THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The funeral of Prof Ronald E Asher, the British linguist who died on December 26 last, will be held at Edinburgh on Wednesday. Omana Gangadharan, writer and former civic ambassador of Newham County in London, has got an invitation from Asher’s family to attend the funeral and give a memorial speech.
Incidentally, the funeral is being held on ‘Ash’ Wednesday, which is the beginning of the Lent season where after 46 days Easter Sunday comes.
96-year-old Asher had died in his sleep at his Edinburgh home on Boxing Day. Due to the long holiday break in the UK and other formalities to be completed, Prof Asher’s family decided to have a befitting funeral at a later date. At the time of his passing away, his close friend Omana Gangadharan was at her ancestral home in Changanassery.
Before she flew to London a few weeks ago, she planted a mango tree at her ancestral home and named it, ‘Ash Mango’. On her return, she got an email from Prof Asher’s son, David. He has another son, Michael, too.
“David has informed that Asher’s funeral service will be held at Oakvale Funeral Home, Edinburgh, at 10.30 am UK time on Wednesday. The burial will be held at 12 noon at Dean Cemetery’s Edgehill area. It will be followed by a reception at one of the hotels at Edinburgh City Centre,” Omana told TNIE.
Prof Asher translated Malayalam’s favourite author Vaikom Mohammad Basheer’s brilliant work Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu, (Me Grandad ‘ad an Elephant), taking the Beypore Sultan across the seas.
That’s how his association with Kerala started in 1964 when he first came to meet Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and a year later to meet Basheer.