GOING JUU (Swahili for taking off, going up, etc)
A tale of three cultures: Kenya Goa Britain
By Rose M.
D’Sa
Published by
Lexxion Publisher-Berlin
394 pages
www.lexxion.eu/rosedsa-going-
(Order your free copy at the above link subject to payment of shipping charges,)
THIS
is a fabulous read albeit a long one: 394 pages but above all, it is an honest
and factual recollection, with no-holds-barred. After all her writing hand is
guided by the brilliant lawyer she is. Her pen does not falter at an
uncomfortable truth, what others might consider “too much information". She
takes us on a long and winding safari about her life, her parents,
grandparents, relatives and friends in Kenya, Goa, Britain and her adventures
as a tennis (an “obsession”) player who could have been Kenya’s first
professional tennis player, the love of her life and then a clinical
examination of her path to lawyerdom. To say that Rose D’Sa is an outstanding
British Kenyan Goan would be an understatement, I reckon she is more than that.
Rose celebrates the three countries she owes allegiance to:
Kenya, the great savannahs full of wildlife, the people of Kenya she met
growing up, the golden beaches at the coast where she holidayed, her school
days at Loreto Convent (Valley Road), the Goan Institute Nairobi, the city of
Nairobi itself (she remained a citizen of Kenya for a very long time); the Goa
of her grandparents and her own parents and, of course, her life in the UK …
truly greatly well lived with much, much to celebrate, life itself.
There have been many honours bestowed upon her, including two
visits to a Royal reception by the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, A
Gold Medal appreciation by the European Economic and Social Committee and lots
of other VIP invitations including being recognised as a Welsh Woman of the
Year.
Rose has scripted terrific odes to her father Alex (we knew
him as Leo) and her mother Annie, grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunties and
she celebrates most if not all of her parents’ friends in Kenya and Goa. As
such it is a major contribution to the disappearing history of the Goans in
East Africa.
She remembers with great joy her late uncle Alu Mendonca,
four-time hockey Olympian, field hockey coach and a should-have-been Olympic
sprinter. On returning from each Olympics or an international match, he always brought
back to her a memento of the trip. He was her own very special inspiration, a
personal “David Beckham” in the family as she writes. Her father was a hockey
umpire and her aunt Teresa was a Kenya hockey international. In Kenya, in those
days there were lots of stars next door because most Goans lived close to each
other.
While she was blown away by Alu’s hockey stardom, she was
also broken-hearted by the manner of his departure. “… when Uncle Alu lived
with my mother (his sister) in Westlands, he similarly showed little
inclination to take any physical exercise and spent hours sitting in a chair,
reading the paper, but otherwise immobile. It could be that this behaviour adversely
affected my mother, too. It was distressing to witness this behaviour in
someone who knew a great deal about physical fitness and one who had been so
fit himself. He was, however, fully capable of walking when he chose to. We
once took them both for a holiday to the coast in Mombasa. It could only be
achieved by organising wheelchair support at the airport and within the hotel.
It was a tiring and tiresome experience for John and me, we had to wheel both
around a fair bit, but our intention was a noble one, to give them a nice
holiday in a luxurious 5-star hotel. On our return journey, the flight was
delayed for several hours. Alu need to use the toilet, so I asked for an
airport attendant to assist him. It took too long for the person to arrive, in
the meantime, Alu calmly got up from the wheelchair and walked to the toilet,
completely normally and unaided. As he came back out, the relevant attendant
arrived and witnessed what seemed like the passenger’s miraculous cure!
Undaunted at being found out, Alu sat down again and just waited to be wheeled
to the aircraft.”
Alu Mendonca passed away on 10 March 2017.
There was a time when Goan fathers only spoke to a child when
he or she needed disciplining and out came the belt, the whipping stick or the slap. Otherwise, the Minister for Home Affairs (the mother) dealt with
everything else. Rose was lucky enough to be born in an era when fathers,
especially those in white-collar jobs, made it their business to in-connect
with their children. Rose and her father, Alex Henry D’Sa (Leo to his friends)
had such a beautiful relationship. When
he passed away suddenly at the age of 53, it changed her life irrevocably. “Several
decades passed before I recovered from the impact and then, perhaps, never
quite completely.”
This book is about one woman’s passion for her
father, her mother, her husband Professor John Anthony Matthews, passion for
relatives, passion for tennis, passion for law and passion for a universe of
interests. And a passion for just life and all that is fortunate enough to
capture her interest and win her dedication.
This is by no means an in-depth review of a book that will
find its niche amongst readers from Kenya, Britain, Goa, Europe and anywhere
else where she is recognised … especially as one of the great lawmakers of the
European community. In the second part, I will look at her passion for tennis
and the law.
Rose
was a visiting Professor of Law at Cardiff University whilst I was there in
1982. She lectured in Constitutional Law and was a wonderful member of the
Cardiff Law School! We had a number of great chats in her rooms over coffee.
Doctor George Kanyeihamba the Head of the Constitutional Law Department
often joined us. The subject of discussion was invariably Uganda and its
troubles under Milton Obote, then in his second term. George had fled Uganda
after making anti Amin Comments whilst holding the Chair of Law at Makerere
University. Rose knew a number of Indians who had been deported from Uganda by
the Dictator. They were incredibly interesting talks and Doctor Kanyeihamba
would be invited back to Uganda after I had graduated, to become one of
President Yoweri Museveni’s first Attorney General, instrumental in rewriting
the Ugandan Constitution. David Cheffings and I, who played first pair at that
time for Cardiff University’s tennis team, took Rose and George on at the
Castle Club in Cardiff. Rose was a great player and the future Attorney General
of Uganda was ‘enthusiastic’! I was very upset when Rose moved to take up a
senior legal position at Birmingham University in around 1984! She is a vibrant
and lovely lady with a huge intellect and an absolute star. Kenya Juu kweli!
Cyprian she
is a lovely lady……incredibly hard working and honestly an inspiring academic.
We had many chats about Kenya and tennis in Kenya. I think she played with many
of the greats of the 70’s in Kenya, the likes of Yashvin Shretta and the Ilako
brothers amongst others! Pleasure to share my memories of her!
Rose was in my class at Loreto
Convent Valley Road. She was the best essay writer of the class and often her
essays were read out aloud. We were both in the school tennis team and often
played doubles together in the tennis tournaments. She was also a brilliant
actress. I recall her playing the part of Portia in “The Merchant of
Venice”where I too had a small part.
Congratulations Rose for
your success
Some of the names that pop up in Rose's book:
Alu
Mendonca, Teresa Mandricks, Dr Abel Carrasco,
Mary Carrasco, David Carrasco, Bessie Carrasco, Emeralda de Mello, Dr
Charlie Paes, Suzette Paes, Dr Peter de Sousa, Lactty de Sousa, Philly and
Neville De Mello, Neil De Mello, Rodney Lobo, Gordon D’Silva, Nelson Coutinho,
Agnes and Anthony Coutinho, Darryl and Arthur Coutinho, Joyce and Florence D’Silva,
Sarah Lobo, Amy D’Souza, Joseph D’Souza, Edith D’Souza, Robert and Elizabeth D’Souza
and their children Ursula, Carl (Bonnie) and Lorraine. Paul and Sarah Lobo and
their children Robin, Gavin, Myrtle and the late Rodney. Joe and Carmen
Pereira, Eustace D’Mello, Frank and Clemy D’Souza’s daughters Linda and Lillian
and her husband Q Lopes. Cruz and Eulet D’Souza, Angelo D’Sa, Pascoal and
Esmeralda de Mello, Alba Fernandes, Norman Da Costa, Eddie Fernandes, Seraphino
Antao, Erika Mendonca-DeSilva, Tyson DeSilva, Avtar Singh, Hillary Fernandes,
Egbert Fernandes, Saude George, Manuel and Maria Mendonca (Rose’s maternal grandparents),
Camillo and Georgina D’Sa (Rose’s paternal grandparents), Willibald Fernandes,
Raymond de Mello, Dr Assumption (Sanoo) de Mello, Shaun Barretto, Rosalyn
Mendonca, Bijoo de Mello, Dr Jeronimo Pius Mendonca, Jules Carneiro, Paul
Nazareth, Dr P Z Patel, Eddie Rodrigues, Albert Joannes, Wilfrid D’Souza, Greg
and Alu Carvalho, Greg Rodrigues, Joe Pereira, V. Sarvala, Marcellus Zuzarte,
Roldao Menezes, Louisa and Valerie De Mello,
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