IN MEMORIAM
In love with the word
REBECCA CHANDY
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Jaiboy Joseph, the well-known writer who passed away recently, had a capability to see both the ludicrous and the sublime sides of life…
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Inspiring: Jaiboy Joseph was a gentleman to the core.
Jaiboy Joseph is no more. But that is not the truth. It is the lower set of facts, but the higher level of facts — the level of faith, hope and trust in God — assures us that he lives on, in a different milieu perhaps; we may not be able
to see him as we knew him here; the gentle man par excellence, well shod, silvery hair swept back from a broad brow, ready to break into laughter at a joke. But we have not lost him.
I got to know Jaiboy only after he became a member of the Kirk. His elder sister Cookie (Anna Varki) is one of my dearest friends. Therefore I always felt he was my younger brother. In the beginning, I was in awe of him because he was a well-known writer and thought he would have no time for our small monthly magazine. But when I did ask him to contribute an article or two, he did so most willingly. And how valuable his contributions were! He had a charming, pithy style. It was a great asset for us when he joined the Kirkspire Committee.
Young educated men of his times chose medicine, engineering or law for a career but Jaiboy, after graduating from Loyola College, surprisingly opted for journalism. But really it was not surprising because he was the son of the brilliant journalist Pothan Joseph, who had successfully edited several newspapers in his time, the most prominent being Hindustan Times, Indian Express and the Deccan Herald.
Jaiboy started his training in journalism as a sub-editor in The Hindu. After about two years, he edited a paper, Liberator, for a while. But Bombay, the Mecca of journalists, beckoned him. So Jaiboy went to Bombay and worked with Reuters. While there, he was offered a position with USIS Madras. He accepted it and worked in that office for a while. Then came a chance to go back to Bombay as the Public Relations Officer of Caltex. This was a better job and Jaiboy did not move from there till his retirement.
Regular contributor
In both these organisations, there was plenty of writing to be done — producing papers and publications and editing in-house magazines. But Jaiboy’s heart was in journalism. He kept freelancing through his time with the USIS and Caltex. In Bombay, he used to write a weekly column called “Ad lib” in Financial Express. After he retired from Caltex in 1982 and settled in Madras, he continued contributing articles to newspapers and magazines. He wrote a column for Business Line for eight years. During these years, he published a book called Glimpses of Journalism, which contained anecdotes from his father’s writings and his own.
As one of his cousins put it, Jaiboy’s probing curiosity, his fund of knowledge and his sense of humour and the ability to see the ludicrous and the sublime in life made him the popular writer he was. Added to this was his gentlemanly behaviour and refusal to engage in any confrontation. He had no ego and he was a meek man like Moses in the Bible. He had a wide circle of friends and admirers not only in his professional circle but also in the society in which he moved. They all thronged the church to bid adieu to this gentle soul. It was like the funeral of a great public figure.
Jaiboy was a man with a loving concern for his family. His great sorrow was the early death of his mother, when he was working, staying with her. He enjoyed a very close relationship with his father (partly professional): the latter shared with him the problems he faced in his multi-faceted journalistic career. He was very fond of his two sisters Cookie and Sarasu. Interestingly, when they met the conversation always turned to politics, politicians, writers, books and rarely to gossip.
Family man
The Bible says, “Whoever finds a wife, finds a good thing.” Jaiboy found that good thing in Omana. They enjoyed 55 years of happy wedded life. Omana was a quiet, self-effacing, but competent, home-maker. She was involved in many ministries in the church. Quite often she had to stay overtime in the church but Jaiboy would wait patiently for her and take her home. They had two daughters and two granddaughters on whom he doted.
I never realised that Jaiboy was a man of deep faith till he began to write in the Kirkspire. In the March 2009 issue, his article “Nothing really new”, talks about buses running in London and New York with “No God” signs on the sides. Then he quotes Psalm 14 Verse 1: “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”
Jaiboy raised his voice for God in his inimitable way — in a reasoned manner, quoting scriptures, eminent men and mentioning well-known events. He was never abrasive but always persuasive. We are all the poorer for his voice falling silent. Nevertheless, as long as people are inspired by his writings and example, his voice will continue to speak.
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