Dr Teresa Albuquerque at her Santacruz home. File pic

It was a memorial service unlike any other. As we made our way up the wooden stairs to reach the chapel of St Xavier's College, the bustle and din from beyond had miraculously vanished. It was an unusually muggy day in July. Sunlight was beating down in all its glory through the high windows, showcasing details of the stained glass etchings above the altar, painting the sacred space in decadent hues of yellow. Like a page from a treasured history book, this tiny congregation could well have been part of a sepia-tinted photograph from within its chapters.