Mr. Fuddy. I once called him a fuddyduddy. Thereafter when we met I would say "Hello Mr Fuddy" and he would reply "Hello Mr Duddy". What a character. Dynamic and lively when he was sober, somber and clinging when not.
Bottom line he made me laugh whether it be at him or with him. Our lessons with him became less and less Hindi and
more about culture. I recall having a lesson in a large teepee on the playground of the school. He told us that the eye of a fish was given to the most special person. And that several other unusual things made good soup. That became a running joke. Jas would also tell us what a bitch Susan was and how he was going to quit and go home because no one
loved him to which I would reply: "That's right, Jas". I helped him write out his resignation, never taking him seriously.
So I was surprized that he indeed turned it in, but Emosi wouldn't accept it. He was caught in a bind, not having
funds to get back, so we put together a hardship application to Pan Am for assistance. Don't know if he sent it.
He claimed to be a professional singer, though can't say I ever heard him sing. Once at Kohala we didn't feel like having a lesson, so each time he opened his mouth we all began to sing: "We shall overcome..." His tailor father set me up with several
outfits when we first arrived. Ran in Jas a few times over the years. He got married in Nov 1970 to Shakuntlala and I heard that he had a son, Rikesh.
Update: In 1991 he and family "escaped" to the States and applied for asylum. Judge granted it. But then in 1994 it was reversed and the latest I can find is
a document in 2001 which reverses the reversal and says he should be granted asylum. But I have no idea what the story is at this point. In 2021 I find that the three of them are living in Burlingame, California.
Here is the gist of a report
of his case. |
