It is said, every generation stretches over 25 years. But I had the good fortune to have known Gerson da Cunha well for over three decades. I first set eyes on Gerson da Cunha in London in late 1965 at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) in a reading of Rabindranath Tagore’s Footsteps In The Sand. And that connection never ended. He is still amongst us with all the goodness he has spread – not by his creative talent and professional accolades… but by his humility, understanding, tolerance, patience, acceptance of every human being.
I had heard about LAMDA from my friend from Delhi University - Roshan Seth who had received admission into its hallowed precincts. Some may remember him as Pandit Nehru in the Gandhi film directed by Sir Richard Attenborough in 1979.
And there loomed this towering Indian figure who dwarfed everyone else on stage and mesmerised everyone in a baritone I had never heard before… and I was smitten! In true theatre-and-Gerson tradition, he invited Roshan to his flat in Sloan Square for an after-play gathering. And being with Roshan, I too was included. That was my first introduction to rubbing shoulders and exchanging chatter with the ‘intellectuals’ of the literary world in London – for among them were Geeta Patnaik and her husband Sonny Mehta, head of Knopf Publishing.
I was a contributor to the newly emerging immigrant population of the BBC, London World Service for Radio and Television. We had even formed a company named KADA – Kala Actors Dramatic Academy — which included Zohra Segal, Kunwar Singh, Kusum Haidar, Saeed Jaffrey, and Gerson daCunha. daCunha was there on a posting from Lintas.
When I returned to India, I discovered Gerson was a creative genius from the theatre, All India Radio, films division and advertising world.
Three days into Bombay, friend Kabir Bedi asked me if I would like to come for a rehearsal of MARAT SADE at St Xavier's College…was I going to say no?
And there I met director Alyque Padamsee who was directing The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as performed by the inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the direction of Marquis de Sade, usually shortened to Marat Sade.
From then on I have hob-nobbed with giants of the advertising, theatre and communication world .. and feebly followed in their footsteps, never hesitating to rub shoulders with them in areas I could learn from – advertising briefly, theatre widely – and even shared the stage and mike in compering, commentating, casting, moderating and acting with this giant of theatre – and a renaissance man.
Gerson and my world overlapped and crisscrossed. My theatre memories with Gerson remain my most precious and unforgettable ones… when Alyque cast me in Inherit The Wind; then as Portia to his Brutus in Alyque’s adaptation of Julius Caesar about the Emergency where he had Usha Katrak – another theatre-great playing Julius Caesar; our months of rehearsals and shows of that spectacular musical Jesus Christ Superstar -- where Gerson played Pilate and he misjudged a number while counting the 39 lashes for Jesus, and that diminutive Jo Alvarez who played Simon the Zealot with a voice that made the age tremble had the temerity to confront this giant amongst us and say: Man, at least learn to count properly. And Gerson too it in his giant stride!
I was always thrilled to be on the same panel to judge the Bandra Zonals and SCADAMS.
But that was Gerson. He never criticized, condemned, judged, resented or refused anyone. No assignment was below him! He was not prejudiced. His legion of friends was accepted as equals. He never made anyone feel discriminated against or inadequate. He gave you his full attention – be it a junior in office or a struggling student. No socialite demanding his attention distracted him. He was never partial to any one community or faith or creed.
Here was a man who never had a spare moment..and yet found time to lend an ear and guide and advise those floundering for support! Social media, the internet, Gmail, Facebook and Whatsapp are full of beautiful eulogies about his social work for CRY, AGNI, Breast Feeding Campaign in Brazil, et al, pouring in from every corner of India and the world – Portugal, Brazil, London and New York to name a few.
I even had the opportunity to spend time with him in Kampala when he was there on a UNESCO assignment -- and I shared my first Ethiopian Meal there with Gerson!
The world would have flocked to bid farewell to this titan, but Covid restricted attendance to his memorial service at the Holy Name Cathedral, in Colaba … but that did not deter Cardinal Oswald Gracias from personally conducting his Memorial Mass. It bears testimony to the stature of this man loved by so many.
We buried his ashes at the Mahalakshmi Cemetery.
And Bishop Savio raced from Sewrie to Mahalakshmi to bless his mortal remains at the St. Peter Haines Road Catholic Cemetery.
For all of us who knew him for an hour, a day, a week or years… there will never be another like Gerson.
The author is a theatre actress and casting director who has worked alongside Gerson da Cunha.