A real gentleman. Used to be pleased that I bought each of his books as soon as they were published and was equally pleased with my reviews of them. My reviews were simply an appreciation of his research, his background knowledge and his style. His book on the Holy Spirit Church and on Margao was as interesting as it was thorough, presenting facts which I’m sure even the locals didn’t know.
He used his knowledge of Goa’s past to make assumptions of its future which he shared with me at a tête-à-tête at his palatial Margao house adjoining the Holy Spirit in the Largo de Igreja. Those predictions were very unpleasant to hear but they have been playing out over the years. His conclusion: the break in the peace and prosperity of Goa, the influx of population, has played out many times in the past via both domestic and foreign invaders and what is happening after the Indians took over is just like any other scenario that followed any other past invader. When I asked him why he was so fascinated with Catholic Goan stars in the Indian Armed Forces (his dad was in the Medical Corps), the Generals, the Admirals, the Air Marshalls and other officer elites, I came to know of his deep determination to disabuse his Hindu friends and critics that Catholics in Goa were mere Portuguese fellow travellers. That they showed little patriotism to India much less risk their lives for it. We all benefited from that grudge he harboured. His various books and articles on Goan officers which was quite comprehensive in details included Goan Hindu officers too. Pointedly, they comprised no more than about 5% of Goan Catholics. He must have spend a ginormous amount of time talking to living brass, searching for information from the Defence Ministry records as well as poring over old newspaper reports. Rarely did anyone get an opportunity to call out Valmiki on his facts, but on rare exception, he would humbly and readily admit to an error. Valmiki was a true Goan, par excellence. Roland Toronto.
