About 55 years ago, if I had been asked by one whom we fondly or otherwise addressed as Fr Principal to speak before our school assembly, I would have been shivering out of stage fright. But today, even as I write this article, I’m still nervous because I’m afraid Fr Edwin’s keen eye may find fault with my English grammar.
The year was 1960 and that’s when Fr Edwin came into my life for the first time. It was only four years since he had founded Sarvodaya, an English medium school in a remote village called Khanapur near Belgaum. But the fame of Sarvodaya had already spread to the distant shores of Goa, Karwar and even Bombay. And now looking back I can honestly say “What a success it was!”
Sports and games, music and mischief, studies and social work- we were there as proud Sarvodayans – after all we were Fr Edwin’s boys.
The first batch of Sarvodaya passed out in 1962 with a 100 per cent result. The second, third, fourth – of which I was a student – all kept up the 100 per cent result tradition of Sarvodaya, which by then had become synonymous with the name of Fr Edwin.
To us boys, he was not just a teacher or the principal of our school – he was our hero, he was our captain! He was indeed a demigod to us; his love, his watchful eye, his ability to plan and to monitor was something we admired, loved and feared.
The discipline he brought us up with literally got into the marrow of our bones and I personally owe a lot to what I learnt at Sarvodaya.
Fr Edwin never spared the rod; but having used it whenever necessary, the next moment he was ready to embrace you like a loving father would. Besides, his terrific sense of humour never ceased to amaze me. He could tell us boys how to use the toilet without batting an eyelid with no one feeling bad about it.
We were allowed to express ourselves critically through the daily morning- assembly letter box.
One morning, following an evening when the cane was used rather profusely against some of the high school boys, a letter read like this – “Father, your yesterday’s batting record was great. Damodar was hit for a six at the midwicket, Tony for another at the deep fine leg and Bernard for a four through the slips. Bonaventure could not be stopped through the covers, while Winston and Wagle for some sleek singles.” Fr.Edwin’s resounding laughter that followed still booms into my ears.
Whether it was games or gardening, merry-making or music, swimming or studies, he was always with us. Whenever we asked him for a song, he never stopped obliging us. One of his favourites ‘Santa Lucia’ still echoes in our hearts.
I can go on and on with my memoirs about father but space and ironically the same discipline which father imparted to us restricts me from doing so.
Kahlil Gibran once wrote:
‘I slept and dreamt that I was full of joy.
I woke and found that the world was full of sorrow
I served and found joy.’
Truly we had a man in Fr Edwin who not only found but also imparted joy through his service. He has indeed been a God’s gift to humanity!
Weeping mothers, saddened orphans, naughty rich, or just plain boys from families who had nowhere else to go found succor at the hands of this wonderful human being.
Caste, creed, religion or ethnic divisions never meant anything for this true witness of Christ. An Ignatian to the core, ‘Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam’(all for the greater glory of God), had been his only guiding motive.
Sarvodaya at Khanapur, boys town (Now Don Bosco’s) at Quepem, are some of the lasting monuments which Fr Edwin shaped for the people he so loved. These have made his name immortal in the portals of history.
The books and articles written by him are again a stamp of his talent and his gifts to humanity. Surely the world would have been a poorer place without him.
Before I conclude another verse which I learnt at Sarvodaya comes to my mind:
‘If I’ve been able to wipe an innocent child’s tear,
Or return the lost smile of a mother overcome with fear,
And help a downtrodden brother to reduce his pain,
Then indeed I shall not have lived in vain.
Then indeed I shall not have lived in vain.’
Fr. Edwin did exactly the above -and may God grant him His heavenly bliss for it.
(The author is a marine surveyor in Goa. He represents numerous National & International organizations in the world of shipping as a technical
consultant.)
