Wendell Rodricks (1960-2020) Some personal recollections - Wendell and I were not close friends but we enjoyed a warm comradeship forged by our love of Goa and Goemkarponn. Goa was the bond that instinctively brought us together.
Our friendship began in 2006 when I threw my hat into the churn to preserve Goa’s land, environment, and the Goan identity. Those were the early years when the three came under renewed assault from Goa’s own politicians and the flood of Indian invaders wanting a slice of the Golden Goa pie. Wendell’s was a passionate voice speaking out against the nakedly corrupt plans that were being drawn up for Goa. He practiced what he preached, often declining invitations to functions and refusing to be associated with entities he knew to be inimical to Goa’s interests. Sometimes it meant he had to take a personal financial hit. This took both character and courage. Over the years, our shared love of the land of our forefathers strengthened our association. He also took a keen interest in my photography and the manner in which he expressed appreciation revealed his generosity of spirit. He went a step further - he made a large purchase of my photographs and featured them in his splendid book MODA GOA. Wendell had a keen eye for detail and a finely developed nous for beauty. He could tell good imagery when he saw it. As great artist himself, in a visual medium, he recognized that quality photographic work is not simply a matter of a “click.” To this day, Wendell remains the ONLY GOAN who has bought my images (on the other hand, several Goans have stolen my photos, some have even passed them off as their own). I regret now that I never did a portrait session with Wendell. In 2012 he invited me to lunch at his beautiful house in Colvale where I met his engaging partner Jerome. On that occasion he gifted me a signed copy of MODA GOA. A quick snapshot of Wendell signing his book is the only photograph I have. Over the years we exchanged emails a few times a year. In one of his last emails in Nov 2019, reacting to photos in one of my blog posts, he wrote: ********* From: Wendell Rodricks (wendellrodri...@gmail.com) Date:Monday, November 25, 2019, 04:50 AM GMT Dear Rajan, Beautiful. I have seen Iceland through your lens. Need to now visit Thank you for showing me Iceland W Sent from my iPad Pro ********* With sadness, I say goodbye to this beautiful soul, a truly genuine article, a great son of Goa. Rajan Parrikar Feb 13, 2020