The other day, my friend Rudolph Vance called from Kolkata. During the course of the conversation, I asked him about our mutual friend Vernon Thomas. “Didn’t you know?” he said. “He died sometime in January.” That jolted me deeply.“How did it happen?” I said. “Nobody knows,” said Rudolph. “He was living with his adopted son Paresh at a village near Kolkata and died suddenly.”
Vernon was a dear friend of mine. A bachelor, he had published 140 books for children. They were mostly detective novels about theft and murder published by the Mumbai-based Pauline Publications. Since he was not published by mainstream publishers, the literary world was not aware of him. But he was a stalwart of the Anglo-Indian community.
For 12 years, on every Thursday, at 5 pm, I would go to his house and have a conversation about writing, literature, politics, spirituality, music and so on. It was fun-filled, exhilarating and unforgettable. However, in the late 1990s, I left Kolkata for Kochi. But I remained in touch with Vernon by phone. In his home, apart from Paresh, lived a man called Ranen and his wife and son. Around 25 years ago, Ranen, who used to work near Vernon’s house, befriended the author. Later, Ranen asked him whether he could stay at his home, because he was facing financial difficulties. Vernon said yes. And it wasn’t surprising why. All his relatives had migrated abroad, to the UK, US and Australia.
In 2014, Vernon’s health began to fail. And his mind had also begun to fade away. When I called him at that time, he told me that his mother had died a week ago. Vernon was 80 then.Vernon lived in a spacious Victorian-style house, with four bedrooms, a living room and a dining hall. Last year, a builder came and offered money so that he could demolish the house and construct a multi-storeyed building. But he had resisted the temptation for decades. But this time, Ranen handled the discussions and allegedly grabbed 90 per cent of the money. Hence, Paresh had no option but to take Vernon to his ancestral home.
And now he has passed away. It is so sad. What is sadder was that no obituary appeared in the newspapers—an undeserving fate for such a brilliant, kind and good-hearted individual.Nevertheless, I am sure Vernon has found happiness in Heaven. And I am also sure, he will heal the heartache that I feel because I did not know about his death for so many months. I miss you, my dear friend!