Dear Editor,
It was a funeral which was almost entirely English. Yet we were cremating a proud son of Guyana, even if not recognised in his own land. The life of Professor Bishnodat/Vishnu Persaud was celebrated in the Golders Green crematorium in London last Friday (5th).
Vishnu was a high flying economist with the Commonwealth Secretariat, erstwhile professor at UWI and adviser to many Caribbean governments. He was 82 when he succumbed to cancer after a short, sharp illness on July 24th.
The boy from Cumberland, Berbice had come far.
It was a peculiarly English event. The hymns – ‘Jerusalem’,’Abide with me’, the readings from the poet Elizabeth Fry, the choral renditions of ‘Blackbird’ and even the afternoon tea and cakes at the posh Hendon Hall Hotel later, were fit for an English country gent. The tributes from his famous sons Raj (the psychiatrist) and Avinash (the economist) and his daughter Shada were warm if not quite complete in filling in the true multi-faceted personality of ‘Vish’.
This was a man who had spent eight decades seeking knowledge and new ideas worldwide.
A man who reached out to many friends new and old – including me. A man whose work with Sir Sonny Ramphal at the Commonwealth Secretariat had laid the foundations for the downfall of apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia and whose intellect helped to conceive the New World Order of the Brandt Commission and others. Sadly, that vision was to be stillborn.
Yet here also was a prophet not in his own homeland of Guyana. ‘Vish’ and his work were ignored for decades by Guyanese governments, much to his chagrin. Barbados recognised him with a National Honour in 2014. Guyana never.
The West Chapel of the Crematorium was full of Persaud relatives from all over the world. Big names too- Sir Sonny to honour his old colleague, Sir Vince Cable, the former UK Business Secretary who worked with Vishnu at ComSec, Martin Bashir the renowned journalist and Professor Clem Seecharran among them.
It was a fitting way to celebrate the life of ‘Vish’ born Guyanese, Caribbean by nature and English by choice. The only gesture towards his mother’s land in the service was the Guyanese pandits chanting mantras at the end.
‘Vish’ would have felt at home that sunny Friday afternoon in North London.
Farewell friend
Yours faithfully,
John Mair