matters. Bro.Walter rest in the Sweet Arms of Jesus for you have followed " Whatsoever you did to the least of my brethren, you did unto me." Dear Ptessi bai kindly accept my sympathy n heartfelt condolences at this bereavement of yours.

• Anoop & Arun D'souza, Udupi / Dubai /Mumbai Tue, Jul 12 2022 Very sad to hear about the death of Walty'ab, he was a great orator ! He was a good friend to my Dad .

Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Today and always, may fond memories bring you peace, support, and strength.

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• Ivan Menezes, Valencia / Muscat Tue, Jul 12 2022 Waltiyab was indeed a multitalented gentleman. I had watched him directing 'Xeghunanchi Sunn' in the Valencia church hall in 1972. The play was originally titled 'Sunekh Swagath', but was renamed as 'Xeghunanchi Sunn' in line with the song with same title composed specifically by the Late Jerome D'Souza. Waltiyab, who was born and brought up in Valencia, will live forever in our hearts for his literary works and simplicity. May he Rest in Peace.

Sharon fernandes, Mangalore/Jakarta Wed, Jul 13 2022 Dear Pressy Aunty, Our Heartfelt Condolences to you on the demise of our dear Walty Uncle.May his soul Rest in Peace. Sending healing prayers and comfort during this sorrowful time. Praying for your peace and comfort.

Leeda Fernandes, Bellore-Denmark Wed, Jul 13 2022 Accept our Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. May his soul

rest in eternal peace. Thankyou for your great work. we miss you.

Ben D'Souza Prabhu, Mangalore, Bombay Bandra now in Canada Tue, Jul 12 2022 Great Lovely people are born time and again in our own Manglalore; and do their assigned work and Give thanks to our Lord and go away silently ! Our dear brother, Walter Monteiro is an example for all of us to know ! Let us Pray and let our Lord take Care of such instances !

THANK YOU LORD !!!

Stany D’souza, Udupi Tue, Jul 12 2022 Dear prescilla i and my wife recollect the days we spend at oman what great man walter monterio was we miss him we pray may his soul rest in peace stany nancy n family udupi muscat1 Nancy, Falnir/New Jersey Tue, Jul 12 2022 Dear Precy, Please accept my heart felt sympathies on the sad demise of Walter. Many fond memories of our association in Muscat comes to mind. A privilege to know you both and work together on projects for

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MCCP. May God grant him eternal rest and His Grace generously flow to bear his loss. Agnel Nancy and family Apolinaris D'Souza, Valencia/Muscat Tue, Jul 12 2022 Sad to know Walty'ab is no more. I had the opportunity to work with him in Muscat for his dramas, songs & all other activities in the parish of Ruwi. Much before i knew him from Valencia as we were from the same parish. I remember I had played a small role for his drama Doden Karar in 1961 & later for his play Xegunachi Sun in Muscat, where I took the responsibility of music for the play. He is a gem of a person.

Soft spoken n very kind. He leaves behind lot of memories. My sincere condolences to Precy'bai & all his family members. May his soul Rest in Eternal Peace. Adevs Walty'ab, till we meet again Apolinaris & Joyce D'Souza.

Fredrick Sequeira, Kallianpur Tue, Jul 12 2022 I am struggling to find proper n fitting words to describe this Highly Luminary Figure.My contact with him is gir the last twenty years as a

Vincentian member. Under his presidentsip as S.S.V.P Udupi Area Council I rendered my services to the same as Secretary n throughout O noted his zeal and enthusiasm in spreading the Vincentian love to the needy Ozanam Home for the Aged was another atrea of work n he worked tirelessly botje giving good amount of donations as well as from Good Hearyef people towrds this Home.Until thrree weeks back he used to visit this Home on weekly basis , mingling with the aged n in administrative matters I learnt much from him n I confirm znevet once he had any misgivings in my services as Secretary. Besides these he wwas a prolific writer - dramas ,articles both spiritual n social. Society of St Vincent de Paul n Ozanam Home for the aged is now orphaned.Thank you Bro.Walter. Now rest in peace in the arms of Saviou Lord Jesus Christ.My sympathy n heartfelt condolences to Aunt n also bereaved members of family .

Errol, Mangalore Tue, Jul 12 2022 Sad to hear the demise of Walty Monterio, one of the finest gentleman I met and worked with

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during my stay in Muscat. May the almighty God grant him eternal rest , comfort and solace to his loving wife Pressy.

Gerry D'Mello Bendur, Canada A tearful Tribute to our dear friend “Xeghunanchi Sunn” fame Walter Monteiro: I was really disturbed to receive sad news from the Dante family this morning regarding the passing away of our dear friend Walter Monteiro fondly we used to call him Waltiyab! He was one of the founder members of the Mangalorean Catholic Centre of the Parish (MCCP) in Muscat, one who contributed hugely to triggering the most cherished Monti-Fest celebration in Oman back in 1988.

As one of the early pillars in the 1990’s he played a vital leadership role among the Mangalorean Community in Oman and he shouldered the responsibilities of MCCP in the capacity of President from the year 1994 – 1995. During the early 1990’s joining hands with renowned Konkani Composer/Singer Oswald D’Souza and composed the beautiful Theme Song “Tujea garba thavn…” for MCCP during the early 1990s. He

was the Toastmaster and Compere par-excellence, an accomplished Poet, Composer of Songs & Hymns, writer, director & actor of awardwinning Konkani play “Xeghunanchi Sunn” and many such creations.

During his retirement a driving force behind the success of “Ozanam Home for the Aged” at Udupi, under the aegis of the Society of St. Vincent De Paul. He was the Son-inLaw of a great Community Leader, and renowned writer the late Francis Dante nick-named as “Sri-Dante” from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada who was also one of the founders of Catholic Sabha.

Apart from MCCP leadership, Walty’ab took leadership roles in Ruwi Parish in Muscat on a larger scale. He was actively involved in the most cherished Monti Fest celebrations in Muscat where thousand of Konkani Catholics used to participate. He took leadership in organizing various Food Festivals that were organized to generate funds not only for the needs of Ruwi Church and community activities in Oman but also to support various projects of the Diocese of Mangalore. He was also one of the

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initial members of the Indian Cultural Association in Oman.

Walty’ab was a great singer During his Bombay days he sang for All India Radio in the group with his 2nd cousin the famed (late) Jerome D’Souza. His plays in Konkani Dhoden Korar (1962), Xeghunanchi Sunn (1966), Amgher Thumgher (1999), and other short plays like Jezu Mello, Jericonthlo Rostho, Gurkaraso Mendhu Khelo, End Point, Rog ani Mog made him a popular screenplay writer of that time.

He published the dramas Xeghunanchi Sunn and Amgher Thumgher in the book form in 2003.

Walty’ab was gentle, humble with a down-to-earth personality. He was a man of action. Through his simplicity and purpose, he conveyed more than words could ever do. He was practical, softspoken, and realistic, yet strong in his commitment to the community.

It’s so hard to believe that he is no more with us. But we know for sure that he is enjoying his eternal bliss in heaven with angels and saints.

We will miss him and his companionship, but his memories are a blessing and encourage us to

carry on his mission of helping our fellow men and making lives around us better through the examples of Christ.

I wish to convey my deepest condolences to his beloved wife Prescilla, the Dante family, and the entire bereaved family. May the Lord grant them all great strength to bear this irreparable loss!

Dear Walty’ab we deeply miss you and pray to Almighty God to grant your soul eternal rest!

Sylvester Pereira Well written...i have seen and work together in mccp in Muscat Very sad to know waltyab no more.our heartfelt sympathy to precybai and the bereaved family members.may his soul rest in peace Rubeena Pereira I remember Uncle’s melodious voice and loving nature.

Really sad to hear about his demise.

May his soul Rest In Peace. He will continue to sing with all the choir of angels in heaven.

Jasmine Rodrigues All the good work you have done will never be forgotten.Yes you were a talented man.i have seen him in Muscat.May his soul rest in peace.

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Victoria D'costa Eternal bliss shine upon you dear Waltyab. 🪔 Very sad news to know that He is no more. I had a great opportunity to work with this humble soul.

The Funeral

The funeral ceremony was held on July 13, 2022 at 3pm was attended by family and friends and the event was live streamed on youtube. The link to watch is here:https://youtu.be/HP9mIxSZXww ---------------------------------------

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MEMORIES OF WALTY – from Cousin Terry D’Souza My first recollection of Walty is from late June 1950. I was almost 4 years old. My Mom Lucy and I had come to Mangalore for the birth of my sister Tina at the maternal family home in Valencia. Walty became my big brother at the time, he was 7. He took me under his wing, even at that young age and kept me out of trouble as best he could. I remember Walty and our grandfather Xavier (we called him Abba) were great buddies. Walty worshipped Abba and helped him in so many ways over the years. Our

7/18/22 maternal grandmother, Abba’s wife, was Flora. We called her Mai. She was one tough lady – she busted our chops every chance she got. The Highlon home had an earth floor at that time. I remember digging little holes in the floor that were my wells for water for my coming sister. I would pour the remaining water from the ‘colsos’ (water jugs) into the holes. Walty would often take the blame for the digging to save my butt from punishment.

Over the years, Walty and I spent a lot of time together in Mangalore.

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show at St. Mary’s, my high school.

What blew my mind was that he remembered every note of every song that we performed. I believe in my heart that he was blessed with amazing creativity and was truly a musical genius.

When I was in Valencia, Walty put me to work drawing water from the well with him. We both planted one foot on the wall of the well, lowered the ‘colso’ on the rope. Then we tickled it to get it sideways to fill.

When it was full, we pulled it up, pulling in turn. When it reached the top, Walty would loosen the rope and mercifully take the full colso – about 50 lbs. - into the house and fill the ‘ban’ for bath water or the kitchen containers. I could not be trusted to do this since I would spill half the precious water on the way.

Mostly, through the 50s, I came to Mangalore on vacation or sometimes, Walty came to our flat in Madras for a few weeks. Walty and I had our own language, mostly Konkani, sometimes English. On one of his visits, he attended a musical

On my trips to Mangalore, I was admitted to a mini gang that bummed around town as teenagers do. Typically, Walty, Droston (Alwyn), Wilfie, Felix and I would linger around a single order of goli bajes and coffees at a local restaurant near Fr. Muller’s hospital until they kicked us out for loitering.

Today you have mall rats; we were Mohini Vilas mice.

Often, during hot weather, the boys slept on mattresses on the verandah floor in the fresh air. One night

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Walty and Eric both woke up to a horrible moaning sound nearby – it went on and on …. “Hooooooh, heehee, hoooooh, hee-hee …...” Walty got Abba’s stout walking stick, Eric grabbed a flashlight and turned it on. They discovered Richie, who had staggered in late after a few “chotas”, snoring musically in deep slumber “Hoooooh, hee-hee”. They promptly beat him up for scaring the bejeesus out of them. Poor Richie woke up with no idea why they were going all medieval on his behind.

In 1968, I got a job with Indian Oil in Bombay. I moved from Madras and lived with my Uncle Babuti (Joseph) and family in Khar, Bombay. Walty and I shared a little space on a balcony for several months as family/tenants. We got even closer then, riding trains together to work

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Cincinnati. It was such a wonderful reunion for us all. I remember how Walty, who had such a wonderful voice, sang Tom Jones’ classic “Delilah” for us, with Colin playing guitar. and back, and playing billiards at a local pool hall. Sorry to say, I got in trouble with Uncle who had a dim view of pool-shooters. Walty would protect me from his wrath as a Big Brother would. Many evenings, before dinner, Uncle Babuti would have Walty and me join him in a chota peg of whatever good stuff the local bootlegger had delivered.

We had Prohibition back then – a big farce. Some of the hooch was pretty good, almost like an imitation Scotch.

In 2018, sister Tina, her husband Alwyn and I took a trip to India, including time in Mangalore. We got to spend a day at Walty’s home in Udupi. Walty and Prescy made us feel very welcome and prepared a delicious banquet for us. It was a very special reunion for us all. I will always be grateful that we got together for that God-given final time.

Walty was the kind of cousin everyone should be blessed with. To me, he was always a Big Brother. I so admired his qualities and talents, his loving nature, his devoutness, and his never-failing generosity.

Walty, I love you and will miss you tremendously. Rest in peace, brother.

The next time I saw Walty was after many decades – his time in Muscat and return to Udupi and my time in the US. Colin and I picked up Walty and Prescy in Detroit in the summer of 2009 and drove back to -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 Veez Illustrated Weekly

A PERSONAL TRIBUTE OF LOVE TO OUR DEAREST COUSIN AND FRIEND, WALTY Our Cherished Memories (from Tina & Alwyn D’Souza) Walty is my dearest first cousin and Alwyn’s best friend. Walty was always the kind, loving and protective older brother to us all. I recall the many fun summer vacations spent at “Highlon” in Valencia, Mangalore between 1957 and 1967. We enjoyed his knack of telling us stories, teaching us Konkani, singing, playing cards and other board games with us. His soft-spoken, kind and gentle nature endeared all of us to him. He was a perfect human being and a shining example to everyone around him.

Walty was influential in introducing me to Droston (Alwyn), his best friend, who visited Highlon very often during the summer months. It was Walty and his dear mother Bai. as he called her, my Aunt Jane, lovingly coaxed a proposal between Alwyn and myself, which then resulted in our marriage on June 1,

1970.

We thank you dearest brother, Walty and Aunt Jane for your foresight and blessings.

Walty would always tease me that because I was born in Valencia, that the man I married would have to be born there too. Whenever I asked him why, he would give me this sly smile and say God had already taken care of this arrangement.

Little did I know that he, Walty, was aiding God by inviting his best friend, Droston (Alwyn) from Valencia, to come over to Highlon every time our family came from Madras to spend our summer vacation in Valencia.

Alwyn and I got to see Walty often when he visited from Muscat, Oman from 1970-1978. We were present for Walty and Prescilla’s (Prescy) wedding in 1972. We are extremely grateful to Walty who helped with Alwyn’s work visa to Muscat in 1975.

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During our visits to Mangalore in 2014 and 2018, we were fortunate to spend a very enjoyable and memorable day each time in Walty and Prescy’s house with delicious lunch prepared by Prescy. At the time of our 2018 visit to his Udupi house, Walty proudly showed me the original bed on which I was born when it was at Highlon, Valencia. He told me that he considered it an heirloom because his dear first sister, Tina, was born on it. His words brought tears to my eyes.

We loved to listen to the songs from the plays you wrote. We were so proud of your awesome talents.

Our favorite song was Xegunnachi Sun. Your genuine sense of deep love and respect for your elders and family was impeccable. You planted your feet firmly on the ground and reached for the stars to realize your dreams. You achieved this with your immense and unfailing faith in God, hard work, dedication, determination and that everendearing dimpled smile and personality.

With deeply saddened hearts we want to express how much you meant to us and how much you will be missed. We will miss your kind and gentle voice during our phone calls, your email messages, cards and handwritten letters offering meaningful advice. You showed by example how to be loving, forgiving and generous.

Dear Walty, we know that you are with God and our near and dear ones in Heaven.

We will take comfort that your suffering is over and that we now have another special angel to watch over us and intercede for us.

Walty and Alwyn in Muscat, Oman in 1976 You have left us with a beautiful legacy of how our lives should be

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conducted and lived on this earth.

You showed it to us by your example time and time again. We, who have known you since childhood as brother, cousin and friend will remember you forever.

Tina, Alwyn, Walty, Prescy at their Upudi Home in 2014

WITH OUR LOVE!! REST IN

PEACE DEAREST WALTY!

Compiled by: V. James Dante, Washington DC., USA (Family Member) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Udupi: Miss India Sini Shetty receives

grand welcome in hometown Pics: Justin D’Silva Daijiworld Media Udupi (JD)

Network

-

Femina Miss India winner Sini Shetty received a grand welcome in her hometown here on Tuesday July 19.

Sini was accorded a grand welcome and was taken in a procession from Jodukatte to Ammanni Rammanni

Shetty hall. She offered prayers at the Siddivinayaka temple.

Speaking to media in Tulu, Sini said, "I am overwhelmed by the welcome I have received herein my hometown today. My grandmother has been my biggest support. I am grateful to her. She was always

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supportive. She is my inspiration. I could been seen sharing some great am eager to spend time with her. I moments with her.

Parents visited and took blessings from Sadananda Shetty and Hema Shetty Kateel Sri Durgaparameshwari Devi also accompanied Sini. yesterday.”

The newly crowned Miss India will Sini was excited to see her be visiting a few temples in the grandmother on the occasion and district.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mangalurean musician Vanil Veigas receives prestigious Grammy award

Daijiworld Media Mangaluru (DV)

Network

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Mangaluru, Jul 18: Vanil Veigas, a musician from Mangaluru, received the prestigious Grammy Award.

Vanil is a resident of Permannur. The award was announced in April earlier this year.

He had won the Grammy for the album song 'Divine Tides' by Ricky Kej. The song was produced during the pandemic. Along with Vanil Veigas, PA Deepa also won the award.

Vanil was the musician for the 'Divine Tides'. Since 15 years, Vanil has been working with Ricky Kej on movie soundtracks, over 3,000 commercials, and 16 studio albums which include 3 Grammy-winning albums.

Vanil was born in Permannur to Isaac Veigas and Daisy Pereira. He is

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the brother of well-known Konkani have a daughter, Alline Veigas, who actor-director Nellu Permannur. He is also learning music at a young is married to Diana D'Silva and they age.

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Author : Vincent B DMello, Taccode

When will Pandemic End? Two years ago, after the eruption of Corona, we were repeatedly told by some leaders that just by doing this and that the Pandemic would be ending soon. But, when we look around and

as it is seen in the media, even after two years Corona has not ended and even if it ends there is a fear of new pandemics. Some wisemen had even forecast that "World will not be the same again". If masks, sanitisers, social distancing, etc. continues, it is highly impossible for an environment prior to Corona to return again and the forecast would

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come to be true. And when there is news in the media that there is a tthreat of a disease(?), Monkeypox, there is all possibility that we need to get prepared for a worse scenario than Corona.

Monkey pox as entirely a new disease, but by having a closer view and as reported in some other media, it is observed that it has appeared only in the people vaccinated for Covid.

Just as Covid19 was not an entirely new disease, Monkey pox too is not a new disease. When Polio vaccine campaign was going on Monkey pox symptoms were seen in children. Therefore, it can better described as a side effect of a vaccine rather than as a new disease. Now the question is where the current Monkey pox has come from?

It would be a great error to think that the Monkeypox scam will play out exactly like COVID(with lockdowns and vaccine mandates for employment and other venues).

This time the enemy has adjusted its strategy. Most of the people will be caught off guard. Instead of the general lockdowns and mandates that were there during Covid, this time they will track and trace extensively; targeting individuals and their contacts with long quarantines and ring vaccination(that anyone caught up in contact tracing will be detained by specially trained teams, isolated and pressured / forced to take the vaccine. Even if people are not legally obligated to comply, they will succumb to the extreme pressure that these teams apply.

The long quarantines will make them to give in. To avoid extended

Whatever may be a vaccine for a disease, vaccine remains a vaccine.

It is manufactured using cow, monkey and even human cells as its ingredients. So, why is it not possible that as we are in the second year of Covid19 vaccinations the Monkey pox has come as a Combo Offer with "Buy one and get one free". Some part of the mainstream media tries to create phobia in the people by portraying

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house arrest and eventually quarantining in camps, people will accept the jab. Thus compliance can be achieved without any general mandates. This targeting and isolation of individuals is nefarious for a number of reasons.

While general mandates and lockdowns tend to evoke widespread outrage, they know people won't take to the streets en masse if they aren't personally affected at the moment. They intend to pick you off one at a time starting with the least resistant. This is why they are focussed on the gay community in the opening act. The gay community is overwhelmingly left wing. Most of this demographic will accept the vaccine without hesitation as will the majority of those in their social circles. This will allow the enemy to work out the kinks in the system before addressing the trouble makers.

Some of you might be wondering how on earth they will be able to take this clown show to such extremes. After all, Monkey Pox is very mild and only lasts a for few

weeks. However, the narrative is already being cultivated that there is something unusual about this particular strain. It's "spreading" faster than previous variants, and some of the symptoms are unusual.

Those of you who have been paying attention know that this is a cover for the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. There are a multitude of auto-immune skin issues showing up that look like pox, and with immune systems decimated, the vaccinated are experiencing a resurgence of latent viruses, with shingles being one of the most common symptoms.

Since diagnosis comes down to a utterly fraudulent RT-PCR test, all of this can be easily attributed to Monkey pox.

It is here where things get nasty. The long term side effects of the COVID19 jabs are just beginning to reveal themselves, and the mortality among the vaccinated is already becoming impossible to hide. While COVID started as a bad flu and ended as a mild cold, Monkey Pox will made to look like as if it is

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evolving into something absolutely horrific. People will get sick and stay sick. Others will die suddenly. The fear generated and the resulting mass psychosis will make you miss the good old days of COVID. The manufactured food and energy shortagies that are kicking off at the same time are an important part of the equation. Rationing will give those in power far more leverage.

Malnutrition and cold will weaken the population physically and make them more susceptible to diseases.

Electricity and internet blackouts will make it much harder to organize resistance and will provide cover for

warned people to get out of the cities and some are now realising the why. Those who talked about these things were made mockery of.

If someone talks of a Sri Lanka like situation in India in the very near future people will laugh at and there are some people to make you laugh at such things. This is the final window for that move. There will be no fuel for vehicles soon (and you can only walk so far when you are starving). And this ends in war, but in war timing is everything. Let the

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cities burn in the distance. Let the enemy expend their ammunition and weaken their armies. Wait for the right moment.

The heavy rains in the past few days has thrown the agricuture out of gear. And because of it food shortage is unavoidable; government godowns too have been reported of being almost empty and because of it the plight of people will be more pathetic and succumb to more diseases and these diseases may be declared as new pandemics. In the name of

Monkeypox, Donkeypox, etc and

the new vaccines, conspirators will find it extremely easy to push their agenda of depopulation further without much resistance. Just as the banned drugs Remdesivir, Febipiravir, etc. in stock were pushed in the initial stages of Covid, again such stock will be pushed to the people claiming that to be the immediate remedy.

It is but natural that one should shudder such a scenario, but that will not achieve anything; aquiring knowledge and taking the right steps is the solution. It is better to be away from the corrupt media that creates phobia or from those leaders who offer incentives for jabbing yourselves. For those who are in good health the right approach would be to go for some naturopathic medthods of maintaining good health; and for those who are already jabbed follow the naturopathic ways of healing and not to jab themselves any more.

As some saying goes, we may even beg to live if we are alive. Its better to follow the age old wisdom than to follow the instead of giving in to

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the so-called science that lies everyday in the name of research.

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Celebrate Grandparents and the Elderly! .

Jesus, is sufficient to hail them as role models: wonderful and exemplary, caring and sensitive

*Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ On Sunday 24 July, the Catholic Church will once again celebrate the ‘World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly’. This is the second such year (now become an annual observance) of this extraordinary day, which began in 2021.The day will always be on the last Sunday of July, closest to the Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim (26 July). Though precious little is known about these Saints, the very fact that they were the parents of Mary and the grandparents of

senior citizens, emulation today!

worthy

of

Pope Francis, referring to this significant day, said during his Wednesday audience on 2 March 2022, “Old age certainly imposes a slower pace: But they are not merely times of inertia. Indeed, the measure of these rhythms opens up, for all, spaces of meaning of life unknown to the obsession with speed. Losing contact with the

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slower rhythms of old age closes up these spaces to everyone. It is from this perspective that I wished to establish the feast of grandparents, on the last Sunday of July. The alliance between the two extreme generations of life— children and the elderly—also helps the other two—young people and adults—to bond with each other so as to make everyone’s existence richer in humanity”.

Grandparents (old, ageing, elderly, senior citizens) have a special place in the heart of Pope Francis- and thereby of the Church. His message for the day this year, focuses on the theme ‘In old age they will still bear fruit’ (Ps 92 :15). This is a powerful, meaningful and relevant message in the context of what is happening to the elderly today.

Pope Francis says, “the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly is an opportunity to proclaim once more, with joy, that the Church wants to celebrate together with all those whom the Lord – in the words of the Bible – has “filled with days”. Let us celebrate it together!

I ask you to make this Day known in your parishes and communities;

to seek out those elderly persons who feel most alone, at home or in residences where they live. Let us make sure that no one feels alone on this day. Expecting a visit can transform those days when we think we have nothing to look forward to; from an initial encounter, a new friendship can emerge. Visiting the elderly who live alone is a work of mercy in our time!” He is clear, he is direct: he does not want Grandparents and other elderly, to feel excluded, unwanted and isolated!

‘Times are changing!’ A cliché that is repeated from one generation to another. Today, it is true, that families have become smaller; careerism and consumerism has overwhelmed the average person.

The rapid strides in technology have made us less human and more individualistic! The value time that families enjoyed in the past: caring and sharing, praying and playing, bonding and nurturing – seems to have become a rarity today. Those times of the traditional ‘joint family’ where the very presence of elders was deemed sacred, has all but disappeared! “We have no time” – scream one and all; there is

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much less time for grandparents and the elderly. Often, they are just tolerated, if not regarded as an absolute nuisance! It is so easy for fairly well-to-do children and grandchildren who enjoy a comfortable life abroad, to dump their seniors in a ‘Home for the Aged’ back home. They attempt to absolve themselves from all responsibility and guilt saying “the Sisters there look after them very well; we call every week and of course, we pay for their monthly expenses!” What grandparents and elderly want and need the most is the presence of their very own: their flesh and blood- just to be there!

Pope Francis in his message calls this painful reality out, very strongly, “Many people are afraid of old age. They consider it a sort of disease with which any contact is best avoided. The elderly, they think, are none of their concern and should be set apart, perhaps in homes or places where they can be cared for, lest we have to deal with their problems. This is the mindset of the “throw-away culture”, which leads us to think that we are somehow different from the poor

and vulnerable in our midst, untouched by their frailties and separated from “them” and their troubles. The Scriptures see things differently. A long life – so the Bible teaches – is a blessing, and the elderly are not outcasts to be shunned but living signs of the goodness of God who bestows life in abundance. Blessed is the house where an older person lives!

Blessed is the family that honours the elderly!”

The fact that the entire world is ageing (and India too!) is the hard truth! According to the United Nations, “By 2020, the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than 5 years”. Further, “Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050 and 80% of them will be living in low- and middleincome countries”.

India is not far from these global predictions. About a year ago, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released its ‘Elderly in India 2020’ report. The report flagged

34 Veez Illustrated Weekly

concerns around an ageing population and stressed the urgent need and importance for India to plan for a changing population structure Some of the official statistics are startling; these include: • India’s elderly population (aged 60 and above) is projected to touch 194 million in 2031 from 138 million in 2021, a 41 per cent increase over a decade • There will be 93 million males and 101 million females in 2031 — up from 67 million males and 71 million females in 2021.

• NSO’s National Sample Survey (NSS) data from 2017-2018 notes 70 per cent of the elderly in India were dependent on others for their daily living.

• The situation was worse for females – only 10 per cent and 11 per cent of females were economically independent in rural and urban areas respectively, compared to the 48 per cent and 57 per cent of males in rural and urban areas.

India. The reality is that in every family, community and society (both in rural and urban areas) we do have a growing number of senior citizens. Unlike the past, the painful dimension of this reality today, is that there is a sizable number of elderly in India who feel lonely unaccepted, rejected and isolated; their own infirmities, illness and lack of independence make life even more difficult for them. The country has not made comprehensive and publicised provisions to respond to the needs and frailties of the elderly. Many senior citizens are subject to abuse by their own children/grandchildren; they thrown out of their homes and kept destitute on the streets to fend for themselves. There are those horrible stories of grandsons murdering a grandparent for some monetary or material game The Indian Railways today, even deny Senior Citizens that necessary reduction in passenger fare, which is given in most parts of the world

This is just the tip of the iceberg in

Pope Francis highlights the role

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and responsibilities of grandparents and the elderly too!

He says to them directly, “Our world is passing through a time of trial and testing, beginning with the sudden, violent outbreak of the pandemic, and then by a war that is harming peace and development on a global scale. Nor is it a coincidence that war is returning to Europe at a time when the generation that experienced it in the last century is dying out. These great crises risk anaesthetizing us to the reality of other “epidemics” and other widespread forms of violence that menace the human family and our common home. All this points to the need for a profound change, a conversion, that disarms hearts and leads us to see others as our brothers or sisters. We grandparents and elderly people have a great responsibility: to teach the women and men of our time to regard others with the same understanding and loving gaze with which we regard our own grandchildren. We ourselves have grown in humanity by caring for others, and now we can be teachers of a way of life that is peaceful and attentive to those in greatest need.

This attitude may be mistaken for weakness or resignation, yet it will be the meek, not the aggressive and the abusive, who will inherit the earth” Yes, senior citizens have an important role to play even in India today – which has mainstreamed hate and violence, divisiveness and discrimination. The elderly must play a healing role!

As one celebrates another ‘World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly’, those who still do fall under the category of ‘seniors’, are called to revisit and celebrate the warmth and love, the sacrifices and generosity, the selflessness and the sensitivity: that ‘revolution of tenderness’, which one may have experienced from one’s own grandparents and the other elderly in families and communities.

Today, one needs to accept and appreciate that the elderly too, have their rights which include, the right for independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity.

The younger ones need to work towards the realization of these at all times! Grandparents and elderly, particularly in India today, must be cared for! There should be

36 Veez Illustrated Weekly

no debate about this! It is a nonnegotiable!

Pope Francis in his message also provides hope for the grandparents and elderly, “We can resonate with the heartfelt prayer of the Psalmist: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent” (71:9). Yet that same psalm – which meditates on how the Lord has been present at every stage of our lives – urges us to persevere in hope. Along with old age and white hairs, God continues to give us the gift of life and to keep us from being overcome by evil. If we trust in him, we will find the strength to praise

him still (cf. vv. 14-20). We will come to see that growing old is more than the natural decline of the body or the inevitable passage of time, but the gift of a long life.

Aging is not a condemnation, but a blessing!”

Ageing is indeed a blessing! Let us then celebrate our grandparents and the elderly today and every day!

22 July 2022 *(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com)

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India’s Gig Economy: The invisible workforce services and professional services.

After taking a hit during the Covid pandemic, the gig workforce may have already crossed 24 million.

That number could soar to 90 million in 5-6 years. They are currently contributing 1.3% to India’s GDP. (Philip Mudartha) The gig workforce in India:

Previously, I have mentioned about gig workers in the Indian economy.

According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, India's gig workforce comprises 15 million workers employed across industries such as software, shared

What is the Gig Economy? A Gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-tern engagements. Gig Worker is a person who performs work or participates on a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship.

38 Veez Illustrated Weekly

What do gig workers do?

Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, oncall workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with ondemand companies to provide services to the company's clients, as defined by Wikipedia.

For example, I want to go from Nerul in Navi Mumbai to Andheri in Mumbai and return after a few

hours. There can be three scenarios. 1) I have my personal car but do not want to suffer the stress of the Mumbai traffic, so will hire a temporary driver for the duration of my to-and-fro trip. 2) I do not want to use my car. So, I call for chauffeured services of Uber, Ola or Khali-Peeli Taxi. 3) I take public transport. The first two scenarios involve gig workers employed temporarily for the short duration and get paid according to demand at the time of my trip. In

39 Veez Illustrated Weekly

the first instance, a driver may be a freelancer offering his services by word of mouth or someone who has enrolled with a sundry local aggregator.

In the second scenario, I need a smart-phone with Uber or Ola apps installed and WIFI connectivity.

The Google Maps available on WIFI provide the technology to track live locations, traffic conditions, route for shortest travel time and estimated fare. In addition, the apps provide user reviews of the intending driver; thus, giving the client a choice to accept or reject a driver. The Customer is King approach of Uber and Ola gig industry has dealt a death-blow to the uncompetitive and monopolistic poor-quality Khali-Peeli Taxi Services in the country. Gone are the days when the ubiquitous black-and-white taxis and their uncouth drivers took the customers on a ride at prohibitive fares!

Over all, the customers reap the benefits of gig industry. What about the gig driver who provided his service and his vehicle at the disposal of the aggregators?

Studies have found that they work long hours and do not have any post-employment benefits. But in India’s high unemployment scenario, where selling “pakoras’ on the street is “employment” according to ruling party politicians, young gig workers have no better options.

Gig Workers in food delivery service industry: Zomato and Swiggy are household names today. Just 3-4 years ago, they were unknown. Both are aggregators in food delivery service. Before these gig food delivery services became popular, restaurants used to have their own full-time delivery boys. Even though they advertised “free delivery”, needless to say, the food prices for home delivery for free were higher compared to dine-in prices.

In India, none of the above listed gig workers expect or get any tips.

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The only expectation is a 5-star (Excellent) review by the customer after completing the order.

When I order home delivery of food from a restaurant, all I need to have the Uber or Swiggy App on my smart-phone. A few clicks later, I place an order selection of my menu with a restaurant of choice and sit back and relax as the delivery process goes into overdrive. The App provides realtime tracking service with duration required for each step (food is being prepared, food is picked up, food is at your door etc.). The delivery time (duration between food picked up and at the door) is calculated to the disadvantage of the gig delivery agent, who owns his own motorcycle for transport and rushes to meet or better the deadline. In the process, he may at times violate traffic rules, probably bypass a red traffic signal, drive on the wrong side of the dual road in order to beat the deadline imposed

by the tracking aggregator.

bot

of

the

Gig Work and women participation:

Alternative work arrangements in the gig economy can lead to the absorption of more women and increase their participation in the workforce with some re-skilling, according to a new study by the UNDP India and industry Ficci.

Gig work is expected to witness increased participation of women as it will offer them flexibility. The gig economy will comprise of both existing jobs that migrate to gig platforms, as well as new jobs that will get created in the economy.

New employment opportunities will also result from better market transparency, thus bridging the demand-supply gap, greater efficiencies in delivery resulting in lower cost, and growing demand, the report said.

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“The gig economy presents an opportunity for India to drive job creation and economic growth.

Technology platforms operating at scale within an ecosystem of information and services can help unlock efficiency, bring in demand-supply transparency, and drive greater formalization and financial inclusion," said BCG, in its study report.

During the lockdown, there was a steady increase in the number of gig workers in India. People who had lost jobs were finding gig opportunities closer home. The gig economy has the potential to help people in the unorganized sector learn new skills and help them build a better quality of life for themselves and their families.

All is Not Well with India's Gig Economy: Elsewhere I have written extensively about the twin ills of unemployment and inflation. With economic growth slowing, the Ukraine War and Covid pandemics causing supply-side glitch, the organized sector employment has taken a hard hit. But the world is noticing a paradigm shift from 9-5

jobs to a newfound type of jobs which is created by the gig economy.

Women workers are gaining, and the gig economy is resulting in gender income equality. Most of the workers working in the food delivery business in South East Asia are women workers. There are no barriers based on caste, religion, gender, and location.

But all is not hunky-dory about the gig economy. The gig economy holds serious challenges in upholding labor rights. Gig workers are not covered under standard employee contracts.

There is no scope of compassion for the workers should they fail to perform the job due to something such as falling sick or a broader downturn in the economy decreasing business.

The commoditization of work means gig workers are vulnerable to fluctuation in demand. The absence of social security makes things worse for the gig workers. Those who consider gigs as their full-time job are not even employees of the company, so they do not receive any other benefits provided to

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employees, like health insurance, paid time off, family leave protection, etc.

In India, a PIL was filed by the Indian Federation of App-based Transport (IFAT) Workers in the Supreme Court, with the idea of giving social security benefits to the cab drivers in India.

Unfortunately, nothing worked out, with Uber stopped using the word “partner” in their agreement and replaced that with “customers.”

and Zomato for unfair trade practices.

Also, from the consumption side, regulations related to data privacy have to be formed and enforced. In a digital world, an enormous amount of data about individuals and their activities captured by platforms is bundled and sold to various companies without taking consent of the consumers. A market can be created where, for instance, consumers are offered discounts on the online platforms if they agree to sell their data. Also, the big companies such as Facebook, Netflix Google, etc. have no social obligation and continue to pour money for growth of their respective company, with the objective to please their shareholders.

The GoI is attempting to create gig Also, there are no laws that to prevent collusive activities of workers in our defense by the name companies exploiting the workers “Agnipath”. More of it in the next and consumers, alike. In recent issue. times, Competition Commission of India has orders probe into Swiggy ************************************************************

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Indian origin Rishi Sunak British Prime Minister in waiting

-Compiled : Ivan Saldanha-Shet.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak Recently VEEZ readers were elated to note that an Indian origin (from Mangalore/ Goa) has been installed as the first Asian origin Catholic Bishop in the USA - Bishop Earnest Fernandes .

Earlier it was an interesting story to read that US President Joe Biden's ancestors had a close connection with India and his distant relatives are still Indians in nagpur. Many connections can

Rishi Sunak with his wife Akshata Murthy be cited of this nature where Indian origin people have been in leadership positions in many parts of the world. Now, the latest link is something to Wow and be proud of , considering India was ruled by British for long and Indians were called 'dogs' and considered menial, good for nothing and considered imbeciles and incapable of responsible conduct and denigrate

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With his inlaws – Infosys Narayana Murthy and his wife

to a great extent in many cases by the whites, most prominent of all that is always recalled in Mahatma

Gandhi's ill-treatment at the hands of the whites. Yet, even though Indians have risen to great heights regaining the high renown of the very ancient past they are not insulting or getting their back against their tormentors of the past.

In recent times it is evident that Indian origin persons are rising to peak positions in the US particularly, in most fields and specially so in key government positions in most leading fields. It is also common to see Indian origin folk taking on leading roles in most of the forward countries like Australia, Africa, Europe and so on, in many others they occupy top places but are not brought into the limelight and remain incognito. Now, with the UK and USA no longer being able to

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keep Indian origin leaders in the background the world order is set to change drastically it seems. Our leading light who is set to make history and make it big is RISHI SUNAK, who is expected to wear the mantle of the lofty Prime Minister of Britain and occupy '10 Downing Street' perhaps in September 2022.

After several rounds he has emerged as the leading candidate now - it is worth knowing a little about him and his background and it will definitely interest readers.

Future British PM with Indian roots :

The time is well nigh to acknowledge and project the reality that is Rishi Sunak (born May 12, 1980) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022, having previously served as Chief

Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.

Born in Southampton to Indian parents who had emigrated from East Africa, Sunak was educated at Winchester College.

He subsequently studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and later gained an MBA from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar. While studying at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, the Indian billionaire businessman who founded Infosys rooted in Karnataka. Sunak and Murthy are among the richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of £730m as of 2022. After graduating, he worked for Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the hedge fund firms The Children's Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.

Elected to Richmond (Yorks) at the 2015 general election, he served in Theresa May's second government

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as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government. He voted three times in favour of May's Brexit withdrawal agreement. After May resigned, Sunak was a supporter of Boris Johnson's campaign to become Conservative leader. After Johnson was elected and appointed Prime Minister, he appointed Sunak as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Sunak replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor of the Exchequer after his resignation in February 2020.

As Chancellor, Sunak was prominent in the government's economic response to the economic ramifications of the government's decision to impose a lockdown to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. In April 2022, he became the first Chancellor in British history to have been sanctioned for breaking the law while in office after being issued a

fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations during lockdowns.

He resigned as Chancellor on 5 July 2022, citing the economic policy differences between himself and Johnson in his resignation letter. On 8 July 2022, he announced his candidacy to replace Johnson in the upcoming Conservative party leadership election, and after several rounds he is in the lead for popularity and well placed as of now.

Early life & education : Rishi was born to Indian parents Yashvir and Usha Sunak. He is the eldest of three siblings. His father Yashvir was born and raised in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (present-day Kenya), while his mother Usha was born in Tanganyika (which later became part of Tanzania). His grandparents were born in Punjab Province, British India, and emigrated from East Africa with their children to the UK in the 1960s.

Yashvir was a doctor, general practitioner, and Usha was a pharmacist who ran a local pharmacy.

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Rishi Sunak attended Stroud School in Romsey, Hampshire, and Winchester College, a boys' independent boarding school, where he was head boy and the editor of the school paper. He waited tables at a curry house in Southampton during his summer holidays. He read philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating with a first in 2001. During his time at university, he was interviewed along with his parents for the BBC documentary Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl, and he undertook an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. In 2006, he gained an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright scholar.

Business & career : Sunak was an analyst for the investment bank Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004. He then worked for the hedge fund management firm The Children's Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006. He left in November 2009 in order to join former colleagues at a new hedge fund firm, Theleme Partners, which

launched in October 2010 with $700 million under management. He was also a director of the investment firm Catamaran Ventures, owned by his father-in-law, Indian businessman N. R. Narayana Murthy.

Strong political gains : Member of Parliament Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (Yorks) in October 2014.

The seat had previously been held

by William Hague, a former leader of the party, Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, who chose to stand down at the following general election. The seat is one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom and has been held

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by the party for over 100 years. In the same year Sunak was head of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Research Unit of centre-right think tank Policy Exchange, for which he co-wrote a report on BME communities in the UK. He was elected as MP for the constituency at the 2015 general election with a majority of 19,550 (36.2%). During the 2015–2017 parliament he was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Sunak supported the UK leaving the European Union at the June 2016 membership referendum. That year, he wrote a report for the Centre for Policy Studies (a Thatcherite think tank) supporting the establishment of free ports after Brexit, and the following year wrote a report advocating the creation of a retail bond market for small and mediumsized enterprises.

majority of 23,108 (40.5%). He served as Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Local Government between January 2018 and July 2019. Sunak voted for thenPrime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement on all three occasions and voted against a referendum on any withdrawal agreement. He supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election and cowrote an article in The Times newspaper with fellow MPs Robert Jenrick, and Oliver Dowden to advocate for Johnson during the campaign in June.

Sunak was re-elected at the 2017 general election, with an increased

Rishi Sunak was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019, serving under Chancellor Sajid Javid. He became a member of the Privy Council the next day. He was re-elected in the 2019 general election with an increased majority

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of 27,210 (47.2%).

During the election campaign, Sunak represented the Conservatives in both the BBC's and ITV's seven-way election debates.

Personal life : Sunak married Akshata Murty, the daughter of the Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys, in August 2009. Sunak and Murty met while studying at Stanford

University; they have two daughters.

Ms. Murty owns a 0.91% stake in Infosys, which is valued at about $900m (£690m), as of April 2022, making her one of the wealthiest women in Britain. Infosys continued to operate in Russia following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which led to criticism of Sunak and his family, but in April Infosys announced it was closing its Russian office. Murty also owns shares in two of Jamie Oliver's restaurant businesses, Wendy's in India, Koro Kids and Digme Fitness.

The Opposition had also targeted him over the non-domicile tax status of Ms Murty. Ms Murty, 42, who is still an Indian citizen, has a net worth of about $1.2 billion owing to her stake in Infosys Ltd., founded by her father Narayana Murty, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Murty is a director of her father's investment firm, Catamaran Ventures, and also manages her own fashion label. They live at Kirby Sigston Manor in the village of Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. They also own a house in Kensington in central London, a flat on the Old Brompton Road, London, and a penthouse apartment in Santa

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Monica, California.

Sunak is a Hindu, and has taken his oath at the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita. He is a teetotaller.

He was previously governor of the East London Science School. Sunak has a Labrador called Nova.

Stratton, and they are godparents to each other's children.

In the Sunday Times Rich List 2022 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, Sunak and Murty were placed 222nd, with an estimated combined wealth of £730 million, making him the "first frontline politician to join the rich list". Rishi Sunak has come out well on top after several rounds of his bid for the British PM...

Churchill, Atlee and Britmonarchs must be turning in their graves, swallowing their words and cigars that one of those whom they called 'Indian Dog' is set to be the British PM, they said the sun never sets....but it has. Hail Indians the world over.

Sunak's brother Sanjay is a psychologist with five degrees. His sister Raakhi works as the Head of Humanitarian, Peacebuilding, UN Funds & Programmes at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Sunak is close friends with The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth, whom he has known since their schooldays.

Sunak was the best man at Forsyth's wedding to the journalist Allegra ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Pre-Independence Memories of Mangalore

By Mohan Prabhu, Ottawa, Canada [a Canadian retired lawyer and citizen of Mangalorean origin] Abstract In this article the writer goes back in time to his early days in Mangalore when the town and a large part of undivided India were under the British Raj. He was born, raised and educated upto High School in the town and moved to Bombay on the eve of Independence at the age of sixteen where he lived, worked and studied for the next thirteen

years before leaving India over six decades ago. The memoirs encapsulate only a limited aspect of the town’s social and cultural life that he was exposed to, the people he met, the places he visited, and his experience at a young age.

The writer admits that the memoirs are laced with personal anecdotes which he could not avoid referring to, and asks readers to excuse him for the same.

The writer adds that during the British Raj Mangalore was his whole world and that he did not imagine a bigger world existed beyond it. However, he confesses that even after being away from the town for seventy-five years, Mangalore has never been away from him.

The writer observes that he has

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found no place on this globe that he has lived in or visited in the last 62 years after leaving India that had so much peace and harmony amidst social and cultural diversity within such a small urban area as Mangalore in pre-Independent India.

Prologue August 15 this year marks India’s 75th anniversary of Independence. Freedom at the stroke of August 14, 1947 midnight was the biggest draw on earth, if I recall, when a giant television set erected at Flora Fountain in Bombay beamed live the momentous historical event of the relinquishment and transfer of power by Britain to India, by the handing over of the keys to Rashtrapati Bhavan by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Governor General appointed by Britain, signifying the end of British rule, and their acceptance by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on behalf of the people of India. India became a sovereign country.

Coinciding with India’s

Independence Day were three of my own personal milestones: the end of student life at sixteen; the end of the first phase of life in Mangalore which marked the beginning of my own life independent of parental control, and the beginning of the second phase in Bombay with my first job as an LDC in the Indian Army’s Central Ordnance Depot in Kandivili, a week after Independence. India’s Golden Anniversary in 1997 also marked the end of my service in the Public Service of Canada, the beginning of my retirement years, and the end of the second stage of my life.

What I have described is the society and people living in Mangalore which had been classed as an Urban Area IV, not even as a town, at least until the Census of 1931. Not much had changed in the quarter century before Independence in 1947 and I lived in those times in that urban area.

During my early days under the British Raj, the world was reeling

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under the Great Depression which lasted ten years and was followed by the Second World War which lasted another five years.

Employment prospects were bleak after the War and opportunities were few.

1 The Depression era passed me by.

I had no idea of the plight of ordinary families like ours.

I heard very little about the War other than the tragic news that my mother’s cousin was killed in the Burmese jungles when the bomber plane he was flying had been blown out of the sky by the Japanese. Every family had been issued ration cards for essential food items and kerosene oil, in order to conserve them for the war effort. We also had to supplement rice with wheat and use chicory in coffee.

Nor do I remember the freedom struggle, except vaguely. I heard that several agitators had been rounded up, and saw them being taken away in police paddy wagons to the Munsif’s Court just

across the College campus. I knew nothing about the Salt march, the Swatantra movement, nor Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru’s visits to Mangalore. There were no broadcasts as people didn’t have radios. It was a “quiet” rebellion unlike the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.

Although it is now 75 years since I left Mangalore, I still have vivid memories of life as I experienced it during that first phase. Mangalore was the only world I knew, and even to this day I remember every bit of the town and rural areas that I visited with my father, or with my brother, or with a couple of friends, including the names of neighbours I had met (all but two have passed on), its topography and landmarks. I also came to know a few social aspects of the society, the caste and inheritance systems, religious affiliations and institutions; folklore and cultural life, feasts and festivals; the languages spoken by the people; and the myriad ways by which each segment of society

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differentiated itself from the rest.

Some ofthese I had witnessed, but many I had only heard about.

Law and order in the town were strictly maintained by the police wearing red custodian caps; criminal activity was rare.

However, despite all their differences, Manglurgars lived in peace and harmony, though barely communicating with one another except when need arose.

Mangalore’s Topography : For a better understanding of these memoirs, I will begin with topography.

Mangalore is a coastal town built on seven or more hills and surrounded by two mighty rivers, the Netravati and its tributary the Gurpur, also called Phalguni and Kulur. At some point in the Western Ghats, the tributary separated and flowed westwards, and as its flow was blocked by a sandbar created by the Arabian Sea, it turned south parallel to the Sea, and met the Netravati which had turned west towards the sea.

Together the two emptied into the

sea at a point near Kasargod.

The sandbar which forced the tributary to change course, shielded the land from encroachment, but it also created the need for ships to anchor at sea itself to unload its cargo on lighters, and passengers on launches, to carry them into town and beyond.

Five of the hills on which the town was built were quite familiar to me, starting with the one where my first home was located; the next, where my second home was located; the third, over which I walked to school, sometimes twice a day; and the fourth was the continuation of that hill on the top of which my school was located.

The fifth hill was behind our first home, but separated by woods and a stream, leading to my maternal grandparents’ house. All the hills were low, gently inclined, so walking was not a problem. The Netravati river in the east and south, and its tributary, the Gurpur river in the north and west, encircled the town, making it a

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river island, with just a narrow strip of sandbar between land and sea.

2 The Western Ghats which separated Mangalore from the Deccan plateau, were too far to be visible.

My first home : My first home was in the Sanyasi GuDDa valley, below road level, where I lived for about four years.

The road above bore the same name, and branched off Balmatta Road which led to the town centre.

The hill got its name from the sanyasis (hermits) who lived in the valley as a community in guDsul or cadjan houses. My home was the only remnant of their habitat, and it was unique because there were no similar houses in town. My father was a tenant of UCS Bhat, arominent vakil who lived in a mansion above on a private lane, hidden from our view.

Our guDsul along with the wood burning oven of Mona Vaz’s iconic Bakery, which was directly across at street level, was a gateway to

the sposh neighbourhood. There were no houses in the middle tier of the hill as trees had not been cleared. On the top tier was the District Collector’s House. Sanyasi GuDDa road connected Balmatta road and provided access to centre town. Our guDsul and the adjacent three or four houses were below road level and to gain access to the road, we had to climb several steps.

The Next home : Over the next thirteen years, until the eve of Independence, my next home was in the Kankanady Hill valley.

In the top tier of the Hill was the Kankanady Hospital and Leprosy, founded in 1890 by Father Augustus Muller and co-founded

by Dr. Lawrence Fernandes, Chief Surgeon, whose surgery and living quarters were in a lane directly across the Administration Building. On either side of that building, and radiating from it, were patient wards. The Women Leper’s ward was to the left of the Building (and directly above

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Kankanady Road), and in front of it was the in-patient women’s ward and on the opposite side was the i n-patient men’s ward with Leper Men’s quarters beyond it. The Asylum Chapel connected the two Leper wards.

In the middle tier of the Hill there were several houses, and in the valley on either side of Kankanady Road, several more, including ours which was the second house on the south-east border of the urban area. From there a raised road over paddy fields, for vehicular traffic and pedestrians, connected Kankanady to Padil, Nagori and other villages.

It was the only south-eastern highway to the Western Ghats.

The first structure on the urban border was a two-floor building, with the upper floor facing the road and on level with it; the lower floor was below road level and facing our house. The owner, Angela D’Sa (Angelbai) lived on the lower floor. She was the unmarried elder sister of Rayappa D’Sa, a police constable, who lived

in the middle tier, just above a lane across from us.

Our house backed onto paddy fields which were about ten feet below and during the monsoon they were inundated. To our right was Uggappa Bhandary’s farmhouse and in front of it were two paddy fields which he cultivated with a pair of buffaloes.

Angelbai and Uggappa Bhandary were our only two neighbours on our side of the Kankanady Road; others on the same side were further up and with the exception of two, we did not know or communicate with them. On the opposite side of the road there were several friendly neighbours.*

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M JESSY DSOUZA

Jessy M. DSouza

CHICKEN

MASALA

GRAVY🐓

INGREDIENTS: This flavoursome, silky smooth chicken masala prepared with few roasted ingredients & ground into fine paste. Can be served with any roties, chapati, parata, idli, dosas or as side dish with boiled rice, fried rice or veg pulav.

700 grms of chicken Medium pieces with bones FOR MARINATION: 4 Tbsp Thick curd or as required Salt to taste 1/4 tsp of turmeric

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FOR MASALA:

1 tbsp oil or as required 2 tsp ghee 1 bay leaf 1 tbsp bafat powder or as required Few coriander leaves for garnish METHOD: ▪︎Marinate chicken pieces with curd, salt & turmeric, keep aside for 30 mins.

1.5 tbsp coriander 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp pepper corns 3 slit green chilli 2 green cardamom 1 piece cinnamon stick 2 sliced onion 1" ginger 4 garlic cloves 1 big tomato 6 - 8 cashew nuts Pinch of fennel seeds 1 tsp oil SEASONING:

▪︎Take pan with 1 tsp oil & roast all ingredients under masala.First roast dry seeds & continue other ingredients. Take it off & cool. Grind into very fine paste.

▪︎Take cooking vessel with oil & ghee and add bay leaf, ground paste saute well. Add bafat powder and fry masala well until you see oil in sides.

▪︎Add marinated chicken, mix well on high flame until chicken pieces slightly changes its colour. Lower the flame, add water, stirr well & cook closed on low flame. {You can add half chicken cube|stock for extra flavour.} ▪︎Cook until chicken done & oil seperates from masala.Garnish with 59 Veez Illustrated Weekly

serve hot & enjoy.

NOTE: ▪︎Adjust all ingredients as per your taste & spice control.

Increase/decrease, skip/add any spices. Its your own choice.

▪︎You can marinate chicken refrigerate over night as well.

&

▪︎In absence of Bafat powder, Kashmiri chilli powdee can be added. chopped coriander leaves. This is a semi thick masala gravy. Take it off,

▪︎In place of cashew you can include almonds or mix of both.

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