A LOVE SO BEAUTIFUL He gently but firmly held my hand and asked me to climb onto his feet.Then slowly, he raised me into the air….. up and down….I must have been around five then.Dad was my see-saw and my slide and my merry-go-round… the only ones I ever got onto as I never had any fear of falling. He would never let go…like the story I had read not so long ago…where a little girl tells her father: "If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go." A couple of months ago, I reminded dad, now 78 years, how he used to throw me into the air and catch me and he said in his own characteristic way, ‘Come on,men… climb onto me…..we will try again’… even though he was so frail now.I have never seen dad cry. He was always the strongest man I have ever known. When I used to fall and bruise myself… he would apply the necessary medicines and at the same time would make all kinds of funny faces just to make me laugh and distract me from the pain. Dad remained like that all through his life. Never telling us how much in pain he was or if he was sad, if ever. He always taught us to be brave and stand up for what was right. He was always fair to all and believed in fighting against what was wrong.Being the youngest, I should have been the ‘apple of everyone’s eye’. But in our case, over the years Dad was given that place. We all doted on him. He was the centre of our existence and the purpose of our lives. He knew how much we loved him and how we had dedicated our lives to him. Mum would never leave him alone, even for a minute. My elder sister would move heaven and earth to see that he had everything that he needed, medically and otherwise, right till his last breath. And I was always there for him…. Challenging him all the time to fight back and to live life to the fullest ….. promising him that I would always be there with him, right till the very end.Dad knew I would never tell him about my problems, lest he worried unnecessarily about me. Yet dad always knew when I was worried and disturbed. He would always call me – ‘Ms I-will-fix-it-myself’. But he believed I would never let him down, no matter what.A week before dad passed away…. I think he knew his end was coming and I believe he wanted us to prepare for it. He gradually stopped talking to us or reacting to us. His eyes were always so full of what he wanted to say to us, but he didn’t lest we broke down. Dad was preparing us to deal with the silence that we would eventually face thereafter. From his bed he watched the three of us doing everything possible to make his life pain free and more comfortable. Dad then decided to give us his final gift and the most beautiful one. On the 15th of September*, mum had finished his sponging with the nurses and had given him his first meal. My sister had carried out all the necessary medical procedures that were required for that morning. I did my bit by shaving him, massaging his legs and applying eucalyptus oil on his chest. He looked fresh as a flower and peaceful. Then when he realized that all three of us were around him, he began gasping for breath. … For the first time in months, he then slowly opened both his eyes wide and looked at my mum on his right, my sis at his feet and then at me, holding him in my arms. His eyes soaked us all in, one last time and then….. gradually gave up the fight for his life. Dad had made sure that he was fair to all three of us. He knew that after all these years of love and dedication towards him, if he had to pass away in the absence of any one of us, neither of us would have been able to deal with it.Dad, thank you for this most precious gift. We will always be grateful to you.As tributes pour in across the globe, we are more aware of the extra-ordinary kind of person dad had been. A quiet and disciplined man, a thorough gentleman, an adored father and an excellent musician. It is now upto us to carry that legacy on. Dad, your presence is there with us now just as much as it was when you were alive. May your soul rest in peace. * The 15th of September is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. We think it fitting that God took him back to his fold on this Feast following in the footsteps of his father who was called away on Our Lady Of Lourdes. I guess, that was God’s way of blessing a man who dedicated his music and entire life to praising Him. Our Hindu and Muslim friends enlightened us that 15th September was a day which fell during the period of ‘Shraadh’ and the Holy month of Ramzan… when the souls are directly lifted up into Heaven..From : Your everloving daughter, Sonia Fernandez Dad was our entire world, we were his. He was a father and a husband without blemish. He lived his life for God and for us. He taught us the importance of religion, of God, of love, of family, of music and intellect, of hard work, of commitment, dedication and loyalty. He taught us to believe in men and trust in God. Dad gave us both our roots and our wings. He loved and lived life with an incredible passion. Through his entire life as through his death his message remained the same...... "The love of God will never take you where the grace of God cannot protect you." He never waivered in his faith no matter what. He lived a successful life never ever flinching in his principles no matter how tough it made life for him. It is our privilege to love and be loved by a father as amazing as this man. To us, Dad was a gift from God, an angel who always looked after us and still does. So death you have no victory... Tania Fernandez This online memorial is a tribute to our Dad's undying spirit .....Created by Tania and Sonia