There was a memorable funeral mass last weekend for a dear friend, Austin Lobo, at the Holy Name Cathedral on Wodehouse Road in Colaba. I had worked with Austin decades ago, when we were all young whelps out of college — I think it was with Bombay magazine or The Independent, or both, and I remember him as a gentle, affectionate soul, who was seen, but rarely heard.

The cathedral was chock-a-block with his family, friends, the church community and well-wishers who had known Austin at various stages of his life — including from the Holy Name Cathedral, the Cathedral Choir, of which he was a member, St Xavier's College, and from a career in advertising and journalism. Poor Austin, he died too early of multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow; he had suffered a great deal, been lovingly cared for by friends, and was now at peace with his Maker, the priest said.