This description of Alfie is so apt. He was a very dear friend of mine. Bernice Pereira
Sent from my iPhone > On 28-Jun-2021, at 2:18 PM, Linken Fernandes <linkenfernan...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Hi Ronald, > > That's a warm and generous summing up of someone who, I conjecture, may > have been a cherished friend. > > A "rebel against tradition -- a lovable rascal and rogue -- with a > refreshing sense of humour -- someone who cocked a snook at authority, be > it colonial or Indian -- who treated "low caste" people with the same > regard as the bhatcars in his native village." > > Sounds to me like this could be a pitch to a publisher for a biography of a > Goan (with a slight Bombay touch) typical of the 1960s and '70s. It could > also be a writer's jotting for a flamboyant character in a novel set amidst > the retreat of the Portuguese and the arrival of other Indians into an > innocent, happy-go-lucky, tropical paradise. > > I would lean towards a biography first, and think one could perhaps be > knocked off in a few months by (hint) a friend with as facile a pen as has > been seen over the years in the pages here. I, of course, would selfishly > consider the meat and bones of the bio for a protagonist rendered even more > larger than life in a work of fiction. > > There is, of course, a third option. A bunch of Alfred's pals and auld > acquaintance dispersed over the planet keep their tipple of choice at hand > as they type or dictate reminiscences and anecdotes for an informal > festschrift. (On second thought, the tipple may come only after the day's > labour is done, like in the tavernas of yore). This should give him > something to chuckle about as he regales good friend Lucifer with roasts of > all the church-going Goans ("Pad Vigar, tum inga?!") streaming in through > the fiery gates. And Lucifer wondering how a place so tiny can throw up > such a bountiful harvest of rebels against Authority, who head straight for > the bar no sooner they cross (!) the threshold. Little does he know that > they prefer his place to the other one because, as the hymn in the pub > goes, "In heaven there's no beer..."