Incidentally, 'Whispering Hope' was also one of my mom's favourites. Those of you who knew/remember her will recall that she had a beautiful singing voice. Unfortunately, I - her daughter, remain a Whispering Hope-ful....not a patch on my mother's talent.....but that doesn't stop me from belting out whatever I feel like belting out at the time. Tony.....very well-written article saluting your aunt (and others like her.) Some people have left an indellible mark on this world, without the least intention of wanting to do so - just by their exemplary lifestyle. Patsy
________________________________ From: A.Anthony (TONY) FERNANDES <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Fri, November 26, 2010 9:28:35 AM Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] WHISPERING HOPE … Tony Fernandes in http://goasudharop.org/docs/ebook/23whispering.htm THANKS RICO AND ALL THOSE WHO VERY KINDLY RESPONDED TO THIS , AS ALSO HAVE BEEN SO VERY SUPPORTIVE THRU THICK AND THIN US 'COLLE' NEVER QUIT TF/LONDON/DONVADDO On 25 November 2010 20:36, Frederick Noronha <[email protected]> wrote: Another Saligao-linked article I came across. Sure many of you would know Long Tony! FN > > >WHISPERING HOPE … >by A. Anthony (Tony) Fernandes >[email protected] >When a banyan tree is uprooted somewhere deep in the heart of the forest, do >the >echoes reverberate through the ghats, or do they just fade away into the hoary >gloaming? >Cynthia Largo Afonso never stood for public office, nor won a Nobel Prize for >Peace, but she was an exponent of the art of looking possibility and >opportunity >straight in the eye. Someone who made us understand that, if ever we needed a >helping hand, the first place to look was at the end of our own arms. >Wife, mother, my godmother and an inspiration to countless others, she was the >patent glue that held a clan together, in her own quiet, intuitive way. >Yet, most of all, she had that golden touch which allowed her to establish >seemingly effortless rapport with captains of industry and the local "vadi / >vaddo" women alike. >Despite her declining health in later years due to genetic polycystic renal >disease, she never ever let anything stop her. In between hospital dialysis >sessions, she thought nothing of hopping onto a Mumbai-Goa bound plane - or >bus, >with her trusty moped atop - to travel from her Mahim home (where she'd lived >for 40+ years) to visit her beloved ancestral hamlet of Paetona, Salvador do >Mundo. >She, along with her husband Olaf, were pretty much surrogate parents to my >brother Leonard and me, after her sister (my mother, Joyce Francesca) passed >on >some 31 years ago of the same condition, aged just 39. They were role models >by >extension, to us and probably at some stage or other, to so many others, >irrespective of whether they were family or not. Many will remember her years >with the Choir of the Church of Our Lady of Victory, Mahim, Mumbai, to which >her >husband was also affiliated. Others will probably also recall her time as a >backup singer in what is now popularly known as Bollywood, as well as her >recordings with Konkani music greats like Oslando. >Mental tapestry etchings of her remain .. amongst many others, of sepia >yesteryears .. of the sisters as a duo or sometimes a trio, harmonizing the >strains of their favourite "Whispering Hope" often accompanied by our Uncle >Olaf >on his guitar, in the then lamp-lit evenings of seemingly endless summer >vacations at Grandmother's house! >Were it not for her, I might not be around to write this today…. >My first thoughts at the time she urged me to have an ultrasound scan, were >"I'm >too busy running a resort in Bermuda" and "What do I need a scan for anyway >??!!" >Years later, in distant London I watched, in gnawing raging helplessness, as >she >slowly deteriorated, while I, for whatever reason the Gods of Celestial >Roulette >ordain, and whilst on nightly home-based dialysis, received a 3:00 a.m. phone >call, offering me the chance of a potential donor kidney. > >How's that for searing survivor guilt? The cold-gutting truth is that, in the >world of life on a transplant list, many are called, but few are chosen. > >In her passing, as in her lifetime, she was and always will be, an enduring >icon >of "can do" positivity, with the art of truly connecting with people! In the >e-mailed words of Cousin Desiree, "Tony, you said it right! She was indeed a >role model and the personification of courage, endurance and life itself! Her >cheerful disposition, her bursts of laughter, her endearing mannerisms, her >wonderful persona will be sorely missed." >It's to people like her and to my mother that we dedicate this, and the 'Carpe >Diem' life that I laser-focus on nowadays. This, because there are no more >dress >rehearsals and second acts in this ‘Renaissance of Life’ gift, that naught but >a >fortunate few have bestowed upon them! > >She did not leave a parting message. She did not need to. Her life and love of >all humanity was her message. It is our unique privilege to have known and >been >blessed by her presence in >our lives. This, no one can ever take away. >The voice of an angel has been stilled, but her song can never be silenced. >She passed away on 19th July, 2006. On 22nd August, 2006 she would have been >all >of 67 years young. > >From all those whose lives you touched and made a difference to, Aunt Cynthia >… >WE SALUTE YOU! >___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ > >Kenya born and Goa raised, Tony Fernandes is a scion of the "Fogoti" clan of >Paetona, Salvador do Mundo and the "Ushellantlem Colle" of Saligao, Goa. >Previously Bermuda based, Tony is an apprentice writer and eco-heritage >tourism >entrepreneur. During the 2005 Christmas season, he received the priceless gift >of a cadaveric kidney transplant from an anonymous donor in the U.K. where he >currently lives. > >Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490 > >-- >This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. >To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >[email protected] >For more options, visit this group at >http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en >Please post regularly to keep the e-village active! -- A.Anthony (Tony) FERNANDES -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active! -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active!
