OBITUARY SIR ANEEROOD JUGNAUTH Bhai Aneerood is gone. In equal measure Indians and Mauritians are grieving. Generally, winter has rarely been kind to SAJ but this time it has won conclusively. After his sweeping victory in 1982, Bhai Aneerood cried at breakfast time when he thought about the responsibility that has been bestowed upon him. To Sarojini who was perplexed at that after serving him his dinner, he said that he was privileged to have something to eat but he was wondering whether those who had put their trust in him were having anything to eat at all. Nobody disputes [...]

HASSEN HEERAH The passing away of Hassen Heerah last Friday triggered in me a reflection on the resilience of the Muslim community and its actors in Mauritius. I have known Hassen since his working days at The Mauritius Institute where we spent long moments talking about the new titles acquired by the Library, the future of the students engrossed in reading who sat at the long tables and the status of Madad Ul Islam Girls College. Each individual and each community had to devise the best formula for survival in a society where there was little social protection. Madad Ul Islam [...]

  On the eve of her departure at the end of her tenure in Mauritius, H E the South African High Commissioner sent this letter.    

Obituary, Ken Cathan. The St. Andrews Church in Quatre Bornes was packed to capacity and in the crowd, I could distinguish quite a few faces of the late 1970s, nearly all belonging to the Social Studies department of the MIE. We had gathered for the funeral services of Ken Cathan who died in his mid-sixties following complications from his thyroid disease. Ken was a great fan of domino to which he dedicated a large part of his retired life. In fact, he felt a pain in his left hand during a domino game. His health deteriorated so fast that he died [...]

When I heard the news of the passing of Devi Venkatasamy, thoughts, visions and memories started crisscrossing my mind. I could see the lady, usually dressed in dark colourful saree, a hand bag hanging from her bent arm, trudging and leaning on the side of the foot forward. She has been teaching for most part of her active life and as such has directly or indirectly, through her students and students’ students, touched a very large chunk of the Mauritian population. I bet many of my ex-class mates must be exchanging their thoughts on this great lady. Devi’s father ran the [...]

OBITUARY CLOVIS VELLIN Clovis Vellin has passed away at the age of 87 in Queensland, Australia. I learned of this loss to Mauritius through a friend living in England. Condolences are pouring in from his ex-students on facebook. This teacher of Geography was part of the community of Visionaries of the glorious sixties that were shedding light on the course that this tiny Mauritius should take. It was a time of uncertainty, unemployment was rife, the birth rate was 3% plus, all land suitable for agriculture was under king sugar and the prospect of Independence frightened a large chunk of the [...]

TRIBUTE MOHAMED VAYID C'est avec tristesse nous avons appris le décès de M. Mohamed Vayid, a l’âge de 78 ans en Afrique du Sud. Je voudrais rendre un hommage tout particulier a son immense talent de Capitaine du secteur prive, à sa génie de penseur et à la place exceptionnelle qu’il occupait dans le monde des affaires. Il a été acclamé dans tout le pays et l’Etat Mauricien lui avait élevé au rang de GOSK pour marquer la place aussi singulière qu'éminente qu’il occupait dans le progrès industriel du pays. Les années 60 étaient les années de braise. Le taux de [...]

TRIBUTE GAREEBOO HASSAM C’est un sms de Rafick Santally qui m’apprit le décès du Dr. Hassam Gareeboo ce Vendredi 24 Janvier. Il rentrait juste d’Angleterre après les funérailles de son gendre et était admis au centre cardiaque de Pamplemousses pour des pontages. Tout en sourire, il confiait a un ami que chez les Gareeboos on mourrait jeune. Hassam était a la retraite et passait le clair de son temps a la clinique Chisty Shifa qu’il fonda avec le concours de trois collègues. Apres un début difficile, ce centre hospitalier a pris son envol et propose des tarifs modérés aux moins fortunes [...]

1er Février 2009, 174eme anniversaire de libération de l’esclavage fut aussi la libération d’André Fanny de toute responsabilité mondaine. Nous sommes réunis dans l’église de St Malo autour du Père Fanchette pour rendre un hommage solennel a André qui nous quitte pour son dernier voyage, après une longue maladie. Pendant cette réunion ou ses amis expriment leur respect, mes souvenirs des années 60 reviennent au galop. 1968 était une date douloureuse lorsque les Musulmans et les Créoles, pris d’une folie, s’entretuaient. André et moi sillonnions à Vespa la Plaine Verte et Roche Bois pour participer aux comites de quartier afin d’amener [...]

Dr the Honourable Arvin BOOLELL, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Members of the Diplomatic Corps Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen Good Evening I am very pleased to introduce you to Prof. Romeela Mohee, the first female Professor in Engineering and the first female Dean of Faculty of Engineering in Mauritius. Dr. Mohee, an environmental engineer, is Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Mauritius. Her research is focused on waste conversion processes, bio-energy and solid waste management, beneficial re-use of waste materials, heat and mass transfer modelling. She has authored 7 [...]